The New Canon C500 Mark II Camera

Posted on by TMS Staff
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Its no secret that 2019 has been the year of the camera. It feels like a new camera has been either announced or released almost every month this year, and Canon looks like it is going to cap it all off this December by releasing the new C500 Mark II.

With the bevy of new DSLM cameras that have blurred the line between pro-sumer stills camera and professional video camera Canon’s Cinema EOS line has been given an increasingly intense run for its money.  Canon looks to be re-asserting it’s status as King of the Heap by releasing the C500 Mark II. The new camera offers some truly impressive specs and a high degree of modularity at a very competitive price point (compared to other similarly capable and similarly modular camera systems).

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Here is a list of official features that Canon has announced for the camera:

  • 5.9K Full Frame CMOS Sensor, with support for Super 35mm and Super 16mm crop modes
  • User Changeable Lens Mounts which gives users freedom to use the lenses they desire
  • Newly developed DIGIC DV 7 Image Processor, which powerfully processes high-resolution image data
  • Canon RAW Light and XF-AVC Recording
  • Proxy Recording
  • Compatibility with EF and PL* Lenses
  • Anamorphic Lens Support
  • Electronic Image Stabilization
  • Modular Design with three available Expansion Units allows a high level of connectivity and interoperability
  • 3” LCD Touch screen Monitor LM-V2
  • Dual Pixel CMOS AF with support for Touch AF and Face Detection AF
  • Canon Log 2 and 3 Support
  • 4 Channel Audio Recording
  • Support for Custom User LUTs
  • 15 stops dynamic range
  • Cinema RAW light internal
  • Drone and gimbal size and weight

Let’s break down what some of these features mean.

  • 5.9K Full Frame CMOS Sensor, with support for Super 35mm and Super 16mm crop modes
  • User Changeable Lens Mounts which gives users freedom to use the lenses they desire
  • Compatibility with EF and PL* Lenses
  • Anamorphic Lens Support
 
These features taken together point to Canon’s effort to make this camera just as comfortable shooting high budget narrative films as it is shooting run and gun docs and commercial work. The drone/gimbal sizing means that you with the right drone you can send this 100ft in the air while still maintaining all the advantages of the full frame sensor and advanced video codecs. The crop modes, user swap-able lens mounts, anamorphic lens support and EIS (Electronic Image Stabilization) make this camera truly lens agnostic.  As Canon’s own literature states, this camera can take anything from old servo zoom B4 lenses to vintage stills glass to PL cinema glass (especially their own Sumire Prime Cinema lenses, because y’know, synergy).
 

1  CANON GR-V1 Camera Grip 2420C001 $239**

2  Thumb Rest**

3  Canon CM-V1 EF Cinema Lock Mount 3937C001 $2199*

4  Canon PM-V1 PL Mount Kit 3936C001 $1599*

5  Canon MO-4E B4 Mount Adapter for EF Lenses 1788C001 $1999*

5  Canon MO-4P B4 Mount Adapter for PL Lenses 1788C002 $1999*

6  Mic Holder Unit**

7  Canon LA-V2 LCD Attachment Unit 3942C001 $249**

8  Canon LM-V2 LCD Monitor 3941C001 $749**

9  Handle Unit**

10  Canon CL-V2 Clamp base for EVF-V70 2419C001 $349*

11  Canon EVF-V70 OLED Viewfinder 1753C001 $5999*

12  Canon EVF-V50 OLED Viewfinder 3938C001 $699*

13  Canon EU-V1 Expansion Unit 1 3939C001 $749*

14  Canon EU-V2 Expansion Unit 2 3940C001 $1599*

15  Canon RC-V100 REMOTE CONTROLLER 9660B001 $1999*

16  Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver 6363B001 $390*

17  Canon SU-15 Shoulder Support Unit 1752C001 $1499*

18  Canon SG-1 Shoulder-Style Grip Unit 1754C001 $1999*


* Optional Accessory

** Included with Canon C500 Mark II


With Canon’s excellent Dual Pixel AF, EIS system, and support for custom user LUTs the C500 Mark II is a big boy cinema camera that still provides exceptional user assistance. The camera supports Continuous, Face Detect, and One-shot AF modes when using appropriate lenses. The EIS system is basically just Canon’s way of saying this camera has 5 axis IBIS, so you can use any non-OIS lens with impunity. 
  • Newly developed DIGIC DV 7 Image Processor, which powerfully processes high-resolution image data
  • Canon RAW Light and XF-AVC Recording
  • Proxy Recording
  • Canon Log 2 and 3 Support
  • 15 stops dynamic range
  • Cinema RAW light internal
 
The C500 Mark II is a lean, mean, media recording machine. The new DIGIC DV 7 Image processor allows you to record in a variety of frame rates, resolutions, bitrates, and codecs depending how much color flexibility you need in post or how much space you have on your hard drive. The ability to record 2K 8bit proxies to standard SD cards lets you streamline your transition into post-production and make your editor’s life just a little bit easier. With 15 stops of dynamic range and Cinema RAW light internal this camera is capable of producing footage that will make the hardest part of color grading be deciding what ‘film look’ best fits your quirky indie dramady about deconstructing the manic pixie dream-girl trope.
  • Modular Design with three available Expansion Units allows a high level of connectivity and interoperability
  • 3” LCD Touch screen Monitor LM-V2
  • 4 Channel Audio Recording
 
This one goes out to all you multi-cam users out there. The C500 Mark II system features a variety of expansion units that enable features to make the C500 Mark II a capable broadcast camera. The stand-outs in this section are the EU-V1 expansion unit and the EU-V2 expander. The studio-centric EU-V1 adds Ethernet ports for live-streaming, RS244 remote camera control, and genlock/sync-out. If the EU-V1 is the nerdy indoor kid little brother, the EU-V2 is the beefy, out on the football field big brother expansion unit. The EU-V2 adds a V-Mount battery plate, two additional XLR audio inputs for 4-channel recording, a lens control port, 24V and D-tap power outputs, Genlock, an additional RS422 port and an Ethernet port. 

Oh! and also this camera supports IP streaming. You can pair the camera with a separately available transmitter or stream to your computer via Wi-Fi or Ethernet to allow an off-set producer or a nosy client to view your capture at rates of up to 1080p XF-AVC at 9 or 4 Mb/s.

Getting down to the nitty gritty, the Canon Cinema C500 Mark II is scheduled to be available in December 2019 for an estimated retail price of $15,999.00. 

If you are are in the market for a camera system that can do everything from low budget docs to real cinema work and have a spare $16k burning a hole in your pocket the new Canon Cinema C500 Mark II is a pretty solid value proposition. 

 For more information, including accessory prices and availability, call or email us today!

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