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Black Magic: Official $1,995 raw cinema camera topic, series 2
  • 1111 Replies sorted by
  • Jon2323Jon2323

    How come 1 hour raw 2.5k on the blackmagic is about 535gb, and 1hour 4k raw on the Red scarlet is about 128gb at 8:1. Is there any chance they may release a more manageable raw format?

    Is the blackmagic format basically 1:1?

  • bwhitzbwhitz

    @Jon2323

    Is the blackmagic format basically 1:1?

    Correct. The BMCC is actually less compressed than Red footage.

  • Nino_IlacquaNino_Ilacqua

    @bwhitz "I've kind of just stopped watching the reviews from the "popular" guys. It's clear that while they're not being "payed" by companies like canon, per se, they'll stop getting support if they were to show the BMCC in a better light than something like the C300. It's pretty clear when you watch a few of the reviews how they'll "talk-around" the areas where the BMCC is clearly beating canon's "cinema" cams..."

    Very well said Sir!

  • soundgh2soundgh2

    Interesting how day to day production managers are talking about this cam - storage etc - money talks - really, breaks or makes a format. interesting to see how it pans out as sat next to a very popular UK PM who has no idea what a BMC is lol I'll show him a pic ;p

  • bannedindvbannedindv

    Night Driving Footage in Vegas - unedited

    http://dankanesbmcc.blogspot.com/2012/10/unedited-car-mount-clip-from-vegas.html

  • rockroadpixrockroadpix

    @soundgh2 - it's a camera that is barely available. How would he know about it unless a DP/Director/Client requested it? Their job is to get/order what is required. DPs and Directors are the ones that know what is coming out or is barely out...

    @bannedindv - I have no idea what I am supposed to get from that footage except that it is underexposed. YEah, there's some latitude, but I would NEVER shoot like that.

  • peterdv_dot_competerdv_dot_com

    Just an FYI if you hadn't already seen it. No new news, but at least he's posting more frequently now. In general, communication is better than silence.

    Grant Petty, CEO of Blackmagic Design, today posted the following, very brief, 3rd status update about manufacturing difficulties with the Blackmagic Cinema Camera.

    Hi,

    I was going to do an update today, but I still have not quite got the latest info I need to update everyone accurately. However what I do know is there is a small amount of cameras shipping again, but its slow because some of the testing software needed to quality sensors before they ship to us was completed later than we expected. However things are starting to move. I hope to have more info next week.

    The supplier is quite upbeat though and expects a lot more sensors next week to ship so that is good.

    Sorry I cannot provide more accurate info, but I hope to get more details soon and then will update everyone.

    Grant

  • christianhubbardchristianhubbard

    Finally got around to watching philip blooms Ponte Tower Doc. Really unimpressed I must say. Lots of grain, didn't blow me away with detail. Any one else have similar reactions?

  • OedipaxOedipax

    @christianhubbard, I didn't think it was anything to write home about visually either. I think that's more down to the constraints of the filming location and the resources he had in terms of lighting, etc. There were other cameras that would've been better suited for that particular shoot - as Bloom acknowledges in his blog post about it. He also mentions a pro colorist will be doing a grade of the raw files at some point so maybe we'll see better results from that.

    I'm still very excited for this camera given the outdoor high-contrast tests I've seen on Vimeo. It won't be the best camera for everyone's workflow, but being able to really capture dynamic daylight/nature footage is a huge plus for me. And it should behave well indoors too so long as you actually light your scene.

  • bannedindvbannedindv

    8GB trimmed, ungraded LogFilm ProRes trimming of my night drive shoot.

    http://dankanesbmcc.blogspot.com/2012/10/trimmed-ungraded-prores-from-bmcc-night.html

    As to the people complaining about underexposure, uh yeah - there are moments when they aren't in the light. I didn't trim the upload. I wanted to show what it looks like in the dark and in reflected street light at night... Personally I'm happy with the parts we are going to be using...actually more than happy. I got paid more than a living wage to do this shoot, and I will continue to be hired because the people hiring me like the way I do things.

