Canon C500 MKII - Testing the new Image Stabilization.

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An in-depth test of the Canon C500 Mark II's new image stabilization including side-by-side comparisons from 4 different scenes.
*Update on 3/1/2020*
Before conducting this test I wasn't aware of a note within the official C500MKII user manual that reads: "If the IS function is turned off on an EF lens, the camera's image stabilization function is deactivated too". This explains my findings in my video above that shows visually no difference between no IS at all and only in-camera stabilization on (but with no lens IS), because I was using the Canon 35mm f/2 IS lens. So without my knowledge, by turning IS off on the lens, this was also disabling the internal IS at the same time. However, when I turned lens IS on in my tests along with in-camera IS at the same time, both were activated and both worked. To truly test all 4 modes, I would also have needed to use the Canon 35mm f/1.4 lens that does not have image stabilization as well because that would be the only way to test the in-camera image stabilization without lens stabilization at the same time. I'm not sure if this is something Canon can fix with a firmware update, but it is an important note that I overlooked and I am sure is likely being overlooked by other C500MKII operators. Special thanks to Barry G for bringing this to my attention.
This is from a series of tests that I am conducting to help me decide: Should I sell my Canon C200 and buy the Canon C500MKII?
I have a few more videos coming out about the C500 Mark 2, so make sure to subscribe if you're interested in the C500.
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Chris Francis is a cinematographer and producer located in San Diego, CA.
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Пікірлер: 52

@ze1makaveli 4 жыл бұрын

Hey Chris! Thanks for making these test videos! I am currently in undecided which camera to buy - the C500 II, Sony FX9 or Mavo LF and videos like these are super helpful! That being said - i would like to give you some tips / constructive criticism regarding your camera holding technique. The way you hold the camera right now produces very shaky footage on the vertical axis. You have 3 points of contact on the same horizontal plane, meaning - your Easyrig cable and your left and right grip are all on the same spot, as in - MIDDLE of the camera. This results in a lot of vertical rocking (up and down)... like a swing. Or in other words - take a knife and balance it on your finger, and watch it swing up and down. That's what you are doing with your camera right now and it's very visible in the footage and also B-Roll of you holding the camera. Instead, i would suggest to put the left side handle to the front of the camera, or hold it by the follow focus when you use that and put the right Canon handle more to the back of the camera with an extension arm + cable. That way you will have spread the contact points on the whole length of the camera body for much better control. Also, that way you can push your left arm elbow in your stomach / vest to create an addition point of contact and stabilize that arm. The other part of this technique is correct breathing during hip dolly and other moves. If you push you elbow in your stomach / vest and then breathe in & out during hip dolly and other moves, then you will push your arm back and forth, which will create vertical shake. So you have to do the sharpshooter breathing technique where you exhale and then move for 5-10 sec without inhaling. Your body is the calmest after exhaling and it reduces hand shake as well. That's why every sharpshooter exhales before taking the shot. Hope these tips will help!

@ChrisFrancis 4 жыл бұрын

thanks for the tips! I appreciate you taking the time. I will definitely try these out. Funnily enough I'm on a shoot today and was thinking the exact same thing about my left side handle placement - great timing!

@JanAndhisfiets 4 жыл бұрын

Great info! Thanks

@PTUsher 4 жыл бұрын

Enjoying your content. When using Canon IS lenses, the camera's IBIS only activates when the lens IS is on (which is why you're not seeing any IBIS when the lens IS is off - even when the IBIS has been selected; this catches us all out). When using lenses without Canon IS, the camera's IBIS can be activated independently. Another of Canon's little quirks ; )

@ChrisFrancis 4 жыл бұрын

Yea, learned that one the hard way.....I updated the video description, but I wish there was a way to edit the video on KZbin to communicate that

@MartenKaehlert 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for testing it out. Besides some tripod like shots, I really don't like the look of the "IBIS". In some rare cases it seems to be very handy, but in a more run and gun style it looks more like warp stabilizer, that doesn't do its best job😉. I also don't like the look of the EOS R stabilization. Seems to be nearly the same. This wobbly feeling here and there looks so strange🤷‍♂️ But it's great, that Canon offers this solution. Even if it's not perfect for every situation.

@dkseattle 4 жыл бұрын

Enjoying your content Chris. I guess the thing I'm still not clear on is whether the electronic IBIS is operating before the 24 exposures per second are recorded, or after. If it's after, and you're recording at a typical 1/48 per second, then the motion blur is baked in and I would imagine the IBIS wouldn't be much better than warp stabilizer in post. If the stabilization is being applied to raw sensor data at a higher rate than the frame rate, then it's a whole different ballgame.

@cagatota 4 жыл бұрын

Great test, thank you for the *description update. Amazing background music.

@GriffinConway 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing Chris. Enjoyed watching this one. My findings were pretty similar.

@ChrisFrancis 4 жыл бұрын

I was impressed with your walking test that you did - you're clearly a steadier op than me, ha

@MagnanimousMediaChicago 4 жыл бұрын

Awesome video! We recently got a few C500 mkII's and have started shooting with them and this will be very helpful!

@barrygoyette 4 жыл бұрын

Hey Chris -- I was reading through the newest version of the C500 Mark II Manual, and I noticed something I hadn't seen before: If you have a stabilized lens on the camera, and you turn the IS off on the lens, it turns the EIS off as well, which explains why your IBIS only shots didn't seem to be any different than "no stabilization". I don't own any FF stabilized lenses and I've seen a pretty noticeable improvement with "IBIS" only, with non IS lenses.

