The Canon EOS C80 is a cinema camera, launched in September 2024 and costing around $5500 or pounds. From the name you’d assume it’s the follow-up to the C70, launched exactly four years earlier in 2020. The C70 was the first Cinema EOS camera to sport an RF mount for native mirrorless lenses, and recorded up to 4k 120 video using a cropped Super 35 sensor. 

But the new C80 doesn’t replace the C70, with the older model still selling for around $4500 or pounds, look out for discounts. Instead the C80 slots between it and the C300 Mark III. Unsurprisingly it keeps the RF mount, but behind it is a larger full-frame stacked BSI sensor capable of 6k 30p RAW with triple-base ISO and a claimed 16 stops of dynamic range. If this sounds familiar, it’s because the C80 inherits the exact same sensor as the higher-end C400 launched just a few months earlier at around $8000 or £7800, albeit lacking the internal 6k 60 RAW of that model, due to slower card slots.

So the EOS C80 essentially gives you most of the quality of the C400 in a smaller, lighter and more affordable body that’s only a little taller than the C70 and roughly 220g heavier without accessories. Sure it misses out on some high-end features from the C400, but it’ll appeal to anyone who values the smaller size and lower price. In the video below I’ll show you the new features and my initial results with the camera, and as always if you prefer reading the written highlights, keep scrolling!

EOS C80: 160x138x116mm, 1310g // EOS C70: 160x130x116mm, 1190g (without accessories)

At first glance, the C80 shares much the same shape and control layout as the C70, so if you’re familiar with that model you’ll be right at home. The left side is almost identical with the same wealth of ports each behind their own flaps. These include a pair of Mini 3-pin XLR audio inputs alongside 3.5mm microphone and headphone jacks, USB-C and a full-size HDMI Type A port. The camera can now record audio in 24 bit, but there’s still no internal 32-bit float. As far as I know, the USB-C port can’t support external SSDs.

New to the C80 over the C70 is the addition of an SDI output at the top, a capability more normally found on higher-end models.

Also notice the air-intake vent for the active cooling system. From the menus you can set the fan speed and whether it’s always on or activates when it needs to. At the lowest speed it’s barely audible.

As before the rear is dominated by a fully-articulated 3.5in screen with what looks like the same 1280×720 panel as the C70. As a cinema camera, there’s no built-in viewfinder, and as far as I know, no optional accessory which is a shame for those who prefer eye-level composition. Note it’s possible to rotate the on-screen information for vertical composition. This is selected from a menu, not automatically.

Note the higher-end C400 employs a removeable screen with a USB-C connection which in theory allows alternative displays to be used, but I don’t believe the C80’s USB-C port has this functionality. You can of course connect an external HDMI display to the C80 if preferred though.

Below the screen is the housing for the battery, with the C80 using the same BP-A30N as the C400 – again if you’re new to Cinema cameras, notice how this is easily accessible and also features a button to immediately check the status. The battery is charged using a separate AC adapter.

Between the screen and battery on the right side is a new ethernet port, a useful addition over the C70 which allows fast and secure networking and remote control. The C80 also now includes Wifi. Meanwhile in the upper right, eagle-eyed C70 owners will also notice the joystick has been redesigned and moved a little to the left. This new one feels better to me.

On the right-hand grip side, you’ll find the timecode BNC behind a flap at the bottom, and a windowed-door which opens to twin SD card slots. The C80 can record different formats to each slot, for example 6K RAW to one and 4k or 2k to the other, although you will need the fastest V90 UHS-II cards to support the highest bit rates. 

My Sony TOUGH SD cards, rated as V90 and UHS-II did not support internal RAW on my sample C80, but my SanDisk Extreme Pro card worked fine – so you may need to check with Canon to find out exactly which cards are necessary. 

Also note the C400 has one SD and one CF Express slot, with the latter supporting faster bit rates, allowing internal 6K RAW up to 60p. I’m told the C80 can output 6k Pro Res RAW up to 60p over HDMI to an external recorder, but I was unable to try that.

On the top surface you’ll find the shoe has been updated to support Canon’s Multi-function accessories, and this has also been shifted back to accommodate the new carrying handle mount. The handle is included with the C80, and also allows you to mount Multi-function accessories, albeit using the extension cable. There’s no mention of a Multi-function viewfinder accessory, but we can hope. Meanwhile underneath the body are a selection of mounting options, including a new quarter inch thread towards the front.

Turning to the front of the C80, you’ll find the RF lens mount, allowing you to directly fit any native RF lens, including support for the 5.2mm Dual Fisheye for VR content. Like all RF-mount cameras, you can use an adapter to fit EF lenses, and as you’d hope there’s also an RF to PL adapter available. Note the four screws around the mount to secure larger lenses or adapters.

The headline feature of the C80 is the sensor, again inherited from the C400. Like most cinema cameras the C80 does not employ sensor-shift IBIS, although there is digital stabilisation available in standard or enhanced modes. 

