BlackMagic Micro Cinema Update?

[squig]

I think the form factor & no screen vs the Pocket + LCD point and shoot thing really is a non issue. Who shoots with a Pocket handheld pulling focus off the LCD? The smallHD 501 with a ball mount or that smallHD mount Zak has is a really compact setup, no bigger than a DSLR with a z-finder, and a much better image than the Pocket LCD with rec709 LUT monitoring.

[Mattias Burling]

1 hour ago, squig said:

Who shoots with a Pocket handheld pulling focus off the LCD? 

I do

[Zak Forsman]

masochist.

[Bioskop.Inc]

12 hours ago, squig said:

 Who shoots with a Pocket handheld pulling focus off the LCD?

 

10 hours ago, Mattias Burling said:

I do

Me too

[graphicnatured]

I've done it before too, but obviously the 502 is worlds apart.

[John Emery]

On 14/5/2016 at 10:03 AM, gsenroc said:

Thanks for the link.

The VS-2 is working fine for me so far. False color seems ok and consistant. However histogram is somewhat strange and different than what the Pocket shows, hight light info seems capped and not complete. I haven't tried the histogram with the Micro yet.

Some bad things:

The color of this monitor is bad, it's way too green by default and I couldn't calibrate it to a point that I'm satisfied. I shoot Raw so it still seems ok to me.

Furthermore, for some reason, the shadow/highlight in the monitor is kind of mushy, hardly any detail there. I guess it has something to do with the dynamic range of the monitor or the signal procressing is quirky.

My feeling about this monitor is that it's good for focusing and exposure, the rest is bad. For the price it's quite ok though. They promised for firmware upgrade but the link never works...

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

14 hours ago, squig said:

The 5D mk3 raw has a nicer image and more usable dynamic range. 60p and 13ms rolling shutter are the reasons why I haven't sold my micro yet. The form factor does make it handy to have in my bag as a b-cam, but I'm thinking about just buying a 2nd 5D mk3 instead.

Dunno Squig, I'm coming from 5D mk3 raw too and IMHO I don't think the image is better or worst, they just different... but both are nice and filmic and have enough DR to look so. I would ad Prores to 60p and 13ms RS as a major reason I would choose BMMCC over the 5D. But the truth is that I'm happy using both.

[mercer]

Is there a world of difference in quality between the Raw 3:1 and ProRes HQ?

[Jason Mackey]

On 5/13/2016 at 4:52 PM, Zak Forsman said:

Unlike regular RAW, RAW 3:1 requires Resolve, unfortunately. And it does require a hefty graphics card. I just upgraded mine to be able to work without memory errors.

How "hefty" of a video card?  I have a GTX 970 that's working fine for me now, but I've never worked with RAW footage.

[Zak Forsman]

i'm not an expert, here's the suggested minimums. http://documents.blackmagicdesign.com/DaVinciResolve/DaVinci_Resolve_12_Beta_Configuration_Guide.pdf

I have a GTX 980 ti 6GB and get realtime playback of HD RAW files until I get upwards of 5 or 6 nodes. that includes NR.

the ratio of lens to camera here is amazing.

[gsenroc]

Zak how did you turned off the frame guide? I tried to turn it off but didn't succeed. Also the battery percentage doesn't work either.

[TheRenaissanceMan]

I use a GTX 970 for 2:1 RAW and get full time playback, so 3:1 shouldn't be a problem.

[Zak Forsman]

11 minutes ago, gsenroc said:

Zak how did you turned off the frame guide? I tried to turn it off but didn't succeed. Also the battery percentage doesn't work either.

I have it set to 1.85:1 when I don't want to see frame guides. not a perfect solution but i'm sure they'll give us a "guideless" 16x9 option eventually. seems like a dumb oversight. what issue are you having with the battery percentage? not showing up? maybe it's the brand of batt you're using?

[gsenroc]

Just now, Zak Forsman said:

I have it set to 1.85:1 when I don't want to see frame guides. not a perfect solution but i'm sure they'll give us a "guideless" 16x9 option eventually. seems like a dumb oversight. what issue are you having with the battery percentage? not showing up? maybe it's the brand of batt you're using?

I'm using the original battery from BMD. I switched the "battery percentage" on but I still see the three dots indicator for the battery, no percentage showing up. Maybe I should try the Canon original one?

Yea I think they'll update with a guideless option, I was just thinking I may have missed some setting for that.

[squig]

3 hours ago, John Emery said:

Dunno Squig, I'm coming from 5D mk3 raw too and IMHO I don't think the image is better or worst, they just different... but both are nice and filmic and have enough DR to look so. I would ad Prores to 60p and 13ms RS as a major reason I would choose BMMCC over the 5D. But the truth is that I'm happy using both.

It's not a big IQ difference, they match quite well in post. But the Micro is a lot noisier than the 5D at 800 ISO. Noise isn't really an issue on the 5D until you go over 1600 ISO. In all the tests I did the 5D had more usable dynamic range. The Micro highlights clip before the 5D and there's more noise in the shadows. I've got a couple of Iscoramas, so I can get 60p out of the 5D. 13ms is nice but the extra dynamic range is more important to me. The Micro also appears to have an issue with saturation variance at different exposure levels, not a major drama but an extra step in post. The 5D consistently gives me better results with less work in post. If the 5D couldn't shoot raw the Micro would be the next best option for me.

