8K shooting details
French filmmaker Stéphane Couchoud traveled to the peaks of the Alps to demonstrate the capabilities of Canon’s latest EOS R5 C camera. The camera was mounted on a Cinelifter, which he developed in close collaboration with Hexadrone to deliver action-packed footage in challenging environments.
About drone, camera and settings
According to Stefan, Canon Europe offered him to test the latest EOS R5 C camera. At that time it was a prototype, which additionally imposed a great responsibility. The Canon EOS R5 C is an iteration of the predecessor R5 built on a non-stabilized 48MP 8K CMOS sensor with active ventilation that is capable of recording professional video with the Cinema RAW Light codec (12-bit RAW up to 2.6Gbps).
The camera was mounted on a Hexadrone Cinelifter RedBACK. Stefan noted that he had to resort to light stabilization to keep the immersive effect, and also to use SteadXP, which works great since the R5 C sensor is not stabilized. The drone filmed in 8K, RAW Light, at 25fps, with a small, lightweight 16mm lens. The total weight of the camera was only 925 grams!
A cinematic ratio of 2.35:1, 8192 × 3484 pixels, 25 frames per second, with a shutter speed of 1/100 s was selected. Video weighs 47 gigs! Each peak, that is, the result of each flight, is about twenty gigs. As for the color, Stefan noted that he wanted to create a big contrast between the cold snow and the warm colors. For what I made a specific calibration (through my LUT package), slightly orange to match the sun at sunset. To match the color when the sun is high in the sky and when it sets, he removed a few Kelvins from the temperature so it wasn’t too surreal.
Setup Hexadrone Cinelifter RedBACK
- Frame: Quad X8 Cinelifter 7″
- PC: F722 HD MATEK
- ESC: ESC 2 × F55 4-in-1 6S T-MOTOR ESC
- Motors: 8×T-MOTOR F90 1500KV
- Props: 7″ HQ70403
- VTX: Caddx Vista
- FPV Camera: DJI FPV
- Antennas: Triumph Pro – LHCP (SMA) TBS avec 2 × Rallonges UFL-SMA 7 cm
- Food: 6S 4000 mAh with XT90 connector
Only 3 days to shoot
Quote: “Canon gave me a camera for just 3 days, it was a prototype. Everything was very prompt! We spent half a day filming, the purpose of which was to go and shoot in the mountains, where it is impossible to walk!”
About the difficulties of shooting in the mountains
Quote: “Oh, that’s very deceptive. These high mountains, even when everything looks perfect, the conditions are harsh. A strong north wind was blowing, if possible I had to hide from it, this can be seen on the video when I pass under the helicopter. There are ups, in short, everything is just super! The next serious limitation was the perception of space in the mountains. In ordinary places we are aware of distances. But in the mountains everything is different! You also have to deal with the icing that builds up on the propellers, with autonomy, which I limited to 3 minutes for safety reasons, things get trickier.
Cold, especially when combined with wind, is a separate issue. I had heating pads in gloves to keep my fingers warm. However, the cold attacked my feet and I ended up putting heating pads in my socks! When you start chattering your teeth, it hurts a lot. Snow also interferes, it is enough to shave off a small tubercle, as the connection immediately breaks off, possibly due to air humidity. I used a Vista digital FPV system along with a DJI FPV camera and the original antennas on the FPV helmet.”
What is the main idea of this video?
Quote: “There is no specific plot, I wanted to show what 8K RAW is capable of. The quality you get is huge, I don’t know if 8K RAW has ever been done in FPV, I don’t think so, at least I’ve never seen it. The result is really stylish! YouTube has a broadcast mode that allows you to watch videos in 8K, I invite you to watch in this mode, because you can enjoy full clarity. In this video, I added some humor because even if I want to create beautiful images, I don’t want to take myself seriously!”
All the best! And safe flights!