- The Canon EOS C50 delivers 7K RAW, Super 16 mode, and Canon’s proven color science in a small, travel-friendly body. $3,899, available December 2025.
- Missing ND filters, IBIS, and EVF, but offers flexible codecs, dual media slots, and excellent autofocus.
- Positioned against the Sony FX3 and Nikon’s first cinema camera, the C50 revives Canon’s classic C100 spirit for today’s filmmakers.
The cinema camera market doesn’t typically see many new releases each year. So I was a bit surprised yesterday when it started raining cameras.
First, there was the Sony FX3 fighter in the cute little mirrorless form factor that is the Canon EOS C50. (safe link, I reviewed the Canon PR and, shockingly, the word “AI” is not mentioned even once: Canon U.S.A. Announces New EOS C50 7K Full-Frame CMOS Sensor Cinema Camera and RF-Mount RF85mm F1.4 L VCM Hybrid Lens)
And, then, not to be outdone, Nikon released its first ever cinema camera with the also svelte ZR, sporting some RED internals (a first).
Against that bevy of excitement for us who still prefer shooting with interchangeable lens cameras (ILEs) over mobile phones was the announcement of the…
Apple iPhone 17.
As expected, Apple hammered home the message as its wont to do: this is the best iPhone camera ever! All three are 48MP beasts! You can have ProRes RAW now too!
No doubt it’s impressive. I think many if not most content creators will turn to an iPhone (or Android) as their cameras of choice.
Canon EOS C50: Specs and Thoughts
For me: I’m all about the new Canon C50. It check all my boxes:
- Great Canon image quality
- Flexible shooting modes and codecs
- Super 16!
- 7K 3:2 open gate (which is pretty amazing)
- Uses tried and true standard Canon LP-E6, E6N batteries (we all have plenty right?)
- CFexpress Type B for main memory (SD as secondary)
- Articulating 3″ screen
This is all great stuff. I shoot in studio with a rather chunky RED Dragon (Scarlet-W). I love that thing. Built like a tank, surprisingly easy to use (e.g. changing frame rates and resolution is dead simple using the touch screen), and actually gets fairly decent battery life out of the V-mount. Best of all is the image. It’s my favorite of any camera by quite a wide margin. I’ve waxed poetic before here on Stark Insider on how much the organic look and beautiful (truly beautiful) highlight roll-offs do wonders to make an ordinary scene look, well, look extraordinary.
But I need something compact for travel work. I find my Panasonic GH6 just okay, sadly. I was enamored with its predecessor (the GH5!), yet the follow-on, despite all its amped-up specs, just never really did much for me when it came to the image. Also, the usability isn’t the greatest.
However, the C50… this reminds me of the older and classic C100 cinema cameras. Those were and are incredibly well made and useful doc and run-and-gun cameras. Sure, they only shoot 1080p, but the sensor is 4K and the end result is what counts, and it was good one. In any case, the C50 I suppose is half the size, so therefore it’s half the model number: C50. Beyond that it has all of that Canon goodness that we’ve come to love, including a 34MP sensor that shoots all the way up to an ungodly 7K resolution.
What is the Canon C50 Missing?
Lest this become a Canon advertorial, let me point out all the things the Internet has been complaining about; because each new camera release is never enough! Never! Enough! I don’t know how these people get by.
The C50 is missing (but not really missing):
- ND Filters
- In-body image stabilization (IBIS)
- EVF (Electronic Viewfinder)
- And probably a bunch of other stuff like being able to shoot 360fps at 6K and unlimited battery life and something else and also something else more
I guess I can understand from the perspective of a doc shooter or a wedding shooter. True, those things are important. There’s work arounds. You can bring a bag of NDs, and a gimbal or two as most do these days anyways. Then again, if those are top of mind, maybe another camera is a better option.
Since my RED doesn’t have any of those things I’ve just grown into better adjusting to a more cinema-oriented workflow. So, yes, that means dealing with NDs as annoying as it is, and also working with various stabilization solutions when needed.
I should point out, however, that Canon’s arch competitor in this space — the Sony FX3 — does have IBIS so that is definitely a consideration, and Sony has done well with the FX3/30 models.
Canon Nailed It
In my books Canon got it right. It took a while, but finally they have a compact cinema shooter that should have wide appeal.
At $3,899 USD the price is fair, and even undercuts the FX3 by a bit. Cheeky Canon.
A nice bonus is the included top handle. Not only does it provide onboard dual XLR audio (a must for doc, wedding, live events, corporate and commercial work of any sort), but it also doubles as convenient way to hold the camera when walking around, or shooting from low positions.
Button layout and mount points look promising from what I’m seeing in the press photos as well. Accessing things like focus peaking, a wave form monitor and resolution and frame rates are just a button press away, comfortably within reach.
Though I’ve long shot on Canon (60D, 70D, 80D, C100, R5) I’m brand agnostic. Whatever tool it takes to get the job done is what matters to me. Everyone has a favorite of course, and mine historically has been Canon, though I really liked the Panasonic GH5, and will never sell my RED. (even though they charged me $1,800 USD for a 480GB minimag… criminal).
With the iPhone 17, the Nikon ZR and Canon EOS 50, the camera market definitely had an exciting week, at least for us niche users that is. I was considering a Komodo-X for a travel cinema camera, but the Canon brings incredible Auto-Focus which makes it more of a complementary tool to something like my Scarlet-W so in that respect it brings more to the table.
And, my goodness: the C50 has a Super 16 mode that should play well with my beloved vintage Goddard-approved Angenieux zoom lens.
Nice job Apple. Nice job Nikon. Nice job Canon. I’ll take mine in Atomic Purple. What?! You say? It’s only available in that same old Canon black! Well, okay, let’s lie low then.
See you at happy hour.
But wait a sec… that Nikon ZR has auto-focus, IBIS, shoots REDCODE R3D and is only $2,200. Hmmm…
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