Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera

[richg101]

You can buy stick-on buttons in various colours that will likely fit.  maybe look for stick on rubber feet for hi-fi furniture and the like.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/16x-Round-Rubber-Foot-Self-Adhesive-Black-Feet-RF05-Size-6mm-WIDE-x-3mm-HIGH-/191688158450?hash=item2ca1812cf2:g:3i0AAOxyPc5SAhXY

 

[graphicnatured]

This is why I love these forums. So simple, but often times people like me don't think of the simple things. Good looking out, righg101!

[richg101]

56 minutes ago, graphicnatured said:

This is why I love these forums. So simple, but often times people like me don't think of the simple things. Good looking out, righg101!

I actually modded both the a7s and a7rii with a cut down 5mm red LED glued onto the record button to it pokes out more and is easier to find.  Everyone who sees the mod asks how to do it.  it's the best mod to the camera.  the bmmcc is in need of this mod too!

 

[Zak Forsman]

On April 2, 2016 at 0:23 PM, richg101 said:

I've hardly even had time to test the little camera.  It's soon to be fitted into forbes70, and I'm hoping global shutter gets enabled.  from some of the footage I've shot I have noticed more obvious fixed pattern shadow noise than I have seen from the pocket.  @Zak Forsman have you noticed this?

yes, i have. vertical striations in the shadows.

[graphicnatured]

2 hours ago, Zak Forsman said:

yes, i have. vertical striations in the shadows.

Same here.

[giostrante]

3 hours ago, Zak Forsman said:

yes, i have. vertical striations in the shadows.

 

29 minutes ago, graphicnatured said:

Same here.

I've recently bought an used BMPCC and discovered this problem too, it's clear at iso 1600 but also at 800 is there. 

How can anyone be so calm and quiet about it? It's simply an horrible problem, it destroys the wonderful image this camera can produce in low light, it's a total shame, why nobody is complaining about it? I've just written to BM and ask for a solution, it's unacceptable. People make a lot of noise complaining about things like the old sony a7s black hole sun, or the artificial blu light problem but this is definitely worse!  

We all should ask them a serious solution!!

[Xavier Plagaro Mussard]

BM never seems to provide the whole pack. They always seem to fail in something. It's a shame, they produce the better images, but without reliability, who wants a camera?

[giostrante]

I've just switched from sony a7s to BMPCC, just for that incredible cinematic look that's impossible to achieve with the sony, despite being a better overall camera reguarding reliability. I've sent my pocket to them a couple of days ago, let's see what they will do.

But there's one thing for sure, we all have to complain to them!

[Bioskop.Inc]

3 hours ago, Zak Forsman said:

yes, i have. vertical striations in the shadows.

This is interesting...

21 minutes ago, giostrante said:

 

I've recently bought an used BMPCC and discovered this problem too, it's clear at iso 1600 but also at 800 is there.

Never seen it on the Pocket, but I don't use ASA 1600. Yes i've shot in darkish situations, but never encountered it - perhaps I just don't underexpose that much or try to lift stuff to the point of no return. I think that you'll find that most people who are shooting in low light are using some sort of noise reduction on their footage & this almost certainly hides noise/grids etc... The only thing that I've encountered with the Pocket is the Purple Grid pattern when pointed at a strong light & it only occurs when the light source is to one side - but once you grade & render the footage it vanishes.

There's a lot of discussion on BMCuser/BMforum about the 4.6ks purple fringing & the FPN in the shadows - user error or the odd faulty sensor/camera, it really hard to tell because not enough people are experiencing these problems (it does seem that BM has acknowledged the purple fringing as a problem).

Not defending BM, but they're cheap cameras & a new/small firm. Didn't RED have loads of problems to begin with & still does in certain situations. The Alexa can produce the Black Spot sun problem too. No digital camera is going to be perfect, that's why there's the constant debate about why Film is better.

[giostrante]

I agree, their cameras are cheap and they have the best image available, even spending 3 or 4 times more you can't have that look.

Anyway their customer service seems very friendly and helpful, maybe my camera is more prone to that problem, I hope they can fix it or replace it, we'll see.

[JazzBox]

4 hours ago, Zak Forsman said:

yes, i have. vertical striations in the shadows.

