User Manual

2.2 Rugged New Mechanical Design of the C300 Mark II
The C300 is one of the world’s most popular cameras for documentary shooting. With the large
numbers presently in use across the globe – under a vast variety of shooting conditions – it is
no surprise that a multiplicity of “war stories” speak to the myriad of adventures and
misadventures encountered during those countless productions. Anything that could possibly
happen to lenses and cameras under all sorts of grueling conditions did indeed occur. Some of
the more extreme encounters included instances of accidental lens-camera incidents that
delivered traumatic violence to these systems. Canon closely followed as many of these
productions as possible to learn all that could be gleaned about the ruggedness and durability
(or not) of this first generation cine camcorder. From an extensive reporting – suffused with
many recommendations and suggestions – we collated an impressive listing of improvements
that underlay the mechanical design of the second generation C300 Mark II.
The new C300 Mark II uses a die-cast inner structure to support the core imaging system and
the electronic boards. This structure is housed inside a reinforced external housing made of a
magnesium alloy – Figure 4.
Figure 4 Showing the inner die-cast superstructure that is housed within the camcorder body
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