Canon Announces Cinema EOS System Review

 Canon’s announced full-fledged entry into the motion picture production industry with the launch of the Cinema EOS System. Canon’s new professional digital cinematography system spans the lens, digital cinema camera and digital SLR camera product categories.

Canon  EOS C300 for Cinema

The camcorder, which features a newly developed Super 35 mm-equivalent approximately 8.29-megapixel CMOS sensor, will be available in two models: the EOS C300 Digital Video Camcorder, equipped with an EF lens mount for compatibility with Canon’s current diverse lineup of interchangeable EF lenses for EOS single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras and new EF Cinema Lens lineup; and the EOS C300 PL Digital Video Camcorder, with a PL lens mount for use with industry-standard PL lenses.

The camera records using MPEG-2 compression and saves the files in MXF format. Based on the Canon DIGIC DV III image processor, the EOS camera outputs 50Mb/s 4:2:2, recording to two CF cards. A third card slot can mount an SD card, which an operator can use to automatically upload an entire set of favorite presets. For rental applications, this permits the shooter to quickly configure multiple cameras to identical desired settings.

4K EF Cinema Lens Lineup

EOS C300/C300 PL Interchangeable-Lens Digital Cinema Camera

New Digital SLR Camera with 4K Movie Function (Under Development)

The Canon EOS C300/C300 PL’s newly developed Super 35 mm-equivalent CMOS sensor incorporates approximately 8.29 million effective pixels and has a pixel size that is larger than that for conventional professional camcorders, enabling greater light-gathering capabilities for enhanced sensitivity and reduced noise. The sensor reads Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) video signals for each of the three RGB primary colors, decreasing the incidence of moiré while realizing high resolution with 1,000 horizontal TV lines

The list price for the Cinema EOS body including battery, charger and handles is $20,000. Units are expected to ship worldwide in January 2012. For more details, see Canon Broadcast.