The best kit for filmmaking

Selecting the right filmmaking kit is a challenge, especially considering the huge variety of options available. You may have a dream camera in mind, but in reality, you'll need to choose your gear based on the size of your production and budget.

While monetary outlay is a key factor, there is a lot more to consider when deciding on cameras and lenses, including size, weight and versatility – and frequently how that kit can be customised and integrated into larger or smaller productions. Your professional video solutions must provide high production standards at all levels and be reliable and future-proof to protect your initial investment.

Here, we look at the range of filmmaking kit available for a number of budget levels, with comments from experienced cinematographers and Canon Ambassadors Elisa Iannacone and Martin Christ, plus technical insights from Canon Europe Product Specialist, Aron Randhawa.

If you're a solo shooter then budgets are often tight, and you'll want kit that both does the job well and allows you to be as flexible as possible.

The Canon EOS R5 C is a full-frame mirrorless camera that's a great entry-point option for content creators who capture both stills and video. Aron describes it as a powerful hybrid camera with the added benefits of being compact and lightweight. "What makes it unique is that it provides highly professional output for both photo and video," he says.

Documentary filmmaker Elisa Iannacone, who has produced work for organisations including National Geographic and Newsweek, utilises the quality and flexibility of the Canon EOS C70 when shooting in remote locations where larger kit isn't suitable. "Working with smaller cameras enables you to be a bit more nimble," she says. "I might be taking the EOS C70 into a conflict area, a humanitarian crisis, or somewhere where I want to be inconspicuous and versatile. With a bigger camera like the EOS C300 Mark III, people can get intimidated."

The Canon EOS R5 C, EOS C70 and EOS C400 feature Canon's groundbreaking RF mount and are compatible with the full range of Canon's existing EF lenses when used with adapters such as the Canon Mount Adapter EF-EOS R and the Canon Mount Adapter EF-EOS R 0.71x.

If you're just starting out, a zoom lens is a great option for your system, offering plenty of flexibility. The Canon RF 24-105mm F4L IS USM would be a perfect first choice for everything from filming wide establishing shots to talking-head-style interviews. As your budgets and requirements grow, the RF 70-200mm F4L IS USM offers greater creative freedom and options. These two lenses offer individual filmmakers high-quality optics with plenty of versatility, covering a huge focal range.

If you've moved past solo shooting and into bigger budget productions – but aren't quite at a prestige studio budget yet – then you'll find you need to be using industry standard kit that can be adapted to suit a variety of shooting scenarios. The Canon EOS C300 Mark III is the next step up in production size, with the larger, modular body giving access to plenty of direct control and advanced connectivity. The camera features a Super 35mm 4K DGO sensor with greater flexibility than the Canon EOS C70.

The EOS C300 Mark III is also more attuned to professional production workflows and has various file formats, colour depths and codecs to choose from. This includes 12-bit Cinema RAW Light recording up to 1Gbps, which provides high fidelity capture and more flexibility in post-production, making it an ideal solution for short films.

In addition, the EOS C300 Mark III adds greater workflow customisation, necessary for working with larger crews. This includes support for electronic viewfinders, simultaneous SDI/HDMI outputs, custom User LUTs and industry-standard V-mount battery solutions. In addition, the camera features an interchangeable lens mount, allowing either EF or PL mount lenses to be used for even further flexibility.

If you’re a filmmaker wanting to achieve uncompromised cinematic performance, then the mighty Canon EOS C400 is the camera for you.

This cutting-edge cinema camera is designed to elevate the art of filmmaking. A small but mighty model, this camera boasts the qualities of similar high-end counterparts but in a smaller form. This makes it extremely versatile, being suitable for handheld use, gimbals, live production and more.

“The camera has incredible image quality and connectivity, but at the same time, its new lightweight and modular form makes it the most versatile Cinema EOS camera to date,” says Ram Sarup, the European Product Marketing Specialist for Cinema EOS & Pro Video at Canon Europe.

“That means it can be used in any type of way, regardless of whether you're solo shooting by yourself or you're in a large production crew.”

Equipped with a revolutionary full-frame BSI (Back-Side Illuminated) sensor, the Canon EOS C400 delivers stunning 6K resolution and 16 stops of dynamic range, capturing clarity, detail, and depth in every frame. This new sensor technology also significantly reduces rolling shutter, enhances autofocus capabilities, and improves low-light performance. The aspect ratio of this sensor is 17:9 and includes a ‘crop mode,’ so you can still use the camera with traditional Super 35mm and Super 16mm lenses. In addition, its RF mount allows compatibility with Canon's most cutting-edge cinema, hybrid and photo lenses, as well as being adaptable to industry-standard PL and EF mount lenses via Canon Mount Adapters.

Speaking of low-light performance, the Canon EOS C400 has taken things up a notch. Or three notches, for that matter – with Triple Base ISO providing three distinct Base ISO options (800 / 3200 / 12800) to deliver optimal signal-to-noise performance, regardless of the shooting environment.

The Canon EOS C400 also introduces the next generation of autofocus technology (AF) with Dual Pixel CMOS Autofocus II, offering faster and more responsive AF performance for smoother, more accurate focusing – so that you can concentrate on your creative vision without technical distractions.

Another standout feature of the Canon EOS C400 is its ability to adapt to cutting-edge industry workflows such as Virtual Production and VR content capture. Thanks to high-speed lens metadata output to Canon's Live Link plug-in for Unreal Engine, real world footage and virtual elements can be effortlessly merged together in virtual production studios with large LED walls. In addition, Canon EOS C400's compatibility with Canon's 5.2mm Dual Fisheye lens means breathtaking 6K 180-degree stereoscopic content can be captured using a single camera setup for immersive VR experiences.

Another option is the Canon EOS C500 Mark II, which features a full-frame 5.9K sensor, full customisation and professional recording standards that enable it to integrate seamlessly with large-scale productions, making it an ideal solution for professional, large-scale film.

Filmmaker Martin Christ, whose work has included high-end TV commercials and behind-the-scenes documentaries, is a regular user of the EOS C500 Mark II. He likes the flexibility of the modular system, which enables you to attach optional accessories according to the demands of the production. "I'm shooting a series for Amazon right now, where I need the big 'establisher' shots on dolly and crane, but I also sometimes need to shoot handheld with a small camera," he continues.

If you're working with a higher budget, prime lenses may be essential if you want to create a truly cinematic feel. Pairing the Canon EOS C500 Mark II or Canon EOS C400 with Sumire Prime lenses will give you a vintage, full-frame look with a touch of softness, delicate skin tones and silky bokeh.

Canon's Flex Zoom lenses also offer outstanding optical performance and full-frame support, while maintaining a constant T2.4 iris across the entire focal range.

Another key part of the workflow at the top-end level of film production is a high-quality 4K monitor. Canon offers a range of options, including the Canon DP-V3120, a 31-inch 4K professional display that provides industry-leading 2,000 nits of full-screen brightness and 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio with exceptional accuracy and consistency, ideal for post-production and colour grading. The more compact 18-inch DP-V1830 provides outstanding HDR performance for on-set monitoring.

All Canon Cinema EOS cameras provide various high quality recording formats including Cinema RAW Light and XF-AVC, alongside consistent colour science and log gamma enabling you to mix and match footage seamlessly. Canon's efficient Cinema RAW Light format offers all the benefits of RAW processing – maximum highlight and shadow detail – but generates much smaller files, which can be recorded to CFexpress cards on the Canon C500 Mark II and Canon C300 Mark III.

Whether you're a filmmaker at the start of your professional journey or an accomplished DoP working on high-end productions, there is a camera in the Canon range that can help you realise your creative vision.