Andrew Reid

The original BMCC sensor came from a reputable supplier, I think it was more due to the lack of cinema camera experience at that supplier in terms of quality control methodology and problems at the glass supplier.   I find it hard to believe that dirty glass was the only issue, maybe they had dead pixels to solve as well.   I think Blackmagic are using Fairchild Imaging again for the Pocket Cinema Camera sensor but it is a different version of the sensor. Similar spec but different model.

  So use Super 16mm glass then. Tons of it out there. Not hard to find a 8 or 10mm fast wide angle.   Speed Booster will make the Pocket Cinema Camera more like standard 2x Micro Four Thirds.

  Haha. There's a very good argument for all the camera manufacturers sucking. Canon lack the competitive pricing and brute specs, whilst their low end (DSLR) is a total running joke now... Ever since I started the blog. Sony lack the image quality in some situations (A99 anyone?) and have iffy ergonomic design though the F5 and F55 are a step in the right direction. Blackmagic also lack the ergonomics, and seemingly the ability to ship cameras. Fuji aren't even in the camera game and they let their film business die out with Kodak. Their X series is crap for video, and Olympus don't even know what 24p is. Nikon - it took 3 years to even wake them up and to be honest their current cameras aren't exactly full of unique selling points. Panasonic seemingly have a clue on the GH line but when it comes to their high end, it as if they have stalled. The time for action is now Panasonic but I get a feeling they've just spent 2 years debating the specs of a codec (AVC Ultra). Finally there's Red and Arri. They're doing fine but the day either of them gives us a affordable mass produced cinema camera is the day hell freezes over.     I was considering the C100 but just about the only thing it has over the competition is the form factor. Canon are trying their best to put us all to sleep. 5D Mark III firmware update is a joke. Why did we have to wait a year for it if the hardware could have done it all along? It is a clear case of wanting to protect their Cinema EOS margins and likely the only reason they are now giving it us is that the Nikon D800 has been eating into their 5D Mark III sales.   C100 gets movable focus assist, FS700 gets 4K raw and 240fps 2K raw. Haha that made me laugh very loudly indeed.   At least your camera does not have buttons laid out like a 1970's IBM mainframe so be thankful of that.

Some more info is coming in...   Recording options (such as raw, 4K, etc.) can be purchased online and activated on the device. They can also be rented for a specific time period and used in demo mode (which adds a watermark).   DNG should be free. That is an open standard and they don't charge an activation / licensing fee for it as far as I know. But if you want compressed 4K raw I think that is chargeable.   Once you buy the codec option outright it stays activated forever on the device. If you rented it the clips stay playable and usable after the rental period for recoding expires   They are expecting ProRes to be added by the end of the year once they sort out Apple licensing, etc.   The media is $1 per GB (240, 480, 960) and propriety. No generic SSDs on this one. The good thing is that the mags are smaller than the usual SSD drives and save space when they slot into the back of the monitor.   http://www.fstopacademy.com/blog/4k-recording-for-sony-nex-fs700-two-options/   https://vimeo.com/63537235

That said I do have sympathy with early customers.   Blackmagic and Digital Bolex are putting them through some real misery.   If you funded the DB Kickstarter to the tune of a camera and if you pre-ordered the Blackmagic Cinema Camera at the last NAB, and haven't shot with either yet, just be safe in the knowledge that you're supporting the revolution if not actually able to televise it!

It's as if not even Vincent LaForet could hype the Digital Bolex back into contention :) I don't think it is as clear cut as 'they are dead'.   The Ikonoskop has a lovely image and similar sensor, global shutter, yet Digital Bolex have undercut that with half the price.   The Pocket Cinema Camera is amazing but doesn't have the features or global shutter of the Bolex - likely it may not have the image quality either. Certainly anamorphic on the Bolex is a tasty idea for me. The Bolex will have more resolution and likely better colour. I've seen the images that CCD sensor is capable of and they don't disappoint.   So let's not write it off. $3200 is not a lot of money compared to a 5D Mark III considering you're getting 13 stops DR, global shutter and raw.   They will deliver the camera, they are a small team. Look how at Red's initial ONE and Scarlet delays. They still haven't done anything remotely close to the Bolex for $3000 yet.

I thought DPX was a format used by video editors to transport raw in an uncompressed way from NLE to NLE. That not right? Can anyone clarify? I've never used this format before in my work.

Yep makes sense to me ScreensPro

Digital Bolex has global shutter, Pocket Cinema Camera doesn't.   Since neither camera has yet shipped neither company has much room to talk! ;)   Let's wait and see on this one.   I personally think DB are doing a good job.

You're probably right about the subcontracted Asian manufacturing Rich, but the deposits stay at the dealers and don't go to Blackmagic.

Close to 15 stops DR in AVCHD comes from a good source, Adam Whit at ProVideoCoalition. http://www.eoshd.com/content/8332/sony-fs700-the-image-quality-verdict-incredible-14-stops-of-dynamic-range-in-avchd Even if 14 stops is optimistic by Adam, it isn't hard to put two and two together and imagine raw will give you at least an extra stop of clean detail in the highlights or shadows, maybe both. DPX is simply a container for raw Kahl.

