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4K Black Magic Production Camera, raw, $2495 now
  • 330 Replies sorted by
  • peterdv_dot_competerdv_dot_com

    More info on the Vimeo page:

  • peterdv_dot_competerdv_dot_com

    More info on the Vimeo page:

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    Huh, looks like their promotional samples started to make results.

    Now it is interesting to understand who will buy it instead of new 4K model coming at NAB.

  • CaptainHookCaptainHook

    Please read the description for info. :)

  • Brian202020Brian202020

    @CaptainHook did a good job mixing all 3 BMD cameras in Generation Young. I hope you release a 4K version of your LUT's to make matching easier between the 3. No one else can seem to do it.

    As for Ten Tenths, Three River Media is doing, I'm not impressed. The 4K stuff looks like video and looks so different than the superior track and garage recorded stuff.

  • Brian202020Brian202020

    Also @CaptainHook maybe you can explain this. To me it seems dirty yellow or maybe gold colors seem to pop more than other colors in nearly all BMPC footage I've seen. That's a strange color to pop, and I think this is the source of my disliking of most of BMPC's images.

  • peterdv_dot_competerdv_dot_com

    The BMPC-4K as a "B-Camera" for use with the RED EPIC. Important: Read the info on the Vimeo page!

    Notes: Other than the BMPC-4K "red sun" at the 1:10 point in the video, and the BMPC-4K's somewhat reduce dynamic range, I think its video looks great with the EPIC's (or by itself). A "similarly-configured" (but more capable) EPIC costs how many times more than the BMPC-4K?

  • peterdv_dot_competerdv_dot_com

    @Vitaliy_Kiselev :

    "Huh, looks like their promotional samples started to make results. ..."

    I agree!

    "… Now it is interesting to understand who will buy it instead of new 4K model coming at NAB."

    You could be right! As much as I'd like to own a "higher-end" version of a BMPC-4K, my guess is BMD will initially price their next top-of-the-line cam at >$5K US. Perhaps by the time such a cam actually ships (probably many, many months from now) I'll be able to afford one. ;-)

    In the meantime the BMPC-4K @ $3K US will be very useful for most of the work I do now.

    P.S.: I wonder if GoPro will announce higher-end cam(s) at NAB 2014?

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    In the meantime the BMPC-4K @ $3K US will be very useful for most of the work I do now.

    As far as I understand it is shipping in very limited numbers still (and almost a year after announcement).

    I am sure if BM want to stay in this niche they'll replace it at NAB. As lens mount is wrong and they need to improve DR and framerates.

  • peterdv_dot_competerdv_dot_com

    Agreed: Relatively limited numbers of BMPC-4K are shipping, and it's several months late. But my sense is it's noticeably larger quantities than previous models immediately following BMD's "shipping" announcements. As expected this varies by region.

    I think BMD will continue to announce/release new camera models. That's what they've always done with their other product lines. They appear to be having some success with cams, too, but because they are a "blackmagic black box", who knows if the cams are really profitable for them yet.

    So, yes: New cams with additional capabilities, lens mounts, frame rates, GUI additions, and more waiting for cams to ship, etc. Same as it ever was.

    Here's my camera design wish list: http://herefortheweather.wordpress.com/2013/05/25/future-my-video-camera-design-wish-list/

    I'm looking forward to receiving my BMPC-4K "soon". Cheers.

  • peterdv_dot_competerdv_dot_com

    FYI: AbelCine has now included the BMPC-4K and BMPCC sensor sizes in their very useful "FOV Comparator" tool: http://www.abelcine.com/fov/

  • OedipaxOedipax

    Great tool. Interesting to note the BMPCC with its specific Speed Booster is a close match for the BMPC-4K (1.75x vs 1.7x crop factor).

  • Brian202020Brian202020

    If only AbelCine would let you go less than 10mm as well as add the ability to add a focal reducer then the tool would be more useful.

  • CaptainHookCaptainHook

    @Brian202020 - what makes you say no one else seems to be able to match the 3 cameras? Is there specific footage you're talking about?

    That colour popping is obviously a personal preference thing, but it should be pretty easy to tame in CC if you're so inclined. :-)

  • kholikholi

    @Brian202020 (So many 20's)

    Can you point to other videos with the yellow bias?

  • lolodigitallolodigital

    Dynamic Range seems to be better than GH4's one . Image is soft contrasted, colors well equilibrated... waiting for other samples from GH4...the first video doesn't convince me about DR.

  • Brian202020Brian202020

    @Kholi My company is Triple 20 Entertainment, hence the three 20's :)

    As for the the yellow popping video's, it's not a yellow bias it just seems if there is anything that is a dirty yellow color in the shot it seems to pop more than it should. It's weird because it's not an over all yellow bias. Can't really explain it, but looking in many of the video's posted on these last 2 pages and you should notice it.

