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Blackmagic Pocket Cam

Discussion in 'Cameras' started by Tim Joy, Aug 30, 2013.

  1. Tim Joy

    Tim Joy Active Member

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    Has anyone tried flying it yet?

    Hopefully I will be testing this camera today. I was not happy with the performance of the Cinema camera on the gimbal because of its bulky weight distribution, so having basically the same thing in a small package might work out OK. We'll see. I'm hopeful.
    From what I've seen of footage posted, the rolling shutter doesn't look bad at all. Maybe even a little better than the canon/ panasonic dslrs. Of course, with everybody going to a brushless gimbal, that has less impact now.
    I'm really looking forward to the dynamic range and color resolution. Stay tuned...
     
  2. Gary Haynes

    Gary Haynes Administrator
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    Tim check the less than stellar revies coming in over on Reduser.net.
     
  3. Tim Joy

    Tim Joy Active Member

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    I have found Red users to have an excess of snobbery. :rolleyes:
     
    Casey Van Nyhuis likes this.
  4. Gary Haynes

    Gary Haynes Administrator
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    I don't disagree but the images that were posted were interesting with things like black dots in the image.
     
  5. Tim Joy

    Tim Joy Active Member

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    Yeah, that's something that happens on the cinema cam too. Just got it mounted and about to go for a first test.. so we'll see.
     
  6. Katya Nelhams-Wright

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    I have mine on pre-order and hopefully get it next week so would love to hear your thoughts Tim. I was looking at battery options and as it's 12V I presume it will be possible to hook it upto a lipo, the battery consumption is not good I hear. Also it has a lanc port so anyone know if any current rc lanc controllers will work with it?
    I think the black dot issue will disappear with a firmware upgrade...hopefully:)
    Thanks
    Katya
     
  7. Tim Joy

    Tim Joy Active Member

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    It's 12v, yes. I plan to do what I did on the cinema cam and insert a deans connecter between the plug and the wall charger so it can be powered by the 3s gimbal battery. I will be trying the LANC too. I have the MK one from quadrocopter.com
     
  8. Tim Joy

    Tim Joy Active Member

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    Tried the LANC and couldn't get it to work. I'm not sure if it's the camera or the LANC. I'll try on my sony cam later.
     
  9. Tim Joy

    Tim Joy Active Member

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    1st hurdle- need to mount the camera higher and farther back to balance correctly. Didn't get it quite right. I will either need an extended camera plate or shorter pieces that hold the camera tube.
    2- My HDMI converter doesn't like the cam. I can get a signal through it only after having another valid source first, but then the image is squeezed and cut off.
    3- Don't plan on using the panasonic 14-42 OIS lens. The stabilization doesn't work, (due to lack of a switch to turn it on like the 14-140 has) and this lens has distortion without a panasonic body to correct for it.
    For now, I'm using the 14-140, but I'll probably switch to my olympus 9-18.
    4- Definitely need an external battery. The thing ate up a battery just in the time fidgeting and flying two 8 min flights.

    Do I think this will be a good aerial cam? Yes, with a brushless gimbal, a good lens, and hopefully a solution to the output not currently working. The image is very nice.
     
  10. Tim Joy

    Tim Joy Active Member

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    Still have some tuning to do. Everything has been through smooth cam on this. From 4-9%
    The screen is impossible to see in the sun, and I had the exposure a little bit hot as a result.
    The biggest thing for me is the added dynamic range and ability to grade. To see into all the shadows is a pleasure.
     
  11. Steve Maller

    Steve Maller UAV Grief Counselor

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    Wow, that looks gorgeous.
    No evidence of rolling shutter?
    Do you get a ProRes file out of it?
    What frame rate/data rate did you use?
    And what gimbal are you using?
     
  12. Tim Joy

    Tim Joy Active Member

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    Thanks, Steve. There is some rolling shutter, but it's slight. There was a bunch I cut out. The RS is not as fast as I had hoped.
    Prores straight out and into FCP. 23.98, and there are no choices what flavor Prores. It's only HQ 422.
    This is on the CS 360 with radians, so to be replaced by a brushless system. I think it will really shine then.
    I have grown very fond of the colors and look of the BMCC, so to have it in a flyable size is a treat.
     
  13. Andy Johnson-Laird

    Andy Johnson-Laird Administrator
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    Tim, when did you place the order for the BMPC? Just curious to know when I'm likely to get my order. I keep getting notifications from B&H that the "supplier hasn't provided stock" which suggests there's a loooong line ahead of me.

