Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K

[Nathan Gabriel]

On 4/12/2018 at 4:21 AM, Chhatrapal said:

I am an indie filmmaker, I shot my first feature on Sony HVR-FZ 1, back in 2009 and a year later Canon 5D disrupted the market. We toiled hard to get over harsh video look and deep DOF of HVR Z1 and then 5D made us look like fools.

When I heard they had the GH5s in mind even before the launch of GH5, I felt cheated... [bmpcc 4k is the most amazing thing to ever exist]

Thanks for sharing a really interesting perspective. As a hobbyist, whose only done a couple paid gigs (for God's sake use rentals), I've had almost the opposite perspective. It's difficult to feel cheated because there are so many good options. During my undergrad I did a minor in film just because it was something I enjoyed doing with my spare time. The best camera I could afford for personal use was an Olympus e-pl2 which had 720p 30fps as it's highest resolution and frame rate. Despite the garbage codec, I was able to adapt an old Minolta 58/1.4 and leave my school's cameras in the dust when it came to shallow depth of field. After the gh4 came out, I was able to pick up a cheap second hand gh3 and most recently a gx85 (hacked with cinelikeD). The quality of footage that I get today was unimaginable 10 years ago. I understand that it is really difficult to support yourself as an independent film maker on a budget (i know the limitations of my talents and wouldn't dream of trying to make it. So seriously, proper respect to everyone out there grinding). If you need absolutely the best quality possible while maintaining a budget, I think the market is a catch 22. There will always be a new bit of technology that ups the game. However, if you're focused on narrative and can do without Arri like quality, these revolutionary innovations are amazing to watch. From my perspective, I was saving every penny for the chance to buy a gh5s (which I wanted but certainly didn't NEED) and suddenly the bmpcc 4k promises better quality at half the price! I'm always excited when a better camera is developed. I never feel disappointed with my purchases because every camera I but is at least two years old and I already know how it stands up to the next generation. It might perpetually be a difficult time to make it as an indie filmmaker, but it's an awesome time to be a hobbyist. I guess I just wanted to echo everyone's sentiment that Black Magic is dope on a stick for shattering the budget market with this camera. I strongly suspect the bmpcc 4k is going down in the history books as a game changer, but who knows what will happen in the next few years. I can only hope that BM gets overshadowed by some visionary putting dual iso 8k 240fps 444 raw with built in ND, weather sealing and a 24 hour battery into a twenty dollar camera made of hand crafted mythril. But for now I'm happy.

 

Then again, I bet six months from now BM will release a bmpYTc 4k ("YouTube") that is exactly the same as the bmpcc 4k only it as a fully articulating screen and costs three times the price. Everyone will be on here complaining about how BM ripped them off for not telling them that they planned to release an overpriced selfie cam.

[DBounce]

Here is a new review of the BMPCC4k. I think this camera is going to be tough to beat for the price. 

 

[cantsin]

Oh man, these videos are so absolutely clue- and senseless! They only state the obvious (namely what can also be gathered from BM's camera spec sheet), tout things as new and revolutionary that the old pocket had, too (12bit raw, and even without fans) - while nobody asks the questions that really matter:

• Will the camera have an OLPF? If not, will moiré be an issue as with the old Pocket?
• Will the sensor filter stack remain as thin as in previous BM cameras? Will that mean that you will still need IR cut filters and BM camera-specific Speed Boosters?
• Will the old BMCC Speed Booster work with this camera, or do you need the Speed Booster Ultra?
• What is the quality of built-in mics and built-in preamps, and to which degree is fan noise audible in recordings with the internal mic?
• Is the windowed mode only available for high frame rates (for people who want to continue shooting with s16 glass)?
• Will 4K raw acquisitation work with 300MB/s SD cards and external USB-C flash drives, or will these two interfaces be limited to recording ProRes?
• Is the camera ISO invariant like all previous BM cameras, or will ISO be baked into the Raw footage because of the Sony sensor?
• How will the stills photo mode work? (We already know that it will only take raw stills in CinemaDNG mode and only JPEGs when in ProRes recording mode.)
• What will be the battery life in different usage scenarios (Raw vs. ProRes recording, phantom power vs. no phantom power, lens stabilization vs. no lens stabilization)?
• What will be the limitations for outdoor use and operating temperatures given the fan slots?
• Which functions will be assignable to the function keys?

