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2K BlackMagic Pocket Cinema Camera, active m43, $995
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  • Not sure how you check your Patona batteries, most knock-offs are not as advertised, but I do have genuine Nikon 1020's and the listed charge times are 2-4 hours. I believe the BMD supplied battery is also pretty legit, it takes about 1.5-2 hours to charge, which is close to the advertised one-hour and fifteen minutes charge time if charged in the camera.

    I am pretty sure the charger's also a genuine charger, but it could be defective. I'll check with the distributor that I bought it from.

    Thanks for testing your charge time.

    @kazuo

    I've seen my knock around Sigma 18-35 footage on a 30ft screen (DI/finishing bay, Barco), that's not exactly theatrical but there it looked pretty damned sharp without any sharpening applied. I think next week I'll be able to go over to the ArcLight with a DCP of footage to take a look at it.

    I think there's ample amounts of detail, but it's not "sharp" or edgy. Again, I'm probably not making much sense here.

  • Wasn't it previously reported (maybe even in this thread) the BMPCC resolved more detail than a Driftwood hacked GH2? I don't understand these competing sharp and soft reports. Your's sounds more consistent with what I'd expect, @kholi, given the BMPCC sensor is a discrete 1080 with no oversampling.

    Is this maybe "soft" based on working with other cameras, like the BMCC 2.5k? David Slade had similar comments for the Alexa on Hannibal because they were shooting ProRes and not RAW, so it was 1080P. You can tell the difference between the episodes he was directing and the rest of the series based on look and lighting style and his liberal use of Nik Sharpener.

  • @BurnetRhoades

    Actually, yes, I think it's because the 2.5K RAW is rather sharp when paired with the same lens. As well, the RAW from the 2.5K is sharper. Not offensive at all, I really like it on that camera as well, but noticed that the Pocket Camera had a softer overall look.

    I believe the new debayer firmware update will turn out sharper images on both cameras, which is kinda scary because of the moire on the 2.5K. Pocket Camera's moire's a lot more tolerable, though.

    Here's a folder on google drive with three tiffs, taken from resolve. Zero sharpness applied, 800ISO, just a white balance adjustment after a LUT I'm building, Sigma 18-35 @ 2.0 and this isn't the sharpest the lens gets. Will explain later, but it can definitely net a bit more sharpness at 2.0.

    https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B8-f-XPnmOp6WGVVdGo1d2ZKelk&usp=sharing

    Sorry for the mundane examples.

  • Adrian Ford playing "By Way Of Cuba" at the Bon Marche Studio @ UTS - filmed on a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera (BMPCC) Using a Carl Zeiss 9.5mm Super Speed Mk I on Thursday 19th September 2013

    Rough grade in Resolve then rendered to 720P in Vegas Pro 11

  • @kholi, if he's using Resolve 9 then that's accurate about sharpening starting at 50, but in Resolve 10 it starts at zero (in the RAW tab) so 47 would be fairly pronounced. Not necessarily off the charts, though. Since 10 just came out, he probably was using 9 I would imagine, but I figured it was worth mentioning.

  • @kholi, thanks for the clarification.

  • I think he's using the sharpness setting in the blur, mist, sharpness panel.

    The short was shot ProRes, so he couldn't use the debayer sharpness setting in the CinemaDNG raw tab, least not that I know of! xD

  • I bought two Patona batteries @nomad mentioned above including a Patona charger. The charger has no indicator and therefore I have to guess but I think it's about a little more than 1,5hrs for a complete charge.

  • @kholi Those 3 shots from the Pocket with Sigma 18-35 look very interesting. That was the combo I'm interested in, so thanks for posting those. Do you have any videos posted by chance of Pocket with Sigma 18-35? (I guess with this sensor its equivalent to using 27-52mm on GH2, which for me is great as I generally use a 28 and a 50 on my GH2.) So what do you think of this combo for narrative filmmaking? Thanks!

  • @matt_gh2

    So far I think it's a really great image. I've started to lose my nostalgia over film, but cinematic is important to me and I think the combination looks cinematic. The Sigma doesn't really have much character, you can get it to flare and the flares are purplish (which I like), but outside of that it's a very honest lens.

    I like the combo because it's providing a really good base to color, and in the event that you don't want to do that it still looks really good with just contrast, saturation, and white balance.

    Biggest things for some people might be the size and weight of the lens, and focus throw. If I were using an AC without a wireless that couldn't basically remap the focus to a longer throw along with hard stops, then it may not be ideal. If I'm shooting by myself, especially handheld, the focus throw is actually preferable to me.

    Won't work for everyone, but like you the range is perfect for me on the camera, and also on the 2.5K although I am pretty on about the prospect of SIgma releasing similar quality in a 24-70/2 stabilized zoom. The extra range never hurts!

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  • @kholi What about the SLR Magic glass on this camera? Sharp enough? Nice overall image? Good combo? Thanks!
    That Viewfactor cage looks really nice, btw.

