We dug the net to find some evidence for C500 Mark II footage. There are not many. However, we find some sample videos and one commercial shot on this new large-format cinema camera by Canon. Are we impressed? Read below.

C500 Mark II picture quality and color science

The C500 Mark II is a full-frame camera with RAW workflow dedicated for high-end productions, that meant to bridge the gap between the C300 Mark II and the C700 series, as well as to be a complementary camera to the C700 series (go here to read about the history of Canon’s Cinema EOS). While we are getting teased by Canon about its new C500 Mark II, almost no footage has been released yet (formally). It’s a bit strange that Canon hasn’t demonstrated intensively C500 Mark II capabilities regarding the most critical factors, which are picture quality and color science. So we decide to dig the net, and we find two pieces of evidence for those significant factors. One is sample footage that test (demos) the low light and 6K RAW capabilities of the C500 Mark II, and the other, which is a real-world execution of the C500 II by shooting a commercial. Check them out below.

5.9K Cinema Raw Light test

The test above was filmed by Korro Films with a pre-production model.

Technical Details:

• Codec – Canon Cinema Raw Light (CRM)
• Frame Rate – 25fps
• Resolution – 5952 x 3140
• Bit Depth – 12bit
• Chroma Subsampling – 4:4:4
• White Balance – 5600k Daylight Preset
• Colour Matrix – Neutral
• Gamma – Canon C-Log2
• Gamut – Canon Cinema Gamut
• ISO – 800
• Lens used – Canon 16mm-35mm f2.8L

Download the RAW file (FOR EVALUATION PURPOSES ONLY. © KORRO LIMITED 2019): dropbox.com/s/qvbu9wp3ztwb51x/A004C038_191202YN_CANON.CRM?dl=0

ProRes 4K (ungraded)

The test above was also filmed by Korro Films with a pre-production model.

Technical Details:

• Codec – Canon XFAVC (MXF)
• Frame Rate – 50fps
• Resolution – 4096 x 2160
• Bit Depth – 10bit
• Chroma Subsampling – 4:2:2
• White Balance – 5600k Daylight Preset
• Colour Matrix – Neutral
• Gamma – Canon C-Log3
• Gamut – Canon Cinema Gamut
• No grading or LUTs applied; these are the original camera files.
• All shots are handheld, with digital I.S. turned on
• Lenses – Canon 24mm-70mm f2.8L & Canon 85mm f1.4L IS
• ISO range: from 800 to 12,800

Download Ungraded Version (FOR EVALUATION PURPOSES ONLY. © KORRO LIMITED 2019): dropbox.com/s/sye5yd9ax65l34l/C500mkii%20Bath%20Xmas%20Market%204K_UNGRADED.mov?dl=0

Real-world experiment

Shooting test footage with the C500 Mark II is nice, but it’s far from being a real-world execution. The tests below are a commercial shot entirely with the C500 Mark II. The camera was tested on a drone, a Russian Arm, and in an intense production environment. For some reason, Canon didn’t publish the commercial on its official USA YouTube channel. However, you can watch it on the Canon Europe website and YouTube. The commercial was shot by filmmaker Brett Danton. The codecs used are Cinema RAW light and some XFAVC. Also, the camera was paired with the Canon Sumire primes. According to Brett: “I shot everything in 5.9K as I wanted to see it on a big screen, and taking it down to 4K cleans it all up. The dynamic range is crazy, over 15 stops for sure. Filming in Cinema RAW Light, I shot at the base of ISO800 the entire time and in the edit added no noise reduction, yet I can’t see any noise at all. The camera performed and made my life easy.”

The dynamic range is crazy, over 15 stops for sure. Filming in Cinema RAW Light, I shot at the base of ISO800 the entire time and in the edit added no noise reduction, yet I can’t see any noise at all

Filmmaker Brett Danton

Check out the BTS clip:

Check out the final video below:

Final thoughts

Professional and cinematic picture quality is the most crucial factor in cinema cameras. Does the Canon C500 Mark II deliver? You will decide. Examine the videos above and let us know what you think.