The Canon 5D MK IV was finally announced yesterday, but the news was largely underwhelming. The vast majority of filmmakers I speak to are generally disappointed with the new releases, but I’m still on the fence…despite the fact that I’ve never been a fan of Canon.
I shoot a lot with the 5D MK II and 5D MK III, but the only Canon camera I own is the Canon C100. Well, that’s not the case – I also own a 35mm film Canon EOS 3 that I bought for $60, but that’s for another article.
I really have no reason to love or hate Canon right now. I’ve never invested heavily in one of their systems (body or glass), and if their video products stand up to the competition, it won’t affect me personally one way or another. So, I have a pretty unbiased opinion of their latest, the 5D MK IV, and despite its obvious shortcomings, it seems to have some advantages as well.
There have been many complaints about the MK IV since its release yesterday. The three biggest complaints are the camera’s lack of full-frame 4K recording (it crops to just over Super 35mm), its outdated MJPEG codec, and its lack of a log image profile.
Admittedly, these factors can all be seen as negatives, but the 5D MK IV also has some advantages in certain areas…it really depends on your perspective and how you like to work.
Let’s take a look at these complaints below and why they probably aren’t deal breakers.
4K crop mode
Of course, the 5D Mark IV does have a full-frame sensor like other 5Ds before it, but when you record in full 4K video mode, there will be cropping. I’ve read that the crop ranges from 1.64x to 1.74x, which is about the same as an APS-C crop (such as the Canon 7D) or the more relevant Super 35mm crop.
I may be a weirdo, but I’ve never been a fan of full frame video.
Many filmmakers who don’t have a film background don’t understand that full frame on a still is not the same as “full frame” on a film stock. In fact, for the latter, the term “full frame” is actually never used. This is just Super 35mm film. These are two very different sizes.
On the digital side, the full-frame sensor is equivalent to 35mm still film, while the APS-C sensor is equivalent to Super 35mm motion picture film. This means that if you were to use a cine lens (let’s say a 50mm Zeiss CP2), it would look relatively the same on a “cropped sensor” APS-C camera as it would on a Super 35mm cine camera.
If you use the same 50mm lens on a full frame camera, it won’t give you the same field of view.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it does call into question your personal preferences as a filmmaker. For me, I’ve always preferred a more traditional film look to a still photography look – which is what you get when shooting full frame film. Your images will look great, you’ll have a nice shallow depth of field, and a nice wide angle when you need it, but your field of view will be different than when you’re actually shooting Super 35mm film. For me, this is not the way I like to work.
The point of all this is that the 4K crop mode on the 5D MK IV will essentially give you the equivalent of a Super 35mm image, rather than a full-frame image. If you like the full-frame look, this will definitely be a big deal for you. But if you’re like me and prefer the look of the S35mm, not only will this not be a deal breaker, it’ll be an advantage. You’ll be able to use lenses to achieve a more realistic S35mm field of view and have more lens options. Keeping in mind that many lenses won’t cover full frame (including most EF cine lenses), shooting with this effective S35 crop will allow you to use the shots you want without worrying about vignetting.
MJPEG codec
Canon chose to integrate the MJPEG codec into the 5D MK IV, which is undoubtedly considered outdated technology by anyone’s standards. The vast majority of digital SLR cameras use H264 compression, and even the 5D MK III uses H264 as the codec for its full 1080p recording mode. On the Mark IV, Canon chose to use MJPEG, the same codec they used on the 1D C. It produces great results visually, but has one big drawback: file size.
MJPEG is not a “high performance” codec because it records at 500/Mbps, which is a very high data rate. It’s about 5 times the data rate of most DSLR/mirrorless cameras, typically 100/Mbps in 4K H264 mode.
Admittedly, larger file sizes can be troublesome, and this certainly needs to be taken into account when considering the Mark IV. Not only because you’ll need an extra memory card while shooting (playback time on a 64GB card is only about 16 minutes), but also because you’ll need extra hard drive space in post to back up your footage.
That said, whether this is a deal-breaker for you is just a matter of preference. If you’re used to shooting RAW, this won’t be a big deal to you. You probably already have a workflow that transcodes footage before editing, so doing the same with MJPEG files is nothing new. On the other hand, if you typically shoot material that needs to be turned around on the same day (such as newsgathering), you may want to stick with H264 as it’s easier and faster in post-processing and won’t necessarily require any transcoding .
Personally, the most important thing to me is image quality. If I need to wait minutes or hours for footage to be transcoded – I will wait, as long as the wait is worth it. I’d rather wait to transcode the footage in post and get better results than save a few minutes and record a poor quality image in camera.
This is not to say that the MJPEG codec is perfect by any means. It is an older codec that is less supported by most editing systems, but it is still a very powerful codec from an image quality perspective. Not to mention it records 4:2:2 instead of 4:2:0, which is great, although it’s still actually 8-bit.
Log Profile/Color Science
My biggest personal complaint with the 5D MK IV is its lack of a Log picture profile. I’ve gotten used to shooting in Log lately, and it’s definitely something I missed when I was shooting with a camera that could only record to Rec 709.
Of course, the benefit of shooting in Log is maximizing dynamic range by capturing a much flatter image than with standard Rec 709. – A beautiful and powerful image that still retains the additional dynamic range associated with the LOG profile.
I really don’t understand why there is no log profile in this camera as I believe Canon could easily integrate one. They obviously have the technology to achieve this with other cameras, so why not the MK IV? I don’t get it…at the same time, it’s not necessarily a deal breaker for me.
Log is equally important to me, but more importantly color reproduction. Canon does a better job than many other companies by consistently delivering brilliant, natural-looking colors across its entire product line. Sony’s color science, for example, is pretty lackluster, at least from where I sit. I bought an A7S II last fall but sold it after a few months because even after extensive color grading, I couldn’t get the colors right when shooting in Log.
To me, this shows that Log isn’t everything. Of course, I wanted the best of both worlds…a camera that could shoot raw wood and have great color science. But if there was only one of them, I’d choose Color Science every time.
Other considerations
My final point is that we need to remember that Canon’s specs on paper don’t tell the whole story. The original C300 is a good example. On paper, one can’t get over how bad the C300’s specs look, especially considering the price point Canon lists. But ultimately, the C300 became one of the most popular hybrid cameras ever made and is still used every day for broadcast television, independent films, events, news and more. Even “Blue is the Warmest Color,” which won the Palme d’Or, was shot with the C300.
Canon 5D MK IV – B & H $3499
So before we rush to judgment on the MK IV, let’s see how it actually performs in the real world. As I said at the beginning of this article, I’m the furthest thing from a die-hard Canon fan. I have never purchased from their ecosystem and have owned very few of their cameras over the years. That said, I can’t deny that their cameras (despite their flaws) still have some advantages over the competition – namely color science – which may be an important factor for some of us when buying a camera.
The MK IV does show off some interesting new features, too, such as internal HDR recording (for both video and stills) and lytro-style focus in stills mode, which lets you change focus/bokeh in post-production. As a stills camera, I’m sure it will be one of the best on the market. As a camera? We’ll see…I need to shoot with it first, but I’m definitely not giving up on it just yet.
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