NEW PODCAST: Sony FX5 Lab Test | DJI & Insta360 Outship Mirrorless Cameras – Focus Check ep136 →🎙️ WATCH/LISTEN Now
Watch/Listen NowSony FX5 Lab Test | DJI & Insta360 Outship Mirrorless Cameras🎙️NEW PODCAST
Education for Filmmakers
Language
The CineD Channels
Info
New to CineD?
You are logged in as
We will send you notifications in your browser, every time a new article is published in this category.
You can change which notifications you are subscribed to in your notification settings.
Canon is rolling out a free firmware update for the EOS C80 and EOS C400, with a new Cinema Exposure Mode that can improve highlight performance by up to two stops when shooting above base ISO. The C400 also gets Auto Exposure Ramping Compensation for live and broadcast work with supported Cine-Servo lenses. There’s support for the new CN30x40 Cine-Servo 40-1200mm, too, along with a cleaner menu setup for log shooting. The update will be available from August 19, 2026.
Both cameras share a 6K full-frame back-illuminated CMOS sensor and a triple base ISO structure of 800, 3200, and 12800. That triple-base design provides some useful context for the headline feature here. Tests of the C400, including our Lab Test, have shown that while higher base ISO settings improve noise performance, they can also come with reduced dynamic range. Cinema Exposure Mode appears aimed at addressing at least part of that tradeoff by improving highlight performance when shooting above base ISO.
Canon describes Cinema Exposure Mode as a way to improve highlight performance when shooting above base ISO, quoting a gain of up to two stops. It arrives alongside a more streamlined camera menu built specifically for log shooting.
The practical read is that Cinema Exposure Mode appears to rebalance how dynamic range is distributed relative to the selected ISO, rather than adding range outright. On a triple base ISO sensor, shooting above a base sensitivity can reduce highlight headroom above middle grey, which is where bright windows or practical lights in frame can become difficult to hold. If Canon’s claimed improvement of up to two stops translates into additional usable highlight headroom in practice, it could be meaningful for anyone who regularly rates these cameras above base ISO.
Canon has not published a detailed technical breakdown of the mode’s behavior, and the press material does not specify whether it operates as an alternative to the existing Custom Picture pipeline or alongside it. We will update once Canon publishes the full documentation.
The EOS C400 picks up Auto Exposure Ramping Compensation, aimed at broadcast and live production environments running supported Cine-Servo lenses. Long servo zooms lose light as they travel toward the telephoto end, and the resulting exposure ramp is a familiar nuisance on a live feed where nobody is riding iris. The compensation uses the lens’s own metadata to hold exposure steady through the zoom.
Canon also cites additional refinements that streamline day-to-day operation, without itemizing them in the release. The C400 is the only one of the two bodies named for the ramping feature, which tracks with its positioning as the more live-production-oriented camera of the pair, with both 12G-SDI and 3G-SDI outputs on board.
The update also adds enhanced compatibility with Canon’s CINE-SERVO 40-1200mm T5.0-10.8, announced at NAB 2026. The lens covers Super 35 natively and extends to 60-1800mm with full-frame coverage via its built-in 1.5x extender. It will be available in RF and PL versions, with a currently listed price of $79,999 and availability expected in September 2026.
On the C400, Auto Exposure Ramping Compensation works with the RF version, using communication between the lens and camera to compensate for exposure changes while zooming.
The EOS C80 and EOS C400 firmware update is a free download from their site beginning August 19, 2026. Canon frames it as part of an ongoing pattern of adding capability to existing bodies based on professional user feedback, which is a fair characterization: both cameras have received several substantive updates since launch, including a round in June 2026.
Do you shoot the C80 or C400 above base ISO? Let us know what you think of the new mode in the comments below.
Δ
Stay current with regular CineD updates about news, reviews, how-to’s and more.
You can unsubscribe at any time via an unsubscribe link included in every newsletter. For further details, see our Privacy Policy
Want regular CineD updates about news, reviews, how-to’s and more?Sign up to our newsletter and we will give you just that.
You can unsubscribe at any time via an unsubscribe link included in every newsletter. The data provided and the newsletter opening statistics will be stored on a personal data basis until you unsubscribe. For further details, see our Privacy Policy
A camera was put in my hands at 16, and I’ve been taking photographs ever since. Before moving to Vienna, I worked as a photographer on film sets, telling stories as they unfolded behind the scenes. Since then, I’ve focused on immersive theater, both as a photographer and an actor. I am the photographer for the award-winning Nesterval ensemble, documenting the energy and atmosphere of their performances. I’m a teller of stories. Stories hold my interest. I’ll take on any project with a story to tell.