First footage from new URSA Mini 4K!

Looks like the shooters who make up "The Dreamers", a wedding video production house in the Netherlands, are the first customers to take delivery of a couple of $2995 4K Blackmagic URSA Minis (plus accompanying $1495 Blackmagic viewfinders) - and they've been good enough to take the camera out on a couple of wedding shoots and share the results.

They shot the first wedding in 10-bit 4:2:2 ProRes HQ at 1080/60p rather than 4K, but I have to say that it looks pretty good - except for the moire on the groom's jacket at 1:10.



The second wedding was shot in 3840x2160 Ultra High Definition, again in ProRes.

This video has been password protected as private, but you can still see it in the URSA group I moderate over on Vimeo:

A Styled Shoot with the Ursa Mini 4K (in UHD)

This one looks a lot cleaner. If you have a Vimeo Plus or Pro account, you can download it and see for yourself (if you don't, you can sign up for a Pro account here).

The best news, however, is ergonomic.  After a couple of generations of Blackmagic cameras that have either looked like toasters or cellphones or weighed too much to carry, the Dreamers say "[The Mini] is incredibly well designed -- everything is exactly where you expect it to be..." (hat tip to nofilmschool.com for the quote).

At $2995 body-only, this camera is a pretty amazing value for the money.  For those who can't afford the extra $2000 for the 4.6K version, this is going to be a great, 10-bit entry-level cinema camera.

Blackmagic is clearly going to have to drop the price of the vanilla $2995 Production Camera 4K when URSA Mini 4K starts shipping in volume.

"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.

Blackmagic URSA in stock at Adorama - hands-on video!

Blackmagic URSA EF - now in stock at Adorama! (click on the image to order)

Ok - not only are we starting to see early footage, it looks like retailers are starting to get them in stock. Here's the announcement and hands-on video from Adorama TV:




My guess is that, as with most Blackmagic rollouts, this first shipment will be limited. If you want this camera, you should order it soon.

Blackmagic Firmware Update 1.9.5 Brings In-Camera Formatting to the 4K Camera - Pocket & Cinema Cams Soon?

This morning, Blackmagic Design rolled out yet another firmware update in the 1.9 series (any bets on when they roll over to 1.10?).  This update fixes a long-standing problem with all of the first generation Blackmagic Cameras - the inability to format media in-camera:

New Camera 1.9.5 update!  Get in camera SSD formatting for Blackmagic Production Camera 4K! Download now!
— Blackmagic Design (@Blackmagic_News) September 5, 2014

You can download it here.

This summer has been terrific for early Blackmagic Camera owners who bought these cameras "on faith", hoping that the company would, over time, fix their shortcomings. Kudos to Blackmagic Design for rewarding that faith.

With the earlier additions of audio meters, histograms and SD/SSD time remaining, Blackmagic dealt with just about every challenge that could be addressed in software. Now, with the addition of in-camera formatting, Production Camera shooters will be free to buy drives and format them in the camera rather than bringing them to their workstations or dragging their laptops and external drives into the field.

This makes the $500 off sale on the 4K Production Camera even more attractive. If you've been waiting for the Production Camera to become even more usable in the field, this may be the time to pull the trigger. If so, please click on one of the links or displays in this post. It won't cost you anything extra and it will help keep these posts coming. Thanks for your support of the revolution.

All of that said, I really want this feature for my Pocket Cam - and I'm sure BMCC owners feel the same way. Faster, please Blackmagic!

The best 4K camera deal is now even better - $500 off list price for the Blackmagic Production Camera!

Just yesterday, we posted a link to a $100 off deal on the 4K Production Camera. Well, the folks at Blackmagic Design have one-upped the discounters and, for a limited time, are offering the BMPC for $2495 at Amazon and Adorama.

$2495 is the bundle price at Adorama - you can get it either with:

• A free wireless mic;
• Cinema Camera Handles, a Switronix Powerbase 70 Battery Pack & Charger and Sony Vegas Pro 12;
• A Bescor Dual 70-LED Light Package with Battery & Charger and Sony Vegas Pro 12; or
• A Wooden Camera Mini Baseplate, NATO Handle Kit with Cheese Handle and Sony Vegas Pro 12.

