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The Canon Hollywood event liveblog!

Lights, check! Camera? Well, it soon might be a Canon. We're live from the red carpet at Canon's Hollywood launch event, where we're expecting the company to reveal its first cinema camera. We'll be watching the action live as it hits the silver screen in SoCal, but you can catch it all from home right here! Things get started at 3PM local time, translated into times for your locales below.

Psst... and toss your own time zone / day in comments below!

12:00PM - Hawaii (November 3rd)
03:00PM - Pacific (November 3rd)
04:00PM - Mountain (November 3rd)
05:00PM - Central (November 3rd)
06:00PM - Eastern (November 3rd)
10:00PM - London (November 3rd)
11:00PM - Paris (November 3rd)
02:00AM - Moscow (November 4th)
07:00AM - Tokyo (November 4th)

Photos by Zach Honig.


8:20PM Oh, and excellent timing ... that's a wrap, folks! Hands-on time!



8:19PM Still with us? This show keeps going and going and going, but unfortunately our battery can't keep up. We'll need to step away in a minute.


8:16PM Felix: "This camera can be used anywhere in the world, in any production, for any reason. It looks as good as anything out there."



8:14PM This is a Canon-sponsored event with Canon folks on stage, so as you can probably imagine, everyone LOVES this thing.



8:11PM List price is $20,000 and we'll see these hit stores by the end of January 2012. Yes, 2012. As in this coming January. Worldwide.


8:10PM And they've opened it up to Q&A ... price and availability?



8:09PM More on that support center... they'll be running a pretty comprehensive show, with everything from on-site repair to product seminars.



8:06PM Now we're talking about the sensor inside the C300. It's a full 4k sensor, with 1920 x 1080 pixels for the red and blue colors, and 1920 x 2160 pixels for green.





8:03PM Felix and Vincent echo what the others said, namely that external lights are unneeded when filming with the C300.





8:00PM Sam's experience was similar, and could shoot green screen shots at ISO 16,000, which is, in his words "revolutionary in terms of speed."


7:58PM Now John's asking about the camera's night performance. Richard got great images at night with "absolutely minimal" external lighting.


7:56PM Vincent: "The camera did its job, which was to get out of the way and produce great images."



7:56PM Felix: It's so easy to use and produces great results. "This camera is the beginning of the future of filmmaking."



7:55PM Sam: I wanted something that would just let me go shoot, while being flexible.



7:54PM Richard: It's all about the end product, and the C300 produced a very high quality result.



7:53PM First question, what was the experience working with the C300?




7:52PM There's also Felix Alcala, who directed Sword, and Vincent Laforet, who directed Mobius, rounds out the panel.


7:51PM Laruence Thorpe, the Sr. Director of Canon's Imaging Technologies, Director Richard Crudo, Sam Nicholson, who directed Xxit


7:49PM Now it's time to introduce the rest of our panel members: Elliot Peck, Sr. VP & GM of Sales for the Imaging Technologies and Communications.



7:48PM That's it for Mr. Maeda, back to our moderator, John.





7:43PM The cinema series lenses join Canon's already massive collection of glass, now the "world's largest selection" of over 70 lenses.



7:41PM There's three EF prime lenses as well, 24mm, 50mm, and 85mm models. They also work well with EOS still image cameras as well.




7:40PM The EF glass comes in four top-end zoom flavors, two 14.5-60mm lenses and two 30-300.



7:38PM The C300 can handle both EF and PL mount lenses, has a Super 35mm CMOS sensor, and delivers 4K resolution with the new EF lenses.











7:33PM Mr. Maeda knew that video would be a great feature on the 5D Mark II, but he had to "light a fire under the R&D department" to get it done.




7:31PM And, you notice there's not one, but two cameras up on screen... wonder what that second one could be?




7:31PM He's introduced Masaya Maeda, the Chief Executive of Image Communication Products Operations for Canon. Mr. Maeda was one of the driving forces behind the 5D Mark II.







7:29PM John's excited to hear the details about Canon's new camera. So are we, John. So are we.



7:28PM Say hello to John Fauer, the moderator for today's panel.


7:26PM The tables have been set, and we've been told to settle back into our seats, so let the Q&A begin!



7:17PM So, they're setting up the tables for the panel, but keep it locked right here as we're bound to get some more details on Canon's cinematic shooter.




7:12PM Teri's telling us to stay tuned, as a panel of the filmmakers who made the clips we just watched will be onstage to talk about them and answer questions from the audience. Stay tuned!



7:11PM "Thank you, Mr. Mitarai, and welcome to Hollywood." That's it for Martin, and now Teri's back on stage.




7:08PM But now anyone can make a movie, and storytelling through video is easier than ever.




7:07PM Martin's talking about the impediments that bulky, expensive equipment has been to filmmaking in the past.





7:06PM Now it's time for Martin Scorsese!



7:04PM Aaaand, that's it for Mobius. Now we're getting to see a trailer for the new Ron Howard flick, When you find me. There was a lot of noise in that, too. We're thinking it was projector that's the culprit, not the C300.



















