What not to miss at the EnergaCAMERIMAGE 2019 festival

1. Touch and Try the latest Canon kit

The Canon stand will be hosting a wide range of equipment which visitors can touch and try out, as well as speaking with technical experts about their cinematic needs. The latest Cinema EOS System cameras will be on show, including the Canon EOS C500 Mark II, the Canon EOS C700 FF, the Canon EOS C200, and the Canon EOS C300 Mark II – alongside the full lineup of Canon cine lenses, including cine primes, top-end zooms, compact zooms, cine-servos and compact servos.

"This is the only festival dedicated to the art of the cinematographer, so it's fairly unique in that respect," says Paul Atkinson, Canon Europe's Product Specialist for Professional Video. "We are going to be featuring our full range of Cinema EOS cameras on the stand, which you'll be able to talk to our technical advisors about. If there's a particular product that interests you, we can talk about how you'll be able to use that successfully with your project. Throughout the show, we'll be available on the stand to answer questions from visitors."

The Canon XF705 handheld professional 4K UHD camcorder will be available to test, alongside other XF models, which will be of particular interest to documentary and student filmmakers. The full-frame mirrorless Canon EOS R and the growing suite of associated RF lenses also offer more portable solutions for smaller productions.

2. Meet the new EOS C500 Mark II

Visitors will be able to get one of the first looks at the Canon EOS C500 Mark II, which was unveiled at this year's IBC show in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The perfect companion for both large-scale productions and single-shooters, the latest Cinema EOS System camera packs a 5.9K Full Frame sensor into a new lightweight body of just 1,750g, allowing total freedom of movement when filming, as well as 15+ stops of latitude and a new DIGIC DV 7 image processor.

The versatile camera suits diverse filmmaking needs, says Paul. While the Canon EOS C500 Mark II is ideal for major productions, its compact size also lends it to handheld shooting or pairing with gimbals. "It's a modular system, so it's also able to be used as a handheld run-and-gun style camera for documentary making."

3. Enjoy screenings and workshops from the industry's leading lights

It's the calibre of films which draw people to this festival, and this year will be no exception. Every year EnergaCAMERIMAGE screens feature films, documentaries and music videos which often go on to win Oscars, making it a great place to immerse yourself in the latest and greatest visual work. Last year's screenings included Nancy Schreiber's short film A Dishful of Dollars and Ember Films' cinematic trailer Refugium – both shot with the Canon EOS C700 FF – as well as Canon Ambassador Piotr Małecki's short documentary George and George on the Lake, also shot on Canon kit.

Canon will be running a series of events this year, including a seminar and several workshops featuring experts in the field. This includes a workshop on the Canon EOS C500 Mark II, exploring the ways in which the new model can be used in the field. "This is to show its suitability for a wide range of tasks across a wide range of genres and sectors within the filmmaking industry," explains Paul.

Also coming up is a workshop on Cinema Verité Cinematography in Documentary Scenes, with Claudia Raschke, director of photography on the Oscar-nominated documentary RBG. In a seminar exploring Canon's Sumire Prime cine lenses, cinematographer Tania Freimuth will share her experiences.

The festival additionally provides a wide range of networking opportunities, thanks to the diverse range of attendees. "That's one of the best things about this particular event," says Paul. "You can have somebody quite early in their career meeting Academy Award nominated or even winning DOPs."