[Don Kotlos]

Here is a funny take:

 

[Turboguard]

9 minutes ago, cantsin said:

Oh man, these videos are so absolutely clue- and senseless! They only state the obvious (namely what can also be gathered from BM's camera spec sheet), tout things as new and revolutionary that the old pocket had, too (12bit raw, and even without fans) - while nobody asks the questions that really matter:

• Will the camera have an OLPF? If not, will moiré be an issue as with the old Pocket?
• Will the sensor filter stack remain as thin as in previous BM cameras? Will that mean that you will still need IR cut filters and BM camera-specific Speed Boosters?
• Will the old BMCC Speed Booster work with this camera, or do you need the Speed Booster Ultra?
• What is the quality of built-in mics and built-in preamps, and to which degree is fan noise audible in recordings with the internal mic?
• Is the windowed mode only available for high frame rates (for people who want to continue shooting with s16 glass)?
• Will 4K raw acquisitation work with 300MB/s SD cards and external USB-C flash drives, or will these two interfaces be limited to recording ProRes?
• Is the camera ISO invariant like all previous BM cameras, or will ISO be baked into the Raw footage because of the Sony sensor?
• How will the stills photo mode work? (We already know that it will only take raw stills in CinemaDNG mode and only JPEGs when in ProRes recording mode.)
• What will be the battery life in different usage scenarios (Raw vs. ProRes recording, phantom power vs. no phantom power, lens stabilization vs. no lens stabilization)?
• What will be the limitations for outdoor use and operating temperatures given the fan slots?
• Which functions will be assignable to the function keys?

I agree. And he says he misses actual buttons and dials but it has the specific buttons right there, huge, next to the record button with a scroll dial. Was he even there lol 

[DBounce]

11 minutes ago, cantsin said:

Oh man, these videos are so absolutely clue- and senseless! They only state the obvious (namely what can also be gathered from BM's camera spec sheet), tout things as new and revolutionary that the old pocket had, too (12bit raw, and even without fans) - while nobody asks the questions that really matter:

• Will the camera have an OLPF? If not, will moiré be an issue as with the old Pocket?
• Will the sensor filter stack remain as thin as in previous BM cameras? Will that mean that you will still need IR cut filters and BM camera-specific Speed Boosters?
• Will the old BMCC Speed Booster work with this camera, or do you need the Speed Booster Ultra?
• What is the quality of built-in mics and built-in preamps, and to which degree is fan noise audible in recordings with the internal mic?
• Is the windowed mode only available for high frame rates (for people who want to continue shooting with s16 glass)?
• Will 4K raw acquisitation work with 300MB/s SD cards and external USB-C flash drives, or will these two interfaces be limited to recording ProRes?
• Is the camera ISO invariant like all previous BM cameras, or will ISO be baked into the Raw footage because of the Sony sensor?
• How will the stills photo mode work? (We already know that it will only take raw stills in CinemaDNG mode and only JPEGs when in ProRes recording mode.)
• What will be the battery life in different usage scenarios (Raw vs. ProRes recording, phantom power vs. no phantom power, lens stabilization vs. no lens stabilization)?
• What will be the limitations for outdoor use and operating temperatures given the fan slots?
• Which functions will be assignable to the function keys?

I think the problem is that much of this could not be answered by black magic. That is to say they did not want to commit to answers. I was surprised to learn that the reps refused to go on camera with any details that were not already posted on the website.  

I believe you will need to use the same speedbooster that the GH5S uses. Battery life is quoted as upto 1 hour.

Stills mode is limited to 8MP. So that's not ideal.

Since they would not allow anyone to insert an SD card no one knows how audio will sound. 

It was frustrating trying to pin them down for answers.  I think this explains why most videos only state known facts. We did try to show size and handling. I'm sure footage will be available in the coming months. 