6:56PM Nice, set in the desert, all natural lighting, and it looks good. Particularly that 5D Mark II one of the actors is using.


6:54PM And now it's time for Mobius by Vincent Laforet.


6:55PM And now it's time for Mobius by Vincent Laforet.










6:52PM And thats it for Xxit.


6:51PM The pastoral scene look particularly good, vibrant colors and a clear picture. The C300 really does shine in daylight shots.











6:48PM Though this was shot in San Francisco...


6:47PM Yes folks, that's an iPhone 4, presumably the non-essy kind.




6:45PM We're not seeing any of the grainy issues from the previous film. The Canon is strutting its stuff here.







6:43PM Nicolette Sheridan, everybody! Nice to see her in something other than Desperate Houswives or Knots Landing.







6:42PM Ooooh, this one's going to let us know how the camear copes with green screen shots. Plenty of CGI in this futuristic film.






6:41PM Sword's done, so on to the next film: Exit by Sam Nicholson


6:39PM Mr. Mitarai-san seems to be enjoying the results coming out of his camera, though.






6:36PM With that covered, we'll let you soak in a few screenshots to see for yourself.




6:35PM Daylight scenes are still looking good, but the noise persists in the low light shots.




6:34PM Didn't see much of that in the first film, but it looks a bit worse than the picture we're accustomed when we go to the local movie theater.



6:33PM Got a shot in a jail cell on screen that's looking fairly noisy.





6:31PM That's all for Max is Back, now we're going to see a bit of Sword, by Felix Alcalla and Larry Carol.




6:30PM Close ups, wide shots, the C300 handles them all with aplomb.



6:28PM Max just clocked a guy and took his money in the movie... gritty stuff here.




6:27PM Looks really good, just what you'd expect from any Hollywood film. Crystal clear video, and handles low light and bright shots well.





6:25PM And now we're going to get a series of excerpts from films. First up: Max is Back.









6:25PM "Literally, you can just take this camera and go make a movie."


6:24PM "There's no compression issues... what you see is exactly what was shot."




6:24PM Vincent Leforet, Polly Morgan, Richard Crudo and more are talking about the great signal to noise ratio, ability to shoot in natural light.







6:22PM Filmmakers are showing us their work and are expounding the virtues of its compact nature and flexibility.










6:21PM And now it's testimonial time!



6:21PM Applause! Mr. Mitarai is off the stage, and now we're watching a promo video of the C300. Lots of close up shots and slow pans of the camera.






6:20PM "Through Cinema EOS, we want you to leave no story untold." And now he's going to show us some examples of what the C300 can do.





6:17PM Canon is also opening a Technology and Support Center to that end.



6:16PM He emphasizing how they want to be accepted into the filmmaking community, and the company is dedicated to working with the community to provide them better tools.



6:15PM Canon will also be rolling out quite a few new lenses with the new camera.


6:15PM Mr. Mitarai says that films "should be an extention of human lives" and that one of the most important factors of the new camera is accurate color reproduction, particularly skin tones.







6:13PM And here is is, the Canon EOS c300!



6:13PM Now he's talking up the 5D Mark II, and how they asked users of the camera to help them develop the new camera.





6:12PM "Since Canon's founding in 1937, we have pursued constant innovation in optical technology."


6:12PM Mr. Mitarai-san is telling us how Canon's cameras "expands the boundaries of visual expression."


6:11PM Mr. Mitarai came all the way from Japan for the event, and his arms don't look tired at all.




6:10PM And here's Chairman and CEO of Canon, Inc. Fujio Mitarai!



6:08PM Teri's telling us how Canon's R&D are focused on producing the best optical equipment.



6:07PM She's helping students learn visual storytelling, and Canon's going to help them tell their tales.





6:06PM The Dean of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television Teri Schwartz is up on stage.



6:05PM "This is the camera we've been waiting for."


6:05PM "When I saw the images come out of that camera... I was floored."


6:04PM Intro movie is starting, we've got filmmaker voice over talking about their impressions of Canon's latest.



6:03PM And the lights are dimming. Let's do this!



6:01PM And the disembodied voice is telling us to silence our cellphones because this show's about to get on the road.



6:00PM We're seated right behind the president of Canon China, Mr. Ozawa-san. VIP status for us Engadgeteers!


5:58PM The music is akin to what you expect at a spa or salon -- etheral and calming -- not that we've ever been to either.



5:57PM It's a beautiful venue, and the best part... cushy seats for everyone in the audience. Perfect for liveblogging in comfort and style.



5:55PM Quite a crowd. The theater holds over 500 people, and it looks like we're in for a full house this evening.



5:54PM And we're seated. Everyone's filing in, and the tension is building. Good thing we've got some soothing music playing.





5:44PM Get excited folks, they're about to let us in!



5:33PM And we're here! Lots of suit-sporting Hollywood types around, and a small handful of bloggers queued up.