Tried & Tested: Canon Cinema EOS
Posted on Oct 30, 2024 by Samara Husbands
Canon mounts cinema cam attack
The first full-frame Cinema EOS cameras with RF lens mounts use next- gen tech and are competitively priced. Adam Duckworth takes a closer look
When Canon launched the Super 35 EOS C70 hybrid camera three years ago as the new entry-level model into the Cinema EOS range, it was the first movie model to feature the RF lens mount as debuted on the EOS R mirrorless line.
Back then, we predicted it could lead to a whole new range of full-frame EOS cinema cameras, as the RF mount allows for faster apertures and better communication from lens to camera, for improved features such as image stabilisation. A short flange distance also means it’s easy to adapt other optics to fit, like the plentiful and popular Canon EF range or even PL glass. The writing was on the wall for EF mount lenses.
Incredibly, it has taken until now for Canon to officially abandon EF lens development, fit RF mounts to its cinema primes and move its new cameras to the RF standard – which is now in everything from its pro flagship EOS R1 mirrorless sports camera to crop-sensor consumer models. The only thing missing was its higher-end cinema camera range, which remained the last bastion of EF: the current full-frame C500 Mark II as well as the Super 35 C300 Mark III and C200 still use that 37-year-old mount.
Frankly, the launch of the brand-new RF-fit EOS C80 and C400 makes those cameras look decidedly old-fashioned in terms of specs. Both the hybrid-style EOS C80 and more traditional cinema camera EOS C400 move the goalposts a significant way. They are both fast and versatile, packed with all of Canon’s know-how gleaned from its full-frame mirrorless and high-end cine ranges – and they’re competitively priced.
At £5339/$5499 body only, the C80 costs close to what the C70 was at its launch. And with the C400 coming in at £7799/$7999, that’s about the same as the C300 Mark III and significantly less than the C500 Mark II, which has already been slashed in price down from its original £16,999/$15,999. Canon has obviously smarted at the sales success of Sony’s FX6 and FX9 camcorders, and aims to blow the competition out of the water with its latest range.
Sensor siblings
The EOS cameras may look different from each other, but they share a brand-new 19.05-megapixel full-frame BSI stacked sensor with triple base ISO ratings.
Stacked sensor technology, first used by Sony in its A9 mirrorless sports camera, has proven to be a revelation due to its lightning-quick speed. This made viewfinder lag a thing of the past, unlocking superfast frame rates, a reduction in rolling shutter skewing and a huge improvement in AF. This has now made its way to high-end mirrorless cameras from other brands – including Canon and Sony’s pricier cine cameras like the BURANO.
Now it’s in Canon’s C80 and C400, giving them a massive performance boost that you’ll notice not just on the spec sheets, but also in use.
For Canon users wanting to upgrade, the choice now is whether to go with the C80 or C400, as they are each aimed at different users. The C80 is ideal for small production companies or filmmakers wanting to move up from a full-frame mirrorless to a real cinema camera experience, complete with traditional audio controls and in-depth menus, big cine-style batteries and built-in ND filters.
It has many of the rear controls like those on the EOS-1D X pro DSLR or EOS R series, complete with a rear joystick, but there’s no viewfinder. It’s also cheaper than the EOS R1 mirrorless, and a better machine for shooting video.
It’s a great camera for solo shooters and small crews making cinematic films and documentaries, or even for streaming and experimenting with Canon’s VR technology. It records to a pair of SD memory cards which are plentiful and cheap.
In comparison, the C400 is a bigger and heavier beast. It adds higher frame rates and bit rates for even better quality than the C80 – as well as functions to make it not only great for cinematic shooting or ENG, but also for virtual production and live broadcast, thanks to genlock and the addition of a 12-pin port to power broadcast lenses. This is a camera that really can do it all, with no compromises whatsoever.
Bit-rate bonanza
Where the C80 tops out at 576Mbps when shooting in Cinema Raw Light files, the C400 is capable of up to a 2.1Gbps bit rate thanks to its additional high-quality (HQ) setting to squeeze every bit of data from the sensor. While the C80 maxes out at 30fps when shooting in 6K Raw, the C400 goes to 60p, for example.
In 4K, the C400 reaches 120p – although it uses a Super 35 crop if shooting Raw – while the C80 struggles to go above 60p. You can shoot 4K/120p on the C80, but only in a more compressed codec. Both come with a massive spreadsheet of codecs and all crops, frame rates and bit rates. Add full-time AF not working in all high frame rates and it gets complicated.