Given how quickly the Pocket Cinema Camera disappeared from stock during its $500 off sale a few weeks ago, if you've been considering the Production Camera, you may want to pull the trigger on this deal soon!

Best 4K Camera Deal - $100 off list price for a new Blackmagic Production Camera

Here's a great deal on a Super 35mm camera with a global shutter that doesn't need a paid firmware upgrade (e.g., Arri Amira) or a hack (e.g., Sony F5) to record 4K - the Blackmagic Production Camera.

With the addition of RAW recording, histogram, audio meters, and time-to-go in the last few (free) updates, this camera has come into its own. You can get one right now from Top-Rated 100% eBay seller AMG Studios in Ohio for just $2895 - $100 below list.

Only a couple are left at this price, so if you want one, you may want to pull the trigger now (and, if they're sold out, you can still get one by clicking on one of our sponsors' display ads below).  Thanks for helping to keep the posts coming.

Blackmagic update 1.9.3 adds histogram, audio meter, time-to-go - huge usability improvement for BMPCC & BMCC!

Finally, over two years after the introduction of the Blackmagic Cinema Camera at NAB 2012 - and over a year after the introduction of the Pocket Cinema Camera in April 2013 - Blackmagic Design adds basic camera features to the amazing images produced by these cameras. As a business strategy, this makes sense. Early adopters have been willing to guess at audio levels and how much time they had left to shoot, while producing stunning RAW and ProRes images. And revenue generated by sales to early buyers has provided Blackmagic with the time and resources required to fix the cameras' firmware.

Speaking as an early adopter, this has been more than a little frustrating - but now that these basic omissions have been remedied, it will be difficult to stay peeved.

That said, these cameras are still battery hogs - and the BMCC's black sun issue has not been resolved - but Blackmagic owners are a lot happier today than they were yesterday.

Here are the new features provided by the update:

What's new in Blackmagic Camera Utility 1.9.3 

Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 

Add histogram, time remaining and audio level indicators.

Use Up and Down to reveal and hide the meters while Left and Right will adjust the aperture of your active MFT lens. 

Fixed bug where in-camera playback may sometimes drop frames.

Blackmagic Cinema Camera

Add histogram, time remaining and audio level indicators.

Now that my Pocket Cinema Camera is now almost as usable as a real camera - perhaps I'll use it more :)

If usability challenges have kept you from buying a BMCC or BMPCC, now may be the time to jump in. They are still the only straight out-of-the-box RAW video cameras below $2000.

First "4K"/60p footage from the Blackmagic Ursa!

Today, Pro cinematographer and Blackmagic tester John Brawley posted the first UHD/60p footage we've seen from the Ursa PL on his blog. I saw this camera at NAB and it is physically gorgeous - with a huge, bright screen, sound meters you can see from across the room and lots of proper SDI outputs. And from the looks of John's footage, the image quality doesn't disappoint, even at ISO 400 with a T3.7 lens:



At $5995 for the EF mount version and $6495 for PL mount, this camera seems to address many of the Blackmagic Production Camera 4K's limitations (with the exception of the "black sun" problem) at a price point that significantly undercuts 4K cameras from RED, Sony and Canon that cost a lot more.

If Blackmagic were to add DCI standard 12-bit 4K (4096x2160) 4:4:4 RAW to this camera (instead of UHD), and fix the darned black sun, they'd sell a whole lot more of them in Hollywood. Maybe at next year's NAB.

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.

Blackmagic Design announces audio meters, time-to-go & histogram for the Production Camera 4K!

Finally! Today, Blackmagic Design announced the release of firmware update 1.9 for the Production Camera 4K, delivering long-awaited features such as audio meters, SSD record time remaining and a histogram - all in a semi-transparent "heads up display" at the bottom of the screen.

This update was important enough to Blackmagic Design that CEO Grant Petty shot a hands-on video to showcase the new features: http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/support/video/1446

Sadly, this update is not yet available for long-suffering Blackmagic Cinema Camera owners or for the entry-level Pocket Cinema Camera, but Blackmagic assures us that this upgrade will roll out for the other cameras in the Blackmagic line over the next few weeks.