  • The SLR Magic 25mm is really nice on the BMPCC, since it uses only the sharpest area of it. But to keep things easier to find, can we continue lens discussions on the other thread?

  • I love the cage. I really don't understand the use of wood and how it's somehow become associated with the BMD cameras as a handling surface. I look at them and all I can imagine is blisters.

  • @nomad Thanks for the input! You're absolutely right, we'll continue there then.

  • @kholi

    I know what you mean. Actually, film is the same: not razor sharp when you actually sit at the front row of the cinema and peep at the pixels.

    But when you projected BMPCC footage, did you see any aliasing? Stair stepping, jagged edges? Sounds like true progressive frames

  • @Kazuo

    You can see some aliasing for sure, and moire. It's not as big'a let down as the 2.5K when you run into aliasing/moire, that thing can be very depressing (I've been on Mosaic Engineering's rear-end about the filter, and it's close, really close), but it's there. Primarily on edges.

    However, it's likely that most people wouldn't notice and strangely enough, chroma noise reduction in Resolve still cleans the moire up leaving only the aliasing. It's not a perfect solution, but temporary and usable until Mosaic can dissect a Pocket Camera to deem whether or not it's worth an OLPF treatment.

    I think your comparison to film is about, perhaps S16 when projected. It's got an overall pleasant texture to it, but it's also very very detailed.

    @Flaaandeers

    I'll post over in the lens thread about the 25/0.95 and 12/1.6 -

  • Since there's no storage space duration counter, are you guys just taking a swag on how much is left and change cards based on that swag?

  • When you press play on the camera, it shows you the last clip that you recorded and the counter at the bottom tallies how much time you've run on your card.

    From there you just calculate how much space your card can hold and subtract.

    Also, the CARD FULL indicator blinks for the remaining like two minutes on your card, so you'll likely see it before you run out of space.

  • @DocoDocoMan: You do know that the audio in "By Way of Cuba" is digitally overloaded in many places, and clipping (apart from the obvious loud clicks, you can see the audio waveform in Vegas hitting the lines)? I don't get how with all this expensive equipment, we get elementary poor results, or why people are willing to post obviously flawed material. Or are we just supposed to admire video dynamic range?

  • @BurnetRhoades

    I love wood for a handle. It's not a BMCC thing, it's an Aaton thing. Aaton have an awesome moudled handgrip they made for their cameras and I adapted one for my BMCC cameras. A lot of early images you might have seen were of my rig, so perhaps why you associate the camera with a wooden handgrip.

    The reason the Aaton handgrip was / is so popular is because it's more comfortable to hold for long periods of time than metal. When you hand's perspire as well, it tends to absorb it and not become slipery. In extremes of tempreture, the wood isn't going to be too hot to touch when the metal could be. Or freezing cold either. It's a natural material and having your hand on it all day does not cause blisters.

    Arri made a metal pistol grip for their cameras and I always saw Aaton handgrips on the Arri's, never the other way around.

    It's also why you'll see programable products made of wood that cost as much as the camera.... https://www.shootingmachine.net/products

    For operators, who spend a long time "interfacing" with the camera, anything that makes that easier and more intuitive will be appreciated.

    A lot of people assume wod is for the "hipsters" but actually, it's incredibly practical.

  • I've wanted a wooden handle for years now after playing with an S16 with a wooden handle on it, the difference and impact on operating is almost immediate. I suppose that newer companies are not aware? Not sure, but wooden handle's are great.

    Having it on the Viewfactor cage sort of makes it feel like holding a Hasseblad.

    Lastly, I think it takes like eight or ten hours or something to finish each wooden handle from VF, it's because they soak it in a specific oil. It feels amazing, I had to have two. xD

  • @johnbrawley

    I love wood for a handle. It's not a BMCC thing, it's an Aaton thing. Aaton have an awesome moudled handgrip they made for their cameras and I adapted one for my BMCC cameras. A lot of early images you might have seen were of my rig, so perhaps why you associate the camera with a wooden handgrip.

    Ah, I can't say that I ever noticed the wood in Aaton ads but that makes sense now, given your history with BMD and previous experience. The BMCC handlebars were the first time I'd seen anything like that and, yes, the price on the wood stuff is pretty ridonkulous. It seemed completely ornamental but I believe you.

    It seems intuitively less comfortable than a rubberized surface, which is all I've ever used. Metal doesn't sound appealing at all. Holding a rigged DSLR all day is sissy work compared to an Aaton or Arri so, yeah, metal sounds like it was an awful idea.

  • I have the wooden handgrips from Ergocine. Very nice for $675. http://ergocine.blogspot.com/p/price-list.html

  • @Kholi

    What mount/adapter combination in use with the Sigma 18-35? Or has the mount been modified?

    Have you used the BMPCC w/Sigma on a tripod without additional lens support?

    Thanks.