Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera

[Phil A]

40 minutes ago, cojocaru27 said:

the buttons are placed in the front of the camera and being small it's hard to nail the right ones when you go through the menu. And as far as i know, don't have one yet, you can't control the settings from the touchscreen of your external monitor which would be great. Preatty sure it can be solved with a firmware update.

Well, it's mainly designed as a drone/gimbal camera, that's why the buttons are on the front. It's supposed to be like that.

And no, you won't be able to control it via the monitor touchscreen like on a Video Assist, the HDMI can't control that. But you can rig something up via the expansion port.

If you look through the pictures on the product website, there's none where it's used in the pseudo-camcorder way we all want to rig it out to. Basically you have to choose between User Interface (BMPCC) or HFR & better battery (BMMCC).

[aldolega]

AFAIK the HDMI protocol does include control/communication between two devices, so theoretically (short of the Micro or VA HDMI hardware lacking support for that part of the protocol), it is possible. I guess Blackmagic was just too busy with the 4.6K's problems max out the VA and Micro's possibilities.

I would just be patient though, if Emm from Cheesycam and other shooters have already been able to cobble together buttons/switches to control basic camera functions through the expansion port, out of off-the-shelf parts, I'm sure companies like Zacuto, Wooden Camera, etc are already working on grips and other control interfaces for the camera. In less than a year I imagine they'll have rosette-mount grips with buttons for ISO, iris, shutter speed, etc that works right out of the box. And in another year after that, you'll probably be able to get a generic Chinese copy off eBay for cheap.

With this type of control grip, a cage, and a loupe/viewfinder for the 5" VA, the Micro would be like a budget, mini FS5, but with better codecs...

[andrgl]

35 minutes ago, aldolega said:

AFAIK the HDMI protocol does include control/communication between two devices, so theoretically (short of the Micro or VA HDMI hardware lacking support for that part of the protocol), it is possible. I guess Blackmagic was just too busy with the 4.6K's problems max out the VA and Micro's possibilities.

I would just be patient though, if Emm from Cheesycam and other shooters have already been able to cobble together buttons/switches to control basic camera functions through the expansion port, out of off-the-shelf parts, I'm sure companies like Zacuto, Wooden Camera, etc are already working on grips and other control interfaces for the camera. In less than a year I imagine they'll have rosette-mount grips with buttons for ISO, iris, shutter speed, etc that works right out of the box. And in another year after that, you'll probably be able to get a generic Chinese copy off eBay for cheap.

With this type of control grip, a cage, and a loupe/viewfinder for the 5" VA, the Micro would be like a budget, mini FS5, but with better codecs...

And by this time next year, BM will have announced their 4K+ BMPCC model.

[Nikkor]

13 minutes ago, andrgl said:

And by this time next year, BM will have announced their 4K+ BMPCC model.

And by this time in two years they will start shipping the first units with fpn.

[aldolega]

I doubt the Pocket or Micro form factors will get 4K anytime soon, not until small/affordable media (so SD cards basically) catches up to the continuous-write specs needed. And even if they do, I'm sure the next-gen Micro will have the same expansion port and protocol and the grip would work just fine.

[andrgl]

10 minutes ago, aldolega said:

I doubt the Pocket or Micro form factors will get 4K anytime soon

https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/blackmagicmicrostudiocamera4k

10 minutes ago, aldolega said:

not until small/affordable media (so SD cards basically) catches up to the continuous-write specs needed

UHS-II or CFast, take your pick, media is already available.

[IronFilm]

On 3/24/2016 at 0:19 PM, dvcrn said:

Are there any small screen options that you could slap on the cam? Preferable something "micro" and a little tinier than the small HD options

I think by far and by far the best ultra affordable option is the Aputure FineHD VS-2 monitor, however it is a little big... wish they had it available in a 5 inch option!

