Canon Announces Its C80 Cinema Camera

On the heels of announcing its flagship camera and update to its popular portrait camera, Canon has announced another update to its cinema camera product line with the C80.

image credit Canon USA

This is an update to its C70 cinema camera that I really enjoyed. The update includes a few big changes and a pretty solid price. The C70 has a Super-35 sensor. The C80 has a full frame sensor. The C70 topped out at 4K resolution. The C80 tops out at 6K.

image credit Canon USA

A couple of years ago I talked about the C70 and its prowess. It definitely gets the job done for cinematographers, but it did have limitations when it came the Super-35 sensor. One being the crop factor as well as the difference in depth of field. I guess Canon took the hint from creators about this.

Other tech specs include two recording codecs, XF-AVC S and XF-HEVC S. Oh and yes, you can still shoot Canon RAW. I’m curious to know how the battery performs. Canon has had a bit of an up-and-down-and-up reputation when it comes to battery life on some of its cameras. I also wonder if the media slots are still SD card slots or now CF Express Type B. No mention of this in the press release.

UPDATE - The camera does have dual SD card slots. With that said, I recommend using V90 cards* for high resolutions and framerates.

I don’t know if I’ll ever get my hands on one of these Cameras, but I’m curious. I love the form-factor and the fact that it’s now full frame. More information on the announcement can be found on Canon’s site here.

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Canon Announces the EOS R5 C (Hybrid) Cinema Camera

Canon has announced its new cinema camera. Actually, it’s more of a hybrid camera. It’s the EOS R5 C.* It was rumored a handful of times previously and I gotta tell ya, I’m excited and also a bit confused about this. But then again, maybe this is Canon’s way of continuing to add SOMETHING to its RF mount system. Anyway, some quick tech specs.

Cine Features in a Mirrorless Body

The R5 C boasts a 45-megapixel full-frame sensor capable of shooting up to 8K RAW cinematic video at 60 frames per second. Woah. This also includes Canon’s magical dual pixel autofocus system that’s nothing short of amazing when it comes to tracking and eye detection for portraiture and action shots. You’ll also get 20 frames per second image capture if needed.

Those are the basics, but the finer points on the spec sheet include:

  • 4K 120 frames per second for slow motion in 4:2:2 10-bit

  • Ability to record audio while shooting high frame rate (slow mo) footage

  • C-Log3 picture profile for more flexibility in color grading and maximizing the dynamic range

  • Internal cooling fan for non-stop 8K recording (this was a big problem on the R5)

  • Two card slots for recording (Qty 1 CFExpress Type B, qty 1 UHS-II SD)

  • Internal RAW 8K recording up to over 800Mbps at 23.98 fps

But why?

These specs sound REALLY good. But one has to ask “why” on this. Canon’s R5* is a highly capable camera for stills and video at a hybrid level. Especially after the firmware updates. No, you’re not getting all of the RAW video capabilities, but you’re able to get RAW video on another cine camera from Canon - the C70.* I absolutely loved the C70, but it’s strictly a cinema camera. No photography involved. Maybe Canon is trying to offer something slightly more portable than the C70 all while including high quality video and photo capabilities? I’m not sure. Wil the C70 have more firmware updates for the super 35 senor’s capability?

You can preorder the R5 C here today over at Adorama. Let me know your thoughts and if you plan on grabbing one. I think the $4500 price point is fair.

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