Canon R8 Mark II Video Settings: A Beginner's Setup Guide

For most beginners, set the Canon EOS R8 Mark II to 4K at 24p or 30p, keep your shutter speed around double your frame rate, leave in-body stabilization on, and start with a ready-to-use picture profile before you try Canon Log 3. The camera records 4K up to 60p oversampled from 6K, Full HD up to 180 fps for slow motion, and has both a mic input and a headphone jack, so there is plenty of room to grow once the basics feel easy.

Starting settings at a glance

Use this table as your first setup. Each row is covered in more detail below.

Setting	Starting point	Why
Resolution	4K UHD	Oversampled from 6K, with no crop at up to 60p
Frame rate	24p or 30p, 60p for action	4K goes up to 60p
Slow motion	Full HD at 180 fps	Full HD reaches 180 fps
Shutter speed	About double the frame rate	Natural-looking motion blur
Bit depth	10-bit	Files can be 10-bit or 8-bit H.264 or H.265
Picture profile	Canon 709 or BT.709 Standard first, Canon Log 3 later	The simpler profiles deliver closer to finished, Log is for grading
Stabilization	IBIS on	5-axis, rated up to 7.5 stops
Audio	External mic in, headphones in	3.5mm mic input and 3.5mm headphone output

Resolution and frame rates

Resolution sets how much detail you record. Frame rate sets how motion looks and whether you can slow it down later.

4K UHD up to 60p

The R8 Mark II records 4K UHD at up to 60p, oversampled from 6K. PetaPixel notes that this 4K mode runs up to 60 fps without any crop, so your lens keeps its full field of view. Videomaker says oversampled 4K looks sharper than line-skipped 4K. Leave 4K on for nearly everything, even if you plan to post in 1080p. You can always scale down, but you can't add detail you never recorded.

Full HD up to 180 fps for slow motion

Drop to Full HD and the camera can record up to 180 fps. PetaPixel reports that it records audio at 180 fps as well. Fstoppers was able to set the camera to 1080 at 180 fps but was not sure whether that mode adds a crop, so check your framing after you switch.

Fstoppers also describes a Slow and Fast Mode for conforming slow motion in camera. Use it if you want clips that already play back slowed down. If you would rather pick the speed in your editor, record normally at 180 fps and slow it down there.

Which frame rate to pick

• 24p: the classic film look. A good default for short films, travel clips and anything you want to feel cinematic.
• 30p: a clean choice for talking-head videos, tutorials and social posts.
• 60p: for fast action, or for footage you may want to slow to half speed on a 30p timeline.
• 180 fps in Full HD: for dramatic slow motion of water, hair, sports and pets.

Pick one main frame rate per project and stay with it, so your edit plays smoothly when you mix clips.

Codec and bit depth

Videomaker lists 10-bit or 8-bit files in H.264 or H.265. Videomaker and No Film School both describe the 4K 60p mode as 10-bit. Fstoppers shot its sample clips in 4K at 24 fps, LGOP, XF-HEVC S 4:2:2 10-bit with Canon Log 3. The camera has no internal raw video.

Choose 10-bit whenever you plan to adjust color, and always with Canon Log 3. If your editing computer struggles to play the files smoothly, use 8-bit H.264 for casual clips and save 10-bit for footage you plan to grade.

Shutter speed for video

In video, shutter speed shapes how motion looks, not only how bright the image is. A simple starting point: set your shutter to about double your frame rate.

Frame rate	Starting shutter speed
24p	1/50
30p	1/60
60p	1/125
180 fps	About 1/360, or the nearest faster setting

Set exposure manually so the shutter stays put while you record. Then control brightness with aperture and ISO instead. If motion looks jittery and sharp-edged, your shutter is probably too fast, so bring it back toward double your frame rate.

Bright light and ND filters

Outdoors in direct sun, a 1/50 shutter often lets in too much light, even at a low ISO and a smaller aperture. A variable ND filter on the front of your lens solves this. It lets you keep the shutter where you want it and still shoot at a wide aperture for a blurred background.

Canon Log 3 and the simpler picture profiles

Canon Log 3 is available as a Custom Picture mode with 14 stops of dynamic range, according to Videomaker and No Film School. Videomaker frames it as the option for grading, with the delivery-ready profiles there for when you don't want to grade.

Start with Canon 709 or BT.709 Standard

Videomaker says HDR video, Canon 709 and BT.709 Standard all deliver footage closer to finished if you'd rather skip the color pass. Use one of the 709 options for your first few weeks. You will learn exposure, focus and audio faster when every clip looks good straight out of the camera.

