Canon EOS C80 Cinema Spec, with RF24-105 F2.8Z and ARRI matte box
My name is Keita Yugoshi, and I am the cinematographer. In September of this year, I was approached by Mika Imai, a film director I know, who said, “I want to shoot a short indie film co-produced by Japan and Taiwan on location in Taiwan in November, so I’d really appreciate your help.” The film was about 30 minutes long, and we would go to Taiwan with minimal equipment and staff. Mika Imai is a deaf film director whose native language is Japanese Sign Language, a language different from Japanese. She has worked on films such as “Until the Rainbow Morning Comes” (2019), which was released in theaters, and “Ginger Milk” (2021), which won numerous awards at TAMA NEW WAVE and other venues. The story of the film is about the exchange between deaf people in Taiwan and Japan, and the script was so excellent that I really wanted to film it. At that time, the editorial team at PRONEWS approached me about reviewing the Canon EOS C80 that Canon announced in September, and I thought that this camera would be perfect for a small staff and lightweight setup, so I decided to try it out. The basic specifications have already been introduced in detail in other reviews, so I would like to review it based on my impressions of using it on location.
Comparing the Canon EOS C80 and Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K
I personally own a Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K FF (hereafter referred to as BMCC6K), and initially I intended to use that camera for this shoot as well, but when I received this request I decided to consider whether the C80 or the BMCC6K would be more suitable for the job.
Unusual design!?
Both the C80 and the BMCC6K follow the basic design of mirrorless cameras, but are designed to be more optimized for movies. The BMCC6K has undergone several generations of improvements since the original Pocket Cinema, so it has a very cohesive design. The C80 follows the basic outline of the EOS C70.
The newly announced C80 is a welcome addition, as it is equipped with a full-frame sensor and an SDI terminal for video output. I feel that they must have put a lot of effort into the design, such as the SDI terminal sticking out to the side of the body (what?!).
The overall impression of size is almost the same, but what was surprising was that the C80 was a little more compact in width.
Output terminals and assign buttons
Compared to the BMCC6K, which only has HDMI, I think it’s a very welcome feature that the C80 is equipped with an SDI terminal. In a production environment, SDI is overwhelmingly easier to use in terms of both stability and handling, so we didn’t use HDMI at all during this shoot.
In terms of customizability, the C80 boasts 13 button assignments, making it easy to use. On the other hand, the BMCC6K only has three button assignments, but if configured properly, this is enough for on-site operation.
About the built-in monitor
The rear monitor of the C80 is 3.5 inches, while the BMCC6K is equipped with a 5 inch monitor. I felt that the 3.5 inch monitor was a little small for a single operator to check the composition, exposure, and camera settings at the same time.
It is unfortunate that the C80 does not offer a viewfinder or a large monitor as genuine accessories. I would like to see more options like this.
Battery life
In terms of battery life, the C80 is extremely good, with the BP-A60N providing up to 380 minutes of full frame RAW recording.
In fact, on a day when I filmed from 7am until 11pm with a few breaks in between, the BP-A60 only needed about three rolls in addition to the normal power consumption, so I think the power-saving performance is something to be praised.
About image quality
This is perhaps the most important point. The BMCC6K’s BRAW and Blackmagic Film Gen5 have a cinematic tone. In contrast, the image creation of CINEMA RAW Light and Canon Log 2 gives a clear and refreshing impression. The Canon Log 2 of the C80, which is equipped with a 6K sensor equivalent to the EOS C400, has very good characteristics and I felt that it has a fairly flexible color correction resistance. With a little fine-tuning, you can create a much more subdued tone, and if you tweak it using DaVinci Resolve’s “Film Look Creator,” you can bring it to a very subdued film tone. In terms of image quality, the final results are the same with both cameras, or rather, the C80’s Canon Log 2 is more flexible.
As for high sensitivity, the C80 also has the same “3-level Base ISO” as the EOS C400, which was a big attraction for me. I generally used ISO800, but there were some scenes where I needed to shoot at night with no light, so I shot at Base ISO3200, and I felt that the image quality was very clear with no unpleasant noise.
The deciding factor is…
The decisive reason for ultimately choosing the C80 was its stability. With Canon, I never had to worry about overheating and having to stop recording after long periods of use with the EOS C70 or EOS C400, and the C80 also had no trouble at all during this shoot, allowing me to complete the shoot without any problems. This reliability was a major factor in my choice.
Preparation for shooting: Lenses and rigging
Now that we had decided on the C80 as the camera to use, we considered how we would operate it.