Here's the press release:

Blackmagic Design announces new “heads up display” for Blackmagic Production Camera 4K

Fremont, CA - July 24, 2014 - Blackmagic Design today announced the immediate availability of Camera 1.9 software which includes new “heads up display” on screen metering that provides customers with histogram, peak audio meters and recording time remaining for the Blackmagic Production Camera 4K.

Camera 1.9 update is available now free of charge from the Blackmagic Design website.

Using these additional displays for the Blackmagic Production Camera 4K means that customers can easily and quickly check important camera settings such as exposure, audio level and the remaining space on their recording disk.

Using the histogram scope, customers can now easily and rapidly set exposure in a shot as the histogram shows the the distribution of luminance in their images and if highlights or shadows are being clipped. Images with clipped highlights or shadows make it much harder to color grade the shots in post production, so having the histogram feature helps DOP’s shoot with confidence. The histogram scope is real time so highlights and shadows can be adjusted interactively with the lens setting, ensuring images are not clipped and maximum detail in tonal ranges is preserved, critically important for allowing colorists to create amazing grading effects in post production using the full contrast range of the camera.

Camera 1.9 software update also includes a new audio metering with peak hold feature to allow setting audio levels for Channels 1 and 2 when using the built in microphone as well as externally connected audio sources. The audio meters make it fast to view audio levels and adjust camera audio gain so that audio is not clipped or distorted.

The new heads up display also includes a recording time remaining indicator that shows remaining space on the recording disk. The time remaining indicator is automatically re-calibrated to ensure an accurate time remaining value if the either the frame rate or codec are changed, and displays red when the disk is getting full.

This update is available to our Blackmagic Production Camera 4K customers free of charge. Customers can download this update now and install it onto their camera from either Mac or Windows computers using a simple USB cable connection to the camera. Once the update is complete, customers can view the new on screen menus by simply swiping their finger up from the bottom of the capacitative touch screen.

This new heads up display will be released for other models of Blackmagic Design cameras over the coming weeks, so an even wider range of Blackmagic Design camera customers can get the benefits of this new display.

“We are extremely excited that we have been able to provide yet another release for our camera customers ,” said Grant Petty, CEO of Blackmagic Design. “Having this new heads up display with on screen scopes will enable film makers to shoot the most amazing images with confidence that they will get incredible results in post production!”

Another hat tip to Blackmagic Design for making these amazingly capable and affordable cameras more usable - but it would have been nice to have these basic features built-in when they were shipped.

That said, with these new updates, it may be time to take a fresh look at Blackmagic Cameras. The $2995 Production Camera 4K is still the least expensive UHD Super 35mm RAW camera on the market with a "no-jello" global shutter and the Pocket Cinema Camera is now an unbelievable bargain at $495

New Blackmagic Firmware Update 1.8.2 - Record 230 min of 1080p ProRes on a 64GB SD or SSD!

Today, Blackmagic Design announced firmware update 1.8.2 for all of its cinema cameras - the $495 (on sale, as of this post) Pocket Cinema Camera, the $1995 Cinema Camera and the $2995 4K (UHD) Production Camera. This update adds three easy-to-edit Apple ProRes file formats to the menus for these cameras - ProRes 422, ProRes 422 Lite and ProRes 422 Proxy.

With the increased compression of these formats, shooters can now record more video on their existing cards and drives - or, buy less expensive SDs and SSDs.

Here are ProRes 1080p data rates at several frame rates of interest (from Apple):

23.98 fps; ProRes HQ is 176 Mbps, ProRes is 117 Mbps, ProRes LT is 82 Mbps and ProRes Proxy is 36 Mbps.

25 fps; ProRes HQ is 184 Mbps, ProRes is 122 Mbps, ProRes LT is 85 Mbps and ProRes Proxy is 38 Mbps.

29.97 fps; ProRes HQ is 220 Mbps, ProRes is 147 Mbps, ProRes LT is 102 Mbps and ProRes Proxy is 45 Mbps.

