Many will remember the excitement surrounding Canon’s release, in March 2010, of a firmware update for the 5D Mark II which added 24p to the camera’s already ground-breaking video mode (the 5D Mark II was the first “full-frame” DSLR with 1080p video recording). This mid-lifecycle enhancement is perhaps most responsible for igniting the DSLR video revolution.

Canon's newest firmware update (1.0.4.1.00) for their C300 Mark II camera contains a number of nice improvements to the camera's features and functionality. One of the updates that caught our eye is the inclusion of a new logarithmic gamma curve, Canon Log 3, available from the Custom Picture menu.

Canon recently released two packages of 3D LUTs for use with Canon Log and Canon Log 2 on the C300 Mark II. The LUTs are being made available by Canon in .cube format, which is suitable for use in Blackmagic Design's DaVinci Resolve and many other programs.

At this year's NAB show, we were lucky enough to grab a few moments at the Canon booth to take a first look at the new C300 Mark II. Now that we've gotten to spend more time with it, I wanted to do an in-depth tour of the camera, both inside and out.

Recently I have been getting a number of questions about Log mode in the Canon C300, which is great because that means that many of us are using this mode. However, there are some really important things to know before jumping in. Canon has recently published a white paper on Canon Log that is full of great info. It's not exactly light reading, however, so I'll try to outline some of the important information about Canon's Log curve in this blog.

Working with Log material can be difficult at times, so we have put out a couple of different LUTs for use when using the Sony F3's S-Log or Canon Log from the Canon C300. You can download the F3 LUTs and the C300 LUTs, as many of you have already done. Arri has their online LUT Generator, and the Technicolor CineStyle LUTs are available when using the CineStyle profile on the 5D Mark II.

Canon provides several De-Log LUTs on their website that are meant to convert Canon Log back into REC709 or video gammas. These files can be found on Canon's website but can be tough to use, because they are given in 1D LUT format as a simple CSV (comma seperate value) file.

Our eyes perceive brightness differently than an electronic sensor does. Video monitors are locked into a standard for color and contrast, but now Digital Cinema camera systems are being used to capture images that are used and displayed in media that can see well beyond those limitations.