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The latest teaser announcement for the Canon EOS R5 caused quite a stir this week. This relatively small, full-frame mirrorless camera is not only turning into a powerful still image camera, but it also appears to have cinema-quality video powers.
It’s fair to say that we haven’t seen a full-frame camera with this great crossover appeal for some time. But are Canon’s claims that the EOS R5 “going to shoot comfortably in high-end production sets” really possible? And how excited should YouTubers and amateur filmmakers be for this camera?
We spoke to an award-winning director to find out. Tim Bunn is a writer / director at Belafonte and director of the short film The Girl Is Mime, starring Martin Freeman. It also has a BFI-backed short that will be out in 2020.
Tim mainly shoots with a Canon EOS C200, a camera from the company’s Cinema range that the EOS R5 triumphs incredibly in some departments, at least on paper. So it was great to have your opinion on how exciting this camera is for video, the possible challenges and opportunities to shoot in 8K and where the EOS R5 could inevitably drop compared to Cinema’s dedicated cameras.
Have you been looking at the Canon EOS R5 as the camera to launch yourself into the glory of cinema? Here are a director’s thoughts on the specs and features we’ve known so far …
As someone who works on the “high-end productions” that Canon says the EOS R5 is designed for, how impressed are you with its video specs?
“The video specs for the EOS R5 are pretty mind boggling. Right now, there is nothing that compares to that without being a complete movie camera, “director Tim Bunn said.
“The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera comes to mind, but this” only “records in 6K. 8K captured in RAW on a camera of this size offers many possibilities and will mean that the camera has a much broader appeal. mirrorless video-oriented cameras will appeal to cameramen and small production companies that produce content online, I can see proper film productions by looking at this camera and thinking “we could do something with this,” he added.
What do you think about shooting in 8K with the EOS R5? Is it just for the future or would it be useful for your sessions today?
“Generally, no one is delivering 8K video or film; It is not necessary because there is no realistic way to view 8K. That, of course, will change over time, but for now it means the R5 is well prepared for the future, “he said.
“That doesn’t mean 8K video doesn’t have its uses. Where 8K is useful for filmmakers is the ability to crop the frame. If I edit an 8K video file on a 4K timeline, I’m only seeing 50% of the total image size. This means I can zoom in up to another 50% without losing any resolution. This gives me a tighter shot and also gives me a cut (a second camera, if you like) within the edit, which, at Sometimes it can be a lifesaver. This was the typical workflow when 4K came along. Initially, people continued to deliver in 1080p, using full 4K resolution to give them options within the edit, “he added.
“But even with this ability to use 8K this way, I still think that most users are going to shoot in 4K or 6K; if the latter option is available, I’d be surprised if it isn’t. Simply because of the space those 8K files and 8K available recording time. Both in terms of how much time you could take out of a decent-sized memory card and whether Canon will limit the recording time to 8K to protect the camera’s processor from overheating. ” he pointed.
“You also have to take headaches into account when dealing with 8K images in your post-production workflow. They are a lot of pixels to push and your computer will have a hard time keeping up, unless it’s a newly created Mac Pro, “he added.
Do you think the Canon EOS R5 is an exciting camera for YouTubers and aspiring directors? Would you consider it as your main camera if you started now?
“The first appropriate short film I shot was on a Canon EOS 5D Mk II, this was the game-changing camera for digital movies and videos. It was the first time, if I remember correctly, that you could record video on a full-size sensor, without having to spend tens, possibly even hundreds of thousands of pounds, “he said.
“Filmmakers could finally create cinematic-looking images without having to be a Hollywood film director. It was about that beautiful depth of field. I desperately wanted a 5D Mk II, but even at a relatively affordable price, given what I could do, I still couldn’t afford it, “he added.
“I imagine that the R5 will not be the cheapest camera in the world, but I am sure it will continue to offer exceptional value for money. But this does not mean that everyone can afford one, and usually filmmakers at the beginning of their Riders tend not to be the more edgy types. If you are on a budget it seems like it would be silly not to consider the R5, “he said.
Canon says the EOS R5 will be an “ideal support camera” for professionals. How well would it work as a partner for your Canon Cinema cameras and how could you complement them?
“For small production companies like mine, the R5 would be a great support camera. Our main camera is a C200, one of Canon’s cinema cameras, and on paper, the EOS R5 has the most impressive video specs. But where it won’t be able to stay is in the practicality area, “he said.
“It won’t have full-size XLR connections, built-in ND filters, or anything like the same number of programmable buttons. But that doesn’t mean the EOS R5 is relegated to B-Cam for every session. There are a lot of running and shooting situations where the R5 would be more than enough. For most cameramen it will need some accessories to make it really usable and, as I said before, I hope that there will be people who manipulate this to shoot broadcast ads and even elements of full-length feature films, “he added.
“For me and for many others, one of the main attractions of Canon cameras is color science, and it will be interesting to see how the EOS R5 compares to film cameras in this regard. We currently use a C100 as a B-Cam for our C200: although they work well together, the color output differs more than I expected, and I always attributed it to two sensors that are quite different. The R5 will feature yet another gear shift in sensor technology, so it will be fascinating to some of its older siblings, ”he said.
Lastly, do you have any concerns about some of the video specs that Canon has yet to come up with?
“The recording limit is always a concern. I hope 8K recording will be limited to protect the processor from overheating, but the reality of this doesn’t bother me too much, depending on how full 8K resolution is likely to be used. I hope 4K recording doesn’t have a time limit; if it does, this would be more concerning, “he said.
“Although Canon has confirmed the recording of Raw, I would like to see how this is implemented. Raw video is not actually raw video, there is always some form of compression, and this is true even for large film cameras like RED and Arri, their raw data still uses some kind of compression. Our C200 offers the ability to shoot in Canon Cinema Raw Light, and I guess this is what they will go for in the R5, “he added.
“However, it remains to be seen how much the average user will choose to shoot in this format. It adds steps to your later workflow and it also means that you are dealing with larger file sizes and more limitations on your recording time. At the end of the day, if you’re a gunslinger and a small production company and you’re uploading exclusively to the web, I don’t think shooting Raw is worth it, “he said.
