DV Info Net - Canon Announces Cinema EOS C500 Mk. II

I think this is a great C700 FF alternative for those who liked what that camera had to offer, but wanted a more compact form factor.

As for a C300 Mark II user like myself, I am troubled by the fact that it is primarily geared towards full frame. Oversampling is great, but only available in Full Frame, otherwise it's a Super35 crop. I have a whole host of lenses that I wouldn't be able to use with this camera to maximize what it's capable of, from the EF-S 17-55 all the way to the CN-E 18-80. Full Frame also gives no benefit to what I use this camera for day in and day out. I already have enough issues with shallow DOF on my C300 with a Sigma 18-35 or 50-100 or a prime, so I don't see what even more shallow DOF does to benefit me. On top of that, the 120fps mode is still a Super16 crop like the C300, so I don't know if that will be improved at all.

I have a C200B as my second camera, and I rarely ever use Cine Raw Light, only for the 12-bit color depth. I usually transcode it immediately to ProRes 4x4 for ease of use. I much prefer the 10-bit 4:2:2 XF-AVC of the C300 for the typical content I capture, it's robust enough for the kind of color correction I do, and I am working on a documentary right now in the 12-bit 444 XF-AVC capture of the C300 and it's terrific to work with. I would have loved to see a 12-bit 4K XF-AVC option in the C500 II, but it doesn't look like there are any 12-bit options save for Cine Raw Light, which is a shame.

I am also disappointed that the LCD is the same from the C200. I would love Canon to branch out with these displays and have a 7" option, especially a 1500 nit 7" option that uses the UN-5 cable. I do like the fact that you can pick between a rear EVF or the one with the C700.