Is Low-Light Footage From the Canon C500 Mark II at ISO 12,800 Useable?

Wait a minute. Who would dare to shoot at such an ISO? Just use a fast lens and don't go over ISO 1,600. Well, in this case, the camera was set to such an uncommon ISO to help us understand if it's worth paying for the Canon C500 Mark II to use it in low-light situations.

Ollie Kenchington from Korro Films and a writer at cinema 5D, made tests with one of latest cinema cameras on the market: the Canon C500 Mark II. The goal was to see how it performs in low-light situations, as well as have a hands-on experience with 6K footage from the same camera. For the low-light test, he used fast glass: Canon's 24-70mm f/2.8 L and Canon's 85 mm f/1.4 L. The video was not only shot at ISO 12,800, but also at 50 fps for a slow motion effect, which requires even more light, because he probably had the shutter speed to 1/100 sec. Kenchington stated that the noise in that video was comparable to the noise of his Canon C200 at much lower levels. To me, the C500 Mark II image is exceptionally clean. Let us know in the comments what you see on your monitors and what your opinion is.

https://vimeo.com/377146247

The above footage was filmed by Ollie Kenchington at sunrise using ISO 800 and in 6K. I don't think Vimeo supports that resolution yet, but you can surely switch to 4K. Don't look for noise there. Just enjoy the view, and if you are curious to see the 6K file in its full glory, head over cinema 5D, download it, and pixel-peep it by yourself. There, you can also find the original file from the low-light video.

Tihomir Lazarov's picture

Tihomir Lazarov is a commercial portrait photographer and filmmaker based in Sofia, Bulgaria. He is the best photographer and filmmaker in his house, and thinks the best tool of a visual artist is not in their gear bag but between their ears.

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11 Comments

Man that’s clean. Only watched it full screen on my phone, but seems entirely usable for most situations.

Hi Hasto, say hello to the other 1,400,000,000 people there for me.

There isn’t a pro level cinema camera that I am aware of that has IBIS.
Cinema cameras can achieve a specific look by using it with support or handheld.

Someone ghost edited their post.
Apparently this camera wasn’t worth anything since it didn’t have IBIS and a few other things.

No, it doesn't have a dual card slot. It has three card slots.

The only problem I see is that you can't call someone from the camera, neither they can call you. Oh, one more: it doesn't have ability to post videos on Instagram and Facebook.

2 CF Express Card Slots and 1 SD Card slot. It is the first Cinema EOS camera with IBIS, it uses the same as the EOS R.

Amazing what you can do when you use the right tool for the job. All those people who complain about the video on a EOS R, 90D or 5D4 need to buy the right tool.

simply amazing

Details show ISO 800 to 12,800. I couldn't even tell. Nice.

Haha, damn. I need to upgrade my computer. I downloaded their 4K_Ungraded footage and couldn't play it smoothly.

this is damn good i also want to see it under a dark sky to see the aurora or milky way

The latest Canon development is ISO 2million capable. I can't wait to see something from that.