GEAR TEST CANON EOS C80 AND C400
TRIED & TESTED
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 W hen Canon launched the Super 35 EOS C70 hybrid camera three years ago 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.
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
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
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.
CUSTOM CONCERN The C80 (left) features 13 assignable buttons, while the C400 (right) has 18
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