Black Magic Pocket OG 2019

[thebrothersthre3]

Just got this camera, waiting on it to come. Interested if anyone here still uses one. Would enjoy seeing work done on it or hearing experiences. 

My reasoning was:

1. no record limits (needed for C cam for weddings)
2. really cheap (350 bucks used)
3.  RAW 12 bit
4. dynamic range seems pretty remarkable 

[mercer]

Amazing camera, I’ve owned two of them and a Micro. Get yourself an IR Cut Filter and always shoot at 800 ISO. But he warned... once you start shooting Raw, it will be difficult to go back to compressed codecs. And if you really like the Pocket, wait until you try FF Raw with the 5D3.

Have fun and good luck with it. 

[Mako Sports]

I think OG pocket cinema slaps every camera under 15K (besides the ursa 4.6K pro) for its color science and filmic rendering. 

[anonim]

I can't say anything new and original that isn't already at massive quantity all around net  Maybe just an idea - if I got again Pocket, I'll try to match it with Laowa 7.5mm lens... each time when I had Pocket that lens didn't exist yet, and seems to me very interesting combo. Pretty capable, greatly keep whole package  small and, most important, keep absence of IBIS under control for discrete shooting, being somewhere around FF 21mm, my beloved focal distance.

[kye]

4 hours ago, thebrothersthre3 said:

Just got this camera, waiting on it to come. Interested if anyone here still uses one. Would enjoy seeing work done on it or hearing experiences. 

My reasoning was:

1. no record limits (needed for C cam for weddings)
2. really cheap (350 bucks used)
3.  RAW 12 bit
4. dynamic range seems pretty remarkable 

We're going to try and make P4K footage have the same "look" of the OG Pocket camera, so that should tell you something about how well regarded the images from it are.  I was seriously considering buying one, but I wanted something small and it seems that the P2K works best when you can rig it up with external power and audio.

Weren't you going to stick with Fuji as a C-camera?  Or is this for a different setup?

[IronFilm]

4 hours ago, thebrothersthre3 said:

• really cheap (350 bucks used)

I wouldn't buy it at the US$500ish I've been seeing it sell for in 2018, but damn... that is really cheap!

As for myself, I still have my BMPCC, and use it now and then. Sometimes for vlogging with, but I prefer my Panasonic G6 for its flip out screen for selfie filming. Also use my BMPCC a little as B/C Cam when I'm shooting with others. 

2 hours ago, Mako Sports said:

I think OG pocket cinema slaps every camera under 15K (besides the ursa 4.6K pro) for its color science and filmic rendering. 

You like the OG more than the BMPCC4K??

[Phil A]

I keep looking for the Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera all the time because it's clearly a bit better than the BMPCC for my needs but I have never seen it below 750€ used here in Germany and that's just not what I'm looking to part with.

Also, and this probably sounds dumb, I am not sure I could ever go to a camera without IBIS again after the GH5. The fact that you can handhold static shots so well massively changed how much I actually use a tripod for casual stuff. That's also the single one grain of salt making me hesitant about the BMPCC4k.

[anonim]

43 minutes ago, Phil A said:

Also, and this probably sounds dumb, I am not sure I could ever go to a camera without IBIS again after the GH5. The fact that you can handhold static shots so well massively changed how much I actually use a tripod for casual stuff.

Hey, reckon on me, there are at least two dumbs then!

[thebrothersthre3]

9 hours ago, mercer said:

Amazing camera, I’ve owned two of them and a Micro. Get yourself an IR Cut Filter and always shoot at 800 ISO. But he warned... once you start shooting Raw, it will be difficult to go back to compressed codecs. And if you really like the Pocket, wait until you try FF Raw with the 5D3.

Have fun and good luck with it. 

I was gonna message you about it as I know you owned one but for some reason I can't send messages. How does dynamic range compare against the 5D3? I kind of forgot about magic lantern but it seems a bit more involved than using a black magic camera. Will have to see how much I like RAW.

 

7 hours ago, Mako Sports said:

I think OG pocket cinema slaps every camera under 15K (besides the ursa 4.6K pro) for its color science and filmic rendering. 

Thats good to hear and hard to believe considering they are selling under $500! I've even heard some people compare it to an Alexa. I like cameras with mojo

 

6 hours ago, anonim said:

I can't say anything new and original that isn't already at massive quantity all around net  Maybe just an idea - if I got again Pocket, I'll try to match it with Laowa 7.5mm lens... each time when I had Pocket that lens didn't exist yet, and seems to me very interesting combo. Pretty capable, greatly keep whole package  small and, most important, keep absence of IBIS under control for discrete shooting, being somewhere around FF 21mm, my beloved focal distance.