    Andy.
     
  14. Tim Joy

    Tim Joy Active Member

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    April 8 at about 2pm. from B&H. It's always hard to know, and I feel lucky to have gotten one already, but I ordered before the link was really searchable on their site.
     
  15. Katya Nelhams-Wright

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    Thanks for the info Tim re batteries etc and nice footage:) Have you had a look at the SLR Magic lenses? I don't own any micro 4/3 lenses so still trying to decide which way to go.
    Katya
     
  16. Andy Johnson-Laird

    Andy Johnson-Laird Administrator
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    I'm doomed. Didn't order until May 27. Might see one by Christmas, I suppose.
    Andy.
     
  17. Katya Nelhams-Wright

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    I just went and had a play with a Pocket Black Magic this afternoon and I took along my Arrow Paralinx and I can confirm that it worked if anyone is thinking of using it with their PMC. Also I had a look at the Lumix GX Vario 12-35mm/F2.8 ASPH/Power O.I.S and the IS is a switch on the side of the lens so works very well with the PMC. Not very wide though so am still looking for a 28mm equivalent if there is such a thing for a micro 4/3s.​
    Hoping to get mine this week, fingers crossed:)
     
  18. Tim Joy

    Tim Joy Active Member

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    If you're lucky. Or you could buy one of the highly marked-up ones on ebay.
    Thanks for the info! How is the distortion on that lens? I've heard it's pretty bad when not connected to a panasonic body.
    I might need to bite the bullet and get that Arrow. So far I have not been able to get any HDMI->composite converter to work. I have tried the populate and small Mini HDMI box that sells on Amazon and the older, larger one that used to sell there too. I've tried expensive cables and nothing seems to work. It displays hooked directly to my TV ok, only cutting off a little bit of the edges.
    Any ideas?
    I haven't tried the SLR magic, but I've seen it on a GH2 before and seems like a good lens. My olympus 9-18 seems like it will be nice for aerials, but it has a very small focus throw and can easily be out of focus. I've messed up shots before with it.
     
  19. Katya Nelhams-Wright

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    Hi Tim
    We looked at the image through it's focal length on a pretty good large monitor and didn't notice any distortion at all, in fact we were all pretty impressed with it and I came home feeling really excited about the camera for the price:)
    I don't know what you would do if you didn't have the Arrow to be honest. The company I went to see today are where I buy all my camera stuff and I did notice that they had an SDI/HDMI converter on their shelves so I will ask them if they have one the other way and whether they have been able to get a picture from HDMI to SDI and let you know what they say. They also recommended the lens by the way, having tested a whole load and done a bunch of research. The only thing is that the lens sits slightly proud of the bottom of the camera so you would need to put an extra bottom plate on it in order to clear the lens and mount the camera towards the back of camera plate on the FF gimbal if that makes sense? Also you will need a vari ND or some sort of ND as there are none in the PBM. I have tried a few and in my experience the heliopan one is by far the best but also the most expensive, I get no colour shift at all on my one. I think the lens size is 58 for the 12-35 lens but can't remember. I will take a look at the Olympus lens though as that would give a better wide angle, or maybe a SLR Magic Prime. Does your Olympus lens distort at 9mm by the way?
    All in all though so long as no one is expecting the camera to be as good as their Alexa and thinking of it more as in between the GoPro and a DSLR I can't think that people won't be impressed with what their are getting for their money and it's tiny!:)
    Kat;)
     
  20. Tim Joy

    Tim Joy Active Member

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    I'm concerned that the Arrow won't have enough range for me. Kopterworx says 80m?? I don't go much farther than that, normally, but I would LIKE to. I wonder if there's a way to mod it with a cloverleaf-like antenna, or some other power boosting option? :)
    I would like to get to composite video, not SDI, so I can work with a standard downlink.

    My 14-140 also sits below the camera base. It wasn't enough to need a plate for gimbal mounting, as the lens rests nicely and keeps the camera a bit more solid, since the depth of the body is so short.
    The Olympus has the usual wide-angle distortion as most lenses do when you get this wide, but it doesn't have the barrel distortion like my lumix lenses do. I hope to do some test flights with it today. The good thing about it is it is tiny and lightweight.
    Definitely agree about the variable ND. I've been able to get away with it by running higher shutter speeds to appease smooth cam, but as soon as I have a rock-solid brushless setup, I will run normal shutter speeds.
     

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