Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K

[jonpais]

9 minutes ago, IronFilm said:

Watch his video, this is exactly his point, it is all these non-sensor / non-codec stuff which people need. But essentially the days of pixel peeping might soon be "over" (like it is in the stills world already, or so he claims).

 

I'm not seeing it (the end of pixel peeping days, that is). You really talk like a fanboy, and we haven't even seen footage from the camera yet. And while I very well might buy it, because I think it's probably the cat's pajamas, and I happen to like the people at BMD, I'm not about to drool over a camera that won't be released for another five or six months. Outside of a handful of cool heads, this thread is becoming an echo chamber. Can't even make a joke without @cantsin getting all offended.

FWIW, @cantsin, as you are now well aware, I already voiced my concern about the vents, and Andrew made a joke about it. I didn't take offense like you.

[Anaconda_]

When this thing ships, what will you also buy with it?

I notice it doesn't come with a battery, so this is my list:

2x battery ------- I already have 2 so 4 should give me a good start

XLR cable ------- I think these come in packs of 2, but spares are nice

128gb SD card OR C.Fast ------- I'll be mostly shooting ProRes, so SD is more likely, but then again buy nice or buy twice, C.Fast can handle everything, SD might struggle with RAW.

128gb USB-C thumb ------- for those times when my main card is full

[Snowfun]

I’m looking at a Samsung 500Gb SSD drive but will wait for advice as to whether this is preferable to cFast cards. Fortunately I’ve got several batteries (micro and VAs use them) so that’s one less thing. 

Presumably a cage of some sort will emerge. Yes it possibly defeats the purpose but it’ll look good. (And possibly prevent the camera rotating on a quick release as it’s only got the single screw hole I think?)

[Danilo Del Tufo]

I was considering the Zhiyun-Tech Crane 2 for BMPCC4K, in particular for the Follow Focus mode. This mode requires an usb cable from the Zhiyun to the camera, what do you think about it? It will be compatible with the focus of BMPCC4K?

[Dennis L Sorensen]

For people asking about the stills function.

This is just as the Ursa Mini Pro. Its a frame grab. I think they are marketing this WAY wrong. People think it take stills.. well.. no. It grabs a frame or the live video feed it produces from the sensor. Like a video for 1 frame what ever settings your are on. The format is DNG which you can convert to whatever you want afterwards. As it is a frame grab it will be at the resoultion you have choosen in-camera. So for 4K DCI it is 4096 x 2160 = 8.8mp (max).

I would not buy this for taking stills - unless you are a cinema guy and don't experct a "regular" stills camera as there is no dedicated stills functions and no mechanical shutter. But for taking a BTS frame grab its fine.

--- Monitor ---

The monitor is the same as the one found on their Ursa Mini 4K and 4.6K (not pro 4"). So expect what you get from that and not like 1000 nits. I think it was Stuart from BMD who said it - as a source.

2 hours ago, Anaconda_ said:

I wonder if you could use USB-C as a monitoring output. It obviously sends the picture out to record to thumbdrives so what about a USB monitor?

No. They used the knowlegde gained when they created the SSD recorder for the Ursa Mini. On the Ursa Mini when using the SSD recorder it sends a data signal out the SDI and onto the SSD. Its is not a video feed. It is data.. Like a USB connection. So thats what they put into the BMPCC4K. So no USB external monitor unless they develop something for this. Its is only used for firmware update, powering/charging and external recording to a USB source (can be anything from a thump drive to a RAID array).

[Stanley]

1 hour ago, cantsin said:

The likely achilles heel of the Pocket 4K IMHO are the prominently exposed ventilation slots on the lens turret, even on the upper side of the camera. I means that the camera (aside from not being weather-sealed in any way) should never be used in any rainy/humid or dusty environment. - Anything that lands on the camera and travels through these slots will end up on the sensor.

 

@cantsin From what I've read those vent slots, and what's behind them, is completely sealed of from any internal parts of the camera. Hopefully JB might come on board in the near future and explain a few things.

[spinkscapes]

6 hours ago, DBounce said:

As a former BMPCC owner I can only tell you my impression after a hands on. 

I much prefer the build of my Micro rather than the build of my GH4.

[jonpais]

1 hour ago, spinkscapes said:

I much prefer the build of my Micro rather than the build of my GH4.

That's a bit like comparing apples to oranges, isn't it? I mean, the GH4 is a camera that you could rig out and shoot like a true cinema camera, while the Micro is like a super Go Pro on steroids with the ability to extract 13 stops of dynamic range. The ergos are also a bit tricky, with the side buttons all crowded together and flush to the body, while the GH4's larger, chunkier controls are easier to use, especially if you're wearing gloves. In what way is the build quality of the Micro better than the GH4?

