Canon EOS C500 Mark II Firmware Update Brings Three New Cinema RAW Light Formats

Firmware Update

by Omri Keren LapidotMarch 13^th, 2024

Canon’s EOS C500 Mark II will soon get a firmware update enabling three new flavors of Cinema RAW Light capture. The camera’s existing 12-bit Cinema RAW Light capture will be joined by three additional formats: Cinema RAW Light LT (light recording), ST (standard quality), and HQ (high quality). All will record 12-bit RAW and will now be available for all frame rates. In addition. 12-bit RAW recording will now be possible in 4:3 or 6:5 frame ratios. The firmware update release is due on March 21st.

Debuted with the company’s cine-hybrid R5C, Canon’s Cinema RAW Light formats are compressed RAW formats, enabling more efficient recording regarding file size. This is achieved without any perceivable image quality loss thus making RAW recording more accessible and easy to work with. The files occupy approximately a third to a fifth of the storage space required for the existing “normal” Cinema RAW Light file. This also greatly affects writing speeds, making higher frame rates or slower cards a viable option.

This new addition of three new Cinema RAW Light formats further boosts the camera’s capture envelope. 12-bit files provide a significant advantage regarding color depth, with up to 68 billion available colors. Canon’s efficient compression now brings this level of color rendition to the camera’s high frame rates, but will also help to make mainstream speeds more manageable in terms of storage.

Elevated modularity

The Canon EOS C500 Mark II is among the most modular cine cameras out there. The camera is a bit boxy and quite compact. While its base configuration offers full operability, it may be transformed significantly. The lens mount is user-interchangeable, offering EF, PL, and full compatibility. The monitor unit and top handle can be mounted in various locations. The rear part of the camera houses a dedicated port for various modular units.

With the latest firmware update coming on March 21st, Canon is adding quite significant “modularity” to their available Cinema RAW Light workflow. The efficient file sizes will help more users take advantage of the 12-bit RAW quality, and the expanded frame rate will help action cinematographers. All those options, hardware or firmware-based, let the camera cater to various needs.

This significant update is only one piece in the Canon firmware puzzle. Cinema RAW Light has already transformed another camera via a firmware update – the Canon Cinema EOS C70. Equipped with dual SD card slots, the C70 was initially considered a “non-RAW” camera. Even the fastest SD UHS-II cards couldn’t come close to RAW writing speed, so this limitation seemed rooted in hardware.

With their reduced file sizes, Cinema RAW Light files could squeeze into V90 SD cards, completely transforming the C70 into one of the most influential firmware updates launched by Canon in recent years. Now coming to the flagship Canon EOS C500 Mark II, the three new Cinema RAW Light formats have a lot to offer to this already impressive camera.

Price and availability

The firmware update will be free to download and available from March 21st, 2024.

Will this update help you start shooting RAW video? Do you already shoot, whatever the storage space? Will you still go for XF-AVC? Let us know in the comments.