Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K

[jonpais]

9 minutes ago, seanzzxx said:

What does the FC stand for?

Film Convert?

[Jonathan Lee]

There are now 4 more films that have been uploaded to the Official Blackmagic Design Gallery for the Pocket 4K.

https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/au/products/blackmagicpocketcinemacamera/gallery

[JordanWright]

Just a heads up guys, Amazon UK has Samsung T5 drives on sale. Im still undecided on the media ill be using yet.

[seanzzxx]

33 minutes ago, Jonathan Lee said:

There are now 4 more films that have been uploaded to the Official Blackmagic Design Gallery for the Pocket 4K.

https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/au/products/blackmagicpocketcinemacamera/gallery

Jesus Christ, those look good ... Also of course it was Film Convert, Jon Pais, thanks! Don't know why I didn't think of that, I own the software even, haha.

[kye]

That file that Philip Bloom uploaded is pretty interesting.

I have very little experience with grading high-end footage, but this seems to be really gradable and very difficult to break.

Here's a frame without any processing linked at the bottom of this post.

and the waveform:

If I adjust levels to use the full height then I get this:

and using contrast and pivot we can push it up or down a really long way...

 

There is a little noise there on the guys jacket, but it doesn't look like fixed pattern, and this is pushing it until it breaks.  Crazy stuff.

Thanks to Philip Bloom for the file

PB BMPCC4K test footage Untouched_1.1.1.tif

[BTM_Pix]

57 minutes ago, IronFilm said:

A grip with built in space for 15mm rails would be ideal. As otherwise a battery grip underneath can through off the heights for everything, but if the correct rails height is built in from the start then this would help reduce that problem a little 

My guesstimate based off the BM spec sheet is that to maintain the 85mm rail centre point if the rails went through at its halfway point, then the battery pack/base unit would be 75mm high.

Thats actually plenty of room to accommodate a very decent capacity power bank, the additional XLR and some interesting other additions....

[Mattias Burling]

I haven't watched any BMPCC4K footage yet. No videos, no test, no reviews, no nothing. All ive seen is the thumbnails in this thread. Never pressed play.
Because I was afraid it would spark an unbelievable case of G.A.S. And I was so proud of myself for canceling my preorder (was among the first in line).

Then I decided to download the tif-file above. Playing with it in Lightroom was ok. Feels like a decent image. Until you realize its a video frame... wow!
The quality is pretty darn crazy. The noise is.. not there. Mind officially blown.

[Álex Montoya]

5 minutes ago, Mattias Burling said:

I haven't watched any BMPCC4K footage yet. No videos, no test, no reviews, no nothing. All ive seen is the thumbnails in this thread. Never pressed play.
Because I was afraid it would spark an unbelievable case of G.A.S. And I was so proud of myself for canceling my preorder (was among the first in line).

Then I decided to download the tif-file above. Playing with it in Lightroom was ok. Feels like a decent image. Until you realize its a video frame... wow!
The quality is pretty darn crazy. The noise is.. not there. Mind officially blown.

You could have passed me your place in the line. ?

[Mattias Burling]

I probably could have made an easy buck by flipping the camera the same day

Ive seen a lot of c100ii and A7x shooters talk about it Sweden. Some of which I know are gonna be disappointed, they don't understand what they are getting into. These guys are pros but more about content. They don't hang out on forums and they only know the specs from the box.

When these type of fellows decide to sell it again and move back to a DSLR or more run-n-gun friendly camera I will be ready to do some serious haggling 

[austinchimp]

It's strange - I was expecting to love the images from this camera, I was expecting to have a burning desire to order one, and yet watching the videos so far I feel nothing.

Maybe it shows how much the other camera manufacturers have caught up but I don't see a lot more here over my GH5, or any of the Sony cameras. This is coming from a previous owner/operator of the BMPCC and Ursa Mini 4.6k. I was really hoping for a mini-Mini 4.6k, but I feel it doesn't have the richness of colour.

I'm sure it's a great tool, but I just don't feel much excitement over it, and with the newer hybrid cameras coming out now and in the next few months maybe BMD will find the current market tough for this camera.

[Mattias Burling]

@austinchimp Have you tried grading? My Panasonic or Fuji sure cant deliver an image that I can be so brutal with and still have looking nice and sharp.
But over all, I agree, there isnt any "need" to upgrade from anything made in the last 5 years.

[austinchimp]

Just now, Mattias Burling said:

@austinchimp Have you tried grading? My Panasonic or Fuji sure cant deliver an image that I can be so brutal with and still have looking nice and sharp.
But over all, I agree, there isnt any "need" to upgrade from anything made in the last 5 years.

I totally accept that the BMPCC4k image will be more robust and gradable with Prores and Raw than the images from my GH5, but overall - especially with viewing on Youtube and other streaming sites - there's not much between the cameras when it comes to the final product, as long as you know what you're doing.

