Canon had its big NAB screening on Sunday night, showing off both its 4K DSLR, the EOS 1D-C, and the C500.  As part of the presentation they screened "The Ticket", a short film written/directed by Po Chan, lensed by Shane Hurlbut, and shot on the EOS 1D-C.  Filmed and displayed in 4K, Hurlbut showed just what the camera can do, and now we too can see what it looks like by way of his blog (albeit through the limitations of Vimeo).  Hurlbut goes on to share some interesting behind the scenes tidbits, and praise that might just entice you into giving this camera a whirl:

For the short itself, you'll have to go here first.  What I find interesting about this project is that it not only suggests the tantalizing possibility of 4K, but also speaks to the present-day limitations with regards to being able to appreciate it.  As Hurlbut points out:


What you are going to see on the web will never do this camera justice. You need to run out, knock down doors and demand screenings of this camera on a 4K Sony or Barco projector. I have walked up to 6 inches from the screen, and you cannot see a pixel.

Which is pretty cool.  But, I wish I could "see" the difference.  Although beautifully shot and rendered, I can't really tell (certainly not through Vimeo) what all the increased resolution brings to the image, compared to say, 2K.  But this is understandable -- these cameras are geared toward content that will be displayed on the big screen at some point during its life-cycle -- precisely the place where the increased resolution can be appreciated.  Even if most of us won't be sitting 6 inches from the screen.

Beyond that, Hurlbut does offer some really big praise for the camera, which might just make folks consider this as a rental item:

When you harness 4K into the small footprint of a 1D, give it the processing power to record to little CF cards with no external recording devices needed, then deliver an image that crushes the F65, Epic, Alexa in one fell swoop. Now that is where the WOW factor comes in. I can blind you with tech specs, wine and dine you with test footage, but this is not what I am about. If this unique device transports you and rivals 35mm film, then my job is done.

I was particularly surprised by his comment on the image quality.  At this point he's one of the few people who's probably shot on all four cameras, so that carries some weight.  I guess we'll see what other folks think in the coming weeks and months.

For the full blog post along with the short film, go here.  What'd you think?  Is 4K really increasing image quality?  Is it going to be a while before we can appreciate those higher resolutions?  Does the image quality justify the price?

[via HurlBlog]