Here is the Blackmagic press release:

Fremont, CA - July 17, 2014 - Blackmagic Design today announced announced the immediate availability of Camera 1.8.2 software which adds three new Apple ProRes™ file formats for the Blackmagic Cinema Camera, Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera and Blackmagic Production Camera 4K. Camera 1.8.2 update is available now free of charge from the Blackmagic Design website.

Blackmagic Design camera customers have always been able to record in both CinemaDNG RAW or compressed ProRes 422 HQ formats, however now this new software update adds three additional Apple ProRes™ file formats, ProRes 422, ProRes 422 LT and ProRes 422 Proxy. This means customers using Blackmagic Design cameras will be able to get significantly smaller video file sizes allowing much longer recording durations on the same media card, all while preserving full frame 10-bit 4:2:2 quality.

Because this update is available to our camera customers free of charge, they simply need to download it, and install the update from their Mac or Windows machine using a simple USB cable connection to the camera. Once the update is complete, customers will see these new formats available in the camera menus.

Because this update reduces the data rate of recording, it means customers can now choose lower cost SSD or SD cards while still recording high quality video in SD, HD and Ultra HD resolutions. Using ProRes 422 Proxy it is possible to record 230 minutes of 1080HD video on a single 64GB SD drive. Selecting the type of ProRes format for recording can be set via the on screen menus and all ProRes types can be played back instantly.

The Apple ProRes 422 formats are designed specifically for multi-stream non linear editing, minimal generation loss and fast export, making them very popular video file formats for post production and broadcast. All ProRes files recorded with Blackmagic Cinema Cameras and Blackmagic Production Camera 4K can be opened directly in DaVinci Resolve 11 and Apple Final Cut Pro X™ for immediate color correction, editing and finishing.

“We are extremely excited to release this next update for our camera customers ,” said Grant Petty, CEO of Blackmagic Design. “With the addition of the 3 new ProRes formats, cinematographers can now record for longer on low cost SSD’s and SD cards without sacrificing image quality, as they are still recording in full 10 bit 4:2:2 quality. Because our cameras feature a software centric design, we are very excited to be able to update our cameras with more and more features over time and make the cameras better and better! And there is more to come!”

Availability and Price Camera 1.8.2 is available now for download from the Blackmagic Design web site free of charge for all Blackmagic Cinema Camera, Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera and Blackmagic Production Camera 4K customers.

With this recent spate of software upgrades and price cuts, Blackmagic Design is making a credible attempt to reclaim the spotlight - by fixing some of the longstanding challenges with its cameras and improving its price position in the marketplace. Let's hope the next software release adds some of the other features that shooters have been clamoring for - such as a solution to the BMCC's black spot challenge, in-camera clip deletion and in-camera card/drive formatting.

One thing's for sure, my BMPCC just became a whole lot more usable - for free. Hat tip to Blackmagic for providing four flavors of 10-bit 4:2:2 video in a $495 camera - while Canon is still charging $5000 for 8-bit 4:2:0.

As usual, if anything here has helped you to make a buying decision, please click on one of the links above or the displays below. Even if you're not in the market for a cinema camera, please patronize our sponsors in the margins - it won't cost you anything extra, and it will help keep these posts coming. And to stay on top of the latest cinema and video camera news, deals and tips, please follow HCR on Blogger, on YouTube, on Google+ and on Twitter. Thanks so much for your support of the Hybrid Camera Revolution!

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!

Which is better for Chromakey - the 4K compressed Panasonic GH4 or the 2.5K RAW Blackmagic Cinema Camera?

Here's a very nicely done video from Paul Shillito at Video-Alchemy, who gives us an in-depth discussion of keying with 10-bit ProRes 422 and uncompressed RAW video from the 2.5K Blackmagic Cinema Camera (BMCC)  - and then compares the results to an 8-bit 4:2:0 compressed video key from the 4K Panasonic GH4.

In this 15:25 video, Paul does a 9 minute, detailed walk through of the setup - and then about 6 minutes of side-by-side conclusions. If you'd like to cut straight to the bottom line, please click here.

