Ollie agrees. "It feels like there's a little bit more clarity to ST when compared to LT, but it is very subtle and it really isn't something that I suspect a non-colourist would notice," he says. "I think if I was shooting a project where colour was paramount and we needed that full RGB, and maybe we were planning to apply some sharpening in post, over and above what you would normally do with developing RAW, then I think ST would be the route I would go down for certain projects. But LT is perfectly decent and if you're just after a really robust 4:4:4 codec that's full of colour information, and not just using extra data that you're not really going to benefit from, then LT is perfect."

It's worth noting that the HQ mode is available only when shooting in Super 35mm and not in Full Frame. That's simply because of the limitations of CFexpress 2.0 Type B media. "We can record up to 2.6Gbps onto those cards reliably, and we don't exceed that," explains Aron. "So we're able to unleash 8K 60p with Cinema RAW Light LT, and if you want to go to Cinema RAW Light ST for even more data then you can go up to 8K 30p. If you decide to raise the data rate with Cinema RAW Light HQ, then you'll be restricted to 5.9K and Super 35mm, but this still delivers an exceptional amount of detail for any professional 4K workflow."

In early 2022, the Canon EOS C70 became a Cinema RAW Light capable camera via a firmware upgrade.

"When it was launched, the EOS C70 was able to record in 4:2:2 10-bit XF-AVC or HEVC," Aron says. "One of the biggest requests that we've been hearing from EOS C70 shooters is the ability to shoot RAW, and it's now possible to do that thanks to the three different versions of Cinema RAW Light."

The EOS C70 records onto UHS-II SD cards rather than the CFexpress 2.0 Type B format used by the 365bet体育投注_365bet体育娱乐场-app官方下载@5 C and EOS C300 Mark III. However, you're still able to record 12-bit RAW files internally rather than to an external recorder.

"With Cinema RAW Light LT, you can record 4K up to 60 fps in 12-bit on the EOS C70, with ST giving you access to 4K up to 30 fps," Aron reveals. "When you go into HQ mode the image will be cropped to Super 16mm, providing 2K at up to 60fps.

"Cinema RAW Light is a huge benefit for this camera, because it's taking the capabilities of the DGO sensor to a whole new level. We are now getting 12-bit RAW capabilities, whereas before it was chroma subsampled to 4:2:2 10-bit. When you factor in the sensor's 16+ stops of dynamic range, I think a lot of people are going to appreciate all of that extra quality."

The compact size and RAW capabilities of the EOS C70 make it a versatile option for productions that require mobility and post-production flexibility. Filmmakers working on smaller productions or budgets can also benefit from the Cinema RAW Light format in the even more portable 365bet体育投注_365bet体育娱乐场-app官方下载@5 C.

"You can shoot RAW resolution from 3K all the way up to 8K in this camera, as well as being able to utilise Cinema RAW Light LT, ST and HQ," Aron says. "Some cameras, including the EOS C70, will only be able to scale as far as the media card speed will allow. So for example, on SD cards, Cinema RAW Light can record up to 645Mbps, but on the 365bet体育投注_365bet体育娱乐场-app官方下载@5 C we're now recording RAW formats as low as 138Mbps and as high as 2.6Gbps. So that's an incredibly broad range of scalability you have in terms of a 12-bit format."

Canon has worked with its partners to ensure that the Cinema RAW Light file format is supported natively by a range of popular non-linear editing systems (NLEs), meaning that CRM files can be viewed, edited and graded in software without the need to create an intermediary file, saving both time and disk space.

"In many ways RAW codecs are all the same and they all have similar workflows in post," says Ollie. "But certainly, in my experience, Cinema RAW Light is one of the easiest to play back on not particularly powerful computers.

"I'm always a bit surprised at how well it responds, given that it is a RAW codec. It almost feels like working with Apple ProRes 4444, which is a non-RAW full RGB codec. But you can, of course, change ISO and sharpening and noise reduction and lift gamma and gain, and all these other things that you can do as part of the first grade because it is a RAW format.

"The fact that there's an internal proxy recording workflow available in the Canon EOS C70 via a firmware update is also great. It solves an editing problem, because you're getting a half-resolution XF-AVC video file recorded with the same timecode and the same file name as the Cinema RAW Light file. So you can do all of your editing with the proxy and then just switch over to the Cinema RAW Light file when you're going to do all of your grading and noise reduction at the end."

In addition to recording Cinema RAW Light, the Canon EOS C200 also shoots 4K UHD (4:2:0 8-bit at 150Mbps) and Full HD in MP4 or XF-AVC, while the Canon EOS C500 Mark II, EOS C300 Mark III, EOS C70 and 365bet体育投注_365bet体育娱乐场-app官方下载@5 C all support recording in Canon's XF-AVC format in 4K 4:2:2 10-bit.

The EOS C500 Mark II and the EOS C300 Mark III both offer Canon Log 2 or Canon Log 3 options, as does the EOS C70, while the 365bet体育投注_365bet体育娱乐场-app官方下载@5 C features Canon Log 3.

Brett Danton was among the first filmmakers to use Cinema RAW Light while recording this Jaguar F-PACE SUV commercial in New Zealand on pre-production Canon EOS C200 cameras.

