"D" Cam for Avengers: Age of Ultron - the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera!

IMDB's Technical Specifications page for the upcoming sequel to Marvel's the Avengers - Avengers: Age of Ultron (teaser trailer below) shows the usual list of very expensive Hollywood cameras - the Arri Alexa XT, the RED Epic, the Canon EOS C500 - but it also lists the $900 Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera shooting ProRes 4:2:2.

Here's the trailer:



The GoPro HD Hero 3 is also listed (probably as a POV cam).

It is terrific to see a camera from the world of micro-budget filmmaking used on a major Hollywood production - and it's also a testament to the quality of the images produced by the Pocket.

This camera has already been used for major TV advertising campaigns and on the set of the TNT series Dallas - but this is one of the first feature films.

Given this camera's price/performance ratio, it's likely that we'll see more BMPCCs on set in Hollywood going forward.

Hat tip to an anonymous poster over on 4chan for the heads up.

Metabones Canon EF to Pocket Cinema Camera Speed Booster now available for pre-order!

Finally - the $659 Metabones Canon EF to Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera Speed Booster Adapter is available for pre-order at Adorama!

Now, Canon shooters can transition to the $495 BMPCC with straight-out-of-the-box 10-bit ProRes and 12-bit RAW recording for a little over $1100 without buying new glass. I'd say now is the time to leave 8-bit h.264 behind.

Sadly, this adapter should not be used with the GH4 or other micro 4/3 cameras due to possible shutter damage. Hopefully, the vanilla Canon EF to micro 4/3 adapter is coming soon.

For a limited time, #1 Bestselling Pro Camcorder, Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera is just $495!

Today, Blackmagic Design announced a $500 off summer sale on the groundbreaking 12-bit RAW Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera. Until August 31st, 2014, the BMPCC is $495 at Amazon, Adorama, eBay, B&H and other authorized retailers.

At this price, the Pocket Cinema Camera becomes price competitive with entry level DSLRs and DSLMs - with a camera whose image quality is on par with cameras costing thousands of dollars more. Here's the Blackmagic press release:

Fremont, CA - July 16, 2014 - Blackmagic Design today announced an exciting Summer Special discount for the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera for the low price of US$495. With a normal recommended retail price of US$995, this Summer Special represents incredible value and is available for a limited time and will end on the 31st of August 2014. This Summer Special price is subject to limited availability, after which the price will return to the usual recommended retail price of US$995.

Since its introduction, the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera has been used in thousands of independent films, television commercials, music videos and anywhere cinematographers need a high quality digital film camera in a stealthy super small size.

The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera includes powerful features such as Super 16mm sized 1080HD sensor, super wide 13 stops of dynamic range, built in SD card recorder for Apple ProRes, lossless CinemaDNG RAW capture and active Micro Four Thirds lens mount, all in an attractive compact design.

This compact design allows the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera to be used in more situations where a larger camera would not be practical. It’s so small that it can be used in situations in the field where a larger camera could be dangerous. The camera’s film look even allows personal video to be shot with the style and creativity of a motion picture film.

Unlike regular video cameras Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera is a true digital cinema camera as it includes a super wide dynamic range image sensor with 13 stops of latitude, allowing feature film quality images.

A common mistake in the television industry is the assumption that more resolution means higher quality. Most cameras produce"video" looking images that suffer from highlight and black clipping that limits details. Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera's wide dynamic range eliminates this problem and provides film quality with dramatically more detail retained in black and whites in the image. Once the shoot is complete, DaVinci Resolve Lite 11 color correction and online editing software can be used to adjust images and take advantage of this extra range in the images.

To eliminate the damage that low bit depth and high compression video storage creates, the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera includes a easy to use SD card recorder that allows the full sensor dynamic range to be recorded in professional ProRes 422 (HQ) format, as well as 12 bit Log RAW lossless compressed CinemaDNG format. These files can be read by high end video software as they are all open standard.

“We have worked hard to set up this exciting special price to allow more people to afford a super compact digital cinema camera that they can personally own. However stock is limited at this lower price so customers who want to buy at this price will need to move fast,” said Grant Petty, CEO, Blackmagic Design. “We are extremely proud of the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera and we want to thank all the cinematographers who have send us examples of the work they have completed with this camera. We want to thank everyone for the wise and intelligent feedback they have given us and we hope this special offer is a great way to show our appreciation to the wonderful customers we have. For us, this is a dream come true!”

Now, at the $1700 price point, we have the GH4 competing with cameras such as the ~$3000+ 5D Mark III and ~$11,999 1 D C - while, at the low end, DSLR video shooters can buy a straight-out-of-the-box RAW camera for the price of a T3i.  This is bad news for the old-line DSLR manufacturers.

It seems to me that Canon and Nikon either have to step up to the plate and offer more high end features for the money - or, cede the video market to the newcomers and watch sales of mirror-box DSLRs slip even further.  If I owned stock in these companies, I would sell it.

If you've been eyeing the BMPCC, but didn't have quite enough money to buy one - now may be the time to pull the trigger. Please click on one of the links, pictures or display ads from our sponsors on this page to order. It won't cost you anything extra, but it will help to keep these blog posts coming. Thanks so much for supporting the Hybrid Camera Revolution!

Selling my Pocket Cinema Camera for a GH4 - Why?

I still love my Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera. I have found ways to overcome its handling limitations (with an inexpensive LCD shade, a loupe and a pistol grip).



