Filming 8K and oversampled 4K video

Fusing full-frame 8K internal RAW video recording with high frame-rate 4K capture and HQ mode oversampling, the Canon EOS R5 set a new standard for mirrorless camera filmmaking.

Building on the success of the EOS R5, the EOS R5 C takes the high-resolution hybrid concept to the next level. Based on the same basic body design as the EOS R5, the EOS R5 C adds professional Cinema EOS features that include 12-bit Cinema RAW Light, a dedicated timecode in/out terminal, and 8K 30p recording (up to 8K 60p with external power supply), as well as a built-in fan to facilitate long-duration recording.

Three filmmakers – Kevin Clerc, Martin Bissig and Ivan D'Antonio – were the first to try out the video capabilities of the EOS R5 C and the EOS R5. Here they reveal how these cameras' breakthrough 8K and oversampled 4K features met their very different filming requirements.

Ivan was inspired to shoot his landscape-focused film "like it was a set of paintings," with few camera movements using a tripod or handheld, stabilised shots. "The incredible level of detail achieved with 8K gave the landscape a look I have never seen before," he says. "When I was editing the film it felt like I was still there. Everywhere I looked on the monitor I could see the same level of detail I saw when I was on location."

8K input doesn't necessarily mean 8K output. The 8K video capabilities of the Canon EOS R5 C and EOS R5 bring benefits to a 4K workflow, including the option of cropping a 4K image from the 8K frame at the editing stage. Not only does this allow a variety of tighter shots to be made from a single camera position, it also makes it possible to use software to zoom, pan and stabilise after filming.

"I used all these options," Ivan explains. "When you film you are often in a rush, so the ability to shoot one take and then make camera movements in post is priceless. The weather was very bad in the mountains, so I had to shoot quickly during the brief periods of good light. There wasn't enough time to change lenses, but I cut some close-ups from the 8K master during the edit."

"When I was shooting the yoga film, I knew I would be able to add more cuts to the edit without having to record the same asana [yoga position] multiple times. Yoga is a slow and controlled practice, but I was able to enhance the rhythm of the film simply by reframing the original 8K master shot of the whole body.”

With a final output of 4K for his video, Ivan could make a 2x zoom in post-production to crop into interesting parts of the larger frame or slowly zoom in during static poses. “I also tried editing the 8K footage in a 2K timeline,” he says. “I could make 4x zooms – it looked as though I had shot the video with an expensive parfocal cinema zoom lens.”

Kevin outputs his beautiful travel films in 4K, but he shot the majority of sequences for his Madeira project with the EOS R5 C in 8K DCI. Like Ivan, he took advantage of the higher resolution to punch in during the edit.

"Another advantage of recording in 8K is that you get a higher quality 4K output," he adds. "I was shooting a triathlete on a beach in 8K 60p, and I did some speed ramping in post to slow down the footage just as some birds in the background aligned with the top of her head. The birds are very small in the frame, but because of the 8K capture resolution they are clearly defined in 4K."

In addition to offering a full-resolution 8K master that can be incorporated into a 4K workflow, the Canon EOS R5 features a 4K HQ mode. This oversamples the video from 8K to give 4K footage with enhanced clarity and reduced noise compared to native 4K content. The EOS R5 C automatically oversamples 4K and Full HD footage when recording below 60p.

It's also possible to shoot 4K at a high frame-rate of up to 120fps using the full width of the full-frame sensor in the EOS R5 C and the EOS R5, something which Martin took advantage of when shooting athletes performing daring tricks.

“8K is probably overkill for the type of video work I normally do alongside my photography, but the ability to shoot at 100fps with 4K resolution opens up new opportunities,” he says. “Watching the guys running through their tricks, it was hard to make sense of it all because there’s so much going on in such a short time. But recording at 4K 100fps enables you to clearly see all the movements involved.”

Kevin exploited the EOS R5 C's 4K high frame-rate recording for many sequences in his travel film. "It was really effective when shooting the sea," he says. "I did some speed ramping of the waves, and trees in a forest during a small storm, slowing the movement down and then speeding it up again, and the results are so clean and sharp."

The EOS R5 features Canon's in-body image stabilisation (IBIS) system, an industry-leading technology for stills capture and also beneficial for handheld video. The EOS R5 C features the same advanced 5-axis Electronic IS as the Canon EOS C70, which achieves fantastically smooth and stable video performance when the user is walking or panning. Both technologies are highly effective and co-ordinate seamlessly with the optical stabilisation in Canon IS lenses.

As Martin mostly shoots handheld, it was a feature that he welcomed. "At one point," he says, "I was hiking up a mountain before sunrise with my wife to get some footage. Even though there was not much light to speak of, and I was breathing heavily and using the camera without a tripod, the viewfinder image was perfectly stable."

“I use all the Canon RF lenses that are equipped with stabilisation, and the IS performs so well,” says Martin. “Even shooting with the Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM lens at 200mm, fully handheld, there was no camera shake."

Kevin's shoot in Madeira included filming on a small fishing boat in open water. "Getting good, stable footage on a boat is pretty hard," says Kevin. "Just standing up was hard!" But the EOS R5 C's Electronic IS, combined with its EOS iTR AF X autofocus technology, proved up to the task, delivering the smooth and stable footage he needed.

The electronic viewfinder (EVF) found on both the EOS R5 C and EOS R5 was another highlight for Martin. "It has about 60% more resolution than the EVF on the Canon EOS R, which gives it much more of an analogue feel – I couldn't see much difference when comparing it with the optical viewfinder of a DSLR. Plus, the 120fps refresh rate is much higher, which is a big plus for fast action."

The EOS R5 C and EOS R5, like the EOS C70, are designed to take advantage of all the benefits that Canon's innovative RF mount and RF lenses bring for videography, in addition to class-leading IS and smooth, silent AF technologies. The breakthrough communication speed and data bandwidth between camera and lens enables superlative electronic focus breathing suppression, and aperture adjustment in finer 1/8 stop increments means changes in brightness are much smoother than before. With the entire system designed with videography as much as still photography in mind from the start, the 8K video capabilities of the EOS R5 C and EOS R5 give all kinds of filmmakers exciting new creative options.