Canon EOS C70 Now Netflix Approved

Netflix Approved

by Jeff LochDecember 11^th, 2020

Netflix recently announced that the Canon EOS C70 is officially approved to shoot Netflix 4K Originals content. This approval is not a big surprise, as the C70 is equipped with the same sensor as the Canon C300 Mark III, which was also approved by Netflix. Let’s take a closer look at it!

Following the footsteps of the RED Komodo that was approved in November, Netflix recently published a camera production guide for the Canon EOS C70 with settings and best practices to shoot Netflix 4K Originals content.

The image below shows the camera production guide for the Canon EOS C70, issued by Netflix. Recommended settings are higlighted in yellow.

Canon EOS C70 Netflix Approved

In this official production guide for the Canon EOS C70, here are the settings recommended by Netflix to creat 4K Originals content with the C70:

• Sensor mode: Super 35mm (recommended), but you can also use Super 16mm (Cropped).
• You must record footage in XF-AVC format, in DCI 4K or UHD resolution, with a 10-bit YCC422 color sampling.
• It is recommended that you black balance the sensor at every start of the day and after any dramatic operational temperature change.
• Netflix recommends that you shoot in Canon Log 2: C.Gamut picture profile. However, Canon Log 3: C.Gamut is accepted too.

About pictures profiles, Netflix gives you a couple of advices.

• Canon Log 2 provides 16+ stops of dynamic range and allows for extended shadow detail retention. This extended shadow detail often comes with a slight increase in noise.
• Canon Log 3 provides the same highlight retention; however, one less stop in the shadows. This provides a cleaner image that is often easier to handle in a high volume post-production process. If Canon Log 2 is captured, a 3D LUT is available from Canon to transform it into Canon Log 3, removing the shadow detail and, therefore, additional shadow noise for a simpler post-production process.
• The BT.709 LUT in-camera is the same as the BT.709_Wide DR LUT provided on Canon’s Website.
• When capturing in XF-AVC, all Canon Log formats are encoded as full-range data (0-1023). On a 10 bit scale, Canon Log 3 and Canon Log have a black point of 128, and Canon Log 2 has a black point of 95. For more information about maximizing image quality using Canon Log download Canon Log White Paper here.

High Frame Rates Settings

Netflix also lists High Frame Rates settings for the C70, including:

• XF-AVC 120 fps 4096×2160 422 10 bit.
• XF-AVC 120 fps 2048×1080 422 10 bit.
• XF-AVC (Cropped) 180 fps 2048×1080 422 10 bit.

However, Netflix states that “High-Speed recording requires Long GOP compression. Long GOP is not an approved compression scheme,” which is confusing me. We’ll reach out to Netflix to learn more about it and update this article once we get feedback.

All in all, that’s excellent news for Canon EOS C70 users who will now be able to offer their production services for Netflix commissioned jobs. If you want to learn more about it and read/download the complete Netflix guide, please click the link here.

What do you think about the Canon EOS C70 being Netflix Approved? Did you already receive your camera? Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments below!