GEAR TEST CANON EOS C80 AND C400
clamped at the camera and monitor end, so it’s easy to take it off and fit to a gimbal handle, for example. The screen bolts to a new articulating arm that connects to a 15mm rail. This is not a particularly ergonomic or sturdy system, however. It’s like a complicated engineering project to move the screen to where you want it and the USB-C cable easily gets tangled. Rig specialist Vocas has already come to the rescue with a C400 kit that includes a superior system to hold the screen in place. The C80 (pictured right) now has an SDI output, an omission on the C70, but it looks like a bit of an afterthought. Both cameras have full-size HDMI and lots of input/output options, with the C400 offering 12G-SDI and all the TV broadcast controls, plus built-in ND filters that go as high as 10x and show little colour shift. Both cameras can use Canon’s conventional BP-A cinema batteries, but benefit from the newer BP-AN units which have more power. On the C400, the front 12-pin port only works when a BP-AN cell has been fit. You can buy batteries with D-Tap outputs to power accessories, too. And the C400 takes aftermarket V-Mount or Gold Mount plates for those large batteries. Use these with BP-A cells to provide hot-swap capabilities for super- long recording sessions, or plug it into the mains with the included AC adapter. It seems Canon has thought of everything that working filmmakers might need from a single camera and included them on the C400. THE VERDICT Canon has spent so much time creating its high-end mirrorless cameras over the past few years that it began to feel like
THE C400 CERTAINLY has the edge in image quality OVER THE C80”
the Cinema EOS range was getting left behind. The crop-sensor C200 is old tech now and has a lacklustre 8-bit codec, the C300 Mark III has a Super 35 sensor and the C500 Mark II is far from the most competitively priced – and all still use the older and inferior EF mount. While the C70 offers the RF lens mount, it doesn’t have a full-frame sensor, can’t shoot Raw internally and doesn’t offer the latest AF technology. When Sony came out with its low- priced FX6 and FX9, then the BURANO, and RED with its desirable KOMODO 6K and
V-RAPTOR, Canon’s range was left looking a little underwhelming. The launch of the RF-fit EOS C80 and C400 has changed the game, with their stacked 6K sensors, internal Raw Light recording, high frame rates and suitability for everything from cinema shooting to documentary, virtual reality, streaming, live broadcast – even virtual production for the C400. And all that at surprisingly affordable prices. Canon has certainly thrown the kitchen sink at the C400, which has the edge in image quality over the C80 and is more versatile. The C400 could go down in history as a landmark camera for Canon, the point where it put itself back at the top of the pile for many users. And the C80 deserves to be a smash hit for run-and-gun documentary, event or wedding shooters, as it’s a small yet powerful package that handles brilliantly – as long as you can live without an EVF. Both cameras have stunning AF, lots of slow-motion options, superb colour science and the controls of a camera designed for shooting professionally.
Build your perfect camera
Discover Canon’s EOS C80 and C400 with CVP. Talk to its creative and technical staff, or visit one of the showrooms to evaluate the latest production equipment. Call 0208 380 7400 or visit cvp.com to know more.
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