Canon's EOS C700 Super35 MM Balances Cinema With Broadcast Features

Stjepan Alaupovic and Canon Pro Market Rep Alex Sax discuss the Canon EOS C700, Canon's new flagship cinema camera, its crossover potential with the broadcast and live production world, and its ability to match up with more mid-range Canon models like the C300 on multi-camera shoots.

Stjepan: I'm here with Alex from Canon. We're in the Canon booth, and we're talking about the C700. Tell me a little bit about it.

Alex: It's our flagship cinema product; it's the top of the line, in terms of cinema, for what you can get from Canon. You can see we've actually gone to a more modular design. It's something that's a lot easier to use on-set, a lot easier to navigate the menu with our new OU and control panel on the side. The really incredible thing, too, is that we've introduced an electronic viewfinder. It's a 1920x1080 OLED viewfinder that uses Canon's proprietary cable. What's amazing about this is it does power, camera control, you don't have to take up an SDI or an HDMI input. What's even more amazing is, this works with our C300 Mark II. It's not just something that works only for this camera.

This is the type of camera that you want to have on-set if you have assistants or someone who is going to have a large A camera-style shoot. But we also know that we have single-camera operators, and this is more of a broadcast, ENG style camera that you can put on your shoulder, that you can operate very easily. You can see, even with our brand new 70-200 Servo lens on here, we've got the grip and everything. You can actually have it on your shoulder very easily. Very, very simple to throw it in a case and just kind of go. Something that, with our smaller, C300 cameras, you have to build them out to really make them work. This one's ready to roll right out of the box.

Stjepan: Earlier you were talking about trying to find the middle balance between broadcast and cinema. This seems like the perfect fit for that world.

Alex: We really hope this camera will not only be a cinema product but also cross over into the broadcast world. The C700 and a lot of our other products can be fully integrated into a live production workshop. But then you could take it into the field and do a documentary or a commercial, or produce a piece with it, as well. It’s a really strong tool that doesn't just work for one market.

Stjepan: How does this match up to some of those lower-level cameras, as far as using something like the C300 for your B cameras or C cameras?

Alex: The ecosystem that Canon has created is designed to have the C300 Mark II, and even maybe a C100 work in the same system. Everything can be used in different tools in different ways. It's like the ALEXA and the ALEXA Mini. We have the big camera, and then we have the small one that can be rigged on a gimbal or can be used for low-angle shots, or something where you can get into tight places. We absolutely think of it as a whole ecosystem that should be worked together.

Stjepan: Is there anything else unique that you'd like to add about the camera?

Alex: It does 4Kp60. We're doing ProRes now to the CFast card slots. We really designed it with A-camera shooters in mind. A lot of the pain points that come up in some other products, we've engineered into this to give you the best and most seamless shooting experience.

Stjepan: Where can people go to learn more?

Alex: You can go to usa.canon.com or you can follow any of our accounts. The one that you'd want for this one is canonusapro@canonusapro.