For anyone who's going to nitpick, I realize the Micro is not the same as a Go Pro. 

[BTM_Pix]

1 hour ago, Snowfun said:

Presumably a cage of some sort will emerge. Yes it possibly defeats the purpose but it’ll look good. (And possibly prevent the camera rotating on a quick release as it’s only got the single screw hole I think?)

If its anything like it was when the first version was released, it'll be rig mania for a while with people pimping them out.

Though I do have a soft spot for these two.

 

[jonpais]

Where's the camera?  

[Anaconda_]

I still have the Z Finder, going to stick it on top and voila, tilting, twisting, spinning monitor for those handheld shots. Expose and get it looking right on the BM screen and then compose and focus via the Z Finder. It'll also give me that extra point of contact for the handheld work. 

Thinking about it, if you can turn off the BM monitor, I might be able to squeeze another few minutes out of the battery.

[BTM_Pix]

9 minutes ago, jonpais said:

Where's the camera?  

Not in their pocket thats for sure.

[Stanley]

8 minutes ago, Anaconda_ said:

I still have the Z Finder, going to stick it on top and voila, tilting, twisting, spinning monitor for those handheld shots. Expose and get it looking right on the BM screen and then compose and focus via the Z Finder. It'll also give me that extra point of contact for the handheld work. 

Thinking about it, if you can turn off the BM monitor, I might be able to squeeze another few minutes out of the battery.

Exactly.

[AaronChicago]

5 hours ago, IronFilm said:

internal NDs is the big feature missing from the BMPCC4K

It's $1295. Gotta keep some features on the Ursa Mini Pro only.

[Stanley]

3 minutes ago, AaronChicago said:

It's $1295. Gotta keep some features on the Ursa Mini Pro only.

Put a good quality vari nd on the front and you're good to go. Some like SLR Vari mk 2 even allow polarising adjustment.

 

[Marcio Kabke Pinheiro]

For size comparisons, it is in Camerasize already.

http://camerasize.com/compare/#782,727

[Don Kotlos]

29 minutes ago, Márcio Kabke Pinheiro said:

For size comparisons, it is in Camerasize already.

http://camerasize.com/compare/#782,727

While far from the original pocket size, compared to any professional video cameras that shoot 4K Raw the new pocket could be considered pocketable. Or at least it can fit in a normal camera bag 

I am quite glad for the increased size compared to the original pocket actually. Proper heat sink, better battery, larger screen, better microphones, dual card slots and plenty of ports. 

[Drew Allegre]

Looks like the width could be an issue for gimbal use.

[amanieux]

4 hours ago, tyger11 said:

Those aren't meant for swapping out all the time like SD or CFast. Maybe in some kind of sled, or a U.2 configuration. CFexpress is the NVMe standard coming up, but nobody's implemented it in a camera yet so far as I know. Maybe in the next generation of cameras...

swapping physically photo data out seems to come from the film roll paradigm, why swap out mass media when usb-c can transfer data as fast ? and if you shoot on the go, a 2gb m2 ssd = 4x 512mb sd or cf cards, do film shooter fill more than 4 cards in a day ?

[DBounce]

5 hours ago, sanveer said:

I think that's being unreasonable. For the buck, they are already giving WAY more than anyone else.  

 

I doubt that. They are happy offering ProRes or whatever else by the HDMI out. If Panasonic feels the heat (which nobody would really deny) they may reduce prices of their GH line. Other manufacturers may not really feel the pinch, because a lot of those don't really make the cut due to the 10-bit 4-2-2 mandate Netflix and other VoD and Broadcasters, and the limited recording times on those cameras are also a huge let down. I am guessing sales of the A7s series will be hit, because it too does good low light (much better), and it too has limited functionaliy as a photo shooting stills camera. 

Therefore, in essence, the BMPCCii has targetted the GH5 and GH5s' customers.

Curiously having RAW via HDMI won't solve the problem. The Price Difference is too great.

Well if you want a weather sealed robust camera built to survive out of the studio you might see the price difference as worth it. Also the GH5/S is much smaller. Has a flip out / tilt screen. Time code anyone? Also if flying on the new DJI Ronin M the GH5/S will work with the built in follow focus... confirmed by DJI at the show. BM... err no. Need a flash? How about dual SD slots? CFast is expensive.., I know, that’s what my 1DXMK2 eats:-)

Battery life important? Well then. 

Hey, I’m sure the larger screen is going to be great. But I promise you if you crank up the brightness you will eat through batteries. And if you are recording raw aren’t you going to need to add an external recorder/monitor anyway?

BM was mighty careful not to go on camera with any of their claims. Panasonic did not shy away. They stated they can add raw output. So if things get heavy they will likely just add that in the new Prores Raw format and be done with it. They said this at the show.