Canon Marks 15 Years of Its Cinema EOS System With Big Firmware Updates
It’s a very busy day for Canon. In addition to marking the 15th anniversary of the Cinema EOS System, which began when the Canon 5D Mark II DSLR arrived with Full HD video recording, Canon has announced new Cinema EOS firmware updates and new Cinema EOS camera kits.
New Canon Cinema EOS Firmware Updates
Looking first at the new firmware updates, they are arriving for the Canon EOS C400, Canon EOS C80, Canon EOS C50, and Canon EOS R5 C cameras. Canon says the updates “solve production challenges faced by filmmakers, live broadcast crews, and virtual production technicians.”
Canon is bringing Multi Matrix Color Axis Control to the Cinema EOS lineup. Matching color profiles and overall color rendering across different cameras can be tricky, so Canon's new Multi Matrix support will let camera operators and engineers adjust the phase and gain of specific color axes remotely or directly within a dedicated camera menu.
"For example, a live broadcast crew running a multi-camera setup can make rapid in-camera color adjustments to match the Canon EOS C400, EOS C80, and EOS C50 feeds with existing studio cameras on the fly," Canon asserts.
Typically, high-frame-rate Slow & Fast (S&F) recording requires people to give something up, often live audio monitoring or subject tracking autofocus. Canon's new firmware updates add autofocus at more frame rates in S&F mode, including 72, 75, 90, and 96 frames per second. There's also new external audio transmission via SDI and HDMI.
On the C400, C80, and C50, users can now change sensor modes via an assignable function button, so operators can quickly change the angle of view without changing lenses. For example, users can switch from a full-frame sensor mode to a cropped one with the press of a button.
The EOS C50 also gets a new 1/8000s shutter speed option. This provides filmmakers more control over exposure in bright environments. The C50 also supports external flash in photo mode.
Finally, Canon has announced a free Camera Control Center app for its PTZ, select Pro Video, and Cinema Cameras. Launching later this year on Windows and later on macOS, the app provides multi-camera control, device management, and more in a single tool.
Firmware updates for the Canon Cinema EOS cameras are scheduled to be available by December. The new Camera Control Center is coming to Windows in January 2027.
New Cinema EOS Kits
Canon U.S.A. Inc. has also announced new Cinema EOS Lens Kits and an EOS C50 Videographer Kit.
New Cinema EOS Lens Kits come with either the Canon EOS C50 or EOS C80 cinema camera plus video-focused RF lenses. There's a Canon EOS C50 + RF 20-50mm f/4L IS USM PZ kit for $5,098, a Canon EOS C80 kit with that same lens for $7,048, and an EOS C50 + RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM kit for $5,098.
There's also a new Canon EOS C50 Videographer Kit that ships with the C50 camera, the RF 20-50mm f/4L IS USM PZ lens, an Azden SGM-250LX-C Shotgun Mic, Azden MH-787-C headphones, a Hoya Variable Neutral Density II 67mm filter, and two years of CarePak Pro coverage. This entire kit is $5,999, meaning that customers are effectively paying an extra $900 for the mic, headphones, filter, and extra protection coverage.
Image creditsCanon
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