Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K

[jonpais]

Hugh Brownstone weighs in.

 

[mercer]

To update a previous comment where I mentioned waveform. I had thought I read it on BH but apparently I read it in the Cinema5D article. There is no mention of it having waveform monitoring on the BH site and in the pictures it doesn’t show waveform as an option in the monitor menu, so unless Cinema5D is privy to information that we are not, then there is no reason to assume the Pocket II will have internal waveform monitoring.

With that being said, it does have false color and in my experience false color can be more useful for quick, on the fly, exposure adjustments. Ymmv.

[TwoScoops]

I think the elephant in the room is whether the DR will be up to scratch vs the other BM cameras. If I'm not mistaken this is the first time they've used a sensor from a different company. Fingers crossed. It'll still be a great buy regardless at that price.

[webrunner5]

3 hours ago, John Jay said:

Great spec, but can BM deliver a stable durable product that doesn’t degrade IQ as it overheats, we’ll see. I bet it will ship later than BM claim, based on previous experience, and will it ship as a beta product, we’ll see. 

 

Well it has a fan in it so I don't see it overheating very easily. Seems a better solution than the GH5 to be honest. Although I have never heard of a problem with it.

[forofilms]

I'm interested to see the speedbooster options. Wonder if the .71 (m43s) will work.

[mercer]

Yup, the literature states 13 stops but that will be in the perfect scenario. I know with the original Pocket, the most DR came at the base ISO of 800. Since this camera has dual ISO, I can only assume that you will have two options for best DR... 800 and 3200. 

This is why this camera won’t be for everyone. Even with the “better” sensor, we really shouldn’t expect great results higher than 3200 or lower than 800 or anything in between.

Since the camera isn’t due out for 6 months, I’d almost recommend that people who’ve never used a BM camera to pick up a used Pocket I on eBay to try it out. They’ve already come down in price since yesterday. Even with the better specs, a lot of the quirks will be similar.

9 minutes ago, TwoScoops said:

I think the elephant in the room is whether the DR will be up to scratch vs the other BM cameras. If I'm not mistaken this is the first time they've used a sensor from a different company. Fingers crossed. It'll still be a great buy regardless at that price.

 

[hansel]

Puh, long thread for a family man. Been eyeing up the old pockets, BUT this release is mind blowing in several ways if you want to fiddle with thick files. Shame I am one of those random event jesters. Still for the price plus Resolve,....... F***ing hell, seems like a give away, INSANE! Hopefully one can get one before christmas while not preordering...

[elgabogomez]

Clean 3200 iso on a cinema camera is a big deal, look at the Varicam, Venice, Gemini. That is if it’s really clean. There is no raw, no prores 10 bit coming out of an a7s which is what has spoiled us into think high isos are the norm but they are not.

[MurtlandPhoto]

13 minutes ago, hansel said:

Puh, long thread for a family man. Been eyeing up the old pockets, BUT this release is mind blowing in several ways if you want to fiddle with thick files. Shame I am one of those random event jesters. Still for the price plus Resolve,....... F***ing hell, seems like a give away, INSANE! Hopefully one can get one before christmas while not preordering...

The nice thing about the new Pocket is it should hold its value for a long time. Plus, if you preorder with a credit card through B&H they won't charge it until it ships

[Mokara]

17 hours ago, webrunner5 said:

This is not a Panny G7, this is a mini FS7. This is a Big Time, Big Boy camera. The GH5 is like a every camera out there under 2500 bucks specs wise. The Codec in this thing is Miles ahead of all the cameras I listed. This thing is a Pro piece of equipment. If this thing would have cost 3000 dollars I think it would be a bargain. The people that are going to buy this camera are Not going to loose one minutes sleep that Maybe it doesn't have AF-C in it. Hell maybe it does, I don't care if it doesn't. Plus I take lots of Legal prescription Drugs. And some of them are Pretty damn desirable on the street. I am sure you do also.

ProRes is top stuff. This is a list of the items that use it. We ain't talking this is in a G85, or a 700D Kiss camera!

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT200321

The Codec isn't miles ahead of anything in consumer cameras, it is actually far less sophisticated. Basically what BM are doing is making up for lack of modern processors capable of handling high compression and offloading the task to post by generating huge data instead. That is the main reason they are able to offer the camera at a low cost. It is also the main reason why the camera is not appropriate for consumer use (which those cameras you are so dismissive of ARE). 

And that is not to mention other things like AF performance and in camera stabilization.

[Anaconda_]

22 minutes ago, MurtlandPhoto said:

The nice thing about the new Pocket is it should hold its value for a long time. Plus, if you preorder with a credit card through B&H they won't charge it until it ships

I just found a place in Holland where you pay 100e deposit and they'll send monthly updates on progress (so they say). Deliver to your house same day they come into stock and the best part is you can cancel the order and get the deposit back at any time between now and release.

I normally don't pre-order stuff, but there's literally no reason not to here.

The guy said he's got a meeting with BM Europe tomorrow, and will call me with more info on when to expect the delivery. I'll be sure to post here if there's anything worth mentioning.