Again like most cinema cameras, there is a built-in ND filter system with options for 2, 4 or 6 stops. As I cycle through them, you can see the physical filter actually moving in front of the sensor fairly quickly. Extended options up to 10 stops are also available.

As for recording formats, the C80 offers internal Cinema RAW Light in 12 bit, XF-AVC in 10 bit, XF-HEVC S in 420 or 422 10 bit, and XF-AVC S in 422 10 bit or 420 8 bit. RAW recorded in 6k up to 30p in the DCi shape, while all other formats are in 2k or 4k up to 60p in either 16:9 or DCi. 4k up to 60p is oversampled from 6k.

Switch the camera to slow and fast mode and you can record 4k up to 120p and 2k / 1080 up to 180p, albeit with some caveats. First, if you’re using Intra-frame compression, 4k is limited to 60p and 1080 to 120p. If you want 4k up to 120p or 1080 up to 180p, you’ll need to select Long GOP. Secondly as far as I could see, autofocus in slow and fast mode is only available up to 120p, with those faster 1080 rates becoming manual focus only in my tests.

As an early sample of the camera, I’m not going to do a deep dive into the quality yet, but I did want to share some early results to illustrate some of the key capabilities.

So first I filmed my resolution chart in 1080p and in my initial tests the quality was maintained up to 120p, but became visibly softer at 150 and 180p while also losing autofocus. I magnified the chart by 400% in the video above.

Switch to 4k and you’ll see a visible boost in detail as you’d expect. This quality is maintained up to 60p, although I noticed a very mild reduction in detail at 100 and 120p due to those higher frame rates not being oversampled.

And finally for 6k RAW where it’s delivering greater detail than 4k, albeit without any noise reduction or lens corrections applied. Shame there isn’t RAW in lower resolutions, or indeed 6k in a non-RAW format.

Next autofocus tests, starting with human face and eye detection using the whole frame. The C80 inherits the Dual Pixel CMOS II system of the C400, giving both an upgrade over the performance of the C70, albeit still below that of the latest photo or hybrid models like the EOS R5 or R6 II.

I found the response wasn’t quite as snappy as the photo or hybrid cameras by default, but this can be adjusted to taste, and the bottom line is it kept me in focus for most of my tests.

Next for slow motion. I filmed 4k 100 in slow and fast mode, outputting 25p for a four-times slowdown. I had the full AF area and animal subject detection enabled, again improved over the C70. The C80 detected the animals when they were pretty small on the frame and managed to keep them focused so long as they didn’t move too quickly.

Next for rolling shutter, in 1080 and 4k at 25 and 50p. The stacked sensor keeps skewing reasonably low, but if you really move the camera vigorously, you’ll notice the effect. So it’s better than some cameras, but certainly not immune to some skewing if you swing it around a lot.

Moving on, under the Custom Picture menu you’ll find 709, C Log 2, C Log 3, and BT 709 options in Wide or standard dynamic range, along with PQ, HLG, Standard, Neutral and ten user banks.

One of the exciting features inherited from the C400 is triple base ISO. In BT 709 and standard profiles the three bases are 160, 640 and 2500 ISO. In C-Log 2, 3 and RAW, these become 800, 3200 and 12800 ISO. You can choose the bases manually, or let the camera select them automatically as you reach each of them. 

So in Auto mode in C-Log 2, the C80 will use Base 800 until 2500 ISO, before switching to Base 3200 at 3200 ISO. It’ll then use Base 3200 until 10000 ISO before switching to Base 12800 upwards. 

As each new base is reached, you’ll notice a reduction in noise, so if you’re shooting C-Log 2 at around 2500 ISO, it makes more sense to jump to 3200 in order to select the next base.

That said, there is overlap between the bases, allowing you to select lower sensitivities, for example 1600 ISO in Base 3200. These might deliver lower noise than the base below them, but could result in lower dynamic range too. So I’d recommend doing some tests at your most used ISOs to find the best settings.

In my video above you’ll see that triple base in action in C-Log 2 using the auto switching and starting here at 800 ISO. I’ll magnify a portion of the colour chart by 300% where you can more easily see the noise and gradually increase the sensitivity one third of a stop at a time,

Now when I boost the sensitivity from 2500 to 3200 ISO, the camera automatically switches to the Base 3200 mode, delivering a slightly cleaner image, as this is now the new base. Then when I go from 10000 to 12800 ISO the camera switches to its third base, again delivering a slightly cleaner result. 

I’ve not done any DR tests yet as my sample wasn’t final, but I’d expect it to be essentially the same as the C400 in terms of overall quality in the same modes.

Canon EOS C80 verdict

And that’s all I have time for this first-looks review. Essentially the C80 can be seen as an upgraded C70 now with a 6K full-frame sensor, SDI and ethernet, or as a smaller, more affordable version of the C400, sharing most of its quality but losing out on 6K 60p and some connectivity.

There’s more to it than that, but by cherry-picking much of the C400 and packing it into a body that’s more like the C70, I reckon the C80 will become a very popular option for many productions.