Canon Announced New Firmware Updates For Cinema EOS C300 and C300 Mk II Camcorders

Sealed with a kiss - Polar bears on the tundra in Hudson Bay, Canada

* * *  'Before The Flood' documentary shot with Canon C300 Mark II camera  * * *

Just back from my Polar bear photo tour in Hudson Bay, Canada. It was quite a successful trip even though the weather was 'mild' by sub Arctic standard and the bears were not able to find sea ice to hunt seals even in mid November. Came across sows with cubs, sub adult and full grown males with reasonably healthy looking weight, this time of the year.

In past years, they would have been able to start heading out to the bay and try and replenish their weight by actively hunting seals. I came across the BBC2 film crew filming and broadcasting the Arctic Live series on the tundra.

Now back to my daily routine of photo processing and blog writing until the next wildlife photo tour. You can follow my travels on Facebook , Twitter and see my works on MichaelDanielHo.com.


MELVILLE, N.Y., November 9, 2016 – Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, today announced firmware updates for both the Canon EOS C300 and EOS C300 Mark II Digital Cinema Cameras being showcased at NAB Show New York 2016, November 9 and 10 at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York City. These firmware updates support a number of feature updates for users including improvement of accessory support, ease of use, Dual Pixel CMOS AF (DAF) and creative flexibility.

Firmware updates are as follows :

The EOS C300 Mark II Digital Cinema Camera (EF-Mount) updates will allow various functions such as support for the Canon EVF-V70 OLED Electronic Viewfinder, WFT-E8 Wireless File Transmitter, Shutter Angle Priority, support for Zebra range at 65 percent or below, 2K Crop Audio Recording, Built-In Mic Audio off, and Peripheral Illumination Correction when using the new EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM lens.

The EOS C300 Mark II Digital Cinema Camera (PL-Mount) updates will allow various functions such as support for the Canon EVF-V70 OLED Electronic Viewfinder, WFT-E8 Wireless File Transmitter, Shutter Angle Priority, support for Zebra range at 65 percent or below, 2K Crop Audio Recording, and Built-In Mic Audio off.

The EOS C300 Digital Cinema Camera (EF-Mount) updates will allow various functions such as support for the WFT-E8 Wireless File Transmitter, Shutter Angle Priority, Grip Zoom Function when using CINE-SERVO 17-120mm EF-mount, CINE-SERVO 50-1000mm EF-Mount and COMPACT SERVO 18-80mm lenses, Auto Iris and Push Iris when using CINE-SERVO 17-120mm EF-mount, CINE-SERVO 50-1000mm EF-Mount and COMPACT SERVO 18-80mm lenses and Peripheral Illumination Correction when using the new EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM lens.

The EOS C300 Digital Cinema Camera DAF (EF-Mount) updates will allow various functions such as support for the WFT-E8 Wireless File Transmitter, Shutter Angle Priority, Dual Pixel CMOS AF (DAF) when using CINE-SERVO 17-120mm EF-Mount and COMPACT SERVO 18-80mm lenses, Grip Zoom Function when using CINE-SERVO 17-120mm EF-mount, CINE-SERVO 50-1000mm EF-Mount and COMPACT SERVO 18-80mm lenses, Auto Iris and Push Iris when using CINE-SERVO 17-120mm EF-mount, CINE-SERVO 50-1000mm EF-Mount and COMPACT SERVO 18-80mm lenses and Peripheral Illumination Correction when using the new EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM lens.

The EOS C300 Digital Cinema Camera (PL-Mount) updates will allow various functions such as support for the WFT-E8 Wireless File Transmitter and Shutter Angle Priority.
To learn more about the firmware updates, please visit usa.canon.com/nabny2016firmware.

These firmware updates are scheduled to be available on December 13, 2016. To see these products with the firmware updates mentioned above at NAB Show New York 2016, visit Canon U.S.A., Inc. at Booth #1133. Follow Canon throughout the show on Instagram at @CanonUSA and Twitter at @CanonUSApro.

Canon EOS C300 Mark II Firmware 1.0.4.1.00 Announced

I am back from my Alaska/Canada Wildlife Photo Tour. It was my annual shoot and this time I put the Canon EOS-1D X Mark II camera to more real world tests. In addition to the EOS-1D X Mark II, I brought the EOS-7D Mark II, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II and EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II lens. You can see my equipment bag and more of my works on MichaelDanielHo.com.

