Most significant clue so far about Blackmagic Cinema Camera performance

[Andrew Reid]

[media]http://vimeo.com/47013561[/media]

New Blackmagic Cinema Camera footage is in the wild, and this one is downloadable in glorious high bitrate 1080p.

Although it isn't the original DNG or ProRes rushes it is the closest we've come to a representative video yet.

http://www.eoshd.com/content/8703/most-significant-clue-so-far-about-blackmagic-cinema-camera-performance

[JHines]

Looks pretty good. No audio?

[PAVP]

Man so far I love it. It will be a tough choice for me. So far i've liked the look of the Nikon D800 footage in terms of it's dynamic range and how it handled highlights, plus the fact that it's a GREAT stills camera too. I like the FS100 as well for it's overall image and great low light ability. Man it's so tough to really pick from these cameras since none really gives you everything and each has it's own strengths.

The BMD just feels right from the images i've seen so far. There's a quality look that doesn't distract making me think about the image in any overtly negative sense. Nothing really jumps out and says to me that looks low end. That's all i'm looking for. I'm not expecting more than is realistic to expect. It is more than I could ever imagine being able to afford tho and that is amazing.

[tony wilson]

captains log star date july into august 2012.
for a while now some of the crew been distracted by mindless moronic sports events.
the federation love promoting sports they think it keeps the scum from riot,rape and my favourite murder.
i william tiberius shatner kirk have bigger fish to fry.
1.does spock still love me is the relationship getting stale.
2.is he still turned on by my 20 pack abs
3. is scottie really scottish
4.who can dance the macarena better captain kirk or the french scum bald captain prickhard.
i get a sense a feeling in my tight nylon space pants that we are getting close to another big war.
question for the log.
what will come first ww3 or bmc giving the prototype to another tester.

[christianhubbard]

its not downloadable for me?

[David Dominguez]

I wonder if the noise in the shadows would be less if it was shot using RAW instead ProRes?

[gene_can_sing]

To me it felt really soft, even though I know it was shot with a really shallow DOF. Not sure how to describe it, but when you see shallow stuff shot with cameras like the RED or even the FS700, the parts that are in focus have a certain crispness to it that is not mushy. This footage just look really soft all around, kind of like the Canon DSLRs where even the stuff that is in focus feels kind of mushy.

But hey, that's a look unto itself. For $3K, it's a steal.

[Axel]

[quote name='tony wilson' timestamp='1344313338' post='15036']
4.who can dance the macarena better captain kirk or the french scum bald captain prickhard.[/quote]

I think maybe Kirk. He is more the physical type, Picard and Riker have more sense of dignity.
[img]http://bilder.hifi-forum.de/medium/336986/double-facepalm_56304.png[/img]


[quote name='David Dominguez' timestamp='1344315619' post='15038']
I wonder if the noise in the shadows would be less if it was shot using RAW instead ProRes?[/quote]

ProRes doesn't cause noise. The noise is clearly caused by the camera. We have to watch this further. The images are great. Best demo so far. There are a lot of shots with almost the DR of the Zacuto test, and looking natural. Very impressed.

EDIT: In two years, we will have become familiar with the better tonal range and the better colors. We will detect shots of the BMCC by the iso noise. All current DSLR stuff will be aesthetically unendurable for us ambitious twerps. Reminds me of a song by Aimee Mann: It's not going to stop 'til you wise up.

[Matt Burton]

What the hell is he doing shooting at ISO 800 in bright sunlight ?!?!?!?!?! is this camera really that bad in low light ?
On the other hand this footage looks way cleaner than a 5D mkii at iso 800 but on a 5D you would need about 10 stops of ND lol

[John Brawley]

[quote name='Matt Burton' timestamp='1344321092' post='15041']
What the hell is he doing shooting at ISO 800 in bright sunlight ?!?!?!?!?! is this camera really that bad in low light ?
On the other hand this footage looks way cleaner than a 5D mkii at iso 800 but on a 5D you would need about 10 stops of ND lol
[/quote]


The camera has a native or natural ISO of 800.

