Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K

[mercer]

56 minutes ago, tonysss said:

 

exactly , GH5, Fuji, A7III, BMPCC4K all has - the same look , old fairchild sensor was different ?

 (see. https://youtu.be/boBbUPUTyPA ) ...

 

 

I feel the same. That video of the fog looks great. The video of the boats man looks great... but they both look like they could have been shot on a number of different cameras.

That BMMCC short is truly spectacular and there are so many narrative works shot with them... features and shorts.

I think a new thread is in order showcasing narrative shorts and features from the BMPCC and the BMMCC. This way we’re not polluting this thread, while still showcasing very worthy works by the narrative filmmakers that shot on the earlier BM cameras.

The image is more than relevant today and worthy of showcasing.

In fact, I am seriously considering another Micro or Pocket camera. At the prices they’re going for... it’s really a no brainer. 

[thebrothersthre3]

28 minutes ago, mercer said:

I feel the same. That video of the fog looks great. The video of the boats man looks great... but they both look like they could have been shot on a number of different cameras.

That BMMCC short is truly spectacular and there are so many narrative works shot with them... features and shorts.

I think a new thread is in order showcasing narrative shorts and features from the BMPCC and the BMMCC. This way we’re not polluting this thread, while still showcasing very worthy works by the narrative filmmakers that shot on the earlier BM cameras.

The image is more than relevant today and worthy of showcasing.

In fact, I am seriously considering another Micro or Pocket camera. At the prices they’re going for... it’s really a no brainer. 

Definitely considering a Micro. 

For me right now though the Ursa Mini 4.6k seems like a great deal. Just saw one for $2500 on ebay. Quite expensive compared to a BMPCC but crazy cheap for what kind of cameras it can compete with. 

[BTM_Pix]

20 minutes ago, mercer said:

In fact, I am seriously considering another Micro or Pocket camera. At the prices they’re going for... it’s really a no brainer. 

Just as a cautionary FYI about this is that there is some weird shit going on with SD cards for these cameras now.

I pulled my Pocket out to do something with it and it didn't recognise any of the SD cards (Sandisk Pro and Extreme ones off the approved list) that I put in it. Had a bit of a search and it turns out something changed at the Sandisk end that has caused their new cards to be permanently incompatible with these cameras but also with the Video Assist.

Sony changed the firmware in their cameras to accomodate the change but BM haven't and are not really showing any intention of.

The thread I found was long and alarming as people were buying and returning all manner of cards trying to find any that would work with them without any success.

It now seems to have boiled down to only one card that you can buy new that will work in them (a Sony one ironically) so make sure you have some available!

https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=80355

 

[mercer]

10 minutes ago, thebrothersthre3 said:

Definitely considering a Micro. 

For me right now though the Ursa Mini 4.6k seems like a great deal. Just saw one for $2500 on ebay. Quite expensive compared to a BMPCC but crazy cheap for what kind of cameras it can compete with. 

That is a good deal... just make sure it doesn’t have any of the magenta issues that plagued some of the earlier models.

In all honesty, with the work I have seen from you, a Micro and an Ursa 4.6k, may make the most sense. Why bother screwing around with hybrids if your intent is narrative filmmaking? Especially if you can afford it. 

3 minutes ago, BTM_Pix said:

Just as a cautionary FYI about this is that there is some weird shit going on with SD cards for these cameras now.

I pulled my Pocket out to do something with it and it didn't recognise any of the SD cards (Sandisk Pro and Extreme ones off the approved list) that I put in it. Had a bit of a search and it turns out something changed at the Sandisk end that has caused their new cards to be permanently incompatible with these cameras but also with the Video Assist.

Sony changed the firmware in their cameras to accomodate the change but BM haven't and are not really showing any intention of.

The thread I found was long and alarming as people were buying and returning all manner of cards trying to find any that would work with them without any success.

It now seems to have boiled down to only one card that you can buy new that will work in them (a Sony one ironically) so make sure you have some available!

https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=80355

 

Thanks, for the tip. Luckily I still have about 8 old SanDisk Extreme Pro Cards... the 95mbps ones... that are sitting around collecting dust.

