Canon C500MKII Review

As a long time Canon C200 & C200B owner, I’ve decided to kick the tires (a lot) on the new Canon C500MKII to see if I should ultimately upgrade.

Canon C200 vs. Canon C500MKII: Quick Overview

In my first video I break down the differences between the Canon C200 and the Canon C500MKII 👆

Canon C200 vs. Canon C500: Image Quality Comparison with Sample Footage

In my second video I compare the two cameras’ image quality across a variety of internal recording settings. Can you spot the difference? (full screen recommended)

Canon c500MKII Image stabilization tests

In my third video I run the C500MKII through all the different combinations of lens and in-camera image stabilization - including the all new 5-axis image stabilization that comes in the latest Canon Cinema EOS cameras. As someone that shoots a lot of handheld doc-style projects, this was very important for me to test.

*Before conducting this test I wasn't aware of a note within the official C500MKII user manual that reads: "If the IS function is turned off on an EF lens, the camera's image stabilization function is deactivated too". This explains my findings in my video above that shows visually no difference between no IS at all and only in-camera stabilization on (and lens IS turned off), because I was using the Canon 35mm f/2 IS lens. So without my knowledge, by turning IS off on the lens, this was also disabling the internal IS at the same time. However, when I turned lens IS on in my tests along with in-camera IS at the same time, both were activated and both worked. To truly test all 4 modes, I would also have needed to use the Canon 35mm f/1.4 lens that does not have image stabilization as well because that would be the only way to test the in-camera image stabilization without lens stabilization at the same time. I'm not sure if this is something Canon can fix with a firmware update, but it is an important note that I overlooked and I am sure is likely being overlooked by other C500MKII operators.

Is the Canon C500 Mark II worth it? Camera Finances

And in my fourth and final video in this series I try to decide whether it’s worth it or not to upgrade from my Canon C200 to the new Canon C500MKII. However, when I say “Is it worth it?” I’m not talking about features, image quality, etc., I’m talking actual dollars and cents. In this video I breakdown my previous two years of finances and will show you how I decide from a financial perspective if something is worth purchasing.

If your church is considering a camera purchase or if you’re a freelance filmmaker, I’d highly recommend going through this process that I walk myself through in this video.

Want more camera comparisons? Check out the Canon c300MKIII vs. Canon c70