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2K BlackMagic Pocket Cinema Camera, active m43, $995
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  • Thanks guys,

    Now it is time for me to go deep into the 8bit 4:2:0 experimentations and understand all about it's limitations and possible workaraounds in the dslr world. So I will learn how to extract the maximum from it and I will perceive if I need the BMPC or not.

  • I changed my mind :) Just got confirmation about preorder here in Sweden. This is going to be exciting!

  • @apefos

    it's plain simple. if you want 8bit 4:2:0 compressed images and are content with it. then stick to dslrs. but if you want the quality of 10 bit 4:2:2 or a compressed 12 bit raw and know what to do with it, then the pocket cam is a great investment considering its the same price range as dslrs.

    if you dont know the difference of 10bit prores from 8bit h.264 then dslrs are safe for you. The pocket camera is a device dedicated to FILMMAKING as Blackmagic have stated. Its not a video camera, or dslr. Its a DIGITAL FILM CAMERA.

    People who will get this will be run and gun shooters, heavy editors and colourists. So yes the data storage will be something to invest in but it always was since the transition to HD. The camera straight out of the box is useable and will destroy dslrs no matter what.

    This camera is pretty much designed for indie filmmakers. Its small, compact, packs a hell of a punch out of the box. And btw i've never heard of a difficult workflow when someone has 10bit prores at 200mbps data rates ready for editing. So i dont see how this can be a tough choice for indie filmmakers.

  • @DrDave You mean a GoPro Black? (LOLOL)

  • Next step is presumably 4K pocket cam for $499. If you extrapolate.

  • I can't see how anyone getting the BMPC should be worried about the added cost of storage. It's the cost of the best IQ we can get for the money. You're already saving thousands off the camera!!! I mean for the cost of a decent DLSR you get a great little cam that exceeds the codec of any video cam anywhere near it's price.

    I can really only think about the projects i'm gonna do with this camera. I live 5hrs from the Gulf Coast and tons of beautiful tropical beaches. Also just 3 hrs from the Atlantic coast with a different look altogether. Dense pine forests in Georgia. Oh excuse me I was daydreaming. :)

    The cost of SD cards will continue to come down IMO. Storage in general only comes down in price, so what's to worry about?

  • But the DSLR's will still only have 8bit color.

  • The camera is great, but just a little pepper to the discussion:

    Shotting RAW will be difficult these days due to superfast and superlarge SD cards are rare and expensive. They will come in a near future, but for now, Prores will be the way to go for most people. Making a feature film or a doc it will need lots of shooting and reshooting, so lots of storage in computer until the entire film is done.

    Also, there are thoughts around which says Prores is not 13 fstops DR and it is 11 fstops DR. It needs definetly a good comparison: RAW vs Prores and both vs Flaat or other flat picture styles in D5200 and T3i...

    Imagine if we use the Nikon D5200, or the Canon T3i with VAF-TXi filter to clean moire and aliasing, and use the correct picture profile / picture style in these cameras for each situation... So we will achieve 11 fstops DR when needed and great skin tones when needed... also good enough in low light.

    So, will the Pockect cam worth the expensive large amount of storage and more difficult workflow in post for the low budget indie filmmaker? Of course production facilities working for rich clients like publicity do not need to worry about money, but the indie filmmaker needs.

    Just thoughts...

  • @DailyFilmFix

    Agreed. I'm in Sth France for a month and taking lots of video - but decided to bring only my phone, for lightness.

    If I wanted anything serious, the BMD PCC is the choice. If I wanted to shoot broadcast but discreetly [in, say Tibet], this camera's the only choice.

  • @soundgh2

    Shaves a good old chuckle aint he

    Sure is. I want him on my debating team!

  • @zigizigi

    Maybe ask on forum for more than 50mb/s? Prof Sony uses 72mb/s h264, double for mpeg2, pro quality 4:2:2 I forget bit depth, 10+ is good.

    Maybe ask high frame rate recordable to HDMI.

  • Me thinks the 16:9 sensor pattern could maybe filter or Bayer and rest covered or monochrome, except non straight border on bottom, but then some extra pixels for sensing not for image. If rest is image and not covered too much, hackable to get, maybe shift brightness and color to compensate.

