Canon to unveil EOSRAW recording format? New high end camera specs

[Andrew Reid]

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[img]http://www.eoshd.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/cinema_eos1.jpg[/img]

[url="http://www.nabshow.com/2012/default.asp"]NAB 2012[/url] is just around the bend and already some rumours have started to circulate about what Canon are up to. I’ve heard the same thing now from multiple people. I’m not a rumours site but if I was I’d give this a pretty good rating – although please do take this for what it is, a rumour!

[url="http://www.eoshd.com/?p=7825/"]Read full article[/url]

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[Josh D]

Love your site Andrew and come here frequently for news updates, insights, and to enjoy your film making.  However, I can't agree with your Sony/Canon comparison which seems a little flippant, especially:

"The FS700 beats the C300 and Sony’s new small-chip camcorder beats the XF305."

In both cases the Sony's are cheaper, but better?  This depends on what you're looking for in a camera.  The C300 has better build quality and ergonomics, native EOS mount, LOG recording, robust internal 422 codec, better monitoring, and likely superior 1080p resolution and dynamic range.  These are highly appealing features to many.  The Sony is a different offering with some unique features of its own - it's an exciting camera - but to say it "beats" the C300 is meaningless.  The cameras have very different strengths and the C300 will continue to sell very well.  As will the F3. 

In the case of the PMW-100, it's easily outclassed by the XF305 (10x lens vs 18x, 1 zoom ring vs 3, 1 chip vs 3).  They're not even competing products.  Perhaps you meant to write XF105.

Then again, it's your blog so say whatever you like  ;)

[Andrew Reid]

Sorry for any confusion. By better I mean better specified.

That paragraph is all in the context of specs, since the whole article is about the specs of the new camera.

It goes without saying I am aware (as most of my readers are) that cameras have different strengths and weaknesses depending on the job. All of them. You wouldn't use a GoPro to shoot a narrative sequence, or an Alexa as a helmet camera for instance.

The FS700 is a much better specified camera and more attractive than the C300 because it is 4K capable, does 240fps at 1080p and is cheaper. I agree that the ergonomics on the C300 are better, but in my opinion Sony's offerings are braver and more compelling, for less money. Hard to argue with that! Subjectivity is one thing, the facts quite another. It is also a fact that the 5D Mark III has competition from Nikon. I hope Canon show a lower cost C100 or 4K DSLR at NAB as it is sorely needed by lower budget filmmakers.

[Tzedekh]

You covered Canon's raw format in a January 27, 2012, post, "[url=http://www.eoshd.com/content/6976/canon-developing-4k-raw-video-format][color=blue][u]HOT! Canon developing 4K RAW video format[/u][/color][/url]."

[Andrew Reid]

Yep, there was a patent filed. And now you see the results  :P

[TC]

Yet another recording format?  With the patents held by Canon?  Is that really what this industry needs?  The video world is a mess of competing file formats, frame rates, gamma values, colour spaces, frame sizes, compression algorithms and more.

We need a set of open standards suitable for capture, edit and broadcast, agreed internationally and available for all to use without having to pay royalties. 

[Josh D]

Thanks Andrew, I appreciate your thoughtful response, and agree there is a major gap in the Canon line where a FS100 competitor should sit (and no doubt will fairly soon).

That said, because of the handling, the easy workflow, the fantastic image out of the box now (rather than waiting for add-ons down the track), the C300 is still the most compelling sub-20k camera to me. While on paper it may be a dubious proposition (and price wise you need to be shooting for a living to own it), the pictures it spits out defy mere spec sheet analysis and having used one for a day, I can say it really is a breeze to operate. Personally I'm done with cumbersome rigs, external recorders, screw on NDs etc... With the C300 you just choose a lens and shoot. 

[Axel]

Well argued, Josh D, applause.

[Samuel H]

it makes a lot of sense, but there are also a few silly notes in this rumor

for example:
[quote]It is 4K out of the box but from a 8K sensor. It downsamples for TRUE 4K unlike the Epic[/quote]

if it records 4K RAW, it doesn't downsample to true 4K
if it records 8K RAW, it downsamples to true 4K, but then it's not a 4K camera, it's an 8K camera!
it doesn't add up

[MaxAperture Films]

Here's a good interview/article that may help clarify the question of downsampling and how to achieve true 4K rez without interpolation -
[url=http://magazine.creativecow.net/article/the-truth-about-2k-4k-the-future-of-pixels]http://magazine.creativecow.net/article/the-truth-about-2k-4k-the-future-of-pixels[/url]

[quote author=Samuel H link=topic=563.msg3707#msg3707 date=1334143236]
it makes a lot of sense, but there are also a few silly notes in this rumor

for example:
[quote]It is 4K out of the box but from a 8K sensor. It downsamples for TRUE 4K unlike the Epic[/quote]

if it records 4K RAW, it doesn't downsample to true 4K
if it records 8K RAW, it downsamples to true 4K, but then it's not a 4K camera, it's an 8K camera!
it doesn't add up
[/quote]

[Samuel H]

great article
and it confirms exactly what I was saying: for a true final 4K image, 4K Bayer RAW is not enough