@ChrisFrancis 4 жыл бұрын

barrygoyette that’s very interesting (and strange that Canon would do that...), but that would explain why I wasn’t seeing a difference. Thanks for the heads up, that’s great info to know!

@formattester6 11 ай бұрын

excellent review of IS!

@mamanagosto 4 жыл бұрын

Nice findings. Wonderful presentation.

@josecastro5815 4 жыл бұрын

Hi Chris! I really love your channel. Great content and quality. Keep up the good work my friend. God bless!

@adamfischer5465 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the video, great information and helpful to see a good test. What type of Zacuto rig are you using in your handheld shots? Looks like a nice compact set up.

@ChrisFrancis 4 жыл бұрын

Adam Fischer thanks Adam, a lot of times it doesn’t feel so compact but I’m pretty happy using my rig. It consists of the Small Rig VCT baseplate with the Zacuto Rosette Dual Handgrip and the Zacuto Z-finder and the Zacuto top plate with all of the Axis mount kit. To be honest it's a lot of gak and pushes the weight limit of my EasyRig Mini Max, but it lets me operate exactly how I prefer to.

@BobbyD262 4 жыл бұрын

Love the content, Chris. Keep it up!

@ChrisFrancis 4 жыл бұрын

Bob Drummond thanks Bob!

@safecribbo 4 жыл бұрын

Hey Chris, thanks for the video. I'm torn myself between the FX9 and the C500 mk2. I currently have the Eva1 and the digital IBIS is really good. I also have the Easyrig, you can get way smoother footage by holding it sideways and letting the Easyrig take the weight rather than trying to hold it too tight and push it against your eye. I watched a tutorial by Evan Boucier and honestly I sometimes don't use IBIS or lend IS as my footage is a lot smoother. Another thing that helped was to put all the weight on the bottom of the camera rather than adding accessories to the top. Hope this helps you get more stable footage. The real challenge with the Easyrig is walking! Haha

@ChrisFrancis 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks Thomas! My friend has the EVA-1 and I was blown away by the IBIS. Could get gimbal like moves handheld. Rumor on the street is that people are liking the FX9 better than the C500 MKII. I'm probably going to wait and see what Canon announces before NAB before making any purchase decisions - hoping for a C300 MKIII...

@BryanBenoitPhoto 4 жыл бұрын

Very detailed test. Thanks

@stephencaserta2969 3 жыл бұрын

how much of a difference does changing the focal length in the camera (the option under where you turn IS on) make to the footage. We have a PL mount 16-40mm and wondering if I should tell the camera its a 16mm or a 40mm or somewhere in the middle. Thanks!

@martinfitzpatrick7552 4 жыл бұрын

Nice tests. From an EOS R user, I personally feel the only use of digital IS is when attempting to have the camera to be as still as possible, anything more than that adds far too many artefacts into the frame.

@CM-ft9ep 4 жыл бұрын

It would be great if did a PP Warp Stabilizer effect on the footage, too, so we can see how that looks compared to IS.

@ChrisFrancis 4 жыл бұрын

Chris Milliman ah I wish I would have thought of that! Good idea

@CM-ft9ep 4 жыл бұрын

@@ChrisFrancis Appreciate you taking the time in any event.

@goncalofonseca1 Жыл бұрын

great job. i have c300iii and have the same problem. i think i will only use it (the digital image stabe) on steady shots.

@Owlbot 4 жыл бұрын

That's strange I felt like I had better results with the IBIS. Guess I'll have to do more tests!

@ChrisFrancis 4 жыл бұрын

I've since learned it depends on which lenses you use - read my update in the description for important info, thx!

@MoreGore 4 жыл бұрын

Could you get a take walking without the easy rig and hand held only? Then turn on the lens then body IS.

@ChrisFrancis 4 жыл бұрын

Victor Moregore wish I could do a few more variations like that but unfortunately I don’t have the camera, it was a rental for a project I was shooting. Griffin Conway has an example of that on his channel though - I recommend checking his channel out

@mauriciobriner 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the test. In which format did you record on the C500 mk2?

@ChrisFrancis 4 жыл бұрын

Mauricio Briner this video’s tests were in 4K AVCHD

@360CreativeBulgaria 4 жыл бұрын

The EIS, just like warp stabilizer in Premiere for ex. rely heavily on a smallest possible movements around the lens nodal point. As long as the lens nodal point doesn't change much in chaotic ways (depending on the scene complexity i.e. many objects at different distanceces) you'll be good to go with any of these methods! But in a more complex scene, I personally prefer to rely on a much more controlled post-production one (warp stabilizer) as I can choose how much stabilization is just enough before ruining the image. By the way, is EIS baked in a RAW files? If it is, then I doubt I'll ever use it! :)

@ChrisFrancis 4 жыл бұрын

360 Creative Bulgaria thanks for sharing your approach. EIS is disabled in camera on the C500MKII when shooting raw.

@360CreativeBulgaria 4 жыл бұрын

Chris Francis nice, it makes sense to be this way :)

@justhebigidea 4 жыл бұрын

Chris - this is just some encouragement to stay consistent and don't stop posting. I'm predicting you'll have a Peter McKinnon moment - where your channel will get picked up by the algorithms and grow exponentially quickly. Your content is just too good. Thanks again!

@ChrisFrancis 4 жыл бұрын

wow, thanks Justin, really appreciate the encouragement! this definitely adds fuel to the fire.

@justhebigidea 4 жыл бұрын

@@ChrisFrancis I purchased your course. I sent an email that I'm still waiting on my credentials so I can get to the content. Looking forward to digging into it! - Thanks so much.