Understanding the impressive versatility of the Canon EOS C400

Cinematographer Sarah Thomas Moffat reveals how the versatile EOS C400 enhances her workflows, from solo shooting to multi-camera setups to virtual productions.

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Versatility is a key advantage in modern filmmaking, where a camera might be required in a multi-camera studio setup one day, in the kitbag of a solo shooter on assignment the next, and fitted to a drone for a location shoot the day after. The Canon EOS C400 meets a wide range of such needs in one adaptable, compact full-frame cinema camera. 

Intimate interviews with the Canon EOS C400

Sarah Thomas Moffat is a Scots-Canadian cinematographer and DoP with more than 25 years' experience across feature films, commercials, television and recently virtual production. She has won numerous awards, including several Best Cinematography awards for the Canadian short film Boundless. 

She is adept at putting her subjects at ease, something which she feels can be an important aspect of documentary work. She recently shot an interview with Beverley De-Gale OBE, co-founder and Director of Operations at the African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust (ACLT), using the Canon EOS C400. Talking about the sensitive work of the ACLT, and the personal story of how Beverley and her husband came to establish it, required an intimate, one-on-one interview without a large film crew and obtrusive equipment

Moffat was able to shoot this using available light with the Canon EOS C400 stripped right down, relying on the camera's responsive Dual Pixel CMOS AF II autofocus to keep her subject in focus. She was also confident that the EOS C400 would capture true skin tones, thanks to the sensitivity of the 6K full-frame BSI stacked sensor and the impressive tonal range delivered by Canon's renowned organic colour science.

"When I work in documentary, it's important to me to make the person feel comfortable," she explains. Interviewees "are not always used to sets, and sharing a very vulnerable piece of your being can become overwhelming enough without all the technology and microphones and people watching.”

Moffat filmed on her own using an EOS C400 as her main camera, with an EOS C70 to one side for cut-aways. She monitored and controlled both cameras using Canon's Multi-Camera Control app, through which she could control exposure, NDs, and recording stop/start. This meant another operator was not required but she didn't have to distract her subject or interrupt the conversation to adjust a setting.

One of the keys to this way of working being successful was the EOS C400's advanced autofocus. In Detect Only mode, the camera only focuses once a person's face has been detected. This helps eliminate the risk of focus hunting onto objects in the background or foreground. The EOS iTR AF X system provides intelligent AF tracking that continues to focus on a subject's head, even when they look away from the camera. These features make it ideal for a solo shooter, and invaluable in other situations as well as intimate interviews – it also offers ultra-responsive body, animal and vehicle tracking covering the full sensor.

The Canon EOS C400 in a multi-camera setup

Moffat has also used the Canon EOS C400 to film a live performance on stage with theatrical lighting.

"This presented some really unique lighting challenges," she says, especially in preserving the actors' different skin tones in the moody, high-contrast environment. Here, she says, the full-frame BSI sensor's 16 stops of dynamic range and triple base ISO (800, 3200, and 12800 ISO where shooting RAW of Log) overcame these challenges, delivering even more range than she anticipated, with very smooth, noise-free dark tones.

This was a live theatrical performance situation, so multiple takes were not an option. It had to be a multi-camera setup, and she used four cameras, all feeding via XC Protocol into a Canon RC-IP1000 controller, at which she sat. "I could see all four camera feeds, make sure they were matching and also control zoom, iris, NDs, anything I needed to within each one," she says. "I could isolate a camera and adjust it while the operator was focusing on following the shot."

Traditional multi-cam live broadcast systems use smaller 2/3-inch sensors, but it is now possible to use cinema cameras with large full-frame sensors, delivering outstanding low light capabilities and shallow depth of field in a live production environment thanks to the EOS C400's advanced connectivity.

There are some powerful features here. The camera features built-in 12G-SDI, which is essential for transferring 4K signals up to 60P across long distances at high quality; Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity, which enable real-time IP streaming (SRT / RTSP) and remote control via XC Protocol; and Tally Input, a red LED light and border around the LCD that immediately informs the operator that their camera is live. Add to that you also have Return Input, which allows for the camera operator to view the live feed input from the switcher and understand what part of the production is currently live, which is particularly useful for anything with commercial breaks or shooting in different locations. And the connectivity features are rounded out by the essential Genlock, which allows all camera sensors in a multi-camera production to synchronise and ensure accurate, seamless timing when switching.

The Canon EOS C400 as a virtual production camera

Genlock is also useful in a virtual production environment to sync the camera to LED walls, and the EOS C400 fits perfectly into the virtual production environment.

”It's very compact and easy to work with; you can build it up or build it down. Using it with the Canon Cinema lenses was a really beautiful experience," she says. This allows her to use the wider apertures she prefers to keep the depth of field shallow in that environment. "It also has lens mapping internally, so you can switch prime lenses without the delay of remapping lenses, which in the past would take quite a long time." 

Moffat used the EOS C400 in a virtual production environment, with live action in front of a bank of LED screens. "Our scene was based in outer space," she explains. "We had a highlight coming from a star off to one side, then we added a mobile wall where we built in flares coming from animated comets flying by. So we had highlights, blacks, shadows, backlight, flares, reflections – everything we could smash into that shot.”

The complex lighting setup included reflections and the flare of passing comets projected onto the space suit, but the full-frame BSI sensor's 16 stops of dynamic range captured it all with no noise or moire problems. "I come from a film background," she comments, "so I think of it as a negative, and this was one of the nicest negatives I've seen in a long time."

The footage from the EOS C400, captured in full-frame 6K and saved in 12-bit Cinema RAW Light format, was "so smooth," Moffat concludes. "I didn't see any artifacting or noise anywhere, which gives me an excellent base to build on, with amazing latitude for post processing."

tl;dr

• Cinematographer Sarah Thomas Moffat utilizes the versatile Canon EOS C400 for various shooting scenarios, including solo interviews, multi-camera setups, and virtual productions.
• The camera's responsive Dual Pixel CMOS AF II autofocus allows for intimate interviews by keeping subjects in focus while using available light, ensuring a comfortable environment for interviewees.
• In a multi-camera setup for a live theatrical performance, Moffat leveraged the EOS C400's 16 stops of dynamic range to capture diverse skin tones in challenging lighting conditions without the option for re-takes.
• The camera features advanced connectivity options like built-in 12G-SDI and real-time IP streaming capabilities, making it suitable for high-quality live broadcasts with outstanding low-light performance.