[Savannah Miller]

6 hours ago, cantsin said:

Oh man, these videos are so absolutely clue- and senseless! They only state the obvious (namely what can also be gathered from BM's camera spec sheet), tout things as new and revolutionary that the old pocket had, too (12bit raw, and even without fans) - while nobody asks the questions that really matter:

• Will the camera have an OLPF? If not, will moiré be an issue as with the old Pocket?
• Will the sensor filter stack remain as thin as in previous BM cameras? Will that mean that you will still need IR cut filters and BM camera-specific Speed Boosters?
• Will the old BMCC Speed Booster work with this camera, or do you need the Speed Booster Ultra?
• What is the quality of built-in mics and built-in preamps, and to which degree is fan noise audible in recordings with the internal mic?
• Is the windowed mode only available for high frame rates (for people who want to continue shooting with s16 glass)?
• Will 4K raw acquisitation work with 300MB/s SD cards and external USB-C flash drives, or will these two interfaces be limited to recording ProRes?
• Is the camera ISO invariant like all previous BM cameras, or will ISO be baked into the Raw footage because of the Sony sensor?
• How will the stills photo mode work? (We already know that it will only take raw stills in CinemaDNG mode and only JPEGs when in ProRes recording mode.)
• What will be the battery life in different usage scenarios (Raw vs. ProRes recording, phantom power vs. no phantom power, lens stabilization vs. no lens stabilization)?
• What will be the limitations for outdoor use and operating temperatures given the fan slots?
• Which functions will be assignable to the function keys?

I can answer almost all of that because I have been following this camera closely.

• Camera has no OLPF and some of the sample images do have moiré.  Because it's a 4K recording camera it will be significantly reduced but still there.
• The cameras have ALWAYS had an IR cut filter in them.  Every Blackmagic does but it's a less strong one requiring IR cut or IRND filters.  Most cinema cameras do this because it gives you more accurate color rendition whereas strong IR cut filters found in consumer cameras make the images too green and affect the skintones which the color science has to compensate for.  The mount is normal size this time so you can use regular speedbooster Ultra.
• You need Speedbooster Ultra for the most full sensor coverage.
• Built-in mics have no tests available, but the mini-xlr connector is the same as the video assist 4K and Ursa Mini Pro so pretty good overall.
• Windowed mode is only available in high frame rates BUT they will likely update the firmware to fix this.
• There is no limit as far as recording media.  If it's the same as the other Blackmagic cameras you can record any framerate or codec to any media option but it will obviously stop recording if frames are dropped.  So as media speeds increase, yes you might be able to do 4K 60fps raw loseless to an SD card.
• This sensor is a dual mode sensor.  So if you work in the 400ISO mode you would be limited to raw adjustments only in that mode, and same with the 3200 mode.  So it's likely you have to be recording in the correct mode (400 or 3200) and you're limited to small adjustments within those limits.
• Stills photo mode is just a capture of live-view not the same as a photo camera.
• Battery life drops a lot.  A BM employee said with XLR phantom power it could be as low as 20 mins but that was probably a guess.
• Functions that are assignable with the keys should be the same kind you can assign with the Ursa Mini Pro.  It's the same OS.

[Savannah Miller]

Everything you need to know about the camera that I'm almost positive is true.

