Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K

[BTM_Pix]

2 minutes ago, Turboguard said:

I meant USB C from my battery pack to DC in to P4K. What are you going to use when you get the cable kit from BMD?

Ah right. 

Sorry.

I'm just going to use one of the small £10 SmallRig adapters from my BMPCC that take the Sony F batteries.

Cheap and cheerful and mounts to anything (screw mount on the bottom and a velcro strap as well).

 

[Andrew Reid]

What about this and a USB powerbank?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Adapter-Replacement-Coupler-Battery-Cameras-ACK-E6-Dual-USB/dp/B07C3FP2FL/ref=pd_sbs_421_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07C3FP2FL&pd_rd_r=25e71acd-da33-11e8-b46c-414a8d7491cf&pd_rd_w=BRcL9&pd_rd_wg=6CtRz&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_p=18edf98b-139a-41ee-bb40-d725dd59d1d3&pf_rd_r=W8FER72A81YVGJYW05TJ&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=W8FER72A81YVGJYW05TJ

[BTM_Pix]

5 minutes ago, Andrew Reid said:

Nice find on that - got to be worth a try for 30 quid!

Better to have the wire going into the base of the camera. Too easy to knock the DC cable out of the side of it?

It arrives on Tuesday so I'll let you know.

As I say, its only about a fiver more expensive than the dummy battery on its own !

The DC connector is very nice but with it being locked I would be concerned about giving it a knock not in terms of it falling out but in terms of it staying in and damaging the port.

I think it would be nice if someone did a 3d printed extension housing for the port to feed the cables out of so if you weren't using a cage with a clamping mechanism you'd have some way of protecting it from a knock.

9 minutes ago, Andrew Reid said:

What about this and a USB powerbank?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Adapter-Replacement-Coupler-Battery-Cameras-ACK-E6-Dual-USB/dp/B07C3FP2FL/ref=pd_sbs_421_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07C3FP2FL&pd_rd_r=25e71acd-da33-11e8-b46c-414a8d7491cf&pd_rd_w=BRcL9&pd_rd_wg=6CtRz&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_p=18edf98b-139a-41ee-bb40-d725dd59d1d3&pf_rd_r=W8FER72A81YVGJYW05TJ&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=W8FER72A81YVGJYW05TJ

Yep, that would be a very handy cable to have in the bag.

Anything that lets you use a USB power bank is always a good option.

Quite pragmatic solution as well to have the dual USB option if the emergency power pack you've just run into Primark to get doesn't output enough juice so you can run back in to buy another one to make up the difference.

[Emanuel]

Is there anyone who can test tap-to-focus along the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 with Viltrox or even Metabones SB adapters?

[Davide Roveri]

Hello everyone!

I received my BMPCC4K almost a week ago and unfortunately I haven’t had much time to play with it so far but I wanted to give you my first impression and observation in the hope these might be helpful!

BUILD QUALITY / ERGONOMICS:

The camera is pretty big (and wide especially) but it’s surprisingly light. I’m not a huge fan of the exterior plastic material as it feels a bit cheap and quite prone to scratches but at the end of the day this a professional tool so as long as it’s able to withstand normal use I’m not too bothered about it.
I haven’t found any spots that are cause for concern, yes the battery cover it’s a bit flimsy like other people reported but it never came open on me (and even if it did the battery is safely hold in place with a spring loaded clip so it won’t fall over anyway).
The lens mount seems pretty robust, I tried mounting some heavy lens and haven’t experienced any flex so it seems all good.
The mounting points looks very sturdy as they’re surrounded my a metal plate so if you plan to mount something heavy without a cage it looks like is not gonna be a problem.
The camera feels quite good in the hand the only reservation I have is that is fairly easy to obstruct the bottom exhaust while shooting handheld as it’s the natural resting point for the hand that operate the lens.
The screen is pretty awesome I should say, it’s detailed, responsive has good colours and it’s surprisingly bright when needed. Is it usable under direct sunlight without a hood? In my experience barely but so is the vast majority of built-in screens out there, for that you need something very bright like a smallHD 1500nits or something similar.