[Mokara]

16 hours ago, squig said:

Cats mostly.

And don't forget camera tests. If you go on YouTube and look for footage for any given camera model, 90% of what you see are random "tests". Apparently that is what most people use their cameras for

15 hours ago, squig said:

Early onset dementia?

Most VLogging is done off tripods, so there is no reason why this camera could not be used for that. But, pretty much any other camera could be used equally as well for that purpose, so I don't see that as a selling point.

[webrunner5]

14 minutes ago, Mokara said:

The Codec isn't miles ahead of anything in consumer cameras, it is actually far less sophisticated. Basically what BM are doing is making up for lack of modern processors capable of handling high compression and offloading the task to post by generating huge data instead. That is the main reason they are able to offer the camera at a low cost. It is also the main reason why the camera is not appropriate for consumer use (which those cameras you are so dismissive of ARE). 

And that is not to mention other things like AF performance and in camera stabilization.

Well I think you are not too up to speed about Codecs. If you think having more compressed data is a good thing well have a nice day. Hell don't buy it, that makes me higher up in the Que.

And if AF and IBIS is important then buy a camera with it in it, but don't knock it because it doesn't have it. Christ 2 years ago nobody even heard of IBIS, how the hell did anybody ever shoot stuff? Buy a GH5 or a X-H1, it sounds like what would work for you.

[Mokara]

13 hours ago, Emanuel said:

It is a pre-production unit, of course. No footage online yet. Because when happens it is invariably the best of outcome you can find anywhere, isn't it? ;-)

Can't shoot much stuff with a shell containing no electronics inside

[Anaconda_]

7 minutes ago, Mokara said:

The Codec isn't miles ahead of anything in consumer cameras, it is actually far less sophisticated. Basically what BM are doing is making up for lack of modern processors capable of handling high compression and offloading the task to post by generating huge data instead. That is the main reason they are able to offer the camera at a low cost. It is also the main reason why the camera is not appropriate for consumer use (which those cameras you are so dismissive of ARE). 

And that is not to mention other things like AF performance and in camera stabilization.

You could look at it that way, or you could see it as putting the post processing control in the hands of the user. I think people are so excited because the tech isn't making a lot of creative decisions for them, you can chose exactly how each frame is going to look.

As long as what you shoot is in focus and is somewhere around the right exposure, all the rest can be fixed, adjusted, twisted and pushed to the limits. Try doing that with most other commonly used codecs and you run into a lot of problems. 

I think if using ProRes was the cheaper, easier route, many more cameras would offer it as an option. Especially considering a lot of people encode all their footage from whatever their camera shoots into ProRes before editing. Or invest in external recorders to get the ProRes files in real time. That process is either time consuming, or expensive - around the same price as this camera in fact. This simply cuts out the BS and gives you what you want and more in the first place. 

AS usual though, that may not be the best thing for everyone in every situation... blah blah blah

[Kisaha]

4 minutes ago, webrunner5 said:

Well I think you are not too up to speed about Codecs. If you think having more compressed data is a good thing well have a nice day. Hell don't buy it, that makes me higher up in the Que.

And if AF and IBIS is important then buy a camera with it in it, but don't knock it because it doesn't have it. Christ 2 years ago nobody even heard of IBIS, how the hell did anybody ever shoot stuff? Buy a GH5 or a X-H1, it sounds lie what would work for you.

Suddenly noone can shoot without IBIS, RAW and dozens of thousands of ISO!

[Anaconda_]

2 minutes ago, Kisaha said:

Suddenly noone can shoot without IBIS, RAW and dozens of thousands of ISO!

God forbid you have to twist the end of your lens to focus on something. What is this, 2017?

[forofilms]

Just now, Kisaha said:

Suddenly noone can shoot without IBIS, RAW and dozens of thousands of ISO!

I take it you're still using a t2i then? Or is that too uncessarily advanced also?

[fuzzynormal]

8 minutes ago, webrunner5 said:

Nobody even heard of IBIS, how the hell did anybody ever shoot stuff? Buy a GH5 or a X-H1, it sounds like what would work for you.

Or an Olympus.

FWIW, when I was shooting with my trusty old EM5II I would often think, "How in the hell did I ever shoot stuff before this!?" ;-)

[Mokara]

6 minutes ago, webrunner5 said:

Well I think you are not too up to speed about Codecs. If you think having more compressed data is a good thing well have a nice day. Hell don't buy it, that makes me higher up in the Que.

And if AF and IBIS is important then buy a camera with it in it, but don't knock it because it doesn't have it. Christ 2 years ago nobody even heard of IBIS, how the hell did anybody ever shoot stuff? Buy a GH5 or a X-H1, it sounds like what would work for you.

It is a good thing if you are shooting a lot of stuff with a quick turn around and you need a portable solution.

What would this camera be used for? If you are shooting on a set piece there are better options, and if you need mobility there are better options. I think the market for something like this is very limited, likely mostly people at the margins of the profession with extremely thin budgets. Students and those sorts of people.