info from bm event l.a.

[ryan brown]

Hey dudes, just got to the event and went straight to the cam section to ask the important qurstions.

1. When is the pocket camera shipping. Answer: over the next 3-4 days a handful will be going out. Over the next 2-3 weeks it should ramp up and people will be getting theirs.

2. When is the 4k camera shipping, and whats the status. Answer: its still going through tweaks and tests, workimg out the kinks. Best case scenario in this reps eyes, septempber people will start to see them making there way into peoples hands. They have a beta model here, but they will not be showing 4k footage at this event. This beta cam is functional, but iso is locked at 400 and its essentially a basic, locked off version of the final camera. Target iso will be 800, but theyve run into some probs hitting it as of now and are still working on it.

[k0bayashi]

Thanks for the info Ryan.

1. As expected.

2. I guess at this point without a finished camera, it's pointless to keep asking the reps about 4K SDI out and other bits. But if you hear something more concrete on the inner workings of the 4K - especially the shooting modes (1080p) and SDI out - keep us in the loop.

Much appreciated mate.

[Andrew Reid]

4K cam - Are they still sampling the sensor, or are they further along?

[Pultzar2]

Too bad about the 4K camera. I was hoping to use one this summer.

[Owenjdavies]

Thanks for the info Ryan.

1. As expected.

2. I guess at this point without a finished camera, it's pointless to keep asking the reps about 4K SDI out and other bits. But if you hear something more concrete on the inner workings of the 4K - especially the shooting modes (1080p) and SDI out - keep us in the loop.

Much appreciated mate.

Yes, thanks Ryan. Early reports are confusing and contradictory. Anything else you can provide later on will be much appreciated.

[Peter J. DeCrescenzo]

Yes, thanks Ryan. Early reports are confusing and contradictory. Anything else you can provide later on will be much appreciated.

Ditto: Thanks Ryan!

If possible please ask more than one BMD rep each question. We can average-out the answers afterwards! :-)

[jambredz]

Ditto: Thanks Ryan!

If possible please ask more than one BMD rep each question. We can average-out the answers afterwards! :-)

lol

[Lorenzo Straight]

As expected. I'm not disappointed at all, knowing how things go in the camera manufacturing business. Problems will come up, but they get solved eventually.

[HistoryMaker]

I want the 4k camera and will still get one when it's readily available but I'm glad I took the plunge a month or so ago and got my BMCC. I'm 60% through a feature already and working. I have high hopes but I need to work now. Props to those who are fine with being on a waiting list.

[Ralph B]

REPORT from the SHOW

I just got back from the Blackmagic show in LA. Here's my report.

The POCKET CAMERA
With all due respect to John Brawley, the footage that's been posted does not due justice to this camera. It's fantastic! A true high end picture in a minuscule body. The 13 stops of latitude is for real, but exactly what that means, you have to see with your own eyes. The ballroom was very dimly lit. The cameras were set up facing a small, brightly lit set with a pretty girl sitting in a chair. The difference in brightness between the set and the room was enormous. This picture, taken with a GH2, gives you an idea.



And this is how our beautiful lady looked when the GH2 was set to properly expose the people in the room.



But in the pocket camera, that's not how she looked - she was perfectly exposed with absolutely nothing blown out. When I panned the camera around to look into the room, every person was also perfectly exposed and you could clearly see detail in the darkest shadows. And there was no noise! Amazing! Unfortunately, there's no way for me to show you that.

Of course, this was with the camera set to Film mode. Not everybody wants to shoot flat all the time. Sometimes you want to shoot for a finished look in-camera. I changed to to Video mode, which is rec 709. Here's what that looked like.



You can see this is a very accurate reproduction of what's really there. Don't be concerned about the color shift on the Pocket camera's monitor - I was off to an angle.

FOCUS: Press the focus button once, and the auto focus square appears in the center. The lens slowly focuses, and then the square disappears. So, this is a push-to-auto-focus function. It's not continuous auto-focus. It took at least 5 seconds for the lens to focus, but at least it was a smooth rack. I'm not sure how useful this will be, but it's nice to have the option.
Press the focus button twice, and peaking appears, in green lines. I found the peaking to be excellent and was consistantly able to nail focus.

ZEBRA works as you would expect it to.

The MENU system is a model of elegance and simplicity. I told the Blackmagic employee that I wish I had some questions for him, but I didn't because the menu is so self-explanatory.

LENS: They had a Lumix 7-14mm on the camera.

The camera is warm to the touch, but not uncomfortably so.

The only real deficiancy is the lack of audio level meters. But, everybody knows about that.




The 4K CAMERA
If the Pocket camera is warm to the touch, the 4K camera is positively hot! I mean it. You would not want to hand hold this camera for very long. Now I know why Blackmagic does not use higher frame rates - the camera would melt!

Heat issues aside, the 4K camera put out a magnificent picture. I don't think people who pre-ordered it are going to be disappointed.It's clean and exquisitely fine detailed. They had it hooked up to a 4K monitor. One thing I'll say about shooting 4K is you have to be extra careful about your focus. If you're off by even a hair, you lose all the benefit of 4K, for your picture will have no more detail than HD. I found the peaking worked pretty good, but there were times when I thought I had found focus with the peaking, but when I looked on the big monitor, I was a little off. I played with it some more and got better at it. A word to the wise - have respect for all those pixels.

LENS: They had a Canon 24-105mm on the camera.

Here's the 4K camera in action:

[zebratape]

Awesome stuff Ralph, thanks!!

[Philip Lipetz]

Thanks Ralph. Your report is a bright light in the two show threads.

[noam]

Hey dudes, just got to the event and went straight to the cam section to ask the important qurstions.

1. When is the pocket camera shipping. Answer: over the next 3-4 days a handful will be going out. Over the next 2-3 weeks it should ramp up and people will be getting theirs.

2. When is the 4k camera shipping, and whats the status. Answer: its still going through tweaks and tests, workimg out the kinks. Best case scenario in this reps eyes, septempber people will start to see them making there way into peoples hands. They have a beta model here, but they will not be showing 4k footage at this event. This beta cam is functional, but iso is locked at 400 and its essentially a basic, locked off version of the final camera. Target iso will be 800, but theyve run into some probs hitting it as of now and are still working on it.

I was told basically the same thing, although I spoke to two different reps and they did have slightly different responses. All in all seems like we're pretty close - at least as far as the pocket cam.

Did a write up on my blog for those interested - noamkroll.com

[Andrew Gupta]

Ralph B -- thanks for that report.

That Panasonic lens is one of the slower focusing MFT lenses -- I think. Hopefully one of those Olympus "MSC" designated lenses will focus faster.

[wyatt]

I want the 4k camera and will still get one when it's readily available but I'm glad I took the plunge a month or so ago and got my BMCC. I'm 60% through a feature already and working. I have high hopes but I need to work now. Props to those who are fine with being on a waiting list.

Agree. Glad I bought when I did.