Canon C70 Reviews
Incredible image
By Frank
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2023-07-05
The image you can get out of this camera is really incredible. Insanely versatile. Shooting a corporate event? Bake in the awesome 709 profile and use the great long gop codec. Shooting a movie? It's got internal raw! It really can do everything. I wish it had SDI instead of HDMI, but it makes up for it with the BNC timecode. And the timecode actually holds sync for a normal amount of time. Some cheaper cameras add timecode, but it drifts so fast as to be useless. This will easily stay in sync for half a day. And I haven't even mentioned the unbelievable battery life. This camera is really awesome.
Best bang for your buck cinema camera
By Brian
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2023-02-25
I've had the C70 for a little over a year now and this is my A-Cam. Auto focus is really strong and I love that you can choose face only AF. The only knock I'd have against it is the AF tends to slow down when shooting at 120fps but that still hasn't stopped me from shooting fast action sports like hockey with it.
If you're looking for just a video only camera, this has got to be near the top of your list. (Yes, it can take photos but you have to re-map some buttons.). The C70 is a little heavy so if you plan on flying this on a gimbal or a glidecam, I hope you've been hitting the gym! I have been able to get this to fly on a ronin-S but it needs some serious counterweights. I usually use this on a Devin Graham series glidecam.
I primarily use this for sports so having the ability to shoot 4K, 120fps with audio (even though the audio is recorded onto your second card) is a huge plus for me. Speaking of audio, I do wish that canon did not use the mini XLR on this camera. Personally, I would've rather they use a full size XLR and ditched the white balance option buttons on the side of the camera. But hey, not every camera is perfect. Though this one nearly is.
My last knock on the C70 is unlike the R5 or R6, not every control dial on the camera controls the three aspects of light (ISO, shutter, and aperture.). On my R6, having those three dials is huge for quick adjustments. On the C70, I can only control ISO and aperture with dials and I have to push a couple buttons to change the shutter speed.
All in all, I still love this camera and use it as my primary camera!
Better and Better!
By Justin
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2023-02-19
As one of the owners of a video production company I have used a lot of cameras, both hybrid mirrorless cameras and ones such as from Blackmagic. The C70 piqued my interest a while back, as I'm primarily a Canon shooter and have a lot of RF lenses for my R5. I held off at the time as I was unsure if I wanted to grab the C70 or an R5C and wanted to feel them out a bit first. But in the last year Canon has released two major firmware updates adding internal RAW video with multiple codecs, and now enhanced autofocus and even more codecs. It feels like it should be the C70 Mark II. I really have no complaints, its barely larger than a gripped and caged R5, with tons of customizable buttons, a WAY better audio system, so I don't always have to lug a sound bag around with me. If I could give it more than 5 stars I would.
Phenomenal Camera
By Cooper
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2023-01-25
I own a commercial production company.
This is such a work horse of a camera. You can strip it down and easily mount it on a gimbal or you can completely rig it out to be extremely useful on larger sets.
The continued updates have been amazing and the footage looks fantastic.
Couldn't recommend this camera more.
Updates have been great, super capable for price
By Jeffrey
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2023-01-07
For a long time, it seemed that you had to accept certain compromises for any cinema camera less than $10k. The C70 entered the market in a weird place, with some of the guts of a C300 Mark III in a different package. It initially felt limited, but the 10-bit 4:2:2 recording is clean and robust. Using old EF lenses with the speed booster has been fantastic.
But then they filled in the blanks with updates, including raw light recording, time lapse (which should have been there), eye tracking auto focus, and the feature set now punches above its price point. The image quality and tweakability is great when you shoot log, and you don't really have to work that hard in grading to get something to meet your intentions. Huge fan of the camera.
C70 after 1 year of use
By gipsz
Rated 1 out of 5
Date: 2022-11-30
I am using this camera for a while now, however it has some severe issues.
1. There is a heavy antialising and moire problem that make most of my recordings unusable!!! The effect is increased when Digital IS switched on. DIS makes every straight line jitter, no matter which lens or zoom range I am using.
2. The autofocus is really bad, probably worst than in my R7 camera, despite the Face Priority mode which would have been nice, but not working properly.
3. The battery is pretty mediocre, but costs a furtune!
4 The LCD panel is full of garbage, the hinge already came off from the body of the camera. Poor engineering.
5. It is prone to be get scratched due to the plastic of the body, especially the upper part.
I can't beleive I paid for this camera almost the same amount as my little apartment did cost.
Ugggghhhh.
Incompatibility issues!
By Token
Rated 3 out of 5
Date: 2023-06-25
Great image quality and slo-mo autofocus capabilities. I'm frustrated that FCPX still does not recognize the 240 Mbps Intra-frame footage from this camera which is what I use to shoot 60fps. This creates a big workflow challenge. Please Canon talk to Apple and get this fixed!!!
Perfect Affordable Cinema Camera
By Jeremy
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2023-04-02
This camera is fantastic! The image that comes out of it is so close to the C300 Mark II and I'm never disappointed by what I see. The added internal RAW codec gives you a lot to play with when it comes to post, but the XF-AVC codec is also pretty flexible (almost the same). The DGO sensor is incredible. I can miss exposure and save highlights and shadows, and image is so organic/filmic.
Coming from an FX3, Internal NDs have been a lifesaver and timesaver. I also like the form factor: it feels like a DSLR with a batter grip (without their grip obviously). For some that may be a problem, and while yes I would prefer the box form factor like the Komodo or somewhat the FX6, I think the fact that you can run this as it is and don't have to rig it up was biggest draw to me. I was considering the FX6, but ultimately I found it to be too big when you have everything attached to it. This camera is perfect of run and gun, and is right in that sweet spot of not being too big.
My only complaints about this camera are (1) the flip out screen. Yes, it's not the best design. I must have gotten a good one, because it doesn't feel loose to me, but we'll see how it holds up over time. And (2) I wish it had more mounting points on the body, but if you plan on adding a cage then this isn't a problem.
I love shooting with this camera and can't wait to use it more!