Although it has lower ISO settings and you do get a slight improvement on noise in blacks, you're basically trading highlights in for a lower ISO.

So shooting at ISO800 gives the MOST amount of DR when shooting in ProRes.

As far as the noise....

I've said this before. The camera doesn't do any in-camera noise reduction or image processing, even when shooting ProRes. That means the images are very honest and you get everything. Including noise that IS there with other cameras, but is usually masked by processes beyond your direct control as a user.

jb

[cybervand]

[quote name='gene_can_sing' timestamp='1344316165' post='15039']
To me it felt really soft, even though I know it was shot with a really shallow DOF. Not sure how to describe it, but when you see shallow stuff shot with cameras like the RED or even the FS700, the parts that are in focus have a certain crispness to it that is not mushy. This footage just look really soft all around, kind of like the Canon DSLRs where even the stuff that is in focus feels kind of mushy.

But hey, that's a look unto itself. For $3K, it's a steal.
[/quote]

It could be the lens, canon lenses are known for their softness...

[cameraboy]

thats sofness is normal for raw files (even prores) ...
red RAW files are very soft and all image we see online are color corrected with added sharpness ...
and sony image is already sharpened in camera ...
dont mix sharpness with resolution ...

[Chris Santucci]

$3,000. + SSD = ?

[Andrew Reid]

[quote name='Chris Santucci' timestamp='1344336105' post='15047']
$3,000. + SSD = ?
[/quote]

$3,240.

(240GB)

Does that answer your question?

[Andrew Reid]

[quote name='John Brawley' timestamp='1344323916' post='15044']
The camera has a native or natural ISO of 800.

Although it has lower ISO settings and you do get a slight improvement on noise in blacks, you're basically trading highlights in for a lower ISO.

So shooting at ISO800 gives the MOST amount of DR when shooting in ProRes.

As far as the noise....

I've said this before. The camera doesn't do any in-camera noise reduction or image processing, even when shooting ProRes. That means the images are very honest and you get everything. Including noise that IS there with other cameras, but is usually masked by processes beyond your direct control as a user.

jb
[/quote]

Thanks for that John.

I don't mind film grain, the noise has a nice fine texture to it. I think some of the blacks would have been better off crushed a little bit in the grade to hide some of the more honest parts of the image :) It is good to see an honest image that gives a lot of options to work with in post and that is what we want as test footage. Thanks for uploading.

PS to those who can't download, you need to be a Vimeo Plus member.

[sandro]

I love it

[kirk]

[quote name='EOSHD' timestamp='1344345988' post='15050']


PS to those who can't download, you need to be a Vimeo Plus member.
[/quote]

I'm a plus member but get no download option...

[richg101]

i thought it looks really nice. as stated the noise is more 'grain' than noise itself. I think it would benefit the marketing efforts if we were to be provided with some more exciting imagery. Some dynamic lighting, maybe some fast paced steadicam stuff? An alternate video similar to the RX100 review sample by Andrew here would be really good at showing off the camera. Lets see some beautiful scenery instead of lack lusture mid day suburban environments! The camera deserves it!

[GrantEllis]

The proof of this test is you could shoot a movie on this camera.

The noise doesn't bother me, as there are ways to work with it on set and in post, not to mention my eyes are constantly being directed to the actors' faces.

I felt the talents' faces looked soft for the most part; I am curious how they look after post-processing.
On the flip-side, that could be an aesthetic choice by the director, and the perceived lack of resolved details might be an artistic choice.
(It's why some people wear makeup, right?)

I'd love to get my hands on some of the raw files to practice crafting looks in post, but even more so I'd love to get my hands on the camera for some cinematic storytelling,

[HurtinMinorKey]

Another Black Magic test that proves only one thing: They need to give the camera to someone else who knows what they are doing. I liked the pool footage better. This was shot with terrible lighting and bad camerawork. What's up with the huge sways durring the tracking shots?

It's got a small sensor(relative to most of the competition) so i'm not surprised about the low light perfromance, but I want to know what this thing can do when lit properly.