Canon EOS C70 Announced – 4K Cinema Camera Meets Mirrorless Body
With the announcement of the EOS C70, Canon bridges the gap between cinema cameras and traditional mirrorless camera bodies, featuring the same sensor found on the C300 Mark III. The C70 is an RF mount camera with a Super35 sensor that can shoot 4K at 120 fps in 4:2:2-bit. It has built in ND filters and an ergonomic design that will remind videographers and camera operators of the feel and weight of operating a mirrorless or DSLR camera body.
For those filmmakers or video shooters who are looking for a “proper” cinema camera that isn’t bulky as most traditional digital cinema cameras, the Canon EOS C70 just took a front seat on the market, especially given its features and price point.
The camera’s Dual Pixel CMOS AF technology works in conjunction with its Dual Gain Output just like with the C300 Mark III, giving it very dependable autofocus capabilities. It has AF tracking and an improved face detection system that tracks a person’s head regardless if the face is turned or facing the camera.
The back of the C70 has a 3.5 inch flip out touch screen display and the camera doesn’t have a built-in EVF. There are multiple mounting options on the bottom of the camera (1/4″-20 and a 3/8″-16) and a cold-shoe mount on top of the camera for accessories and top handle. It also features a 1/4″-20 mounting screw on the side of the body, allowing camera operators to turn the camera sideways in order to shoot vertical videos for social media.
The C70 does not have SDI nor full-sized XLR inputs, it does however have two mini XLR inputs and a full-sized HDMI port capable of outputting up to 4K 10-bit. The camera has a motorized built-in 10-stop ND filter, 13 customizable buttons, and shoots C-Log2, C-Log3, PQ and HLG gamma (for HDR).
Important to note is that the C70 uses the RF mount, which was first presented in 2018 with the release of Canon’s EOS R mirrorless camera. RF lenses are usually more expensive compared to their EF counterparts, and Canon has addressed this by also announcing its own EF-EOS R 0.71x speedbooster. This allows videographers and camera operators to utilize their EF lenses just like with any other adapter, and similarly like with any other speedbooster you also gain a stop of light.
The Canon EOS C70 features dual SD card slots, no recording time limits, 2K 180p crop, 4K 120p no crop (4:2:2 to-bit recording) and Canon claims it to have 16+ stops of dynamic range, which is very impressive if proven true. The camera has numerous other features which we didn’t even start scratching the surface on, you can read all about its tech specs and further details directly at Canon’s website by clicking here.
Canon has scheduled the EOS C70 to available in November 2020 for an estimated price of €4500 ($5499). The Canon Mount Adapter EF-EOS R 0.71x should be available in December 2020 for an estimated price of $599.99.
