Canon has announced a new firmware update for the Cinema EOS C500 Mark II that expands support for RAW video capture and increased color gamut.
The new Raw Light LT firmware will open up Raw across all frame rates and provide access to over 68 billion colors.
Launched in 2019, the second generation C500 Mk. II expanded Canon’s cinematic presence with up to 6K video performance at 60 frames per second and over 15 stops of dynamic range.
Image Credit – Canon USA
The C500 Mk. II also supported Cinema Raw Lt. with 12-bit color at up to 40 frames per second and 10-bit raw at frame rates above that.
With the expansion of Cinema Raw Lt. across all available frame rates, Canon is not only opening up that 12-bit color science to over 68 billion colors, but file sizes can be significantly reduced without compromising the 12-bit color gamut.
The firmware update adds Cinema RAW Light LT (light recording), ST (standard quality), and HQ (high quality) formats, giving the EOS C500 Mark II four different RAW recording options, a first in the Cinema EOS lineup.
Moreover, the new codec will support internal recording options available for Full Frame, 4:3, 6:5, Super 35mm, and Super 16mm sensor modes.
“Cinema RAW Light is continually evolving and has a clear advantage over heavily compressed formats, especially for color grading and VFX pipelines,” states Aron Randhawa, Senior Product Specialist at Canon Europe.
“All three scalable new formats are 12-bit, even at higher frame rates, with no chroma subsampling, enabling cinematographers to unleash the full capability of their production camera.”
The update was initially available with the EOS R5 C and EOS C70 and has been one of the most requested features within the Canon professional community.
With its release, users will be able to select a scalable range of internal RAW recording data rates that not only enhance the fidelity of the sensor output and reduce file sizes, but retain the high-quality 12-bit color information.
Availability
Canon plans to release the firmware update on March 21, 2024. Moreover, Canon states that the firmware update will be available for all four Cinema EOS models including the C70, and C300 Mk. III, and the R5C.
Users will be able to download and install the firmware from Canon’s camera support site.
[source: Canon]
Order Links:
Canon C500 Mk. II 5.9K Full Frame Cinema Camera (B&H)
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