Looks like a nice lens, though for now I'll use my speedbooster and minolta lenses, 24mm is my widest lens though, which isn't that wide after the crop. 35mm in comparison to an APSC crop. I am guessing you switched to the GH5 for IBIS, do you miss the RAW recording?

 

5 hours ago, kye said:

We're going to try and make P4K footage have the same "look" of the OG Pocket camera, so that should tell you something about how well regarded the images from it are.  I was seriously considering buying one, but I wanted something small and it seems that the P2K works best when you can rig it up with external power and audio.

Weren't you going to stick with Fuji as a C-camera?  Or is this for a different setup?

Yeah I keep hearing about how nice the look of the original pocket is, which is intriguing. I was looking at the BMCC 2.5k too as they seem to sell for pretty cheap plus you get the bigger screen and bigger body, which I actually prefer. However it has that black dot issue when shooting the sun or something. The internal battery not having a long life was also off putting.

I did get another Fuji for my B camera. However I decided to go with the Black Magic for a C cam. But I need something with unlimited record times. I didn't want to deal with an external recorder and I hate powering stuff through micro HDMI. The Pocket was just so small and cheap, probably half or a third the price of a fuji with external recorder. I was thinking about going with a GH4, similar price and amazing battery life, but the Pocket's high bit depth and dynamic range won me over.

There is the issue of color matching but for shooting this will only be used as a Static camera for wedding ceremonies. I like to get a wide shot from the back of the Church or venue. Color matching one shot shouldn't be too hard, especially since its wide enough where the skin tones won't be as noticeable in comparison to all the close ups.

I do want to use it on personal projects but those will only be single camera shoots.

 

4 hours ago, IronFilm said:

I wouldn't buy it at the US$500ish I've been seeing it sell for in 2018, but damn... that is really cheap!

As for myself, I still have my BMPCC, and use it now and then. Sometimes for vlogging with, but I prefer my Panasonic G6 for its flip out screen for selfie filming. Also use my BMPCC a little as B/C Cam when I'm shooting with others. 

 

Yeah man its amazing what some cameras are going for these days. I probably wouldn't use it for vlogging much either. Used to own the G6, pretty nice camera and its weighs almost nothing.

 

2 hours ago, Phil A said:

I keep looking for the Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera all the time because it's clearly a bit better than the BMPCC for my needs but I have never seen it below 750€ used here in Germany and that's just not what I'm looking to part with.

Also, and this probably sounds dumb, I am not sure I could ever go to a camera without IBIS again after the GH5. The fact that you can handhold static shots so well massively changed how much I actually use a tripod for casual stuff. That's also the single one grain of salt making me hesitant about the BMPCC4k.

I was looking at the micro too but yeah they go for around $700 usd here, not bad but at the same time I don't really need 60fps.

I used to own the GH5 and GX85. IBIS is really nice but I found after using sliders and such I like traditional stabilization better. It is great for certain applications and Dual IS looks amazing(never had a chance to use it though. I also think lens IS works pretty well for most handheld stuff I do, though it definitely annoyingly limits your lenses.

[Mako Sports]

4 hours ago, IronFilm said:

You like the OG more than the BMPCC4K??

Of course PCC4K is better in just about every way with 4K, Slow motion, audio, and ergos.

But I think I prefer the original's image over it. It reminds me of Super 16mm film with how organic it is. The new version's image reminds me of the GH5s just slightly less clinical. 

As an event shooter I prefer a more digital/clinical look so the PCC4K would make more sense for me. 

[mercer]

30 minutes ago, thebrothersthre3 said:

was gonna message you about it as I know you owned one but for some reason I can't send messages. How does dynamic range compare against the 5D3? I kind of forgot about magic lantern but it seems a bit more involved than using a black magic camera. Will have to see how much I like RAW.

Yes ML Raw is a little more involved but you don’t have to deal with the crop factor. With a mix of the camera’s weight and Canon IS lenses, you can really get some stable, handheld footage. As far as dynamic range... I’d say the 5D3 with ML Raw has about 11.5-12 stops... way more than enough than I need. It’s usable up to 1600 ISO with 3200 in a pinch. You really have to ETTR ML Raw because of the chroma noise but the Pocket has bad moiré and aliasing where the 5D3 has none. Storage is about the same except you can use cheap SDXC cards with the Pocket. Both are great cameras but I prefer the color from the 5D3 and find it easier to grade. YMMV.