Weirdly, those cards and the money they cost me, at the time, is one of the reasons I am thinking of buying another one.

I also have been crazy impressed with the ProRes films I have seen recently shot with them. And after looking at some of my older footage, I remember the appeal of those cameras.

I still love my 5D3, but not every project requires the storage space and workflow required with ML Raw. 

Plus I have a slew of c-mounts lying around just waiting to be mounted onto a camera again.

[BTM_Pix]

8 minutes ago, mercer said:

Thanks, for the tip. Luckily I still have about 8 old SanDisk Extreme Pro Cards... the 95mbps ones... that are sitting around collecting dust.

Weirdly, those cards and the money they cost me, at the time, is one of the reasons I am thinking of buying another one.

If you go on that BM forum you could probably sell half of them and fund the purchase !

[thebrothersthre3]

15 minutes ago, mercer said:

That is a good deal... just make sure it doesn’t have any of the magenta issues that plagued some of the earlier models.

In all honesty, with the work I have seen from you, a Micro and an Ursa 4.6k, may make the most sense. Why bother screwing around with hybrids if your intent is narrative filmmaking? Especially if you can afford it. 

 

I plan on getting one next year. I think my BMPCC could compliment it well. The Fuji's are still nice for certain types of shooting like weddings, home video, or just for super quick shooting. I'll be keeping them for sure. Can't have too many cameras?

I was looking at the FS5 as well, crazy output for the money. 12bit prores RAW up to 120fps 4k and good low light performance. That said I've always said I think BM is better when it comes to color and the way it handles highlights. Thats a bigger selling point for me.

[mercer]

7 minutes ago, BTM_Pix said:

If you go on that BM forum you could probably sell half of them and fund the purchase !

Haha, interesting idea. I saw a Micro sell for $450 last month. I was about to order it after I went to the bathroom... let’s just say number two cost me one really cheap Micro. 

[thebrothersthre3]

39 minutes ago, mercer said:

Haha, interesting idea. I saw a Micro sell for $450 last month. I was about to order it after I went to the bathroom... let’s just say number two cost me one really cheap Micro. 

Thats a great deal! The full HDMI on the micro is really nice. I hate BM for putting micro HDMI on anything. 

[mercer]

43 minutes ago, thebrothersthre3 said:

Thats a great deal! The full HDMI on the micro is really nice. I hate BM for putting micro HDMI on anything. 

Yeah it was nice to have. I bought mine way too early and there wasnt enough support (cages, small monitors, port add ons) to put together a useful rig for my style of shooting. Otherwise, I really loved the camera and could find a use for it again. With that being said, I’m unsure how much I would use the 60p and I wonder if the OG Pocket and a loupe would make more sense... it would definitely be the cheapest way to shoot ProRes LT.

And then Z-Cam is supposed to release their E2C model pretty soon for $799 which will offer 4K ProRes up to 30p and 1080 up to 60p. I think with a possible Raw update in the future.

A lot of choices. Haha. 

[thebrothersthre3]

1 hour ago, mercer said:

Yeah it was nice to have. I bought mine way too early and there wasnt enough support (cages, small monitors, port add ons) to put together a useful rig for my style of shooting. Otherwise, I really loved the camera and could find a use for it again. With that being said, I’m unsure how much I would use the 60p and I wonder if the OG Pocket and a loupe would make more sense... it would definitely be the cheapest way to shoot ProRes LT.

And then Z-Cam is supposed to release their E2C model pretty soon for $799 which will offer 4K ProRes up to 30p and 1080 up to 60p. I think with a possible Raw update in the future.

A lot of choices. Haha. 

Yeah the OG pocket is nice. I love the grip on it. But I have mine all rigged up so that its small size is no longer and advantage. 

[webrunner5]

Man for that kind of money that is damn tempting.

https://www.43rumors.com/new-z-cam-e2c-will-start-shipping-out-this-month/

[graphicnatured]

8 hours ago, thebrothersthre3 said:

For me right now though the Ursa Mini 4.6k seems like a great deal. Just saw one for $2500 on ebay. Quite expensive compared to a BMPCC but crazy cheap for what kind of cameras it can compete with. 

