Canon’s already teamed up with Atomos before to capture ProRes RAW from their cinema cameras. And every other manufacturer on planet earth has already signed on, including Sony, whose a7s III will undoubtedly record ProRes RAW through an Atomos. So it’s entirely possible, especially considering all the feedback Canon’s received, that they’ve got a fall surprise in store! 4K RAW external, unlimited record times! For now, Atomos records 4K 10-bit 422 ProRes or DNx from the Canon EOS R5 and EOS R6, and Atomos has said themselves that many more cameras are due this year.
Less likely, though not completely inconceivable, they could sign a deal with Blackmagic. As of this writing, Sigma is the only mirrorless camera to record Blackmagic’s BRAW, a codec that offers no fewer than two advantages over ProRes RAW (1) it’s compatible with DaVinci Resolve, a far superior platform for color grading (2) WB and ISO metadata would remain intact. Apple has not yet unlocked that metadata in Final Cut Pro, making ProRes RAW a second cousin to BRAW.
According to one website, at the time the EOS R was released, it was supposed to be totally unusable because of its insane 1.7X 4K crop and horrific rolling shutter. Yet some of the most beautiful video I’m seeing on YT is still being shot using Canon’s first foray into full frame mirrorless. And many of those same YouTubers have gone on to purchase a Canon cinema camera, like the C200 or C300. Meanwhile, I struggle to think of a single YouTuber who shoots exclusively with alpha cameras who’s added a Sony cinema camera to their kit. Not a one! Ever wonder why? I’m a Sony shooter myself, but when I think of upgrading to a cinema camera, I think of Kinefinety, Z Cam, Canon or Blackmagic – definitely not Sony.
Edit: bandwidth limitation may prevent RAW over HDMI. hehe