But seriously, buy an IR Cut Filter.

The benefits of the Pocket is the ProRes. Aliasing and moiré is handled better in ProRes and it’s an easily editable codec in any NLE. In fact, since I use FCPX, I have contemplated picking up a Micro for ProRes and 60p... but I know myself and I’ll rarely use it and reach for the 5D3 most times. 

[thebrothersthre3]

4 minutes ago, mercer said:

Yes ML Raw is a little more involved but you don’t have to deal with the crop factor. With a mix of the camera’s weight and Canon IS lenses, you can really get some stable, handheld footage. As far as dynamic range... I’d say the 5D3 with ML Raw has about 11.5-12 stops... way more than enough than I need. It’s usable up to 1600 ISO with 3200 in a pinch. You really have to ETTR ML Raw because of the chroma noise but the Pocket has bad moiré and aliasing where the 5D3 has none. Storage is about the same except you can use cheap SDXC cards with the Pocket. Both are great cameras but I prefer the color from the 5D3 and find it easier to grade. YMMV.

But seriously, buy an IR Cut Filter.

The benefits of the Pocket is the ProRes. Aliasing and moiré is handled better in ProRes and it’s an easily editable codec in any NLE. In fact, since I use FCPX, I have contemplated picking up a Micro for ProRes and 60p... but I know myself and I’ll rarely use it and reach for the 5D3 most times. 

I'll probably end up using prores unless I really need the highlight headroom or am doing something crazy to the color in post. Churches can sometimes be a high dynamic range situation with large windows so RAW could come in handy for that. I kind of forgot about the moire issues though can't complain for $300. For whatever reason magic lantern makes me feel uneasy for paid work, I mean if I am leaving the camera unattended to record for an hour. I use slow motion a lot for weddings but for personal work, though I actually love slo mo, I rarely use it.

[mercer]

9 minutes ago, thebrothersthre3 said:

I'll probably end up using prores unless I really need the highlight headroom or am doing something crazy to the color in post. Churches can sometimes be a high dynamic range situation with large windows so RAW could come in handy for that. I kind of forgot about the moire issues though can't complain for $300. For whatever reason magic lantern makes me feel uneasy for paid work, I mean if I am leaving the camera unattended to record for an hour. I use slow motion a lot for weddings but for personal work, though I actually love slo mo, I rarely use it.

That makes sense. I only do personal work, so any fear of dependability isn’t an issue. With that being said, I’ve been shooting fairly regularly with ML Raw for almost two years and never even had a dropped frame. The nightly builds are solid. But with that being said, I don’t think I’d use either camera for weddings where ease of use, storage and quick post is of major concern. 

These are cinema cameras, shoot your short films with them. 

And this is a bonus for both cameras... once set up, they are point and shoot cinema cameras.

[newfoundmass]

I love the BMPCC. I still have mine, though I don't really use it anymore. Once I got the GH5 it just became too much of a hassle to rig it up with an external battery and monitor. But the image and colors, they are wonderful. And it also looks very good upscaled to 2K, maybe even 4K. We used mine as a b-cam for a friend's BMCC and he was able to mix them together perfectly. 

I dunno about using it on weddings though! It's not great for low light and while there are no recording limits it gets warm real quick. 

[thebrothersthre3]

13 minutes ago, newfoundmass said:

I love the BMPCC. I still have mine, though I don't really use it anymore. Once I got the GH5 it just became too much of a hassle to rig it up with an external battery and monitor. But the image and colors, they are wonderful. And it also looks very good upscaled to 2K, maybe even 4K. We used mine as a b-cam for a friend's BMCC and he was able to mix them together perfectly. 

I dunno about using it on weddings though! It's not great for low light and while there are no recording limits it gets warm real quick. 

Yeah I have heard about it getting warm, hoping using an external battery and maybe external SSD might help.

It will only be for 1 static wide shot during the ceremony. Won't be using it for receptions which are generally where the light gets really dim. I am hoping 800 iso pushed a bit with fast lenses should cover most settings.

 

35 minutes ago, mercer said:

That makes sense. I only do personal work, so any fear of dependability isn’t an issue. With that being said, I’ve been shooting fairly regularly with ML Raw for almost two years and never even had a dropped frame. The nightly builds are solid. But with that being said, I don’t think I’d use either camera for weddings where ease of use, storage and quick post is of major concern. 

These are cinema cameras, shoot your short films with them. 