  • Brian202020Brian202020

    @CaptianHook Maybe I just haven't seen enough of people trying to match them, but I think the Ten Tenths is drastically different. Now I understand part of it is because they seem to be going with a different look. The driving and garage stuff with the BMCC and BMPCC, and the "Car in studio" stuff looks to be shot with the BMPC except maybe one shot. Look at the shot starting at 43 seconds and the shot starting at 46 seconds. It feels jarring to me and I think the shot starting at 46 seconds is the only one in that sequence that is shot with the BMCC all other "Car in studio" shots I bet were shot with the BMPC. I could be wrong.

  • kholikholi

    I've seen yellow, but so far it looks like intentional adjustments and not something the camera's inherently doing.

    If you've seen it in something I posted, do tell, as I'd like to understand what you mean but totally understand if it's not worth the time.

    Thanks man.

  • CaptainHookCaptainHook

    @Brian202020 - one thing i will say about the 4K so far in my experience, is it feels more "expressive" in the sense that it can look quite different, depending how you expose/shoot/etc. Not that i don't see variation in BMCC/Pocket footage out there, but with the 4K i foresee a bit more variety coming out. It's good and bad IMHO. Good because the filmmaker can express themselves more.

    It's a more neutral base to start from though, which is great and flexible but also doesn't need as much work to get something pleasant.

    I can see what your saying about the dark golden yellows in all footage posted so far, but for me it's really preference as i don't find it unpleasant. Plus, a lot of footage posted so far has been golden hour, sun-setting/rising stuff so those yellow->browns are going to be a big part of the image and appear to pop/dominate more. I know for my footage, it's pretty accurate to what was in front of the camera. In Kholi's stuff i see it during the sunset stuff, and when it looks to be more dusk with VERY blue natural night (blue tending to be more desaturated naturally) and some tungsten lamps around, and you basically have the classic colour contrast of yellow/blue. But again, i never found it offensive. I quite like it.

  • CFreakCFreak

    The BMD BMPC stack sup closely with the Red Epic. That's great news for us that they can bring this kind of quality at such a low price.

    I did notice the BMPC at 1.20 has not a black dot, but, a red dot where the sun is clearly in the frame. Doesn't give me a lot of faith the BMD checks their cameras very thoroughly before they're released. But otherwise the image from this cam look great. I hope this does;t mean for these new 4K owners they have to send it back for recalibration, or, was it just firmware fix on the BMPCC?

  • kholikholi

    If it gets fixed, it's firmware.

    It doesn't come from lack of checking cameras, it comes from optimizing the camera's image as much as possible at this price point. Alexa still exhibits black dots in bright areas as well, not as bad, but it still does it.

    That's what happens when you try to squeeze every bit of DR out of a sensor, it's a bit of a trade-off.

  • peterdv_dot_competerdv_dot_com

    Part 3 of a review of the BMPC-4K; see the Vimeo page for more information:

  • eatstoomuchjameatstoomuchjam

    The BMPC footage looks neat overall - a cute documentary on how repulsive HDR photos of ruins are made.

  • JFKaJFKa

    Spanish/Catalan from Barcelona DOP Pol Turrents (Asociación Española de Cinematografía) has done a fast Q/A about the camera answering most common questions of his followers about the BMC 4K. Is uploaded and can be seen at native resolution UHD in youtube. As many of you don´t know spanish, here is an abstract of the interesting moments and what is he talking about. (They´ve used a 1.5 F lens, don´t know what).

    1) Starts with a speech about he does not believe in camera tests, because everyone has to do by itself and have their own conclusions. So it is not a test, just answering questions.

    2) at 1:43" you can see a demostration of global shutter: Fast movements and flash response (compared to a HV20)

    3) 3:00" The black sun spot or cromatic aberrations: The 4K comes with this crappy firmware problem, as he says is an autoprotection of sensor for high lights (the pixel is switched off). It will be solved by firmware, just putting a 100% white where there was a black (as other BMC Cameras).

    4) 4:10" Bokeh. Wide opened of the 1.5 lens at night, bokeh demonstration.

    5) 5:00" About two current film modes, as RAW no available: Film and video mode. Explanation about color and contrast is different as sensor is global shutter. About latitude, he says is a personal total opinion: Dynamic range can be measured by sensor output, but latitude is totally personal perception. Then he speaks about the interesting way or reescaling the final output to HD or SD, depending the final product, and how it can change latitude.

    6) 7:53" Film mode grade/ungraded.

    7) He believes the camera is bad at low light. Is noisy, and is not an organic noise (opposite to Alexa). Maybe it can be improved in raw mode. He recommends to do not overpass 400 ISO and force it in post instead of 800 ISO.

    8) 9:24" Low light tests, fewly graded and some of them with a minimun led torch (closed takes).

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