The specs for this video are:
- Records full frame 6K, RAW LT, 23.98fps
- Recorded in Canon Log 2, monitored with 709Lut
In order to keep the luggage light and the equipment simple, we decided to use an iPad as the director’s monitor, and we set up a Hollyland Mars M1 on the camera, which served as both a monitoring and camera monitor, and transmitted the video via Wi-Fi.
For this shoot, I aimed to capture the atmosphere of Taiwan’s classic cityscapes, so I deliberately used old still lenses that have a soft bokeh and aberration. Incidentally, in some scenes, I also used the RF24-105mm F2.8L IS USM Z and RF15-35mm F2.8L IS USM, prioritizing maneuverability.
In addition, the filters available are a 4 x 5.65 inch (Panasonic size) Black Pro Mist for cinema use and an ND0.3 (equivalent to 1 stop). As for ND, the built-in ND is well equipped, so one could think that a one-stop exposure difference could be covered by sensitivity, but if you have the time and the desire, you would want to use the ND properly to control the exposure.
I also used a matte box to hold the filter and control flare, but when using a matte box with a still lens, I basically use a rod to hold it in place. Unlike PL mount cinema lenses, still lenses are not designed to have a heavy object placed in front of them, so distortion can occur at the mount or zoom joints.
This time, I did not do any power customization like V-mount battery customization, which is common in mirrorless rig customization. The BP-A60 in the main body is more than enough, and I did not supply power to an external device (Mars M1 is operated by directly connecting the battery). For the top handle, I attached a NATO rail adapter and used the SmallRig top handle.
Let’s start shooting with the Canon EOS C80!
The filming took place over five days in mid-November in Taipei city and in the ancient town of Shifen, about an hour’s drive from Taipei. The nearby Jiufen is more famous, but it was also a very charming place.
The staff consisted of the director, a cameraman, one assistant, and a sound engineer. The rest were interpreters for Japanese sign language, Taiwanese sign language, and Chinese, a producer, and the cast, making for a very minimal setup. As transportation was mainly by taxi, the camera was packed with a set of lenses and batteries in a carry case, and the camera was put in a camera bag only before and after filming. There was also some lighting added to the mix.
The director requested that the filming technique be mainly handheld. We decided to go with a direct-hold style without using supports such as an Easy Rig or additional handles. For focus, we turned the focus ring of the still lens directly with our hands, without using a follow focus. If you’re familiar with the lens, this will actually improve the accuracy.
As the weight balance did not change significantly due to the lack of complex rigging, I felt that the camera was extremely lightweight, well-balanced and easy to hold.
The media was five 128GB SDXC cards. Each card can record for 30 minutes, and I decided on the number of cards based on the assumption that I would record for about two hours a day, but I used four cards most days and five cards on one day, so the amount of media was reasonable.
The batteries were four BP-A60s and one spare BP-A30N. And four Sony NP-F970s for the monitor MarsM1. With this, I was able to shoot for a whole day.
Photo Review
The best thing about it is the compactness of the body. When shooting in a car, I removed the matte box, top handle, and monitor to shoot in the lightest state, and I was still able to shoot without any problems.
We also shot at a night market, and thanks to the compact body we were able to shoot without attracting attention at all. The lightweight body was particularly beneficial, as it allowed us to shoot for a whole day with almost no strain on our bodies, which was a great help.
Canon EOS C80 Final Thoughts, think about the “position” of this camera.
At first, we had some doubts about the design and other aspects of the camera before introducing it to the location, but as I’ve written so far, when we were finished on location, which was undertaken by a small team, we found that with its compact and lightweight body, battery life, image quality, and other factors, it was so easy to use that we couldn’t have imagined using any other camera.
However, I am concerned about the camera’s “position.”
The reason is that just below it in the price range is the EOS R5 Mark II, which has enhanced video functions, and just above it is the full-fledged cinema camera, the EOS C400, so I feel like the reasons to choose this camera are becoming less clear.
Combined with its unique design, it feels like it’s in a tricky position. However, when you actually use it, you’ll feel that the strengths of the C80 are its powerful battery, cooling system that can withstand long recording times, and overall stability, which are major advantages over mirrorless cameras. Also, compared to full-scale cinema cameras, it has the same functions but is even smaller and lighter, and being an integrated all-in-one body rather than a box-type module not only improves storage, but also increases operability on site, such as shortening setup time, so I think it’s a great choice to buy the C80 from the start rather than building a rig with a mirrorless camera.
This is a camera for experts whose merits become clear once you use it, so I sincerely hope that they will further refine this direction and turn it into a long-lasting series.
