In comes the Canon EOS C500 Mark II and all of its Full-Frame 5.9K glory. The headline on this camera announcement is easy to understand, Full-Frame and 5.9K stand out as the two best options. What is less obvious is how right it appears Canon got the EOS C500 Mark II. Sometimes the sequel is better than the original, which is exactly how Canon is marketing the C500 Mark II.
Modular in design, competitively priced, user-changeable lens mounts, electronic image stabilization, and internal cinema RAW light it seems like Canon took all the best features in their already available cameras, C200, C700 FF, and C300 Mark II, and put them into the C500 Mark II. It is a bold step forward for Canon and one I am happy to see.
“As Canon’s position in the production industry has grown, we have sought to deliver new solutions that can perform at an elite level, while also maintaining competitive pricing to help continue to remove the barriers of great content creation,” said Kazuto Ogawa, president and COO, Canon U.S.A., Inc. “The EOS C500 Mark II encompasses the latest Canon technologies and, when teamed with the recently announced Sumire Prime Cinema Lenses and DP-V3120 4K Reference Display, forms an incredible input-to-output solution.”
The EOS C500 Mark II features a 5.9K full-frame sensor with 60p recording 5.9K and 4K (2K recording at 120p) and 15 stops of dynamic range. In addition, the newly introduced DIGIC DV 7 image processor allows for more fluid and efficient recording of 4K and HDR. Cinema Raw Light, first introduced in the popular EOS C200 cinema camera, helps to cut data size to about one-third to one-fifth of a Cinema RAW file, without losing grading flexibility.
Modular in Design
Change the mount yourself means owner/operators can save time and money whenever they need to go from an EF mount to a PL. No need to send in the C500 Mark II to a Canon Service Center. There are three choices of lens mount: standard EF mount which is what the C500 Mark II ships with, and then you have the option to purchase either EF-lock or PL mounts. Some will question why no Canon RF mount maybe because the number of EF- Mount lenses is so numerous over RF lenses or that the RF lens mount is too new.
A modular body. It’s brilliant. Build out the C500 Mark II for whatever shoot you will face next. Need a gimbal ready rig then you can keep the C500 Mark II minimal. Or, you can be like me and lover 4 XLR Channels of audio inputs for documentary work in which case you can throw on the EU-V2 expansion unit and it’s V-mount battery connection. Let’s talk about the exapansion units. During the conference call with Canon the price of these expansion units was asked and all seemed reasonable with the most expensive falling around $1600.
But, these expansion units are not the only modular part of the Canon C500 Mark II. Included are 13 accessories, such as a 4.3-inch LCD monitor and the GR-V1 grip, and users can choose from a wide range of additional accessories that allow them to configure the EOS C500 Mark II to their preferences. Optional accessories include the EVF-V70 electronic viewfinder, SU-15 shoulder support unit and EU-V1 and EU-V2 expansion units. The EU-V1 expansion unit allows for gen-lock, sync out, remote use and ethernet connection, while EU-V2 expansion unit features those functions plus a V-mount battery connection, two analog XLR audio ports and 24v DC Out.
Additional features of the Canon EOS C500 Mark II include:
- 4K and 2K 4:2:2 10-bit XF-AVC recording and 5.9k oversampling for 4K
- 2 CFexpress media card slots
- Compatibility with EF and PL lenses as well as anamorphic and spherical lenses
- Dual Pixel CMOS AF with the ability for Touch and Face detection AF
- First Canon cinema camera with 5-axis electronic image stabilization, which can be utilized even without the use of lens with IS functionally
- Support for Canon Log 2 and 3 Gamma
- 4 channel recording that supports 4 XLR inputs with the use of the EU-V2 expansion unit
- User LUT allowing users to upload and apply custom LUTs
Now, those who bemoan one camera is better than another will complain as they always do. Let me list my guess of their chief complaints: not 8K, not cheaper, not RF Mount, Not… whatever, you get the picture. What one needs to understand is the C500 Mark II looks to be a helluva a camera and one many professionals are going to snap up quickly.
Pricing and Availability
The Canon Cinema EOS C500 Mark II is scheduled to be available in December 2019 for an estimated retail price of $15,999.00*. For more information, including accessory prices and availability, please visit, cinemaeos.usa.canon.com.
Below you can see some of the accessories and modular pieces available for the Canon EOS C500 Mark II cinema camera.