• The camera has no OLPF and it's the same as every other Blackmagic camera with a weaker IR cut filter.  I'm pretty sure that color accuracy is diminished when you use the stronger ones found in prosumer cameras and canon cinema series, so they use weaker ones and therefore require IR cut or IRND when using ND filters.  All Blackmagic cameras do have IR cut filters on the glass over the sensor.
• Moire will be visible because of no OLPF but based on every other Blackmagic 4K and higher recording camera it shouldn't be a real issue in 99% of circumstances.
• The screen is the same as the one found on the Ursa Mini 4.6K, 4K, and VideoAssist 4K.
• There are 4 video recording modes.  BMD Film, Video, Extended dynamic range video, and Hybrid Log Gamma.
• There are likely no limits to codecs on different recording media.  As long as your SD, SSD, or Cfast can handle the data rate it should work. Otherwise the frames will drop instantly and recording will stop.
• The audio preamps are the same as the VideoAssist 4K and Ursa Mini PRO so they are tested and reviews can be found online.  
• The Battery life is 1 hour continuous recording, but depending on other features (phantom power, USB-C SSD, etc.) the battery life will drop accordingly.  You will experience roughly 10-15 mins shorter battery life based on the power consumption of a Samsung T5 SSD.
• Speedbooster XL or Ultra is required for the full coverage of the sensor.  Ultra allows APS-C lenses (some might slightly vignette) and XL is designed for full-frame only.  You can likely use the Pocket speedbooster to decrease the crop factor further during windowed mode (120fps, etc.)
• The camera can do up to 100 fps no window.
• OS is similar to Ursa Mini models so much improved over BMCC and BMPCC.
• The sensor has 2 ISO modes.  400 and 3200.  The 400 mode is active from 200-800 and the 3200 mode will be active from 1600-25600.  So likely your raw adjustments will be around one of these two operating modes.  Any ISO changes will likely only stretch as far as the mode allows.  If you shoot in 200 ISO, you can't push it to say 12,800.  If they allow you to change ISO which they probably will.
• Size of the camera is similar to a 5D mark III but a little bit wider. Weight of the body is supposedly 750g body only.
• Camera shoots raw in lossless, 3:1 and 4:1 compression ratios.  The 4:1 is the smallest in size but artifacts slightly more than the 3:1 when pushed to extreme levels.  All of the raw modes are very good.
• It features the new GEN 4 color science which currently is only found in the Ursa Broadcast cameras.
• Gen 1 - BMCC, Pocket, Micro Cinema, Production Camera 4K, URSA 4K
  Gen 3 - URSA Mini 4K/4.6K/Pro
  Gen 4 - URSA Mini Broadcast and Pocket Cinema 4K
  Other cameras might recieve an updated soon.

[cojocaru27]

o have only one question about the new pocket : why do you think they ditched the articulated screen in favor of the fix one? I mane it was only about the money? how expensive was to at least make it rotate up and down like on the samsung nx1 to be able to shoot from lower or upper angles which happens all the time when you go handheld? probably they assumed that you will rig it all the time but than you would loose the run and gun style of a pocket camera. 

i don't even wanna go into details of the ceo interview when he's talking about shooting yourself - such a silly way to make it appeal to the new wave of vloggers and travelers or whatever is that niche. This camera dosen't need that and it is certainly not designed for that. How the hell would you shoot yourself without seeing what you shoot?

[jonpais]

8 minutes ago, cojocaru27 said:

o have only one question about the new pocket : why do you think they ditched the articulated screen in favor of the fix one? I mane it was only about the money? how expensive was to at least make it rotate up and down like on the samsung nx1 to be able to shoot from lower or upper angles which happens all the time when you go handheld? probably they assumed that you will rig it all the time but than you would loose the run and gun style of a pocket camera. 

i don't even wanna go into details of the ceo interview when he's talking about shooting yourself - such a silly way to make it appeal to the new wave of vloggers and travelers or whatever is that niche. This camera dosen't need that and it is certainly not designed for that. How the hell would you shoot yourself without seeing what you shoot?

I think you answered your own question: it’s going to work best on a gimbal, rig or tripod.

[Anaconda_]

No other camera (edit: of this design shape) has a 5 inch screen. Id imagine for the hinges and joints to be strong enough to support any rotation/articulation would significantly change the design of the camera. Not to mention how easy it would be to then damage the screen once it's flipped out. If you look from the side, the back is on a bit of an angle, which could help with the lower angles. Not perfect, but certainly better than being totally flat.

With vlogging, you'd use a pretty wide lens if you're doing handheld at yourself, so as long as you point the lens in your general direction, you'll be in shot. Do that a handful of times and you'll get to know the width of your lens and be able to guess the framing better. Not perfect, but it's certainly doable.

@jonpais don't all cameras work better on gimbals and tripods? 

