Videographers rejoice! The Canon C70 is cinema-ready and is a glorious combination of many of our favorite camera features. Your mind will be blown away by the quality of its low-light shooting capabilities. Although this camera may seem a bit daunting with its extensive system, you can have a lot of fun with it! This camera is an excellent option for those needing something lightweight.
Our video review gives you a quick glimpse into our thoughts on the Canon EOS C70. But, if you want more in-depth information and have time to read, here is a more thorough review.
Canon EOS C70 Camera Review
From Sun Up to Sun Down with the Canon EOS C70
Image Quality & Focusing
The C70 image quality is quite superb. It comes with 8.85MP Super 35 CMOS sensor, a DIG!C DV7 processor and, dual gain output technology. This technology produces 16+ stops of dynamic range which means your lights are light and darks are dark. You get a billion color ranges to deliver quality photos. It also ensures to reduce noise.
The Canon C70 debuts the RF mount that gives access to Canon's RF collection. This feature offers optical performance. The camera's de-squeeze and anamorphic preview helps you instead of needing to rely on external monitors. You can also tap into a full suite of video features like zebras, vectorscopes, false color, waveforms and, RGB parades.
I mentioned earlier this camera's incredible performance in low light conditions. Its ISO range from 100 to 102,400 makes it easy to record great videos in less than perfect light.
Focusing on this camera is a breeze with its Dual Pixel CMOS AF and Face Detection. Both of these features will give an outstanding autofocusing performance. With its high-end Dual Pixel Focus Guide, you'll have a hard time messing up a shot. This feature will offer on-screen information on the front and back focus points. It will let you know where to set focus. The C70 is also the first camera to have Canon's EOS iTR AF X, a metering system to improve the distance measurement algorithms.
Display & Build
The Canon C70 has a 3.5 inch vari-angle LCD touchscreen that is crisp. The unibody design is similar to the 1DX except, it is much smaller and more compact. Although it may be on the smaller side, it is still mighty! The C70 still offers durability and a good grip. The camera out of the box comes with a shoulder strap, a microphone holder and, a handle unit.
Neat Extras
• This camera comes with a 4-staged motorized ND filter - the best part is the image quality doesn't lose integrity. There is no color shift or loss in resolution.
• The progressive 9x16 Vertical Capture supports vertical video to allow you to share on mobile devices. To make things simple, if you're shooting in this format, the user interface will even rotate 90º.
• The C70 is the first cinema camera to have Auto ISO and Gain functionality. These functions help when your lighting changes. As a result, you won't have to focus on playing with your exposure.
• For improved performance, the Electronic Image Stabilization helps ensure you get non-shaky footage when using it as a handheld. This stabilization system is compatible with optically stabilized RF lenses.
• A built-in tally lamp to indicate when recording.
• The BNC timecode connector helps with syncing multi-camera setups.
• The C70 comes with a standard 3.5mm mic input.
• Two mini-XLR inputs will support 4-channel phantom and audio power.
• You can easily interface with professional audio devices through its standard controls located on the back of the camera.
• One of the downsides, it doesn't use CF Express cards. Now the plus side, that makes this a bit more affordable. The C70 has dual card slots which are compatible with UHS-II speeds.
• The lens correction functions on this camera will be essential to you. You can use the Peripheral Illumination, Chromatic Aberration, Diffraction Correction and, Distortion functions. Each of these functions will help immensely during the post-processing step.
• The C70 comes with an optional RC-V100 unit. You can shoot remotely and still access the shutter, gain, focus, and other handy tools that you will need.
Additional Camera Specs
•DCI 4K 60p or 120p through Slow & Fast motion recording mode and 2K 180p
• Records to XF-AVC standard
• All-Intra or Long GOP through H.264 compression, up to 410 Mbps data rates.
• 10-bit 4:2:2 color
• Capability to shoot in MP4 format with H.265 compression, up to 225 Mbps data rate.
• Slow & Fast motion recording mode allows you to record audio. This function helps during playback.
• Proxy recording
• Two HDR video modes
• Look File Option
• Large air intake and outtake to prevent the camera from overheating - this will help you record for long periods. If needed, you can also adjust the fans.
As a result, the Canon C70 is one of the best investments any filmmaker could make. With its ease of use, outstanding image quality, and great focusing, you won't want to use any other camera!