I have learned to combine its expanded image and peaking features for razor sharp manual focus, its small form factor is convenient and visually appealing, I absolutely love 10-bit ProRes and, now that the GH3 is back over $1000, the BMPCC is the only sub-$1000 camera with a headphone jack. So, why am I selling it to buy a Panasonic GH4?

Because the BMPCC is the last camera I pick up when I leave the house. On the other hand, I take the GH3, with its 'inferior' 8-bit codecs, everywhere I go. It turns out that I need to be able to shoot a high quality still photo every once in a while - and an iPhone just doesn't cut it for me. So, I guess I chose the right title for this blog. I am a hybrid still/video camera shooter, still looking for the "revolutionary" camera that can do it all. Is the GH4 that camera? Hopefully, we'll see in a few weeks.

If you're looking for a 12-bit RAW cinema camera for $899 and you're in in the SF Bay Area, click on one of the pictures above or this link to see my Craigslist post. If you prefer a new BMPCC, GH3 or GH4, please click on one of the links above or the display ads below. It won't cost you anything extra, and it will help keep these posts coming. Thanks!

Sue Ellen Shoots with a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera - so should you!

Contrary to what I've written before about not wanting to glue a frame to the back of my Pocket Cinema Camera, I'm thinking seriously about buying the new Zacuto Z-Finder for the BMPCC.  The price and the feature set are definitely competitive.





So I'm watching Jens and Steve do their usual schtick in the Vimeo promo for the eyepiece, and what should pop up?  A picture of Linda Gray on the set of TNT's Dallas, holding a Marauder-mounted Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera up to her eye and looking through the new Z-Finder for BMPCC.

Linda Gray, DP?

Jens and Steve are terrific, but this will be the first time one of these Zacuto videos has actually sold me a product.  Thanks, Linda, for making cinematography look so good.

You can order your BMPCC Z-Finder here for $152 at Adorama.

And here's the Marauder for $736, also from Adorama.

To complete the ensemble, here's the BMPCC for $995 from Amazon.

Sony RX10 with Atomos ProRes Recorder - Pocket Cinema Camera Killer?

The biggest challenge with the new Sony DSC-RX10 still/video hybrid camera for serious video projects has been its relatively low bitrate AVCHD codec. Despite this limitation, with a good grade, this camera can produce decent results (see Andrew Reid's RX10 test video, Run and Gun).

But what if you could combine the RX10's downscaling algorithms with a decent codec?  Last night, Atomos posted this tutorial on how to use their Ninja 2 external monitor/recorder with the RX10:



The Atomos Ninja 2 gives the RX10 the ability to record 233mbps ProRes 422, the same codec available on the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera when it was first released.

This codec takes up less space on cards and drives than RAW, and some shooters prefer it as a good compromise between the limitations of 8 bit and the complexity of dealing with RAW.

If you're planning to buy the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera for ProRes only, don't need a lens faster than f2.8 or longer than 200mm, and don't want to deal with RAW, you might want to look at the $1298 RX10 plus a $675 Ninja 2 instead (and don't forget the $6.99 micro-HDMI to HDMI Cable).

Add the fact that the RX10 is a 20.2MP still camera; has a bright OLED viewfinder; a great de-clicked Zeiss constant f2.8, an 8x power zoom; a built-in ND filter; 1080/60p; usable onboard sound plus audio level meters (not to mention little niceties such as a recording time remaining indicator, the ability to delete files in camera and a battery that lasts more than a few minutes) - all features the Blackmagic lacks - and buying a finicky $995 BMPCC plus some kind of viewfinder or LCD shade, an expensive constant f2.8 lens, a superfast SanDisk Extreme Pro card, extra batteries and a screw on ND filter just to shoot gradeable ProRes 422 doesn't make a lot of sense.

If you're a low budget RAW shooter (or want to be), the BMPCC continues to be the absolute best straight out-of-the-box solution.

ProRes shooters, however, now have another, very usable, option.  I'll say it again, it's a great time to be a hybrid photographer/filmmaker!

As usual, if anything here has helped you reach a buying decision, please click on one of the links above or the display ads below to order your RX10, Ninja 2 or BMPCC.

If you don't need a camera or external recorder right now, please shop with our other sponsors, Adorama, Amazon, BorrowLenses, CoolLCD, DigitalRev, uBid, Vimeo, the the Warner Brothers Shop and others whose display ads you see in the margins.  It won't cost you anything extra, and it will help to keep these blog posts coming.  Thanks so much!

A Whole New Camera - Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera Upgrade to CinemaDNG RAW!

Yesterday, Blackmagic set the filmmaking community on its ear (again!) with the announcement of the firmware v1.5 RAW upgrade to the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera.

With the addition of lossless CinemaDNG RAW, the BMPCC is now the least expensive unhacked 12-bit RAW solution in the marketplace, and a tremendous value for money at $995.

There are already some impressive examples of RAW footage, like this one from Ron Stratton on Vimeo Plus:



First raw video from Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera
I guess it's time to pick up a few $127 Sandisk Extreme Pro 64GB cards and start shooting RAW. 
Or, for about the same price as 4 of the Sandisk cards, a $328 Blackmagic HyperDeck Shuttle and a $200 ADATA 256 GB SSD (Adata offers more GB per $ than the other brands on the Blackmagic approved list.

I shoot ProRes with an ADATA 64GB SDXC card - it's a rock solid performer with no dropped frames. ProRes, we hardly knew ye.