 

http://www.newsshooter.com/2015/12/21/a-7-full-hd-hdmi-field-monitor-for-less-than-200-aputure-launch-vs-1-finehd-monitor/

On 3/25/2016 at 0:01 AM, Ed_David said:

Basically after reading as much as I could about the Blackmagic micro camera, I still think maybe the Sony RX100 IV is the better deal and camera for small POV crash cam work.

Keep an eye out for the Nikon DL18-50

Has a fast f1.8 lens, large 1" sensor, shoots 4K, and has a *MASSIVELY WIDE* 18mm FF FoV!! :-o Much much wider than the 24mm on the RX100 IV, and better if you want to use it as a PoV camera with a very wide FoV.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1234156-REG/nikon_26512_dl18_50_f_1_8_2_8_digital_camera.html

On 3/25/2016 at 2:17 AM, Zak Forsman said:

Fair point, for sure. one benefit to it needing to be rigged out is that it lands at 5 to 8 lbs depending on what you add, which is just enough weight to nix those micro jitters you see in handheld clips from ultra light cameras. and with the Micro you *could* use a cheaper monitor option, like an Apurture VS-1 FineHD because unlike the Pocket, the Micro will let you send a "Video" feed over HDMI, while capturing in "Film" mode. With the Pocket, you needed an external monitor with LUT capability to see anything other than the flat BMDFilm image you were capturing.

Ohhhh..... that is one cool benefit of the BMD Micro over the Pocket!

[IronFilm]

On 4/9/2016 at 11:06 PM, richg101 said:

I haven't even acknowledged those comments because he's deluded.  There's nothing wrong with his camera.  My pocket reacts exactly how his does - as does every other bmpcc.  All his actions do is increase the price of future products from BM because they have to add costs for the idiot factor.  

I do hate those idiots unnecessarily returning purchased items, and increasing the costs for good honest folk like myself.  

On 4/9/2016 at 4:43 AM, mercer said:

I own neither the Pocket or the Micro, but from reading this thread it seems like the Micro really isn't the successor to the Pocket... Or the Pocket II. Minus the obvious differences, do you early adopters see more similarities or differences between the two? 

I ask because I am still very interested in the pocket, but I don't want to buy one yet if the actual Pocket 2 is right around the corner... Plus I am still slapping myself for not getting it during the infamous fire sale of '14. I had enough money to buy 4 of them and sell 2 or 3 for a profit, but I thought they were just clearing inventory for the newer model. When I decided to buy just one, they were unavailable. 

I doubt Pocket 2 is coming any time soon at all, as BMD does not have a history of releasing "v2" of cameras, have they EVER done that?

Nope!! Instead BMD has a habit of releasing products which fit a slightly different niche than their previous cameras.

For instance we never saw a BMCC v2, instead they released a 4K (BMPC4K) and smaller version (BMPCC).

Ditto the BMPC4K, no BMPC4K v2 got announced, instead they announced a bigger more full featured camera: URSA 4K

Ditto the BMPCC, no BMPCC v2, instead a BMMCC got announced. 

On 4/12/2016 at 2:55 AM, dombra said:

Transcend 64 GB High Speed 10 UHS-3 Flash Memory Card 95/60 MB/s

That is too slow. 

That is wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy TOO SLOW!!!

 

Only use SanDisk Extreme Pro 95MB/s cards. And nothing else. 

On 4/23/2016 at 11:47 PM, shijan said:

at the nab ikan announced new 3.5 monitor/evf with 4k support

I can't find anywhere the pricing for this new Ikan VL35 monitor?!

[graphicnatured]

9 hours ago, aldolega said:

I'm sure companies like Zacuto, Wooden Camera, etc are already working on grips and other control interfaces for the camera.

Maybe that's why Wooden Camera's cage is designed so poorly with regards to hitting the record button as they have another place for the buttons in the pipeline. Sure would help their cause.

[aldolega]

8 hours ago, andrgl said:

https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/blackmagicmicrostudiocamera4k

UHS-II or CFast, take your pick, media is already available.

The Micro Studio doesn't record, and CFast and UHS-II are both still in a different price class than the UHS-I cards the pocket/Micro use. Although the 7" Video Assist using UHS-II is a good sign I guess.