Beginning to get back to my daily routine and keeping my readers up to date on the latest photography news while I was away. There is a new firmware update for the Canon EOS C300 Mark II camcorder. Click here to download the software from Canon. The price for this camera has recently been reduced.

Firmware Version 1.0.4.1.00 incorporates the following updates :

• Adds Canon Log 3.
• Reduces Canon Log 2 noise in dark areas.
• Enables magnification to be used even during recording.
• The following features are enabled when these lenses are attached: CN7x17 KAS S/E1*3, CN-E18-80mm T4.4 L IS KAS S or CN20x50 IAS H/E1.
• Enables autofocus using the Dual Pixel CMOS AF function. (Not applicable to the CN20x50 IAS H/E1 lens)
• Enables the joystick on the camera’s grip unit to be set to operate the zoom.
• Enables control of iris to be set to manual operation, and control of focus, zoom and iris using the separately-sold Remote Controller RC-V100.
• Enables automatic aperture and push auto iris functions.
• Enables retrieval of metadata, such as the model name and the focal distance of the lens attached, and display of metadata on the camera,
• Enables Dual Pixel Function when these lenses are attached: CN7x17 KAS S/E1 lens, CN-E18-80mm T4.4 L IS KAS S lens or any of the EF cinema prime lenses.
• Adds peripheral illumination/chromatic aberration correction for the following lenses:
• COMPACT-SERVO lenses: CN-E18-80mm T4.4 L IS KAS S
• CINE-SERVO lenses: CN20x50 IAS H/E1
• EF lenses: EF 35mm f/1.4L II USM, EF 50mm f/1.8 STM and EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM.
• Enhances menu operations so that settings related to resolution/color sampling, etc. are retained to the extent possible when changing recording settings such as the frame rate.
• Supports ACESproxy (ACES 1.0).
• Alleviates the black-dot phenomenon that appears in the periphery of high-brightness light sources.

Caution :

• You cannot perform the firmware update using CFast 2.0 cards. Please use a commercially available SD/SDHC/SDXC memory card that is 64MB or more for the firmware update.
• Firmware version 1.0.4.1.00 is for updating Cinema EOS C300 Mark II cameras running firmware version 1.0.0.1.00 – 1.0.3.1.00. If your camera’s firmware is already version 1.0.4.1.00, it is not necessary to update the firmware. Once the camera is updated to the latest version, it cannot be restored to a previous version.
• For further information, please refer to the latest version of the unit’s Instruction Manual that is released with the firmware update.

Canon Cinema EOS C300 Mark II $11,999 / C100 Mark II $3,999

Canon EOS Cinema C100 Mark II camcorder

Canon announced the C300 Mk II in April of 2015. The C300 Mk II camcorder is a professional camcorder with 4K video capability. Below are two comprehensive video look of the camera. The list price is $15,999 but now one can buy the camera for $11,999, a $4,000 discount. The EOS Cinema C100 Mark II is now selling for $3,999, a $1,500 discount from the list price of $5,499. Check with your Canon dealer and save. 

Larry Thorpe, Senior Fellow from the Professional Engineering & Solutions Division of Canon USA, has put out a series of detailed white papers on the EOS C300 Mk II. It will be most useful for those planning to buy or use this camcorder in the very near future. Click on the papers below to down them in PDF format.

Image Performance Enhancements

The new camera is intended to significantly extend the overall image performance of HD beyond that of the C300 while further supporting the alternative 2K cinema format. A 15-stop dynamic range is provided by a new photodiode design that simultaneously lowers the noise floor while elevating the saturation level – offering excellent HDR functionality and much more.

Extended Recording Capabilities

The new C300 Mark II camcorder offers significantly elevated video performance and expanded operational capabilities. Unlike its predecessor, the C300 Mark II offers a choice of 2K or HD. Most important, it greatly extends on-board recording capabilities by deploying a new codec based upon the more advanced MPEG-4 H.264 Advanced Video Coding (AVC) compression algorithm.

