Canon Super 35mm CMOS Sensor
- Modeled on the Super 35mm 3-perf motion picture film standard, the Canon CMOS sensor has an effective resolution of 4096 x 2160. The image sensor employs an innovative readout technique that delivers full-bandwidth individual RGB video components without the need for any de-Bayering algorithms
RAW 4K Output
- Using a single 3G-SDI output, the C500 is able to output a full 4K RAW (4096 x 2160-pixel) data stream in 10-bit color space, with full Bayer encoding and frame rates up to 60 fps. Using both of the camera’s 3G-SDI outputs, the frame rate can jump as high as 120 fps, but with the horizontal resolution reduced by half and then interpolated back in
Canon Log Gamma
- Shooting in Canon Log mode, cinematographers can set the camera exposure value using their customary light meter practices. This nonlinear transfer function is specifically designed to facilitate the post-production of digital images originating in Cinema EOS in a manner similar to the post-production of images digitally transferred from motion picture film (the contemporary DI process). By managing the disposition of quantization bits, Canon Log ensures excellent tonal reproduction within both highlight and low-light regions of a given digital image
Canon EOS C500 with PL Lens Mount
- To integrate easily into the working style and equipment array of film crews and production houses, the EOS C500 with a Canon PL lens mount is completely compatible with all of Canon’s PL lenses, including compact primes.
Designed with Filmmakers in Mind
- With everything a cinematographer needs, the EOS C500 comes ready to produce. A logical layout of buttons and dials make operation simple. A lock switch turns off all controls except the recording button and function buttons. Small ridges between the buttons help prevent activating functions by mistake. A backlit display panel is great for low-light viewing. A tally lamp is clearly visible from the side or behind the camera
Comfortable Ergonomic Controls
- The moment you pick up the EOS C500, you’ll feel right at home. Four separate start/stop buttons and 15 other customizable buttons distributed over the camera body mean quiet and intuitive access
Accommodating File-Based Production
- The Cinema EOS system creates full HD proxy files in the internationally standardized Material eXchange Format (MXF), wrapping video and audio with metadata in a single file that maintains access to critical information throughout the production process
Description
The Canon C500 Cinema EOS Camcorder Body (PL Lens Mount) represents Canon’s first foray into the world of 4K digital cinema production. Sharing a sensor with the earlier EOS C300 camera, the Canon C500 fulfills the potential of the large (Super 35mm-size), high-resolution (8.8 Mp effective) CMOS imager by offering full 4K RAW output via 3G-SDI.
The C500 also has a body type in common with the C300. Featuring large, accessible buttons with ridges dividing them, the EOS C500 has been designed expressly for the craft of digital cinema. Its signal output is similarly appropriate: At rates up to 60 frames per second, the 10-bit 4K RAW data stream output can be recorded to an approved external device (sold separately) at full resolution. Using a format called 4K half RAW, which halves the horizontal resolution, you can capture up to 120 fps to the external recorder by using both of the C500′s 3G-SDI outputs.
The Canon EOS C500 integrates with time-tested feature film production workflows. As 4K RAW data is being recorded externally, you can record proxy files at 50 Mb/s to the camera’s internal CF card so rough-cut or dailies editing can begin immediately after a scene is complete. For the widest latitude for color correction in post-production, the camera offers Canon’s Log gamma mode, which results in excellent tonal reproduction in the highlight and lowlight regions of an image, and a greatly expanded dynamic range.
The EOS C500 features an PL mount for compatibility with the burgeoning line of EF Cinema Zoom and Prime lenses. These lenses are designed to match up perfectly with the 3-perf Super 35mm-size CMOS sensor of this camera. Like the camcorder, these lenses (sold separately) were developed specifically for digital cinema, with engraved markings on angled surfaces in meters and feet and uniform front diameters for easy lens switching without having to reconfigure a matte box or follow focus gearing.