C70 - first impressions

[Oliver Daniel]

I got the C70 last week as part of CVP’s first batch. 

Even though I have the A7SIII, I bought it because Canon obviously read a post on this forum about what my “perfect camera” looks like. So I just had to. I sold my EVA1. 

I put it in the deep end straight away on 2 professional shoots for fitness brands. The videos aren’t finished so can’t share any footage yet! 

My impressions: 

1. Body design is fantastic. Lovely in the hand and a joy to operate. Feels cheaper than other C-series for sure but still premium. Well built and easy to use. Very light too! 

2. The screen is flimsy and should be more robust. 

3. The joystick is drunk. You want to go left, but it goes up etc. Not sure if this is a “getting used to it” kinda thing, but it’s unusually tricky to get the hang of. 

4. Record button is also a bit stubborn. You have to press that thing very well to get it to record or stop. 

5. Quick touch screen menu is amazing. There’s no need to reboot the camera to change frame rates and codec like I did on the EVA1.

6. DIS is decent! Doesn’t feel overly robotic like other IBIS systems. But there’s a slight crop. 

7. DPAF with the Sigma 18-35mm is pretty good. My Sigma 50mm hunted quite a bit though. 

8. It has no tracking like the A7S3, only for faces. Seems the face tracking is disabled in 4k100fps. 

9. Footage in all modes is crisp and clean. Not overly sharp, but detailed.  It looks a bit more organic than the A7S3, which is clinical without a Promist. Noticed the A7S3 is a bit more contrasty in SLOG3 than CLOG3. The C70 has an edge in the shadows. 

10. You can use a V60 in 4k100fps but comes up with a warning  that it won’t work. It does, but sometimes cuts off due to a full buffer. Not often though. I’d still get a V90. 

11. H265 footage plays back better than the A7S3 on my 2025 iMac. Still a sludge though.

12. Footage can be easily matched to the A7S3. Took me about a minute. Amazing how much Sony have improved it. 

In conclusion, I had a good first experience and I’m looking forward to the next shoot. I currently prefer the A7S3 but it’s too early to decide that really. Both are great and can be used together very seamlessly due to the Sony’s improved colour and codecs. 

 

 

 

[Rinad Amir]

I like it! hows Dr compared between a7siii &C70 

[Oliver Daniel]

8 hours ago, Rinad Amir said:

I like it! hows Dr compared between a7siii &C70 

To my eye is looks very close. 

Right off the card, I'd say the C70 has a slight advantage in the shadows and the overall rolloff is a bit smoother and milkier. To match  - you need to play with the S-curve on the A7S3 a little to get the same look, and it isn't hard. 

A7S3 seems a bit sharper. 

There's no reason why you can't use this cameras together. Matching them is easy. People who say the A7S3 is still bad colour don't know what the are talking about. 

[scotchtape]

What does "pretty good" AF mean in terms of the 18-35mm? Like native e-mount? Does it stay locked on to faces or does it hunt?

[Oliver Daniel]

1 hour ago, scotchtape said:

What does "pretty good" AF mean in terms of the 18-35mm? Like native e-mount? Does it stay locked on to faces or does it hunt?

It locks on faces well and keeps track, although makes a bit of noise. 

The continuous AF is slower than the A7S3 with native, but still a useful tool.

50mm hunts. 

[scotchtape]

Thanks. I don't know why I still have that lens, I've used it like 5 times since I've owned it and it's brother.

 

Af motor hella loud though, comparatively.

[EphraimP]

10 hours ago, Oliver Daniel said:

It locks on faces well and keeps track, although makes a bit of noise. 

The continuous AF is slower than the A7S3 with native, but still a useful tool.

50mm hunts. 

What EF adapter are you using? I haven't heard anything about the speedbooster coming out yet.

[mkabi]

6 hours ago, EphraimP said:

What EF adapter are you using? I haven't heard anything about the speedbooster coming out yet.

I think he is using regular Canon EF to RF for the Sigma 18-35; its in the pictures.

[Oliver Daniel]

4 hours ago, mkabi said:

I think he is using regular Canon EF to RF for the Sigma 18-35; its in the pictures.

Yep!

[BenEricson]

On 11/18/2020 at 3:58 PM, Oliver Daniel said:

10. You can use a V60 in 4k100fps but comes up with a warning  that it won’t work. It does, but sometimes cuts off due to a full buffer. Not often though. I’d still get a V90. 

Which cards are you using? I notice Sandisk only makes cards up to 128gb in V90. The V60 come in 256gb... Did the V60 seem to perform perfectly for 4k/24p/XFAVC?

To be honest, I am a little bummed they went with SD. I would prefer c-fast or some sort of card that feels a bit more durable.

[Video Hummus]

I sure wish camera manufactures would embrace brighter and larger LCD or OLED displays.

This camera keeps growing on me. It’s a bit ugly in the back but I find the mirrorless / cinema form factor much more practical than a smaller version of a C300 Mark III (ie see FX9-FX6).

@Oliver Daniel any plans to try out the speedbooster with EF glass?

[Oliver Daniel]

On 11/21/2020 at 9:13 PM, BenEricson said:

Which cards are you using? I notice Sandisk only makes cards up to 128gb in V90. The V60 come in 256gb... Did the V60 seem to perform perfectly for 4k/24p/XFAVC?