USABILITY/OPERATION:

Like many other people said before this camera is an absolute joy to operate, the menu system is one of the best in the industry, it’s logically laid out and super intuitive. Overall the experience is much more akin to a RED or an Alexa rather than a hybrid camera and this is good given the this is a cinema camera after all ?
I like how everything can be controlled so easily via the touchscreen but I like even more the fact that you don’t have to rely on it if you prefer not to or you’re in a shooting situation in which is not practical. All the main functions have dedicated buttons (and a dial in the front just under the record button) plus the three functions buttons are completely programmable either as toggles for specific functions or you can assign a precise value to a parameter that you wish to quickly recall (say you want to go to iso 3200 with a touch of a button you can do that)
The Preset menu is another gem of the OS, you can save camera configurations with totally different settings and recall them in a moment, it’s a massive timesaver!
The screen, other than being of great quality, offers an impressive range of tools for a built-in screen the highlight of which (for me) is definitely the inclusion of false colours which is such a great tool to expose and is something that is never present in hybrid cameras.
Battery life is not amazing but again it’s quite normal for a cinema camera with an actively cooled sensor I think. I would say you can expect 35-40 minutes recording time quite consistently. Like other users reported already original Canon batteries seems to give the best and most consistent results and are the only one providing a percentage to the camera so I might swallow the hefty price and buy a couple extra of them. I haven’t had any problems with stuck batteries so far and I hope it stays this way!
I’ve recorded mainly on SD cards and I’m glad to report that my Sony G ones can reliably record 4K RAW 60fps 4:1 with no issues (although they’re not in the official list provided by BM but I suppose they’re very similar to the new “Tough” series just released which are approved instead).
I also used SanDisk Extreme Pro UHS-I and although they’re not fast enough for 60fps they can record 4K 25 RAW 4:1 with no issues.
I’ve also made a test with a random SSD mounted in a usb-c caddy and it worked perfectly so I’m probably gonna purchase a couple of Samsung T5 as soon as I find a nice holder that I can use without a cage.

IMAGE QUALITY:

This is where the camera really shines (and it’s kind of important I reckon, right?) ?
The images are detailed and rich, the colour science is very very good out of the box and coupled with the ease of use and the big screen is easy and fast to acquire great footage.
The dynamic range is not greater than other cameras like the GH5s or the A7III but the numbers on papers often don’t tell the full story.. The camera produces files that have not been processed in any way (if you shoot raw of course) so it’s actually easier to squeeze every bit of information from them compared to a heavily compressed codec.
As other users already noted I found the highlights rolloff to be a bit on the harsh side so I’d say it’s a good idea to protect the highlights with this camera as a priority.
The dual native ISO values of 400 and 3200 are a very good choice in my opinion, particularly in daylight when you don’t have to use a ton of ND filtration to get the correct exposure.
Noise levels are pretty good although I have to say there is more chroma noise that I would like (particularly compared to the kind of monochrome noise Sony has accustomed us to with their sensors) but again, with files this good it’s quite trivial to use your denoiser of choice and get rid of it without murdering the image.
I also noticed in a couple of shots some moire/aliasing and unfortunately this is quite inevitable since this is not an oversampled sensor readout and there is no OLPF…

This is it for now, hope I haven’t bored you to death and that you’ve found useful information and I promise to follow soon with more details and some hopefully nice images too!

Have a great weekend everybody!

[Emanuel]

I must confess that large(r) screen in-camera makes that device unique of a kind as far as both ergonomics and usability concern too (aside IQ and the usual codecs mantra, obviously). People apparently don't care, but...

photo source: MY

[Turboguard]

Let’s say I did connect at power bank with a DC adapter to my P4K, how much output would a power bank need to charge the camera while running? The one I have to charge my Switch is 5V/3A I believe, but it was also like 70bucks. 

[Juxx989]

5 hours ago, Turboguard said:

 

Hey turbo is that a hot mirror/it cut? I was led to believe the p4k doesn't require it!?

[Turboguard]

23 minutes ago, Juxx989 said:

Hey turbo is that a hot mirror/it cut? I was led to believe the p4k doesn't require it!?