[jonpais]

11 minutes ago, Anaconda_ said:

No other camera has a 5 inch screen. Id imagine for the hinges and joints to be strong enough to support any rotation/articulation would significantly change the design of the camera. Not to mention how easy it would be to then damage the screen once it's flipped out. If you look from the side, the back is on a bit of an angle, which could help with the lower angles. Not perfect, but certainly better than being totally flat.

With vlogging, you'd use a pretty wide lens if you're doing handheld at yourself, so as long as you point the lens in your general direction, you'll be in shot. Do that a handful of times and you'll get to know the width of your lens and be able to guess the framing better. Not perfect, but it's certainly doable.

@jonpais don't all cameras work better on gimbals and tripods? 

Actually, yes! ?

[cantsin]

36 minutes ago, cojocaru27 said:

o have only one question about the new pocket : why do you think they ditched the articulated screen in favor of the fix one? 

The Blackmagic Pocket never had an articulated screen. (No BM camera ever had one, actually.)

[Logan]

It has a nice threaded mounting point on top for a selfie monitor.

[Andrew Reid]

4 hours ago, Savannah Miller said:

I can answer almost all of that because I have been following this camera closely.

• Camera has no OLPF and some of the sample images do have moiré.  Because it's a 4K recording camera it will be significantly reduced but still there.
• The cameras have ALWAYS had an IR cut filter in them.  Every Blackmagic does but it's a less strong one requiring IR cut or IRND filters.  Most cinema cameras do this because it gives you more accurate color rendition whereas strong IR cut filters found in consumer cameras make the images too green and affect the skintones which the color science has to compensate for.  The mount is normal size this time so you can use regular speedbooster Ultra.
• You need Speedbooster Ultra for the most full sensor coverage.
• Built-in mics have no tests available, but the mini-xlr connector is the same as the video assist 4K and Ursa Mini Pro so pretty good overall.
• Windowed mode is only available in high frame rates BUT they will likely update the firmware to fix this.
• There is no limit as far as recording media.  If it's the same as the other Blackmagic cameras you can record any framerate or codec to any media option but it will obviously stop recording if frames are dropped.  So as media speeds increase, yes you might be able to do 4K 60fps raw loseless to an SD card.
• This sensor is a dual mode sensor.  So if you work in the 400ISO mode you would be limited to raw adjustments only in that mode, and same with the 3200 mode.  So it's likely you have to be recording in the correct mode (400 or 3200) and you're limited to small adjustments within those limits.
• Stills photo mode is just a capture of live-view not the same as a photo camera.
• Battery life drops a lot.  A BM employee said with XLR phantom power it could be as low as 20 mins but that was probably a guess.
• Functions that are assignable with the keys should be the same kind you can assign with the Ursa Mini Pro.  It's the same OS.

 

4 hours ago, Savannah Miller said:

Everything you need to know about the camera that I'm almost positive is true.