The production schedule required visits to multiple locations in a short space of time, meaning that a mobile setup and easy data management were priorities. It's a combination for which the large amounts of data and smaller RAW file size offered by Cinema RAW Light are perfectly suited. The ability to record RAW internally to CFast? 2.0 cards on the compact EOS C200 provided the image quality and flexibility that Brett and his team needed, while the camera's MP4 proxy files meant that offline edits could be made on location and reconformed to RAW when the team returned to the UK.

The shoot took place in a range of weather conditions, but it was essential that the colours of the vehicle were rendered accurately from shot to shot. The wide dynamic range and accurate reproduction afforded by Cinema RAW Light ensured that continuity was maintained between scenes recorded in full sun, rain, snow and fog. Other considerations included green screen and composite VFX, in addition to HDR finishing, all of which benefited from Cinema RAW Light's wide colour space and bit depth.

An example of where Cinema RAW Light shines is in the opening shot of the commercial. The combination of high-contrast sunset scene and VFX stag required both an extensive dynamic range and a detailed file that would ensure no image degradation. Cinema RAW Light provided both, with Brett able to decide, in the comfort of the edit suite, whether Canon Log 2 or Canon Log 3 would produce more shadow detail.

Recording detail in the interior of the dark car and the bright, snow-capped backdrop in a single shot posed its own dynamic range challenges. Brett points out that his colourist would normally need to do a two-pass grade for a scene like this – one for the interior and one for the exterior – and then comp in Flame, the 3D visual effects software. Shooting Cinema RAW Light gives you the option of manipulating the raw sensor data, refining the brightness and expanding the dynamic range of the output file before grading so that it can all be done in a single pass.

Obviously RAW won't be needed in every situation, and even the additional processing required for Canon Log may be a step too far when the priority for clients is a fast turnaround. But when picture quality counts and HDR and VFX-heavy workflows are required, Cinema RAW Light provides the perfect base from which to work.

Because there's no need for external recording units, the shooting process is largely the same as with a compressed codec, although Brett exposes differently in Cinema RAW Light. "With RAW, I'm looking to gather as much information as possible rather than trying to expose for a predetermined look. We decide on the look in post," he says.

"If you're working to finish in HDR, you don't want to blow out highlights. If you've got a subject with a lot of contrast, you've still got to decide where you want the shadow area to sit. Ideally with RAW, you want to lift the shadows a little and not have them sit on the very bottom, because that's where noise can come in. I use my waveform to check I haven't blown highlights in the brightest part of the image, then see if that puts a lot of important stuff into the dark area. Then I might clip the highlight a little more."

Ollie encourages filmmakers to always shoot a colour chart and to get the white balance right on every shot. "People might think getting exposure and colour right doesn't matter with RAW, but it's useful information," he says.

A key advantage of filming in Cinema RAW Light is that the file sizes are small enough to edit. Brett still generates proxy files – an exact copy of your footage in a smaller file size – but mostly uses them for clients to view on set. "When the Canon EOS C200 came out, we did a proxy workflow and edited those files," he says. "Now I only use proxies to upload as rushes with a LUT dropped on, so clients can have a look."

To make the most of shooting in Cinema RAW Light you need extra storage, higher resolution screens and powerful hardware, but technology in areas such as memory, storage, computer graphics and processing is improving all the time. "CFast and CFexpress memory cards are incredibly robust and fast so everything downloads really quickly," says Brett. "It's best to keep the software and files on two different fast drives. I store the RAW footage on a fast SSD Thunderbolt 3 external drive and use an SSD with my laptop. If the footage won't play back smoothly, it's usually the external drive that's causing the bottleneck."

"You can scrub through it very simply, which is kind of incredible really," adds Ollie. "We've got a file that's full of colour information, it's really rich with data, and yet it's lightweight enough to cut together and work with – even on a laptop. There aren't going to be many systems that struggle. When I was doing a demonstration with the Canon DP-V3120 [a 31-inch 4K HDR professional reference display], which is an incredible monitor, the whole thing was being driven by my 16-inch MacBook Pro. It's quite staggering to think that we can work with these files on a laptop. It opens up all kinds of options."

Canon's Cinema RAW Development software can be used to convert Cinema RAW Light files into a codec that's readable by a range of non-linear editing systems (NLEs). Footage can also be dropped straight into Adobe Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve and plugins ensure compatibility with Final Cut Pro X 10.4 from Apple (using the Canon RAW Plugin for Final Cut Pro X) and Media Composer from Avid Technology (via the Canon RAW Plugin for Avid Media Access).

"In terms of cutting and editing, and the grading tools you use for colouring, Cinema RAW Light is no different from any other file," says Ollie. "There is no specific workflow. The different software presents the RAW tools slightly differently. The RAW image doesn't have a gamma applied, so you can make it Rec.709, Canon Log 3, Log 2 or Log."

All these options could be confusing for the less experienced filmmaker – especially when mixing footage from different cameras – but that's when you see the benefit of an all-Canon Cinema RAW Light workflow, adds Brett. "You've got the same flavour of RAW across multiple Canon cameras, so you've got consistency and you know you can match those files together."