Some of the best results are a compromise, using 4K oversampled from the 6K sensor, which opens more versatile frame rate choices. We quickly found a codec that worked for us, but it’s good to know there is 6K Raw, for example, when ultimate image quality is necessary – or 4K/120p full-frame for some super slow-motion on the C400.
In a strategy that started with the C70, Canon has not crippled the spec of the cheaper camera to protect sales of more expensive, profitable cameras. The C70’s Super 35 Dual Gain Output sensor that would handle Raw files has been upgraded to a new stacked sensor on both the C80 and C400, which now shoots Cinema Raw Light internally. There are three base ISO settings of 800, 3200 and 12,800 when shooting Raw or in Log. Shoot in Canon 709, Wide DR, PQ or HLG and the base settings are 400/1600/6400, while in standard BT.709 it’s 160/640/2500.
Select which of the base settings to use, or choose Auto and leave it to the camera to work it out for you. This lets you achieve optimal signal-to-noise performance even in very low light and works well. Noise is controlled and even when ISO ramps up, but if some creeps in it’s easy to sort in post. These are two great cameras for low-light use.
However, shooting in Raw means the files have no noise reduction in camera. This gives highly detailed shots, but you’ll need to apply noise reduction in post. In a compressed codec like XF-AFC or XF-HEVC S, there is NR added in camera, but this can be adjusted to suit individual shoots. You can also alter settings such as saturation to customise your look.
Although the triple-base ISO sensor is impressive, it doesn’t quite offer the dynamic range of the Dual Gain Output sensor found in previous models like the C300 Mark III. This system works at all ISO levels when each pixel is read out with two different gain levels – one high for controlling noise in shadow areas and one low for better saturation and detail in brighter areas. These signals are electronically combined to make a single image. Maybe this will feature in a higher-end C500 in future?
Gamma school
For a great straight-out-of-camera solution, the Wide DR gamma setting gives a pleasing and natural look with punchy, vibrant colours that stay just on the right side of being too bold. Again, there are lots of customisation options. The dynamic range isn’t quite as high as C-Log2 or 3, but it’s a convenient choice that works well with little tweaking.
When it comes to post, we did have some issues with the MXF files from the C400, but not the C80, when used in Final Cut Pro X. We updated the Canon MXF and Raw plug-ins, but the Mac Studio M1 computer still wouldn’t read them and the Edit Ready desktop plug-in wouldn’t work either. Checking online showed other users had the same problem, but identical files from the C80 were fine! Perhaps it’s a glitch in the Apple matrix. DaVinci Resolve worked perfectly on all files, even though it wasn’t version 19.
Image quality is superb right across the range of settings, with all of Canon’s celebrated natural colours. If you want to go for maximum quality then Raw is ideal, but All-Intra in 4:2:2 10-bit 4K using Log gives impressive dynamic range – with great colours that proved easy to tweak in post.
Where the C80 only has two flavours of Raw, the C400 has an HQ version and you can tell the difference – but that’s when pixel-peeping.
Even using 4K/60p in 4:2:2 10-bit Long GOP, image quality is fantastic, and files are robust thanks to the large, modern sensor. Rolling shutter is well controlled, but obviously can be seen in fast whip pans. To eliminate it entirely, the only solution is a global shutter full-frame camera, which is currently the domain of high-end RED and Sony cameras that cost significantly more.
Cool AF
The C70 was the first Canon Cinema EOS camera to use the EOS iTR AF X Intelligent Tracking and Recognition autofocus system, which uses deep-learning technology for head tracking in conjunction with face detection. But the AF only covers 80% of the screen – it isn’t the version II Dual Pixel AF technology as found in the EOS R5, which covered the whole screen.
Now, the C80 and C400 have the latest Dual Pixel CMOS AF II with EOS iTR AF X that covers the whole screen, and it is very impressive. The touchscreen has a touch-to-focus feature which allows you to do amazing focus pulls with ease, and touch-to-track locks on to a subject and follows them around the screen. This is stated to work for humans and animals, but the latter only covers cats and dogs.
The AF system is customisable in terms of speed and response, so you can dial it in to your needs. When light fades, it struggles a bit on low-contrast subjects, but is still one of the best around.
Also included here is Focus Guide when manually focusing. This gives a clear indication of which way to turn the focus ring, as well as when the subject is sharp. RF lenses have fly-by-wire manual focusing, so they can never feel quite as good as genuine cinema lenses, although the settings can be tweaked in-camera to change the direction and speed of focusing. This is all thanks to the advanced electronics featured in these newer RF optics.