    Do you have original low compressed version to see details?

    Still, why such a large area to on sensor circuit, no manufacture would be putting professional codec circuit on a sensor, unless general processing they use big camera codec chip. Big area does not make sense on big sensor, on little yes. If circuit image circle overlap can heat and shift run speed unevenly. Frame buffer?.

    Still to hack for all it's got and uncompressed 50/60p 10-12 bit record through external recorder $500-1500, worth it, and noble compared to gh3. But maybe I leave, framerate and rez lame duck on special camera. Potential Ambarella camera hack give a lot. S16 Nikon J series such camera, do 4k video sensor. Think maybe ambarella based. Maybe Olympus Pen mini is but maybe too old to be Ambarella.

  • Yes, this camera would be awesome, I think, for short film and student work. And I would love to see someone shoot a feature with it.

    I agree that I would like to have footage in both their Pro Res and Raw to work with. DaVinci lite is free on the BM website.

  • I would like to see a real life comparison between the two film profiles it offers.

  • I'll probably just shoot on ProRes at the beginning. I don't see the need for raw. I own a few 64GB 95mb/s cards so I can just switch while I'm downloading. Doesn't too much different to me than when I shot with my HVX200 and P2 cards. Anyways I have two gh2 cameras for talking head if I don't want to be bogged down in file size and workflow, but for narrative stuff, gimme gimme gimme!!!!

  • I totally agree it is a no-brainer buy for a narrative short film and possibly a very low budget (below $100K) feature, but I'm probably not going to pre-order. I just finished showing my co-editor what I did on the film we're cutting, and we chatted about RAW workflow. I shot around 43 interviews and broll on two GH1s and an HMC150 for this film and we transcoded to Pro Res in FCPX (yes, X on this one) and the transcoded video is over 3TBs.

    Can you imagine RAW for a doc? I cut a Red single camera doc that clocked is at around 4TBs. We have two arrays for this one and it is choking us. And I used the LP reliability hack.

    I've watched some videos on RAW workflow and isn't video captured separately and then synced on import after color correction? I'm already doing a lot of syncing (which FCPX handled well, by the way).

    If you buy the BMPC and plan to shoot a doc with it, you're likely going to shoot Pro Res and be prepared to buy a crate of SD cards. And then buy a nice Drobo or a QNAP and start the daisy chain.

  • Ordered and happy :) I can't see too many downsides for $1000.

  • @bwhitz Right on digital sensors are soo clean.. John Brawley & the CEO of Blackmagic Grant Petty said that it's identical to the BMCC Camera image wise that's insane for $1,000. Can't wait to get my hands on this little tech marvel. Did you preorder yours yet, Preordered mines since yesterday.

  • Soo True the audience don't care about tech specs like S16, or S35

    +1

    It's true that they care about noise and grain to a certain extent, but these modern digital s16 sensors are as clean (or cleaner) than s35mm film. So it doesn't really matter anymore. That's really the main reason s35 was used... for it's grain and latitude characteristics... not really the DOF.

  • @soundgh2 Soo True the audience don't care about tech specs like S16, or S35.. give them what they want which is great story, composition and images. This little camera / beast is liberating soo many from the 8bit shackles. So many complaining about DOF.. S16 have enough DOF, and another plus of S16 is you will be able to focus much better less maintenance I love it my A Cam any day even when I have access to higner end cams like Alexa, C300, Red..

  • Specs are here : http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/blackmagiccinemacamera/techspecs

    My 286 from 1990 had 1MB of RAM and 40MB of hd storage.

  • @trevmar, agreed. The lossless compression ratio will vary depending on the image complexity, so they are probably quoting for the worse-than-average case (else they'd get flak later). Plus they have to factor the worst-case into card speed compatibility.

    Also I don't know what the exact size of the BMC 2.5k RAW frame is - anyone know?

  • @vicharris What adapters did they test them in, Vic? I can't find any adapters near that fast, and I have tried many..

    I did some maths - if a 128GB card lasts for only 30 mins then the data rate would be approx 71MBytes/sec