  • Brian202020Brian202020

    @christianhubbard

    A lot of people believe Phil either exposed his shot improperly and/or did a bad job grading. People were politely criticizing his work and he had a tantrum. People that are used to everyone thinking they are a god don't take constructive criticism too well I guess. From what I've read, exposing with the BMCC is a lot different than most cameras, so my guess is Phil didn't expose correctly and tried save as much as he could in post.

  • MovieArmadaMovieArmada

    In the end and after a lot of thinking I will actually wait for the ACTIVE MFT mount... if it comes. The camera looks amazing but in the end, I would struggle in the really wide shots because of my glass collection (I have the Olympus 9-18 lens on my wide end). So either I would have my GH2 by the hand and just set the aperture in the GH2, remove the lens an mount it on BMCC or to change all my glass to Manual would cost me alot. What are the best (and cheap) options for the MFT mount, for wide manual lens?

  • nomadnomad

    SLR magic is the widest.

    Why not keep both? Use the GH2 with Oly 9-18 when wide is needed and BMCC for the rest?

  • rockroadpixrockroadpix

    @bannedindv - sorry for my rather direct manner earlier in the thread. Politics and wine are strange bedfellows when carousing on the internets. IOW, Politics put me in a bad place and the wine loosened the tongue. Apologies.

  • bwhitzbwhitz

    A lot of people believe Phil either exposed his shot improperly and/or did a bad job grading. People were politely criticizing his work on BMCUSER and he had a tantrum.

    This is what it looked like to me. By far the worst BMCC footage yet. I wonder if it was intentional? I mean, his first landscape video looked great... and does anyone else notice how the C300 keeps on being subtly brought up? hmmm

  • Brian202020Brian202020

    @bwhitz

    It's possible, but I'm leaning towards a mistake that he won't confess up to. Have you seen Filippo Chiesa's latest footage? Best footage I think I've seen yet.

  • bwhitzbwhitz

    @Brian202020

    Yea, I just watched that video last night... downloaded and watched in 1080p and it looks amazing!!! The shutter-speed and/or motion looks weird in some of the daytime shots (might have been set higher for exposure, 45-degree maybe), but yea, overall this is probably the best I've seen on the BMCC. Well, of course John Brawley's stuff is great, but this is more of my style of shooting.

    The darker shots here are amazing!!! In contrast, PB's shoot looks like it was shot with an iphone or something. And I know he can do better (his first BMCC video), which is why I dare to say it was an intentional flub-up to subtlety promote the C300 again...

    I'm not calling him out, and I'm not treating it as fact, this is just what I think as of now...

  • AriaAria

    That BMC footage looks glorious. I can't believe that a camera like this is actually within reach. I have to say the Filippo Chiesa film does a much better job of showing what the BMC can do than the PB documentary. I think that was just too much of a stretch to use the BMC that way. That was clearly something the C300 was better suited for.

  • fixfix

    Phu.. A lot of conspiracy talk about PB's last shot. Do you guys really believe that he is trying to promote the c300 by intentional screw up the picture on the BMC? Please get serious, this I comedy :)

    The c300 is a hell of a camera . If I could effort one, I would buy one. You will get the film look with a 50mbit sec bitrate. With the BMC you will fill up those 3-5 Tera disks before you know it. yes the c300 do not have raw,12bit color, 2,5k res and so on... But you will get amazing pictures regardless. Btw the BMC camera is not cheap if you add post work and file size in the budget. Many will realize that painfully. I see people talking about selling their gh2 and get a BMC?! That is not a clever move. Keep the gh2, you will need it.

    As someone already mentioned. The RED camera have heavier compression. They even used 5:1 compression for the raw files on Prometheus to keep file size low. Reason was, they couldn't see any big difference between 3:1 and 5:1.. So why waste space. BMC raw is 1:1.  