Many RF lenses have image stabilisation, which is certainly needed on the C80 and C400 since there is no built-in five-axis image stabilisation on the sensor. Instead, the cameras have Combination IS, which uses both the Optical IS in RF lenses and the digital IS in the camera body, giving a slight crop. The system works perfectly fine, but it’s not as good as on-sensor IBIS systems.
On such compact camera bodies, there just isn’t room to have a moving IBIS-style sensor and built-in ND filters.
Screen test
Both cameras have fully articulated screens packed with useful info. There’s 13 assignable buttons on the C80 and 18 on the C400, while each model has a multi-function handgrip and a fan ventilation system to prevent overheating. This can be turned off when needed.
The cameras come bundled with a top handle that bolts on securely, as well as XLR shotgun mic holders, but sadly there is no pass-through for the multi-interface shoe or even a second REC start button.
The C80 has a screen that folds out to uncover the audio controls. These are plentiful and command the inputs, which come via mini XLR jacks. It’s bright, though if you’re outside on a sunny day it can still be a bit hard to read.
Said screen has waveforms, vectorscope, false colour warnings, adjustable zebras and focus peaking. You can swap out shutter speed for shutter angle and ISO for gain, and there is also anamorphic de-squeeze support, although the range is limited.
Canon doesn’t make RF-fit anamorphic lenses and doesn’t allow third-party manufacturers to make full-frame RF lenses, so nothing will fit natively. But the C400 can be fit with a PL mount to accept a whole variety of cinema lenses, including many anamorphics. Just don’t expect a massive range of de-squeeze options when monitoring.
The C400 monitor is a separate screen that connects via a USB-C cable clamped at the camera and monitor end, so it’s easy to take it off and fit to a gimbal handle, for example.
The screen bolts to a new articulating arm that connects to a 15mm rail. This is not a particularly ergonomic or sturdy system, however. It’s like a complicated engineering project to move the screen to where you want it and the USB-C cable easily gets tangled. Rig specialist Vocas has already come to the rescue with a C400 kit that includes a superior system to hold the screen in place.
The C80 (pictured right) now has an SDI output, an omission on the C70, but it looks like a bit of an afterthought. Both cameras have full-size HDMI and lots of input/output options, with the C400 offering 12G-SDI and all the TV broadcast controls, plus built-in ND filters that go as high as 10x and show little colour shift.
Both cameras can use Canon’s conventional BP-A cinema batteries, but benefit from the newer BP-AN units which have more power. On the C400, the front 12-pin port only works when a BP-AN cell has been fit.
You can buy batteries with D-Tap outputs to power accessories, too. And the C400 takes aftermarket V-Mount or Gold Mount plates for those large batteries. Use these with BP-A cells to provide hot-swap capabilities for super-long recording sessions, or plug it into the mains with the included AC adapter.
It seems Canon has thought of everything that working filmmakers might need from a single camera and included them on the C400.
The Verdict
Canon has spent so much time creating its high-end mirrorless cameras over the past few years that it began to feel like the Cinema EOS range was getting left behind. The crop-sensor C200 is old tech now and has a lacklustre 8-bit codec, the C300 Mark III has a Super 35 sensor and the C500 Mark II is far from the most competitively priced – and all still use the older and inferior EF mount.
While the C70 offers the RF lens mount, it doesn’t have a full-frame sensor, can’t shoot Raw internally and doesn’t offer the latest AF technology.
When Sony came out with its low-priced FX6 and FX9, then the BURANO, and RED with its desirable KOMODO 6K and V-RAPTOR, Canon’s range was left looking a little underwhelming.
The launch of the RF-fit EOS C80 and C400 has changed the game, with their stacked 6K sensors, internal Raw Light recording, high frame rates and suitability for everything from cinema shooting to documentary, virtual reality, streaming, live broadcast – even virtual production for the C400. And all that at surprisingly affordable prices.
Canon has certainly thrown the kitchen sink at the C400, which has the edge in image quality over the C80 and is more versatile. The C400 could go down in history as a landmark camera for Canon, the point where it put itself back at the top of the pile for many users. And the C80 deserves to be a smash hit for run-and-gun documentary, event or wedding shooters, as it’s a small yet powerful package that handles brilliantly – as long as you can live without an EVF.
Both cameras have stunning AF, lots of slow-motion options, superb colour science and the controls of a camera designed for shooting professionally.
This feature was first published in the November 2024 issue of Definition.
