Canon just announced that they will release a hardware(?)/firmware upgrade for the Canon Cinema EOS C100 – their entry-level cinema camera (watch and read our very own Sebastian Wöber’s review here) – that will unlock a continuous autofocusing function similar to the one found in the Canon 70D. And I have to say, that function isn’t half-bad (considering that AF is usually a big no-no in professional productions), watch Johnnie Behiri’s video test of the 70D’s autofocus function by clicking here.
Don’t get excited just yet, the upgrade won’t be available until Q1/2014 (according to Engadget it will be February), and it will set you back around $500 – and last but not least, you will have to send it in to your Canon service center, because it’s might actually be hardware that needs to be changed (thanks to Mathias Häcki for this input, but my Canon contact said it’s unlikely that the sensor is being changed – it’s been a hybrid sensor before). Nevertheless, it’s nice that an existing camera like the C100 gets an upgrade like that. In my opinion, it the C100 actually a REALLY good deal considering you can record clean 4:2:2 video when using an external recorder and the footage looks just like from the C300 (they share the same sensor). I have started using a hired C100 as a B camera to my C300 quite a lot and have never had a complaint from any client!
How dual pixel AF works on the C100 CMOS
Detailed information on the Canon site:
http://usa.canon.com/cusa/professional/standard_display/eos_c100_feature_upgrade
via Canon Austria and Engadget
The Canon C100 is available at B&H.