The Blackmagic colour science is lovely, and much better than the native colour from the GH5 or Sony A7III, but those two can be graded to have a good look too. I've been playing with @Sage's GHa luts and that give the Panasonic a nice feel, and for me, Feel was always the thing that brought me to Blackmagic cameras.

Perhaps it's because when the original Pocket came out the look and feel was so far away from any other small camera, while now it seems to be more of a level playing field.

 

 

[mercer]

17 minutes ago, austinchimp said:

It's strange - I was expecting to love the images from this camera, I was expecting to have a burning desire to order one, and yet watching the videos so far I feel nothing.

Maybe it shows how much the other camera manufacturers have caught up but I don't see a lot more here over my GH5, or any of the Sony cameras. This is coming from a previous owner/operator of the BMPCC and Ursa Mini 4.6k. I was really hoping for a mini-Mini 4.6k, but I feel it doesn't have the richness of colour.

I'm sure it's a great tool, but I just don't feel much excitement over it, and with the newer hybrid cameras coming out now and in the next few months maybe BMD will find the current market tough for this camera.

I kind of agree. Obviously the files can be pulled and pushed and thrown out a moving car but there is something pedestrian about the look. The Ursa, OG Pocket and Micro all have it in spades, but the P4K... I’m just not seeing it yet.

But it’s still a nice image, so for the money, it’s hard to complain.

To add... I’m also seeing a little IR pollution pop up in a few videos and still frames, so maybe that is mucking it up... hmm.

[webrunner5]

2 hours ago, jonpais said:

And yet there are one-man bands that shoot talking heads and commercial work with Red handheld without half of those add-ons and their work looks spectacular. To each his own.

I think a Red camera is about the last camera in the world I would use for taking video of people being interviewed. That is Canon Cine territory, especially skin tones and DPAF. I don't think I would be looking for a Cine look for that.

[Deadcode]

The dynamic range is impressive. This shot is waaaaay underexposed and still "just" ProRes. But it can be lifted easily

 

[Kisaha]

3 hours ago, Jonesy Jones said:

So I'm wondering, if you go this route don't you lose access to the nice BM user interface? This one of the selling points for me actually. If you cover the screen with v mount and add an external monitor is it still possible to easily make camera setting changes? I get your point though, but it seems like we're going to need another solution. 

I think there is a wide open market for "creative" power solutions. Make a rosette side handle that doubles as a battery. Or a quick plate that is a battery. 

There are also the new "smart batteries", a fraction of the size and weight of NP and V batteries.

[mercer]

10 minutes ago, webrunner5 said:

I think a Red camera is about the last camera in the world I would use for taking video of people being interviewed. That is Canon Cine territory, especially skin tones and DPAF. I don't think I would be looking for a Cine look for that.

I don’t even know who that Caleb guy is... I suppose I should? But it is isn’t rocket science... he never needed a Red. Half the people buying the P4K, doesn’t need one and will be disappointed and I’ll happily buy it from them sometime next year... haha.

[TurboRat]

27 minutes ago, austinchimp said:

I totally accept that the BMPCC4k image will be more robust and gradable with Prores and Raw than the images from my GH5, but overall - especially with viewing on Youtube and other streaming sites - there's not much between the cameras when it comes to the final product, as long as you know what you're doing.

The Blackmagic colour science is lovely, and much better than the native colour from the GH5 or Sony A7III, but those two can be graded to have a good look too. I've been playing with @Sage's GHa luts and that give the Panasonic a nice feel, and for me, Feel was always the thing that brought me to Blackmagic cameras.

Perhaps it's because when the original Pocket came out the look and feel was so far away from any other small camera, while now it seems to be more of a level playing field.

 

 

I have the same expectation that the image will look different compared to the GH5 or A7III, like a BMPCC 4K version than can be compared to the Ursa or Alexa mini lol. But if you factor the lower price,  I realized you can get the same quality of shots with the P4k vs the GH5/GH5s  and Sonys and have some more money to spend. I guess I just got my expectations too high since I love the old BMPCC look

[Álex Montoya]

It shouldn't be overlooked as a big pro that the Pocket 4K is a video/cine dedicated camera. Honestly, when using a GH5 I'm bothered by all the photo menus and controls I won't ever need to use.

The P4K has got nice, beefy connections, a good menu and just the necessary buttons, I'm certainly will be more confident operating it than any hybrid camera.

[Turboguard]

8 hours ago, Mattias Burling said:

I still find it funny that reviewers of the old BMPCC pulled out the word "pocket" and pretended it belong with the RX100x. 
IMO, its a Cinema camera. A pocket sized cinema camera. No matter how much you say that lenses, batteries etc makes it bigger.
That does not take away the fact that this is a cinema camera. A pocket sized cinema camera.

THIS!

Why even spend energy on complaining over that it doesn't fit in your pocket, who wants to put a camera in your god damned literal pocket, I barely put my cell phone in my pocket!