It would be reasonable to expect that the 8-bit compressed video would not hold up well to the key as uncompressed RAW - but let's take a look at the video and see:




So - to my eyes at least, compressed 4K looks clean enough for a production quality key. This should be interesting to two groups of people. First, those who have already bought their GH4s, and who have had concerns that they'll need to buy an external 10-bit recorder to get a clean key. Those folks can relax - internally recorded 4K works just fine.

The second group is those who have hesitated before buying the GH4 because they were concerned about this issue. Those folks can relax too - and go ahead and order their cameras.  The best price for an in-stock GH4 right now is $1793.95 at Cameta via eBay.

OFFICIAL: Blackmagic Design Releases Camera Utility 1.8!

After yesterday's false start, Blackmagic Design has posted the official version 1.8 of the Blackmagic Camera Utility here for US users and here for UK users.  Here's what's new:

Blackmagic Production Camera 4K

• Updated user interface
• Losslessly compressed RAW DNG recording support
• Addresses an issue where pixel artefacts are seen in edges with strong highlights while shooting in 1080 mode
• Adds autofocus support for compatible EF lenses

Blackmagic Cinema Camera

• Updated user interface
• Adds autofocus support for compatible EF lenses Improved debayering when shooting to ProRes or DNxHD
• Improved focus peaking display
• Improved ISO handling when shooting at ISO 1600
• Improved general audio performance
• Iris setting is retained when switching between camera recording and clip playback

Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera

• Updated user interface
• Improved performance when recording using internal microphones
• Improved instances where a grid-like pattern may occur in some flare highlights
• General improvements in autofocus with active MFT lenses
• Adds supports for stabilization in MFT lenses without physical O.I.S switches
• Improved support for Sigma MFT lenses
• Improved support for Lumix 12-42mm PZ lens
• Improved support for Olympus 60mm f/2.8 MFT lens
• Iris setting is retained when switching between camera recording and clip playback

Blackmagic Studio Camera

• Improved phantom power compatibility
• Addresses an issue with interlaced video being output as progressive video

Get the full run down in this video from Blackmagic Design CEO Grant Petty.

The big news, of course, is that the Blackmagic "4K" Production Camera now records to Cinema DNG RAW. The improvements for the other cameras in the line are nice, but not as significant. It would have been a real win for Blackmagic if they had been able to fix the BMCC's black dot problem, for example.

If you want to shoot UHD and want 12-bit color depth and the flexibility and gradeability of RAW in post, the Blackmagic Design 4K Production Camera ($2995 with free Sony UWPV1 Lavalier Microphone, Bodypack Transmitter & Portable RX Wireless System at Adorama) is pretty much the only game in town below $10,000. If anything here has helped you to make a purchase decision, please support our sponsors by clicking on the links or pictures above or the display ads below and in the margins. It won't cost you anything extra, and it will help to keep these posts coming. Thanks so much for your support!

Off to update my BMPCC to see how well these updates work!

Blackmagic Studio HD Camera Now Shipping for $1995 from Adorama!

I saw Blackmagic CEO Grant Petty demoing the new Blackmagic Studio Camera at NAB - and it produced fabulous images in a studio setting (which is what it is for). For low budget web, cable and broadcast production, this camera is an incredible value for the money. With a couple of these cameras lenses, mics and a switcher you'll have the basics of a live production setup for around $10,000 - a fraction of the cost of a single traditional broadcast camera, such as the $87.5K Sony HCD 2000 Studio Camera.

It is interesting that Blackmagic has been able to start shipping the Studio Camera so soon after NAB. This augurs well for an early (or, at least, on time) ship date for the Blackmagic Ursa - which I am much more interested in, as an amateur cinematographer.

It will also be interesting to see whether prices on traditional cameras start coming down in reaction to this camera. The big manufacturers in this market have already seen their profits in this market segment decline over the past few years. This will probably drive a few of them out of this line of business.

If anything here has helped you to make a buying decision, please click on one of the links above or the display ad below to order your Studio Camera. It won't cost you anything extra, and it will help to keep these blog posts coming. Thanks!

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!