/dist/images/branding/favicon

BlackMagic 4K camera

Discussion in 'Cameras' started by Adam Brennan, Dec 9, 2014.

  1. Adam Brennan

    Adam Brennan Member

    Joined:
    Dec 29, 2013
    Messages:
    235
    Likes Received:
    14
    Anyone in here have it? Would you take it over the Sony A7S? I want the Red Camera, but can't justify the cost right now. So I am looking at the BlackMagic 4K camera. I hear there were some issues with it? Battery life short? What's the fix for that? I will be using the movi m15 which I think can handle with no issues. Thoughts or feed back?
     
  2. Ozkan Erden

    Ozkan Erden Distributor

    Joined:
    Aug 3, 2012
    Messages:
    678
    Likes Received:
    131
    It depends on what you are shooting and under which conditions. A7S excels in low light situations where BMCC 4K is performing very very poor.

    * The battery life time is very low on BMCC4K but you can power it with a M10 battery which will last at least 30-40 minutes. That's pretty easy to do, just need to find an appropiate charging lead for BMCC4K and solder the other end with female JST plug. With three extra M10 batteries, you will be able to run nearly all day.

    * Beware that the image coming BMCC4K is not as clean as BM Pocket Camera. The suns are rendered as black dot and under low light situations you will notice FPN (fixed pattern noise) in the images. Search these terms in Blackmagic forums.

    * If you are just using hand held (not airborne), you can consider Sony A7S + Atomos Shogun. So you can record 4K externally to Shogun and it will also serve you as a monitor as well.

    * For airborne stuff, BMCC4K has served us pretty well and I'm happy with the results under controlled situations. SDI output has been a problem, and we needed to add SDI converter to get a downlink to the groundstation.

    * The colors of BMCC matches with Alexa very easily. If the main cameras are Sony, then A7s would be a better choice since it ha Slog3 color profile.
     
  3. Adam Brennan

    Adam Brennan Member

    Joined:
    Dec 29, 2013
    Messages:
    235
    Likes Received:
    14
    Thank you for the feedback. The more I hear about Blackmagic, the more I hear people say it's too problematic and no support. Still looking..I guess.
     
  4. Tim Joy

    Tim Joy Active Member

    Joined:
    Aug 2, 2012
    Messages:
    405
    Likes Received:
    72
    We have used it quite a bit for aerials. I love the global shutter and sharpness of the 4K, but the dynamic range is seriously lacking for anything high contrast.
    We are switching to the A7s, and not sure about what we will do for 4k. Using the shogun on the copter is an option, I suppose, but we will probably stick with 1080.
     
  5. Adam Brennan

    Adam Brennan Member

    Joined:
    Dec 29, 2013
    Messages:
    235
    Likes Received:
    14
    I really want this blackmagic cinema 4K camera to work, but I am assuming in low light forget it? I hear from others that there is no support or lacking. What are the most common main issues with this camera? I hear it's not really true 4K resolution? I am thinking of the Sony A7s, but from what I read it's too cumbersome? I really like the quality output I've seen with color grading the blackmagic cinema 4K video I've seen. I haven't seen the sony a7s looking as good color wise. Am I missing something about the sony a7s?
     

Share This Page