My micro is arriving today at home... I hope this problem it is something manageable... or I will have to sell it...  

[giostrante]

Right now is clearly visible in dark enviroments with contrasted zone at iso 1600,is still there at 800 but less pronounced, in different conditions is extremely difficoult to find, fortunately. But it's not acceptable anyway.

Here's a little test of the problem,but in still images is less visible than in motion.

[Bioskop.Inc]

5 minutes ago, giostrante said:

I agree, their cameras are cheap and they have the best image available, even spending 3 or 4 times more you can't have that look.

Anyway their customer service seems very friendly and helpful, maybe my camera is more prone to that problem, I hope they can fix it or replace it, we'll see.

They are nice & do their best to solve problems. As with all electronic devices, there's always going to be some bad apples & the internet just makes things seem to be a lot worse than they really are. Just remember that these cameras are not low light monsters, they do need a minimum of light. The image that they produce is really so much better than a DSLR, but they do have their limitations just like a DSLR does & people tend to forget that.

[squig]

If you can't handle a bit of fixed pattern noise, maybe digital filmmaking is not for you.

[Bioskop.Inc]

5 minutes ago, giostrante said:

Right now is clearly visible in dark enviroments with contrasted zone at iso 1600,is still there at 800 but less pronounced, in different conditions is extremely difficoult to find, fortunately. But it's not acceptable anyway.

Here's a little test of the problem,but in still images is less visible than in motion.

That's not a normal shooting situation & you really shouldn't expect to be getting anything worth while by doing that.

Sorry, but there's nothing wrong with your camera. You're being totally unrealistic about what you can achieve. Now do the same test again with just that lamp on or even a big candle - that would be a minimum of light, not a few leaks coming from the cracks of the shutters.

[cantsin]

@giostrante, your picture is severely underexposed. You need to learn that you need to expose a Blackmagic camera differently than a conventional DSLR or video camera, i.e. according to the ETTR/expose to the right principle. (You expose to the possible maximum/just under the clipping point even if it looks like overexposure on the camera display, and pull back your exposure/gamma in post.)

[JazzBox]

29 minutes ago, giostrante said:

Right now is clearly visible in dark enviroments with contrasted zone at iso 1600,is still there at 800 but less pronounced, in different conditions is extremely difficoult to find, fortunately. But it's not acceptable anyway.

Here's a little test of the problem,but in still images is less visible than in motion.

That's perfectly acceptable for my taste: with my GH4 I have other issues but they all are things normal (as today) for a digital camera. 

This is a very dark shot and it is not very "cinematic" per se: this problem would be unacceptable if it destroy a well exposed (or slightly underexposed) image, but you would not underexpose so hardly normally.

Each camera has pro and cons, I do love my GH4, and I hope the Micro that will arrive today will be as good as the Pocket I had, just with 60 fps and a better batteries' life

my 2 cents  
 

[giostrante]

 

31 minutes ago, squig said:

If you can't handle a bit of fixed pattern noise, maybe digital filmmaking is not for you.

It's more than a bit I'm afraid

[JazzBox]

4 hours ago, Zak Forsman said:

yes, i have. vertical striations in the shadows.

Zak, in all the shadows or just in severely underexposed images? 
I mean: it is something that destroys all images or something acceptable that no one would notice in normal shots? 

[giostrante]

33 minutes ago, Bioskop.Inc said:

That's not a normal shooting situation & you really shouldn't expect to be getting anything worth while by doing that.

Sorry, but there's nothing wrong with your camera. You're being totally unrealistic about what you can achieve. Now do the same test again with just that lamp on or even a big candle - that would be a minimum of light, not a few leaks coming from the cracks of the shutters.

 

19 minutes ago, cantsin said:

@giostrante, your picture is severely underexposed. You need to learn that you need to expose a Blackmagic camera differently than a conventional DSLR or video camera, i.e. according to the ETTR/expose to the right principle. (You expose to the possible maximum/just under the clipping point even if it looks like overexposure on the camera display, and pull back your exposure/gamma in post.)

Relax guys, I know what I've done, it's just a stress test,I didn't want to awake the professor inside all of you, keep calm! 

And as I said, even with more light is clearly visible at iso 1600 and even at 800 when you look at the footage of course, here is just a still image.