And this is a bonus for both cameras... once set up, they are point and shoot cinema cameras.

Yeah I likely will not use RAW for weddings. Prores storage ain't bad though, should be similar to the XT3's 200mbps, and I end up converting all my XT3 footage to prores in post so its one less step.

BTW can you suggest any IR cut filter? The OPLF-IR cut filters that sit just above the sensor look amazing but they cost as much as the camera itself lol.

[mercer]

14 minutes ago, thebrothersthre3 said:

Yeah I have heard about it getting warm, hoping using an external battery and maybe external SSD might help.

It will only be for 1 static wide shot during the ceremony. Won't be using it for receptions which are generally where the light gets really dim. I am hoping 800 iso pushed a bit with fast lenses should cover most settings.

 

Yeah I likely will not use RAW for weddings. Prores storage ain't bad though, should be similar to the XT3's 200mbps, and I end up converting all my XT3 footage to prores in post so its one less step.

BTW can you suggest any IR cut filter? The OPLF-IR cut filters that sit just above the sensor look amazing but they cost as much as the camera itself lol.

I used B+W but I think Hoya makes one that’s a little cheaper. I’ve even heard of some really cheap Chinese ones on eBay but I don’t know the quality. I think Tiffen or somebody makes a combo IR Cut Variable ND that could be useful.

Also remember that the Pocket has a lanc input, so you could pick up a native zoom lens and work it through the lanc. And the IS on some of those 14-42/14-45mm zooms are pretty good. Just remember to get a cage that has cord clamps, the ports on the side of the camera are very fragile. 

[homestar_kevin]

I still have and love my original pocket. It's taken so long to kit it out with all the accessories and find out what set ups work best for me, but man is it awesome when you do.

I have and use the Hoya IR Cut filter and that has been absolutely awesome. It seemed to be the consensus pick on BMCuser and it's been great to me.

The first thing to do with the camera is figuring out a battery solution. I have the smallrig Sony NP-f Battery adapter that has been great for me because I use so many of those batteries, but figuring out which battery solution works best for you is an important place to start when dealing with the pocket camera

 

 

 

 

[thebrothersthre3]

40 minutes ago, mercer said:

I used B+W but I think Hoya makes one that’s a little cheaper. I’ve even heard of some really cheap Chinese ones on eBay but I don’t know the quality. I think Tiffen or somebody makes a combo IR Cut Variable ND that could be useful.

Also remember that the Pocket has a lanc input, so you could pick up a native zoom lens and work it through the lanc. And the IS on some of those 14-42/14-45mm zooms are pretty good. Just remember to get a cage that has cord clamps, the ports on the side of the camera are very fragile. 

There is a Hoya pretty cheap on ebay right now. Might go for it. I'll look into a cage as well. 

26 minutes ago, homestar_kevin said:

I still have and love my original pocket. It's taken so long to kit it out with all the accessories and find out what set ups work best for me, but man is it awesome when you do.

I have and use the Hoya IR Cut filter and that has been absolutely awesome. It seemed to be the consensus pick on BMCuser and it's been great to me.

The first thing to do with the camera is figuring out a battery solution. I have the smallrig Sony NP-f Battery adapter that has been great for me because I use so many of those batteries, but figuring out which battery solution works best for you is an important place to start when dealing with the pocket camera

 

I just have a power bank right now I'll use. I'd need something more compact if I ever use it on a gimbal though or handheld for that matter.

[graphicnatured]

I will never get rid of my OG pocket. The image out of it truly is magic. With that said, I will use it with purpose, but grab the Pocket4k for almost everything. I use the Hoya IR cut with the OG Pocket, Micro and 4k, wether it needs it or not, when using NDs. It is crazy how spoiled one gets with the Pocket4k though. After using it, it really is hard to use the OG since it requires external batteries and a monitor for my eyes. You will be in love with the image though!

[thebrothersthre3]

31 minutes ago, graphicnatured said:

I will never get rid of my OG pocket. The image out of it truly is magic. With that said, I will use it with purpose, but grab the Pocket4k for almost everything. I use the Hoya IR cut with the OG Pocket, Micro and 4k, wether it needs it or not, when using NDs. It is crazy how spoiled one gets with the Pocket4k though. After using it, it really is hard to use the OG since it requires external batteries and a monitor for my eyes. You will be in love with the image though!

Yeah if I had a bit more money I'd have got the pocket 4k, though I don't really need it and I also love quirky cameras.  Sounds like the micro HDMI is very breakable which sucks. I can always expose using tools rather than using the screen image though.