InCinematographer - Issue 3 - 20

20

www.incinematographer.com | Issue 3

C700: Impressive Latitude,
Thoroughly Consistent
Cinematographer Jimmy Matlosz takes Canon's EOS C700 cinema camera
out for a trial run and pauses for dinner by moonlight...

E

arlier this year Canon released the EOS C700, the
most robust, fully functional, cinema camera yet
offered by the digital pioneer. The new beefier body
design is complimentary to many of the burgeoning
digital cinema cameras currently on the market,
which Canon has continued to go toe to toe with. Now
with the C700, they are poised and ready to take a
bigger chunk of the cinematic market head on.
The C700 is a serious camera, not that the C300
and C500 were not, mind you, their image quality
and resolution offerings are still some of the best on
the high end market. But now and as much as this
may seem old school, they have housed all of their
incredible technology in a proper larger studio style
body. For some, who constantly crave smaller and
lighter this may not be a game changer, then there
are those who crave and understand the need for a
stronger, more physically reliable and durable set
up, one that can handle large cinematic lenses, matte
boxes, proper viewfinders, on board monitors and
larger capacity batteries and that is exactly what the
C700 does.
Proving Ground
The C700 was put through some rigorous testing,
as I have with plenty of cameras before; between
some 'one man' interview style shoots, action
footage, tripod mount and hand held, exterior and
interior, night and day as well as a fun little bit of
time lapse thrown in for good measure. The camera
was tossed and turned, strapped into a seat over
rough terrain, traipsed down a bike path for half a
mile, subject to flares and challenging exposures, and
left to capture a moon trajectory while I made dinner.
And I am happy to say, it performed flawlessly.
Beginning with menu, Canon has always offered
one of the most comprehensive and intuitive menus
of any digital camera on the market, arguably many
of the more user-friendly menus on competitor
cameras are influenced by the Canon design, and
the C700 continues that tradition. The 'smart side'
or operators left side, built-in menu is quick and easy

Super 35mm 4.5k sensor

to access and understand,
with the most important
elements
key
to
a
cinematographers success
and creativity at their
fingertips: Just Press, Scroll
and Click and you are on
your way, it really is that
simple. Arguably the most
important setting would be
'COLOR' this is where you
set your capture settings,
your recording format,
this menu setting is truly
ground zero for any project
captured on the C700. The
label 'COLOR', might imply,
viewing color or 'LOOK',
however, I reiterate, this
is truly where you set the
recording format for your production. Rather than
bore you with the multitude of options and details, I
am sure you would rather access a video created by
Canon on their own YouTube channel and presented
by Loren Simons of the Canon support facility, in
Burbank, CA on how to configure your capture
settings.
Spend a few moments learning this and knowing
this and you will master the use of your C700. Once
'COLOR' is set move freely amongst any of the
following: Frame rates (FPS) variable from 1fps-60fps
in what one would assume to be the most common
resolution and codec 4k XF-AVC. Then there are
a plethora of additional frame rate options with a
variety of codecs and internal settings including
4:2:2 10-bit center crop 2k, which allows for frame
rates up to 240fps. (NOTE: Canon has teamed up with
CODEX for an external dockable recorder to allow for
RAW 4k and 4.5k with frame rates including 120fps
and 100fps respectively, this option is available
however was not used for this camera review.) The
C700 allows for shutter angle options just as easily
attained as frame rate options, from 1-360 degrees,
and ASA (ISO) from 160 to an insane see in the
shadows in the dark 102,400ASA, all accessible and
easy to change and lock in.
In addition to these important features, there is an
iris adjustment setting, which was not used, due to
the fact that this test was performed using PL mount
lenses; as such this is more applicable to an EF lens.
White Balance setting (WB) offers standard presets
like 3200K, 4300K, 5600K, but allows the user to set
up a wide array of personal choices from 2000K all
the way up to an extreme 15,000K tickling the edge
of ultraviolet and offering a fanciful palette of in

Flagship: EOS C700
Cinema Camera

camera color options.
The C700 also comes with an external control panel
exactly like the internal control panel, which may
be mounted on an adjustable arm and positioned
to your liking, or mounted in the right side of the
camera with two small screws.
Intuitive Tool
More and more, digital cinema cameras seem
to be complimenting one another and becoming a
common user-friendly tool for all. There were no
surprises with the C700. Out of the box, it really
is as intuitive as they come. The real proof is what
you do with it, how you use it, and how you can
integrate it with other Canon cameras, lenses and
accessories, or even that of the competitor. The C700
comes with a built in V-mount battery mount on the
back, which helps to counterbalance the weight of a
Canon Cine Zoom which you are sure to want to use.
Upon hitting the power button, you will certainly be
impressed with the speed of startup and readiness,
just seconds between pressing 'POWER' and rolling,
with confidence that you are getting all that you
see through the clear, sharp and detail oriented
viewfinder. Speaking of the viewfinder, it truly is
impressive, comfortable and easily adjustable. I
like the heads up displays, and I used the overlay
waveform quite a bit; it came in handy in a pinch.
Did I mention the built in ND filters? Certainly a plus,
for quick operation, increments set in classic Kodak
measurements of .06, 1.2, 1.8, 2.4 and 3.0, from 2-10
stops that is.
The C700 has very impressive latitude, and seems
to see deep into the shadows with little or no noise.
I comfortably switched to a lower ASA of 160 for
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of InCinematographer - Issue 3
