Rules can also be drawn onto the scene. In a hands-on workshop, a fixed-angle area holds a prepared close view of the workbench once the trainer steps up to it. A priority display area holds the flip chart in shot, and an exclusion zone over the trainee seats stops a participant becoming the target. Pan/tilt rest zones, tracking boundaries, a tilt lock and a home position for a lost subject complete the rule set. Auto Framing goes further. Multi-Person balances two co-hosts and a guest in one shot, at an adjustable transition speed. Face Direction leaves lead room on the side someone faces, while Sit/Stand opens up to a mid-shot as an interviewee rises and closes in again once they sit.

Imaging rests on a 1/2.3-type CMOS (21.14 megapixels in total) and the DIGIC DV7. The stabilised 20x zoom (f/1.8–2.8) covers about 30–616 mm in full-frame terms at 50/59.94 Hz. Switching to Full HD brings 40x Advanced Zoom, enough for a head-and-shoulders shot from a rear control position. In Hybrid AF, phase-difference detection gets the lens close quickly and contrast measurement finishes the job, while head, face and eye recognition holds focus on the tracked person.

HLG and PQ cover HDR deliveries, Canon Log 3 suits graded work, and BT.709 Wide DR joins the EOS Standard and Neutral picture modes. Exposure relies on three motorised ND steps (1/2, 1/4, 1/8) and up to 36 dB of gain. Camera Colour Matching, free software from Canon, then aligns the head with the main camera, whatever its brand. Internal recording, brought by firmware 1.1.0 and shared only with the CR-N700, writes XF-AVC (MXF) or MP4 files to an SDXC card, with bitrates reaching 600 Mbps at 4K 60p. Capture is triggered from an RC-IP1000, the web interface or Canon's control apps, and Media mode handles review and FTP upload of single clips or the whole card.

The 12G-SDI and 3G-SDI outputs work in parallel, one carrying the UHD programme, the other a Full HD copy for a multiviewer or HD encoder; HDMI follows the 3G-SDI format. A genlock BNC, also usable for sync output, and a time code BNC for input or output keep the head in step with house sync, so cuts against other sources stay clean. Embedded audio and VITC/LTC travel on both SDI connections. Sound enters via two balanced XLR sockets (mic or line, 48 V phantom), with a 3.5 mm mini-jack alongside, so a radio-mic receiver feeds the picture directly.

IP delivery covers NDI|HX2, SRT with adaptive bitrate, RTMP/RTMPS and RTSP/RTP, with UHD streams reaching 59.94 fps once H.265 is selected. A single PoE++ cable from a Class 5 IEEE 802.3bt switch port powers, controls and streams the camera. PoE and PoE+ cannot run it; where no such switch exists, the bundled 12 V adaptor takes over. Over USB-C, it works as a plug-and-play UVC camera. Cropping extracts a maximum of two Full HD windows from the 4K image and outputs them with the uncropped frame; one can be turned to portrait 9:16. At a festival stream, one camera can thus feed the main programme, a close-up and a vertical version for the organiser's social accounts.

Control protocols cover Standard Communication (serial or IP, which can now toggle tracking) and Canon XC, alongside infrared and RS-422 on RJ45. RC-IP100 and RC-IP1000 controllers are supported, the latter with dedicated Trace, Auto Loop and Auto Tracking buttons (Auto Loop is sold separately). Canon's Remote Camera Control Application operates up to 20 heads, and FreeD passes position data to AR graphics engines. Pan spans ±170°, tilt −30° to +100°, preset moves run at up to 200°/s with 100 positions stored, and the drive stays within NC35.

For a production company, the economics are simple. Tracking arrives as part of the hardware line item rather than a software purchase added later, and one operator can work the other angles by hand while this PTZ head holds the main subject. Indoor operation is specified from 0 to 40 °C; the camera mounts on a ceiling or shelf, and its white housing blends with pale sets. Our support engineers can help translate a show's running order into tracking profiles linked to presets, and advise on SDXC media for the internal recorder of the Canon CR-N400 White Auto Tracking.

Specifications