BMCC for weddings ?

[Mcfly]

After the last 5 or so days of researching and comparing 5D to BMCC I really think the BMCC is the clear-cut winner, especially when the battery issue is corrected with external battery supply.

I'm fairly on the newbie end to shooting but have an interest in getting involved with weddings and such next year (something that I can actually make money at for my creativity).

My question is: is there any reason not to consider the BMCC for learning/getting started in such a field?

Thanks for any help/response.

[Jon de Zwaan]

As you said it yourself, you'll need an external power supply in order to cover events such as a wedding. But that's just one problem of the workflow covered. Remember it shoots on SSD's, so even when you shoot ProRes, you'll need a lot of SSD's to store a complete wedding day.
The 5DmkIII and the BMCC seem to be in the same price range, but you'll need a lot more (expensive) gear in order to take the BMCC into the field.
Watch Philip Bloom's review, he explains most of the pro's and con's of the cam: http://philipbloom.net/2012/09/05/bmd/

Ask yourself: Do you really need a camera that shoots 2K RAW for learning and shooting weddings?

My two cents; If you just want to learn, shoot weddings and have over 3k to spend, I'd go for a more versatile ENG camera like a Canon XF100 HD or if you want an ILC a NEXVG-30.

[Dale Campbell Films]

Personally I'm very tempted by the 4/3rds model for my work, which includes weddings.
People talk about the massive amount of extra kit you'll need to shoot but everyone said that about DSLRs etc. It is mostly old video cam thinking imho. Sure to shoot in a certain way you need a shoulder rig, but that doesn't have to cost a fortune.
I shoot a lot with a monopod, slider, and micro jib using a GH2 minimal 'rig' involved - a QR plate system so I can swap between each support quickly.
As for the SSD you can pick up 256gb SSDs cheaper than the equivalent in SD cards... admittedly people will be using more space than they are accustomed to in Prores422HQ mode, but that is the price you pay for a solid codec that can be easily imported.
Batteries are easy enough there are plenty of solutions out there and they won't add much to the bulk of the camera.
The camera several threaded mounts so you can stick a top handle, mic, battery adapter on fairly easily.
If its your first cam maybe try a GH2 to get used to shooting manual focus if you haven't done it before....

[andy lee]

remember you can not delete files in camera on the Blackmagic!

[Edwin Rose-Cinematographer]

The BMCC is a cinema camera so there will be extra things you may need. THe same thing can be said with any other cinema camera. Once you have those things yes it could be used for a Wedding. I personally would use it for creative shots. Also recording in Prores will not take up nearly as much space on the SSDs as the RAW workflow. You could get away with using maybe 512gigs and be able to cover over 5 hours of a wedding in Prores. Most ceremonies last an hour which leaves 4 hours for pre and post. I typically would be very meticulous on my shots for a wedding reception, mainly getting highlights of the key moments etc. so in my case 512 would work just fine.

[Dale Campbell Films]

@andyLee This is true and you have to make sure all any extra harddrives are formatted and empty before you get there. That said I aim to do this anyway, and I also avoid deleting anything on the day and just carry plenty of SD cards. Always risky deleting things in that kind of one take environment :o
You do need a computer to format, but I also take a MBP with me to start backing up when I take my break...

[galenb]

[quote]My question is: is there any reason not to consider the BMCC for learning/getting started in such a field?[/quote]

Yes. The BMCC is going to be a great camera for shooting beautiful wedding's. Perhaps eventually even the "best' camera. In the hands of an experienced photography pro who knows the in's and out's of cinematography yes, this is going to be a great camera. In the hands of a newbie/novice, prosumer... probably not so much.

I feel like Cinematography is an extension of photography. This is a bare-bones Cinematography tool and as such, not very friendly to beginners. You would be better suited to something that was more forgiving and allowed you to take your time learning the craft.

A well equipped Video DSLR is going to be a better camera to learn on by far. It's pretty easy to get amazing looking shots once you lean the basics. I would recommend something like a Panasonic GH2 or the Canon t2i - t3i. They are some of the cheapest but best cameras out there. With the money you save on the camera, you can go and spend $2000 on lenses, good tripod, mic and audio recorder and some kind of simple rig. Heck, for the money you would spend on a BMCC, you could get two really nice DSLR setups and be able to shoot those all important "Multi cam" shots that you see in wedding videos. ;-)

Seriously though, I'm totally lusting after a BMCC and once they figure out the issues and bugs they currently have, I would love to get one. But right now my current camera is more then enough for me. I would never recommend the BMCC to someone who was just starting out. It's seems like it's a very capable tool but I feel like you need to be experienced in not just shooting video, but "Cinematography". If that makes sense

[noa]

[quote name='galenb' timestamp='1350977784' post='20153']Yes. The BMCC is going to be a great camera for shooting beautiful wedding's. Perhaps eventually even the "best' camera.[/quote]

I"m sure there will be wedding videographers that will be taking along a BMC to cover a wedding but one thing to bear in mind is, what if you combine it with other camera's, like dslr's of videocamera's. The BMC will stick out like a sore thumb with it's image and wide latitude so basically you need 2 or 3 of them in a 2 or 3 man team. Probably high end weddingvideographers charging 10k + would have a reason to use them.

But for the mainstream of videographers out there, no, I don't believe a BMC is a suitable wedding camera. A dslr is already a handful to operate, the Bmc is much worse to operate in a run and gun style of event. Even for shallow dof beaty shots a dslr is better choice, do you really think a bride will notice the difference between a very shallow dof close up shot done with a 5DIII and a Blackmagic? They wouldn't care less what camera you use because both shots will look equally stunning is performed right.

The bmc is just the wrong camera when doing weddings, it's the right camera when doing corporate films, movies, everything where you have the time to set up and plan your shots and to do second takes if necessary. It's a camera that should be used to shoot Raw, nothing else.