Either way, assuming the replacement for the Micro keeps its form factor and connectivity, a control grip for the current camera would continue to be useful for the next.

[peterwhite]

Does anyone know if the Blackmagix footage can be edited in FCP or not?

[graphicnatured]

11 hours ago, peterwhite said:

Does anyone know if the Blackmagix footage can be edited in FCP or not?

Yes.

[Jim Giberti]

14 hours ago, peterwhite said:

Does anyone know if the Blackmagix footage can be edited in FCP or not?

Depends on what kind of footage. If you mean ProRes, then sure - that's FCPX's native codec and what it will conform your media to on ingest if you set it to.

If you're talking about shooting Raw, Cinema DNG, then no - FCPX can't handle that until you conform it in Resolve to ProRes

[Bioskop.Inc]

15 hours ago, peterwhite said:

Does anyone know if the Blackmagix footage can be edited in FCP or not?

 

1 hour ago, Jim Giberti said:

Depends on what kind of footage. If you mean ProRes, then sure - that's FCPX's native codec and what it will conform your media to on ingest if you set it to.

If you're talking about shooting Raw, Cinema DNG, then no - FCPX can't handle that until you conform it in Resolve to ProRes

As Jim said, you can edit ProRes but not the DNG files.

However, I use "Raw Photo Processor 64" (its a free download) to convert the DNG files to 16-bit TIFF files. RPP has the best Highlight retrieval of anything that i've used, it has 4 different curve types (Film-like, L*, Gamma & Colorimetric Gamma), Custom or Auto White Balance (which is v.accurate), a load of TruePaper & TrueFilm simulations and so much more. Oh, did I mention that its free!

So no need for Resolve...

[shijan]

Bioskop.Inc, try Resolve ACES workflow it works same as RPP even better. i used RPP for video for a while but it is too slow even if you pay for multithread update, and needs a lot of additional space. Also default DNG input profile in RPP is too undersaturated for Blackmagic cameras so you always need to build custom input profile with color chart.

[Bioskop.Inc]

43 minutes ago, shijan said:

Bioskop.Inc, try Resolve ACES workflow it works same as RPP even better. i used RPP for video for a while but it is too slow even if you pay for multithread update, and needs a lot of additional space. Also default DNG input profile in RPP is too undersaturated for Blackmagic cameras so you always need to build custom input profile with color chart.

The main problem with Resolve is that if your computer is a little old, like mine, you just can't use it.

I really like RPP - love the Film Simulations, the different Curve Types & basically how it converts RAW/DNG files (just used to the workflow & results it gives me).

I mostly use ProRes HQ with Pocket - hardly any Moire/Aliasing & just as good to grade with. I try & get as close to the finished product in camera - none of this fix in post nonsense.

As far as FCPX is concerned - the BMCC RAW files open with no problem & would love that option on all BM cameras, as it would make my life (& all Mac/FCPX users' lives) a lot simpler!

[Jonatan]

It's a wonderful camera, I absolutely love it.

 

Nothing wrong with the controls at all, it takes an hour of shooting to get familiar with.

But I have an issue with shooting 60fps raw 3:1 and monitoring on Blackmagic Videoassist - the signal just get's all weird and it's impossible to shoot under those circumstances. 

 

Other than that, it's great. Seriously, it seems like some of you guys care more about camera technology that making films - but maybe this is an AC forum more than a director/DP one..

 

Dunno..

 

Will share something monday.

 

 

Cheers

[independent]

Shots fired! But I would say in the independent filmmaking scene, a Director or DP should know his gear or equipment, both for aesthetics as well as technical reasons. Not unusual to see a Director op, let alone a DP. What you lack in funds, you make up in knowledge.

[Zak Forsman]

i never understood the criticisms of an artist mastering the tools they use. 

[squig]

2 hours ago, Jonatan said:

Other than that, it's great. Seriously, it seems like some of you guys care more about camera technology that making films - but maybe this is an AC forum more than a director/DP one..