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Blackmagic Pocket 4K media & power thread -- the best alternatives


Emanuel
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Little bigger than I thought, but not massively so. Stick it in a pack pack/sling bag and shoot away. Keeps the weight and size of the camera down too.

8771E7BC-EF65-4773-AF97-F1F869DA9F0A.thumb.jpeg.c40b01aadd8e5efa5ab29406e6b6a4b7.jpegIt came flat, so I charged it for an hour and then plugged my camera in. I had no battery in and the AC logo on the top right, so it definitely works. They say charge time is3 hours, so I'll do a rec time check this evening.

I also have a shoot tomorrow that I'll use it on, but don't anticipate it being anything but a good addition to my gear.

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55 minutes ago, Anaconda_ said:

Little bigger than I thought, but not massively so. Stick it in a pack pack/sling bag and shoot away. Keeps the weight and size of the camera down too.

8771E7BC-EF65-4773-AF97-F1F869DA9F0A.thumb.jpeg.c40b01aadd8e5efa5ab29406e6b6a4b7.jpegIt came flat, so I charged it for an hour and then plugged my camera in. I had no battery in and the AC logo on the top right, so it definitely works. They say charge time is3 hours, so I'll do a rec time check this evening.

I also have a shoot tomorrow that I'll use it on, but don't anticipate it being anything but a good addition to my gear.

Are you powering the camera via the 12V DC input? I can't really see from the picture but what battery is that?

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On 11/12/2018 at 10:05 AM, webrunner5 said:

I think they just should have made a bigger body sort of like a Canon C100 with a battery as big, proper buttons, and been done with it. Sure it might have cost 1500 dollars plus the Studio Resolve. But it would have been a killer camera. I guess part of the reason was the 5" screen size. Where to put it on a small Cine camera.

But I am not knocking it. It is a gift the way it is, warts and all for the money. I am sure down the road there will be some great aftermarket solutions. Maybe even BMD will come up with a proper Battery Grip. Hint, Hint.

Yea - Because the Pocket 4K already got so much bigger, they should have gone all the way and just made it even a bit bigger, added internal NDs, and a real battery slot somewhere. The 5-inch screen is great, but 4-inches would be just fine. Even at $2.5k - $3.5k, that would be right in line with my ideal A-Cam (though, I guess then there isn't much differentiation between it and the Ursa Mini Pro). Perhaps they'll make an Ursa Mini Pro Mini soon. 

I look forward to the day when a manufacturer makes a C100 II-sized (or a bit smaller) 4k 60fps camera. A workhorse that you don't have to worry about power, screw-on NDs, overheating, etc and can still get a beautiful BM Raw esque image quality. The only thing that comes ergonomically close is the FS5, but that camera may have the worst internal 4K image coming out of a $1k+ video camera.

With that said, I LOVE the image of my Pocket 4K and will definitely be using it for a lot of applications. But not sure I can trust it on a professional shoot until I get some real power solutions (looking forward to the tilta solutions). With this sensor, codecs, ISO-ability, menu system, etc they could have really crushed the indie crowd market with a $3k-$4k camera that had real batteries and internal NDs - even the audio is pretty great for 90% of scenarios (with one xlr and one 3.5mm). 

 

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17 minutes ago, Anaconda_ said:

For those interested, the external power thing I've been posting about has had a great first run. There's still 2 LEDs lit and I've been recording for 2hrs 30min continuously.

I got it in a deal for €99 and based off this test, I would recommend it, even at a slightly higher price. 

Thanks for the info. Unfortunately they do not ship to my country but it is a great product on a great price. 26000mAh and capable of powering anything under 100watt.

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7 hours ago, Anaconda_ said:

I don’t know where you are, but I think you can get it globally. They have a model with US plugs and my version - EU - came with an adapter for UK 3 pin plugs. 

Here’s the manufacturer’s website ;

https://www.hypershop.com/products/hyperjuice-ac-battery-pack-100wh-26-000mah

Kamera Express ships to selected EU countries, not all.

I checked the manufacturers web page and in the end, it is double the price you paid. Not that great of a bargain.

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There are lots of suggestions for camera mounted external batteries, but why not consider a battery charging solution and use standard LP-E6 batteries? As soon as you rig up any kind of external battery that will last longer than LP-E6 you're adding weight and clunk, which kinda takes away from the point of this kind of camera I think. Whenever I need a portable camera battery charging station I use one of my Hyperjuice batteries [1] with the built in inverter in a small camera bag with a couple of Hahnel proCube [2] dual chargers. It'll charge both batteries at the same time, and takes about an hour and a half to fully charge, with a percentage readout so you can see just how far away it is. Between that an 4-6 LP-E6 batteries and you should get through a full day's shooting. 

[1] https://www.hypershop.com/collections/battery-pack/products/hyperjuice-ac-battery-pack-100wh-26-000mah

[2] https://www.hahnel.com.au/li-ion-battery-chargers/

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45 minutes ago, Anaconda_ said:

And that's one of them - the higher capacity one. Save people watching a whole video just to find out what battery he's using :) 

watch the video and you'll see he is not only using an external battery but he his making his own cord to plug it into the power plug ;)

i was talking about a hack, not a use

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I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was pretty close to just hacking off the connector from the mains supply if BM didn't get a move on with their cable kit and it looks like he ran out of patience before I did !

Thankfully my real cable kit is coming in a few days so I don't have to do it.

If anyone is interested in making their own custom cables - which might be a bit neater for some solutions as the official ones are 65cm long - then these are the connectors (make sure you order the 2 pin version obviously ;) )

https://weipuconnector.en.alibaba.com/product/60735848587-806276836/IP67_Industrial_Push_pull_Metal_connector_male_SF1610_Weipu_connector_electrical_connector_metal_plugs.html

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