To be honest, I am a little bummed they went with SD. I would prefer c-fast or some sort of card that feels a bit more durable.

ProGrade V90 and V60. 

[Oliver Daniel]

3 hours ago, Video Hummus said:

I sure wish camera manufactures would embrace brighter and larger LCD or OLED displays.

This camera keeps growing on me. It’s a bit ugly in the back but I find the mirrorless / cinema form factor much more practical than a smaller version of a C300 Mark III (ie see FX9-FX6).

@Oliver Daniel any plans to try out the speedbooster with EF glass?

No plans yet. I need more lenses first. 

I’m curious about using RF, but they are really really expensive. 

[Kisaha]

7 minutes ago, Oliver Daniel said:

No plans yet. I need more lenses first. 

I’m curious about using RF, but they are really really expensive. 

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1433714-REG/canon_rf_35mm_f_1_8_is.html

What about this one? Small, light, I.S, macro and 1.8f.

That would be the one I would get, everything else in EF.

[EphraimP]

I'm really looking forward to seeing your footage with the C70 and hearing more about how it handles and compares/contrasts the A7SIII. I'd love to know if it would run well on an EasyRig style setup, paired with a 5-inch monitor for fast moving doc-style work. I'm sure it works well on a gimbal, but I personally found I prefer the hand-held look and style of shooting. I'm looking to add stability and all-day back comfort for the style and it seems like backpack-crane stabilizer style is the way to go.

[BenEricson]

3 hours ago, Kisaha said:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1433714-REG/canon_rf_35mm_f_1_8_is.html

What about this one? Small, light, I.S, macro and 1.8f.

That would be the one I would get, everything else in EF.

I have a C70, the speed booster, and this lens on pre-order. I might pick up the 85mm F2 IS as well. 

The new 24-105 F4 IS looks interesting, as does the 24-70 2.8 IS.

The RF mount features better AF, smaller sizes, and faster more light sensitive lenses. IMO buying this camera and not embracing the new lens options doesn't make much sense.

3 hours ago, Oliver Daniel said:

ProGrade V90 and V60. 

Cool. Thanks. What frame rates work with the V60? 4K/24/10bit?

[currensheldon]

1 hour ago, BenEricson said:

I have a C70, the speed booster, and this lens on pre-order. I might pick up the 85mm F2 IS as well. 

The new 24-105 F4 IS looks interesting, as does the 24-70 2.8 IS.

The RF mount features better AF, smaller sizes, and faster more light sensitive lenses. IMO buying this camera and not embracing the new lens options doesn't make much sense.

The only place it does make sense is using the speedbooster. Pretty amazing you can spend around $700-$800, get the EF 24-70mm f4 IS and get stabilization, a true 24-70mm field of view, and a f2.8 aperture. Whereas the RF version will cost you $2300 and give you a 36-105mm (or so). Much prefer thee FoV of a true 24-70mm.

OR get the Sigma EF 24-70mm f2.8 for $1100 and get a 24-70mm f2.0 with stabilization. Love the C70 and excited for it, but I'll probably wait for a full-frame C90 before transferring all my EF glass to RF glass (which I am excited to do...). 

 

 

[BenEricson]

34 minutes ago, currensheldon said:

The only place it does make sense is using the speedbooster. Pretty amazing you can spend around $700-$800, get the EF 24-70mm f4 IS and get stabilization, a true 24-70mm field of view, and a f2.8 aperture. Whereas the RF version will cost you $2300 and give you a 36-105mm (or so). Much prefer thee FoV of a true 24-70mm.

OR get the Sigma EF 24-70mm f2.8 for $1100 and get a 24-70mm f2.0 with stabilization. Love the C70 and excited for it, but I'll probably wait for a full-frame C90 before transferring all my EF glass to RF glass (which I am excited to do...)

It's all a trade off. It is likely there will be some chromatic aberration wide open. (The case on the FS7 / Metabones.) The lenses are also quite a bit larger. Look above at how ridiculous the 18-35 looks mounted so far out on such a small body. The focus ring looks uncomfortable to operate. It almost looks like it needs a rail system, certainly would for a 70-200.

I do understand it is much more practical to have the 24-105 in EF and be able to choose between S35 and FF with a quick adapter swap, BUT the 24-105 in RF for example, has been reviewed as a much sharper lens compared to the older EF version. Exciting times to have these options and be able to argue over the many looks we can achieve!

I will be buying the speed booster, but I am also excited about the quicker AF and smaller size of the available RF mount lenses. 

[scotchtape]

The canon SB reduces the AF coverage to 60% of the frame or something like that.

[Oliver Daniel]

18 hours ago, BenEricson said:

I have a C70, the speed booster, and this lens on pre-order. I might pick up the 85mm F2 IS as well. 

The new 24-105 F4 IS looks interesting, as does the 24-70 2.8 IS.

The RF mount features better AF, smaller sizes, and faster more light sensitive lenses. IMO buying this camera and not embracing the new lens options doesn't make much sense.

Cool. Thanks. What frame rates work with the V60? 4K/24/10bit?

On my ProGrades, you can shoot 4k 120, BUT, the camera will tell you it can’t. It works. BUT, sometimes the card will stop a few secs after recording and day the buffer is full. Not much though. 

I would just go V90 using Prograde. Best SE cards I’ve ever used. 3 out of my 4 Angelbird cards are faulty.