Ergonomic and Operational Enhancements

From the extraordinary diversity of productions done with a large body of C300 camcorders around the globe for the ensuing four years a great deal of commentary and suggestions based upon those shooting experiences were gathered, the new EOS C300 Mark II embodies many of these suggestions while also incorporating innovative enhancements to both imaging and recording capabilities. On-set systemization has been greatly enhanced by a coordinated design with a new on-set 4K reference display.

What Constitutes a High Performance 4K Lens?

A 4K lens must anticipated a wide range of productions – including theatrical motion pictures, major television dramas and episodics, commercials, and a diverse range of non-entertainment origination. So what are the performance parameters that collectively define 4K optical performance? The following paper will enumerate these parameters and discuss user expectations.

Personality of the Canon Cinema EOS Lens - Design Strategies

The newer generation of Cinema EOS lenses came from multiple optical design resources within Canon, such as our EF Lens and Broadcast Lens designs.

Personality of the Canon Cinema EOS Lens - Image Sharpness

A design goal with the Cinema zoom lenses was to achieve an overall optical performance that would equate with the best of contemporary prime lenses over their respective focal lengths. Learn more about how these Cinema zoom lenses maintain their sharpness in a close-up or while zoomed out.

Personality of the Canon Cinema EOS Lens - Color Reproduction

The new generation of Canon Cinema lenses paid high attention to optimizing color reproduction of the lens-camera system, such as how it reproduces skin tones of various ethnicities.

The Promise of 4K Video

The advent of 4K cinema brings about changes to cameras, lenses, post-production and the home viewing experience. Explore each implication in-depth and see what this digital image format offers.

EOS C300 Best Practices Guide

More of a handy reference PDF than a technical White Paper, this practical guide offers straightforward tips, how-to, and best practices for preparing the EOS C300 for shooting.

Canon C300 Mark II Meets EBU HD and UHD Classification

Canon C300 Mark II camcorder

Canon EOS C300 Mark II meets EBU HD and UHD classification

United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, 18th February 2016 – Canon today announces that the EOS C300 Mark II digital cinema camera has been independently tested in accordance with European Broadcast Union (EBU) recommendations for both HD and UHD content acquisition¹. The report recognises image capture of up to 15 stops of dynamic range using Canon Log2 and qualifies the EOS C300 Mark II for R.118 Tier 1 in HD and Tier 2 in UHD².

The new gamma Canon Log2 has been designed specifically for the C300 Mark II’s new 8.85MP Super 35mm CMOS sensor. Having access to this high dynamic range gives users the creative freedom to produce more compelling visuals. Combined with the EOS C300 Mark II’s built-in noise reduction functionality, filmmakers have the ability to shoot almost anywhere, capturing low-noise footage in many challenging shooting scenarios.

The EBU exists to serve 73 broadcasters across 56 countries in understanding which technology is best suited to certain tasks. The UK’s Digital Production Partnership (DPP) broadcasters use these recommendations to ensure their content meets a minimum threshold. This is especially important when a compressed image needs to survive editing, grading, encoding and transmission before it reaches audiences in its final pictures.

“Testing our cameras using the European Broadcast Union’s methodology is a very important step for us,” said Austin Freshwater, Director, Professional Imaging at Canon UK. “With the EOS C300 Mark II, we aimed to design a camera that lets both filmmakers and broadcast producers realise their creative vision. It’s because of this commitment that the EOS C300 Mark II offers users the very best image quality and we’re incredibly pleased that these test results back that up.”

The EOS C300 Mark II follows Canon’s XC10 video camera that also qualifies for R.118 Tier 1 HD as tested in September last year. Alongside this, the EOS C300 Mark II joins several of Canon’s high-end professional broadcast cameras that meet the criteria defined by the EBU, including its predecessor the Canon EOS C300, the Canon XF305 and the Canon EOS-1D C.

To download the full report please visit : https://tech.ebu.ch/docs/tech/tech3335_s18.pdf

For more information on the Canon EOS C300 Mark II please visit : http://www.canon.co.uk/for_home/product_finder/digital_cinema/cinema_eos_cameras/eos_c300_mark_ii/

¹ EBU Tech 3335: Methods of measuring the imaging performance of television cameras for the purposes of characterisation and setting (http://tech.ebu.ch/docs/tech/tech3335.pdf)
² EBU Recommendation R.118: Tiering of High Definition Cameras (http://tech.ebu.ch/docs/r/r118.pdf)