We have an Ursa Mini Pro at work and just shot a big project with both that cam and the Pocket4k both maxed out and, yes, in certain scenes the DR advantage can be seen, but for the most part they look very similar. So much so, that to most, no one could tell the difference. I guess it depends on what you're shooting.

6 hours ago, mercer said:

Yeah it was nice to have. I bought mine way too early and there wasnt enough support (cages, small monitors, port add ons) to put together a useful rig for my style of shooting. Otherwise, I really loved the camera and could find a use for it again. With that being said, I’m unsure how much I would use the 60p and I wonder if the OG Pocket and a loupe would make more sense... it would definitely be the cheapest way to shoot ProRes LT.

And then Z-Cam is supposed to release their E2C model pretty soon for $799 which will offer 4K ProRes up to 30p and 1080 up to 60p. I think with a possible Raw update in the future.

A lot of choices. Haha. 

I have both the OG pocket and the Micro. Not sure I should keep both, but I too love the image. Even when we were shooting a lot of projects with the FS7 I thought the Micro blew it out of the water. Just a beautiful image.

[Anaconda_]

I'm not sure if anyone's pointed it out, but last month Viltrox updated their EF-M2II to version 3.3 to specifically work with the P4K - I've not tested myself yet, but I read that aperture control and IS are both now working.

EF-M1/EF-M2II Version 3.3
Updated Date: 2019-03-21

Update as follows:
1. Fixed the BUG which cannot control the aperture in BMPCC 4K. 
 

Direct link to download: http://www.viltrox.com//en/uploads/20190321/1553151267107312.zip

Direct link to download page: http://www.viltrox.com/en/index.php?m=index&a=content&cid=119

[thebrothersthre3]

15 hours ago, graphicnatured said:

We have an Ursa Mini Pro at work and just shot a big project with both that cam and the Pocket4k both maxed out and, yes, in certain scenes the DR advantage can be seen, but for the most part they look very similar. So much so, that to most, no one could tell the difference. I guess it depends on what you're shooting.

I have both the OG pocket and the Micro. Not sure I should keep both, but I too love the image. Even when we were shooting a lot of projects with the FS7 I thought the Micro blew it out of the water. Just a beautiful image.

Interesting, how do you compare the Ursa 4.6k image to the micro and OG pocket?

[graphicnatured]

4 hours ago, thebrothersthre3 said:

Interesting, how do you compare the Ursa 4.6k image to the micro and OG pocket?

They are dramatically different. I think resolution goes a long way in how an image appears to us, for sure. I see points for both. It's been said over and over how great those little cameras are, and it's all truth.There's something about them. (OG and Micro) With Ursa you get so many options though. Same with Pocket4k, but they look like the same camera in a lot of ways when reviewing the footage to me.

[thebrothersthre3]

20 minutes ago, graphicnatured said:

They are dramatically different. I think resolution goes a long way in how an image appears to us, for sure. I see points for both. It's been said over and over how great those little cameras are, and it's all truth.There's something about them. (OG and Micro) With Ursa you get so many options though. Same with Pocket4k, but they look like the same camera in a lot of ways when reviewing the footage to me.

I wonder if the original ursa mini 4k is more similar to the OG Pocket and Micro 

[webrunner5]

I think the Ursa Mini sensor is along the lines of the BMCC Production 4k camera. So it probably will look different than the BMPCC, BMCC, BMMCC cameras.

[graphicnatured]

3 hours ago, thebrothersthre3 said:

I wonder if the original ursa mini 4k is more similar to the OG Pocket and Micro 

I always liked the look of it. The really poor low light kept me away from it though.

[thebrothersthre3]

32 minutes ago, graphicnatured said:

I always liked the look of it. The really poor low light kept me away from it though.

is it much worse than the micro?

[anonim]

Having several times bmpcc and micro (and now micro again with modular variants of rig), I must admit that their look is not at all identical. Being it result of different processing, slight changes on circuit or color science (or my ilusion) - but  micro has to me much more balanced image regarding direction to cleaner-modern look, while keeping mellow smoothness usually connect with classic movies. (I used UMP4.6 just one time, have some impression about it, but nothing enough founded for competent commenting beside watched shots from others.)