Just cancelled my order. Unfortunately I'm seeing many caveats to what seemed too good to be true. This is simply a component camera - you will need to buy many more accessories (multiple batteries/alternative power source, external audio recording gear due to low level pre-amps, external SSD, etc) in order to have a truly comprehensive rig. I'm not debating the fact that recording RAW or ProRES is the holy grail. For $995 that is simply amazing. But there are serious problems with this camera that most likely won't be fully resolved through firmware updates. I'm fairly certain in the next year or so there will be a product by BlackMagic or its competitors that will trump the BMPCC in a comparable price range. For now I'll be quite happy with my GH2.

@Killagram, I wished you had announced your intentions for cancelling your order in here. A few PV members including me. It's not my position to question your decision based on the facts you mentioned, but I'm not sure there is any camera out there to qualify as " non-component " ( not my terminology ) ! These days we are shooting on F3, FS700, Red Scarlet ( never again ) and soon F5 and F55. We have to supply multiple external battery ( ouch in case of Scarlet ), External recorders ( necessary backup ) and most importantly External Audio.

Let me drop my penny worth opinion about the orbs. When the front element of the lens is pointed at extremely bright light source or a reflection you get all kinds of crap all over the shut that orb most of the time will blend in with the rest of crap ( creative flares !!! ). If it doesn't we could recompose, change camera position or vantage point, move the light(s) a bit over or take a much needed break and come back when the sun have changed position a bit.

@rlima, I respect your sentiment about the video you linked. My personal view about that video summarize as : " One the best night camera test edits I have seen lately ". If the photographer saw the orbs, perhaps he didn't find them scary. If the photographer didn't notice them while shooting, either they were not as important or in his view they are part of the scene or these ( scary!!! ) shuts end down on the floor. Point is, if you find the anamorphic flares scary !? Or, the extreme lens flares scare you also !? Again this is my personal view and you are entitled to yours. If you are cancelling your order I need a " third " BMPCC for my former BOSS ( now client ).

The nightime test is crucial though because half the benefit of 13 stop of DR is the rolloff of the highlights. The orbs don't stand out because I'm used to seeing blown out street lights, but there should be some detail in there on the BMPC, like the BMCC has.

The orbing hilights are clearly a mistake and not a funky, eccentric aspect of the BMPC that we have to live with. BM will fix the problem as its a dramatic shift from the BMCC image quality.

@majoraxis

I agree with you. Even with the Black Spots and the Orbs, the image coming out of this thing is quite pleasant. Don't have one, and was actually thinking that I wouldn't be an owner because I have 2.5K camera(s) already, but after playing with one at Hot Rod Cameras for a little while, and getting to see the 18-35/1.8 Sigma/GL Optics PL Rehouse on the camera...

It's a must have, for me anyway. I'm surprised noone has commented on the Video mode in ProRes, yet: not a fan of it on the 2.5K but would absolutely shoot Video on Pocket for a quick turnaround. It looks really good when you under-expose just a slight bit.

Also... 18-35/1.8 on the camera... maybe a bit premature here, but if you don't need IS and you already have a 12/1.6 SLR... I really feel like this is the "it" lens for the camera... and the 2.5K. Just sold most of my Canon glass to get this thing, but barely missed an Amazon sale.

.-.

@kholi

Considering the 18-35 + speedbooster. Still waiting to see some results of that combo.

It does look very bad in many of the shoots where you have a light source. The worst I think was the car light. Looks like alien. I am a little sad that it is turning this way because BM really is trying to put some very good camera at very affordable price. The vaunted DR will have to be seen as lower by 1 or 2 stop if it blooms like that.

Hahaha, People are pissed about others trying to bid these cameras off for a huge profit! Isn't that sort of normal though?

Seems like all the "ready to ship" BMPCC's on Ebay were pre-ordered via Adorama... Really thought Blackmagic would cater to B&H first... now I'm hearing people saying B&H is claiming 4-6 weeks for pre-orders. Seriously, this company (Black Magic) needs to get their act together. Delays are understandable if you received more pre-orders than your first production run - but here we are, over a month past the "release date", and next to no one has received a camera (except a dozen or so elites). Clearly they simply lied about the release date, but where are the status updates? Why won't they tell us what's going on?

@ kholi I don't know how you could possibly know that, but judging from how little footage is out there, I highly doubt it.

@kholi Those who are active on forums and likely to post test footage are more often than not the ones who pre-order earliest, and therefore the ones who should make up the majority of the 150 people you claim possess the camera. I'm still wondering where you are getting your estimates.

Just got mine today. I am not "Elites" and pre-ordered it from B&H the first day.