Canon's Cinema RAW Light format, introduced with the release of the Canon EOS C200 and also available on the EOS C500 Mark II, EOS C300 Mark III, EOS R5 C and EOS C70 (via a recent firmware update), reduces file size without sacrificing image quality. © Canon
Filming in RAW gives you more options in post-production, but the file format has been hard to accommodate in the past. Canon Cinema RAW Light, first introduced with the release of the Canon EOS C200 video camera, makes using RAW faster and easier than ever.
RAW filming ensures optimum control over picture quality and enables creative and technical decisions to be made later in post-production. Previously, that flexibility had come at the price of large file sizes, making the storage and transfer of 4K RAW files on location and in the edit suite a challenge.
Canon's Cinema RAW Light format alleviates this problem, offering a significant reduction in file size without sacrificing image quality or grading and compositing headroom. Also featured on the Canon EOS C500 Mark II, Canon EOS C300 Mark III, Canon EOS R5 C and Canon EOS C70, the Cinema RAW Light format allows filmmakers to realise the widest dynamic range of the camera's sensor in a file that's approximately a third to a fifth of the size of a standard Cinema RAW file.
In the case of the Canon EOS C200, this breakthrough enables 4K internal recording to a high-speed CFast™ 2.0 card, working out at around 15 minutes of 12-bit or 10-bit DCI 4K at 1Gbps on a 128GB card. (It's worth noting that only CFast™ 2.0 cards that support VPG-130 are recommended for use with Cinema RAW Light.)
The Canon EOS C500 Mark II features a DIGIC DV 7 image processor, which enables Cinema RAW Light recording internally at 5.9K and at up to 2.1Gbps using CFast™ 2.0 cards that support VPG-130. Meanwhile, the Canon EOS C300 Mark III supports continuous recording at higher frame rates of up to 120fps in 4K Cinema RAW Light using CFexpress recording media.
The Canon EOS R5 C introduces three new Cinema RAW Light recording options, while a recent firmware upgrade for the Canon EOS C70 allows users to use Cinema RAW Light to make the most of the camera's breakthrough DGO (Dual Gain Output) sensor.