Key specs - 1-60fps 4K raw to DPX format 120fps 4K raw burst mode 240fps 2K raw continuous to Cinema DNG (would love to see the file sizes on that!!) Single 3G HD-SDI link You won't need Sony's own expensive raw recorder for the F5 to get 4K raw on the FS700. The camera firmware will step it up to being able to deliver 4k over a single 3G HD-SDI connection to the affordable Odyssey7Q monitor / recorder. [url=http://www.eoshd.com/content/10110/odyssey7q-turns-wimpy-sony-fs700-into-monstrous-4k-raw-crunching-beast-with-15-stops-dr]Read the full article here[/url]

Danish, the two situations cannot be compared.   One one hand you have a camera beset by sensor issues, on the other hand you have a new camera which uses a completely different sensor.   The BMCC delays were nothing to do with Blackmagic. They were 100% due to the sensor supplier.

Don't think that is what Tim is referring to Caleb.   The spec flange for EF is 44mm and this is what Blackmagic went with.   The actual flange on EOS DSLRs is more like 43.5mm to allow for some tolerance for infinity and AF micro adjustments. This wasn't factored into the Blackmagic Cinema Camera as it would have knocked cinema glass off their marks.   Still think they should dump EF and go for E-mount.   I bet you anything there will be an E-mount version of the 4K camera come the end of the year.

The Blackmagic reps are saying it is a new sensor and not the same one as in the BMCC. That sensor was rumoured to be supplied by BAE / Fairchild Imaging. It was an sCMOS - http://www.eoshd.com/content/7969/blackmagic-cinema-cameras-sensor-has-global-shutter-made-by-bae-systems

Stumbled along this whilst researching the possible Blackmagic Production Camera 4K CMOS sensor from CMOSIS.   They really do have something pretty special here... And maybe a sign of things to come in DSLRs. Nearly double the pixel count of the Nikon D800.   It is 35mm full frame.   ---     The CHR70M is a high resolution CMOS image sensor with 10000 by 7096 pixels. The image array consists of 3.1μm x 3.1μm pinned diode pixels which share a number of transistors (2 pixels sharing). The image sensor has 8 analog outputs, each running at 30MHz. This results in a frame rate of 3fps at full resolution. Higher frame rates can be achieved in windowing mode or subsampling mode. The image sensor also integrates a programmable gain amplifier and offset regulation. These and other settings are all programmable using the SPI interface. All internal exposure and read out timings are generated by a programmable on-board sequencer. External triggering and exposure programming is also possible. The CHR70M is derived from a custom CMOS image sensor  

Though it cannot be 100% confirmed I am pretty sure the Blackmagic Production Camera uses a sensor supplied by CMOSIS, which if true would be very good news as it is the latest technology and already in mass production. Here are your sensor questions answered... [url=http://www.eoshd.com/content/10091/more-details-on-global-shutter-and-possible-blackmagic-sensor-supplier-cmosis]Read the full article here[/url]

  I don't think that's right at all. It comes with a full version of Resolve 10.

There's a big difference between a photographic sensor and video sensor. You can just about hack video off the former, whilst the latter is designed for the purpose and usually has a lower native resolution to suit 2K or 4K video.   When you have a 18 or 24MP chip you have to downsample to 1080p on a DSLR and that along with heavy compression creates less resolution (naturally), less dynamic range and other artefacts like banding and moire.

Last year I found a sensor which seemed a perfect match for future 4K Blackmagic Cinema Cameras. I contacted the supplier CMOSIS who quoted me a rough price point which made 4K for $4K within reach. CMOSIS are a European company who are mass producing the full frame CMOS sensor in the new Leica M so they are an extremely reliable and high regarded supplier with experience of mass production for the photographic market. Read the full article here

Let's go misty eyed for a second and imagine you're shooting a Terrence Malick inspired scene at magic hour this Summer, a warm breeze drifting through the air. The sun glints through the trees and the scene begins "action" - with 4K with a global shutter for $4000. Is this really going to happen? [url=http://www.eoshd.com/content/10079/why-blackmagic-will-ship-in-july]Read the full article here[/url]

  I think the DNG spec you're reading is for stills not motion. Cinema DNG is different.   Also there's such a thing as Lossless compression http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lossless_data_compression   Lossless is not the same as uncompressed, and Lossy is not the same as Lossless!   There's no need for Blackmagic to describe it as 'visually lossless'. The proper term is "Lossless Compression".

  I think Lossy DNG and Lossless DNG are too different things.   John Brawley and the official Blackmagic website say 12bit lossless DNG. It is still compressed but it is lossless like raw not lossy like JPEG.   Here's John's tweet just now - https://twitter.com/brawlster/status/321411372296577026

Most people didn't pay upfront for their pre-orders so no money changed hands. In some cases a dealer took some pre-order deposit money, like 10% or something. That is refundable any time and stays with the dealer, Blackmagic don't see a penny of it.   Pretty much everyone that ordered a year ago are yet to get their cameras. If that happens with the new ones I'll be very upset. We need this to work out.

  Congratulations sir :)   I have also pre-ordered the Pocket Camera as well as the 4K beast.   Now the dilemma is what to do with my existing M43 BMCC preorder, on which I have a £500 deposit down. I honestly don't need the camera and can't see a shipping date any time soon. Likely it will arrive close to July, by which time the other cameras will make it obsolete. But THEN there is the risk that the new cameras will suffer delays too. As for my existing EF mount BMCC, I need to make a decision whether or not to let that go or to keep hold, because it is now essentially made redundant by all 3!