When Canon Log 3 makes sense

Switch to Canon Log 3 when you are shooting high-contrast scenes, such as a bright window behind a subject, and you plan to color grade in editing software. Pair it with 10-bit recording. Fstoppers said it wished the camera had C-Log 2, but found C-Log 3 worked well for its shoot.

HLG, PQ, LUTs and Cinema View

Camera Jabber's spec list includes HLG and PQ for HDR, a Cinema View 2.35:1 mode, LUT support and frame grab. A LUT is the usual way to turn flat Log footage into a starting look. Leave the HDR modes off unless you know your video will be watched on HDR screens. Cinema View 2.35:1 is a quick way to try a widescreen look if you like that style.

Stabilization: IBIS and movie digital IS

The original R8 had no in-body stabilization and relied on lens IS and digital IS for video. The R8 Mark II adds 5-axis IBIS rated to 7.5 stops at the center and 7.0 stops at the periphery. The spec sheet also lists movie digital IS alongside IBIS.

Camera Jabber points to steadier handheld video as one of the gains. PetaPixel says the IBIS helps keep things steady through the viewfinder, especially with longer lenses.

Leave IBIS on whenever you shoot handheld. Try movie digital IS for walking shots, and check the frame after you turn it on to see whether it changes your composition. For locked-off shots, a tripod is still the steadiest option.

Autofocus for video

The R8 Mark II uses Dual Pixel CMOS AF II with deep-learning subject detection for people, animals and vehicles, plus eye, face, head and body tracking. Canon says it focuses in light as low as EV -7.5. Camera Jabber reports improved tracking persistence, which holds focus when a subject briefly leaves the frame.

Register People Priority lets you register up to 10 faces in camera, or 100 on a card, so the camera favors those people in a busy scene. Digital Camera World found the animal eye AF had trouble picking out a bird in a mess of branches.

For talking-head videos, set subject detection to people and let eye tracking do the work. At events, register the people you are filming. For more on focus modes, see the Canon EOS R8 autofocus modes guide.

Audio: mic input, headphones and the hot shoe

The R8 Mark II has a 3.5mm stereo microphone input and a 3.5mm headphone output. The original R8 had a mic input but no headphone jack. Fstoppers notes the option of bringing in four channels of 24-bit audio, especially when you add a top handle through the smart hot shoe. Fstoppers also mentions audio support at higher frame rates.

Put an external microphone on the camera for any video where people talk. Wear headphones while you record so you hear problems such as wind or a loose cable before they ruin a take. Set your audio levels manually, then record a short test clip and play it back before the real thing.

Battery, card and monitoring

The camera uses the smaller LP-E17 battery, rated at around 340 shots on the LCD and 220 through the finder. Digital Camera World says battery life remains the same as the original R8. Fstoppers reports taking the camera on a full-day trip of hybrid capture without needing a second charge. The R8 Mark II has a single SD card slot.

The USB-C port handles charging, livestreaming and data transfer, and video output runs through a micro-HDMI port. The rear screen is a 3.0-inch vari-angle touchscreen. A red tally lamp on the front shows when you are recording. Digital Camera World notes the memory card door is no longer blocked by tripod plates.

Carry at least one spare battery for a day of video. Format your card in the camera before each shoot. Flip the screen forward when you film yourself, and glance at the tally lamp to confirm you are actually recording.

R8 Mark II vs original R8 for video

If you are deciding between the two bodies, these are the video differences the evidence supports. For the full breakdown, see Canon R8 vs R8 Mark II.

Feature	Canon EOS R8	Canon EOS R8 Mark II
In-body stabilization	None, lens IS and digital IS only	5-axis, up to 7.5 stops
4K	Up to 60p, oversampled from 6K	Up to 60p, oversampled from 6K
Full HD high frame rate	120p with audio, 180p without	180 fps with audio
Log and HDR	10-bit Canon Log 3, HDR PQ	Canon Log 3, HLG, PQ
Headphone jack	No	Yes, 3.5mm
AF joystick	No	Yes
Weight with battery and card	461g	546g
Body price	$1,499 at launch	$1,899 estimated retail

For video, the headphone jack, audio at 180 fps and IBIS are the changes you will feel day to day. If you already own an R8, the R8 settings guide covers the original body.

Which version to get

The R8 Mark II body is listed at an estimated retail price of $1,899, and the kit with the RF24-50mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM lens at $2,099.

Choose the body only if you already own RF lenses or plan to buy a different first lens. The first lens guide for the R8 can help you choose.

The kit is the simpler start if this is your first full-frame camera and you want one package that is ready to record.

The original R8 shares the 4K 60p oversampled video and Canon Log 3. It lacks IBIS and a headphone jack, so plan on a stabilized lens or a gimbal, and check your audio on playback.