Haha, I had it on my sigma for my OG pocket and now I can’t get it off ?

 

Been stuck on there for years!

[Emanuel]

 

 

 

 

Last but not least James Miller's stuff graded:

 

[Anaconda_]

7 hours ago, Emanuel said:

Is there anyone who can test tap-to-focus along the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 with Viltrox or even Metabones SB adapters?

I can’t get tap to focus or any kind of AF to work on any of my lenses, 18-35 included. 

Im using the Viltrox EF adapter and assume this is stopping it from working, maybe it needs an firmware update? 

Maybe there’s a setting I’ve missed in the menu? I don’t have native AF MFT lenses to try it with. 

[Shirozina]

10 minutes ago, Anaconda_ said:

I can’t get tap to focus or any kind of AF to work on any of my lenses, 18-35 included. 

Im using the Viltrox EF adapter and assume this is stopping it from working, maybe it needs an firmware update? 

Maybe there’s a setting I’ve missed in the menu? I don’t have native AF MFT lenses to try it with. 

Tap to focus works on native M43 lenses but AF doesn't work with the Viltrox adapters. 

[Anaconda_]

Well there you go. I guess since the Viltrox 18-35 combo does AF on my other MFT cameras I assumed it would here too. Luckily I never use AF anyway ?

[tonysss]

9 hours ago, Davide Roveri said:

The dynamic range is not greater than other cameras like the GH5s or the A7III

Yes, unfortunately ?  ,  my OT BMPCC is visibly +2 stops DR up from my GH5. I see it in all videos of new pockets, dynamic range that is noticeably down ?

[Shirozina]

17 minutes ago, tonysss said:

Yes, unfortunately ?  ,  my OT BMPCC is visibly +2 stops DR up from my GH5. I see it in all videos of new pockets, dynamic range that is noticeably down ?

It's DR that is as good or better than any other camera you can buy for similar money - why is this a reason to be upset?

[Snuff]

It seems you still need some IR filtration with the new Pocket. Top picture is from the P4K with a dense ND filter. Bottom is from a smartphone.

 

[Slothorp]

1 hour ago, tonysss said:

Yes, unfortunately ?  ,  my OT BMPCC is visibly +2 stops DR up from my GH5. I see it in all videos of new pockets, dynamic range that is noticeably down ?

That's not what I have seen from my tests.
Pictures shot with same lens, at same aperture, at native iso (800 for the BMPCC, 400 for the BP4K) : 

 

[Anaconda_]

11 hours ago, BTM_Pix said:

 

http://amzn.eu/d/5OuA1wt

Does that have an LED charge indicator? If it does, you can also ignore the vaults/percentage displayed on camera. 

 

[BTM_Pix]

10 hours ago, Emanuel said:

Is there anyone who can test tap-to-focus along the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 with Viltrox or even Metabones SB adapters?

Just confirming it doesn't work with my Metabones T Ultra with touch AF or one shot AF.

Tested with a range of Canon and Tamron lenses both EF and EF-S, none of which work either.

Aperture control is fine and the IS is operative but not indicated in the camera.

AF works fine on my GX80 obviously but also with my JVC LS300 so its not just a case of it only working on a "native" for want of a better word MFT camera.

Considering there is no AF, anyone looking for a focus control option for Canon lenses might want to take a look at the Aputure DEC products as they are both on sale right now.

There are two versions, one with a speed booster and the other with electronic ND.

Both offer very nice focus wireless focus control with storable points as well as aperture control. 

If you go for the speed boosted option then obviously you can just use it as an adapter without the additional controllers and remote interface (the thing sticking out that looks like a PocketWizard flash receiver) to keep the form factor down.

Absolute bargains at these newly reduced prices.

17 minutes ago, Anaconda_ said:

Does that have an LED charge indicator? If it does, you can also ignore the vaults/percentage displayed on camera. 

 

Yes, its got a 4 stage indicator, which makes it 25% more accurate than the cameras 3 stage Full/Some/None indicating strategy  

[Anaconda_]

But 95% more trustworthy I image.

Shame the DEC LensRegain is sold out in Europe. It would be great, especially with the start/stop function (if that worked with this camera).