• The camera has no OLPF and it's the same as every other Blackmagic camera with a weaker IR cut filter.  I'm pretty sure that color accuracy is diminished when you use the stronger ones found in prosumer cameras and canon cinema series, so they use weaker ones and therefore require IR cut or IRND when using ND filters.  All Blackmagic cameras do have IR cut filters on the glass over the sensor.
• Moire will be visible because of no OLPF but based on every other Blackmagic 4K and higher recording camera it shouldn't be a real issue in 99% of circumstances.
• The screen is the same as the one found on the Ursa Mini 4.6K, 4K, and VideoAssist 4K.
• There are 4 video recording modes.  BMD Film, Video, Extended dynamic range video, and Hybrid Log Gamma.
• There are likely no limits to codecs on different recording media.  As long as your SD, SSD, or Cfast can handle the data rate it should work. Otherwise the frames will drop instantly and recording will stop.
• The audio preamps are the same as the VideoAssist 4K and Ursa Mini PRO so they are tested and reviews can be found online.  
• The Battery life is 1 hour continuous recording, but depending on other features (phantom power, USB-C SSD, etc.) the battery life will drop accordingly.  You will experience roughly 10-15 mins shorter battery life based on the power consumption of a Samsung T5 SSD.
• Speedbooster XL or Ultra is required for the full coverage of the sensor.  Ultra allows APS-C lenses (some might slightly vignette) and XL is designed for full-frame only.  You can likely use the Pocket speedbooster to decrease the crop factor further during windowed mode (120fps, etc.)
• The camera can do up to 100 fps no window.
• OS is similar to Ursa Mini models so much improved over BMCC and BMPCC.
• The sensor has 2 ISO modes.  400 and 3200.  The 400 mode is active from 200-800 and the 3200 mode will be active from 1600-25600.  So likely your raw adjustments will be around one of these two operating modes.  Any ISO changes will likely only stretch as far as the mode allows.  If you shoot in 200 ISO, you can't push it to say 12,800.  If they allow you to change ISO which they probably will.
• Size of the camera is similar to a 5D mark III but a little bit wider. Weight of the body is supposedly 750g body only.
• Camera shoots raw in lossless, 3:1 and 4:1 compression ratios.  The 4:1 is the smallest in size but artifacts slightly more than the 3:1 when pushed to extreme levels.  All of the raw modes are very good.
• It features the new GEN 4 color science which currently is only found in the Ursa Broadcast cameras.
• Gen 1 - BMCC, Pocket, Micro Cinema, Production Camera 4K, URSA 4K
  Gen 3 - URSA Mini 4K/4.6K/Pro
  Gen 4 - URSA Mini Broadcast and Pocket Cinema 4K
  Other cameras might recieve an updated soon.

Good to have a FAQ style round up of all the info you have in your head, thanks for that.

So the non-windowed 100fps is pixel binned 2K?

6 minutes ago, cantsin said:

The Blackmagic Pocket never had an articulated screen. (No BM camera ever had one, actually.)

The URSAs do.

31 minutes ago, Anaconda_ said:

No other camera has a 5 inch screen. Id imagine for the hinges and joints to be strong enough to support any rotation/articulation would significantly change the design of the camera.

URSA had a massive screen on a hinge.

It is a shame the new Pocket lacks this as it would have opened up a huge new audience for it.... YouTubers.

I care for it as well, just to save my neck when using a tripod for one thing.

[Anaconda_]

20 minutes ago, Andrew Reid said:

URSA had a massive screen on a hinge.

Right, but that's mounted to the camera in a completely different way, and still doesn't rotate around the camera 180 degrees, the way you'd need the P4K to for vlogging. The hinge goes 90, and then the screen rotates on the other axis to get a front facing screen. (I assume. That's how most camcorder style LCDs work, but I've not used the URSA, so don't know if it's the same) That design wouldn't work on this body. You'd only get a side facing screen. You can shoot round a corner I guess? Would be handy for filming in a car.

Maybe to clarify my comment I should have said 'no camera in this design has a 5 inch screen....' 

Edit: I think its pretty well established that, despite that strangely places second record button, this won't be a good camera for vlogging. I think like Grant said in the release, it's brilliant for one person crews. Especially since you could fit at least 3 with lenses in a backpack when you arrive at a location. 

[cojocaru27]

49 minutes ago, jonpais said:

Actually, yes! ?

i am dreaming of this :

https://shop.redrockmicro.com/product/retroflex-for-blackmagic-pocket-camera/

 

But i would never complain about this amazing camera. For what you get, at this price point, you have to be really mean to complain. It is really a dream come true, almost came true till September. My fingers crossed for a nice rolling shutter. If the motion cadence is as bad as NX1 in full 4k, than we might have a problem no matter how great the image looks like.

 

[jonpais]

It would be churlish to complain. ?

[jonpais]

Let me ask something: when Blackmagic releases Resolve 16, will users be required to pay if they want to upgrade?

[Savannah Miller]

Slow motion 100fps is not pixel binned, it's downscaled.  The way blackmagic cameras work is when shooting raw you can ONLY choose windowed sensor mode.  When shooting prores you can choose either full or windowed sensor mode.  Blackmagic allows you to select ANY frame rate that you like up to 100fps and then you have to enable windowed sensor mode to select the full 120.