[Mattias Burling]

I get realtime playback of Raw on a 8gb Macbook with just an intel card, so it should be fine.

[mercer]

So, since I started this topic, I have been researching the BMMCC, BMPCC images, and rigging options and I have come to the conclusion that there is no camera in this price range that even remotely comes close to the IQ and DR that these little beasts are capable of.

I am more interested in the BMMCC due to the 60p slow motion. So I started thinking about ways to rig this camera to keep it at the smallest footprint possible. For me, that requires a small rig, void of large monitors, or articulating arms. I want something I can put on a small cage with a 3.5" or 5" monitor that is mounted directly behind, and in line with, the camera. I think I have a couple solutions, but I have a few more questions before I make the purchase. 

1. Do these monitors eat batteries quickly? I know every one is different, but your individual experiences will be appreciated. Right now it looks like I can get a deal on a "New Other" Ikan VL5e 5" monitor. Does anyone have any experience with this specific model? 

I know with the pocket, there were some HDMI out issues with the plug... Is this also the case with the micro? Should I be looking for a cage with cable clamps on it?

2. Is the audio levels, when using an external mic, adjustable in camera?

3. I see there is a video mode and a film mode... Is their also individual adjustments like saturation and contrast, etc..., especially when shooting ProRes?

4. How many minutes of ProRes HQ can I expect to get on a 64gb SDXC card?

5. Sorry, I know a lot of these questions can be figured out from the manual, but I can't seem to find it in the website... Does anyone have a link to the owner's manual?

Thanks for your help. 

[John Emery]

3 hours ago, mercer said:

So, since I started this topic, I have been researching the BMMCC, BMPCC images, and rigging options and I have come to the conclusion that there is no camera in this price range that even remotely comes close to the IQ and DR that these little beasts are capable of.

I am more interested in the BMMCC due to the 60p slow motion. So I started thinking about ways to rig this camera to keep it at the smallest footprint possible. For me, that requires a small rig, void of large monitors, or articulating arms. I want something I can put on a small cage with a 3.5" or 5" monitor that is mounted directly behind, and in line with, the camera. I think I have a couple solutions, but I have a few more questions before I make the purchase. 

1. Do these monitors eat batteries quickly? I know every one is different, but your individual experiences will be appreciated. Right now it looks like I can get a deal on a "New Other" Ikan VL5e 5" monitor. Does anyone have any experience with this specific model? 

I know with the pocket, there were some HDMI out issues with the plug... Is this also the case with the micro? Should I be looking for a cage with cable clamps on it?

2. Is the audio levels, when using an external mic, adjustable in camera?

3. I see there is a video mode and a film mode... Is their also individual adjustments like saturation and contrast, etc..., especially when shooting ProRes?

4. How many minutes of ProRes HQ can I expect to get on a 64gb SDXC card?

5. Sorry, I know a lot of these questions can be figured out from the manual, but I can't seem to find it in the website... Does anyone have a link to the owner's manual?

Thanks for your help. 

1. Two lp-e6 batteries give me around 2 hours on my 7" Must HD.

2. Yes, there's audio levels, but you have to get in to menu to change settings (a BIG pain). I use a Sennheiser MKE 400 (on high gain), and set the levels of the BMMCC to auto if I want some usable audio.

3. Nope, but ProRes has loads of Info baked in, so you can change it after. Just make sure you get the WB right.

4. Dunno exactly, because I tend to mix 60p and 24p all the time (on a 128Gb card). But around 45-50' I suppose.

5. Dunno.

 

[gsenroc]

The manual of the Cinema camera can be found via BMD's website. Just go to support and look for the download link there. I remember they call it Blackmagic Cinema Camera Manual.

Edit: just looked around and here is the link: https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/manuals/CinemaCamera/Blackmagic_Cameras_Manual.pdf

[mercer]

5 hours ago, John Emery said:

1. Two lp-e6 batteries give me around 2 hours on my 7" Must HD.

2. Yes, there's audio levels, but you have to get in to menu to change settings (a BIG pain). I use a Sennheiser MKE 400 (on high gain), and set the levels of the BMMCC to auto if I want some usable audio.

3. Nope, but ProRes has loads of Info baked in, so you can change it after. Just make sure you get the WB right.

4. Dunno exactly, because I tend to mix 60p and 24p all the time (on a 128Gb card). But around 45-50' I suppose.

5. Dunno.

 

Thanks John, most helpful!!!

 

3 hours ago, gsenroc said:

The manual of the Cinema camera can be found via BMD's website. Just go to support and look for the download link there. I remember they call it Blackmagic Cinema Camera Manual.

Edit: just looked around and here is the link: https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/manuals/CinemaCamera/Blackmagic_Cameras_Manual.pdf

Thank you, for some reason I expected each camera to have it's own manual.

[M Carter]

2 Questions on the micro - 

Is an IR cut totally necessary, or only when doing heavier ND? And at what level of ND does the need for IR come up?

Does the pocket-specific speedbooster work well on the micro, or are there mounting issues? I'd really want to maximize my FOV with that little sensor.

Still very interested in this, particularly for shooting outdoors.