  • itimjimitimjim

    @fix it costs to compress RAW, money and CPU. If we want to, we can use Cineform on import if you want to save space.

    Overall cost of ownership is definitely higher. But even recording ProRes 422HQ / DNxHD provides much more manageable options, and keeps costs down.

  • danyyyeldanyyyel

    @fix please stop this BS... Time and time again, I see people either either not mentioning or intentionally omit the log base 10 bit high quality prores/dnxhd compression mode of the BMC to dish the camera and make as if the workflow will be hell. You get 10 bit log base 220 mbit high quality intra frame codec that will be enough in 9 out of 10 times shooting.

    So please another tme you want to dish the camera find another subject. Blackmagic is a very smart company or perhaps I should say, a company that just does not want to screw its customers. Perhaps because I come from photography, I really cannot comprehend the dinosaur level of thinking of the video camera industry and its ussers. With my Nikon camera I can shoot at many level of jpeg compression or raw even tiff. With my D800 with different aspect ratio and crop size.

    Why can't it be the same it this retarded video world. Why not a 24/50/100/200 mbit camera that I can choose the bitrate as fit for the job I want. At least Blackmagic is giving its customers a choice depending on the quality they want. A very very good one and the best with the sensor if you want. What is the problem about choice!!!!!!!!!!!!! Another solution you can compress the files afterward in high quality cineform raw if you want to still use raw and much less disk space.

  • RRRRRRRR

    A lot of people still transcode their dslr footage before editing.. shooting native prores or dnxhd will save a LOT of time for them.

    I see very few people complain about the output from an alexa, even if all output formats consume a lot of disk space.

    c300 might have a very pleasant image, but it´s still a very expensive camera for what it does. It´s also quite silly to talk about disk space / prices and cost of post work in relation to a camera, which if you can afford it, sure as hell you´ll be able to afford a few hundred bucks for hard-drives (what is the price per project? Nothing in the big scheme of things) and either have both time and money to put into careful / powerful post work or record time-saving formats (prores/dnxhd).

  • fixfix

    @danyyyel With all respect. I don't see any BS in what I wrote. I agree that prores dnxhd is one way to go, but PB shot in raw.. So I guess that was the topic or am I wrong? If we are going to mention every aspect about everything every time we mention something, than this will be utterly boring forum. I believe most of the people at this forum knows that the BM have these options with prores and dnxhd.

    Did I ever say that the BM cam is not good? Stating that the c300 is a great camera do not kick the rest out of the window.. So please calm down. We will get a BM at my work, and I'm pleased to know that.. More options. And I do believe it's a great camera.. But making these ridicules statements about PM and he's c300 is BS. I respect people like PB and for what he does. Doer, not a talker. Giving alot to the comunety. Well actually a talker as well when I'm thinking about it :)

    @RRRR please don't drag the Alexa into this.. That's a very expensive equipment that only a handful of people can afford. Believe me, people who buy/rent an Alexa do not concern about disk space. It's a totally other ball game. In that matter it's not ridicules to discus hard-drives when it comes to the BM camera. The reason is a big user group which will consist of many amatures and hobbyist. I don't believe for a second that most users in here are using an all I (150mbit) patch for theyr gh2 as an all rounder.. And there are many pros in this forum I believe. File size do matter considering who's going to use this camera. That's why danyyel tell me to mention prores.. Most guys in here know that BM raw is not going to work in the length, for that we need something clever like red-raw like with the scarlet.

  • vicxvicx

    Nice work by Filippo Chiesa. I would prefer a more exposed picture out of Adobe Camera Raw than what Filippo went with, but to have the power to develop the picture as you want must be nice.

  • sicovdplassicovdplas

    will super 16 lenses fit the sensor of the BMCC, IF u crop in post to 2:35:1 ? I wanne see some tests with Leica R and Contax Zeiss lenses for color rendering. Anyone know if these are around?

    I don't get why people favor these nikkor lenses with horrible CA.. i need some 'real' big shot lens tests on the BMCC!

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