Dr. John R. Brinkley

Amazing. I luckily just sold my Pocket for $800 a day before this price drop.

Curious how this update affects the BMPCC in the context of what lenses I can use, specifically with wide angle options in mind. 

I've treated my Pocket Camera like an old Nizo Super 8 camera. I got a pistol grip from PNC and this works well for most of my situations, otherwise I'll use a tripod.

I agree that it's like shooting with film and that mentality helps keep the shooting ratios manageable.

I'm sure there will be another next great camera always around the corner, but for me this is the camera I've been waiting a decade for.

Post production with color grading and it's never-ending possibilities is a slippery slope but it's good to learn new skills.

I hope the camera is a hit for various reasons. 

 

1) It seems Panasonic is putting hopes in the 4k and rushing it to market because the Imaging Department seems to be be under pressure from above as they've already sold off 51% of the Imaging Department based on an article I recently read. 

 

2) I hope it succeeds because I like what Panasonic has been doing for the enthusiast/pro market. 

 

3) I hope it succeeds because I find the the general support for Canon in America to be annoying and counterproductive and would like to see Panasonic make inroads in that market and push the other companies to offer more for less.

 

3) I hope it succeeds for the sake of MFT's future.

 

I'm enjoying my BMPCC, don't get me wrong, but this 4k could be a great kit for documentary filmmakers. I don't think it's too big or bulky. Looks a lot smaller than the Canon XL-1 from the late 90s.

Is there a part 2 yet? I read part 1 and it hardly seems like a review. Half the discussion was on how to buy the camera. That said, I hope the camera does well b

I should add that I'm planning/considering buying a mft prime this year for wide angle on the pocket, especially if Kowa finally releases/rebrands there mft lenses, such as the 8mm and 12mm. Given this I'm going with mft for the moment.

I'm not looking to spend $700 though I'm sure I would appreciate the image more.

The wife will use this camera as well so something with some auto features for her and manual features for me would be a good balance.

I was intrigued by lumix because their lenses have IS on the lens which would benefit the Pocket camera. However, IS on the olympus body would allow me an advantage to use old legacy glass with dumb adapters.

Based on all these suggestions I'll look into the Olympus to see if I can afford the PEN models.

I appreciate the feedback.

I have a BMPCC for video but want a small used camera for stills. I'd like to spend $350 or less via eBay. Ideally with a zoom lens included. I want MFT so that whatever lens it comes with could also be used on the pocket.

GF1? GF3? GX1? Something else I'm not considering?

Appreciate any feedback.

The D16 with good audio could be a very useful camera especially for something like small documentaries.

I think the looks of the Bolex show personality which makes it cool.

I hope the camera succeeds.

Very solid, extensive review.

I'm glad to see BM continue to update the firmware. I'd like to see Andrew's suggestions for reprogramming the play buttons come to reality.

As for the speed booster, I think it's great but I don't have the money for it presently. I'll probably get one wide m43 lens when some better options emerge this year and continue to use my old pentax and minolta lenses with dumb adapters. If I did get a speed booster I think I would not get the pocket version just so I can use it down the road as I imagine there will be even better cameras to come and the basic speed booster would have a longer half life.

The speeds on this are supposedly very fast due to a novel way it handles memory, and which could be the future of how drives are made. And it's only $150 or less. This drive has won many awards yet I haven't been able to find any information on line in regards to its capacity for video editing. I was hoping not to be the canary in the mine on this one but may have to. Ha.

Looks like this will be amazing. Congratulations, Andrew. 

Has anyone used this hard drive for video editing or have an opinion if it would be sufficient for, let's say, prores files from the BMPCC? 

 

http://www.buffalotech.com/products/desktop-hard-drives/drivestation/drivestation-ddr

 

 

Thanks

 

 

The video states they are rehousing their industrial lenses. I just hope they get them to the market soon as many companies are planning wide angle lenses for m43. The 8.5mm could be a good choice for the pocket...

I would consider a different more expensive adapter but I'm hoping metabones will make one for pentax k mount and minolta, though I suppose I shouldn't hold my breath.

Hold on, sounds like this might need endoscopic surgery. Hopefully the nail helps.

Thanks, Andy

My fotodiox adapter is stuck to my Pentax 28/2 lens. The pin you press on the adapter to release and twist the adapter off the lens fell off and so they are married together.

Has anyone dealt with this before. I assume it's common with these adapters.

Suggestions?

Thanks, Andrew.

Dumb question, but what cable do you need to connect the camera to your computer? Mini HDMI to USB?

After downloading firmware updates from Blackmagic's website, I'm trying to figure out how actually update the camera.

Thanks in advance.

Just a personal conclusion: I've had the Blackmagic Pocket for two weeks and tested a large number of c-mount lenses from my collection on it, both classical 16mm cine lenses and cctv lenses. 
 
In all cases, I have found the c-mounts to be significantly inferior to native MFT lenses (such as the SLR Magic 12mm, the Voigtländer 25mm, but also the Panasonic 14mm and 20mm primes), even when testing top tier lenses such as the Schneider 25mm/1.4 or the Canon 13mm/1.5. Sharpness/detail is significantly lower, the image gets unsharp in the corners. The only advantage I see in those lenses is their compact size. In some cases, they can be used as speciality lenses (the Ernitec 6.5mm/1.8 as a fix focus fisheye, or a VT 8mm as a psychedelic wide angle with heavy vignetting and color casts); the 16mm/2.0 Tevidon is a decent performer with constant sharpness across the frame, but surely not as a good as an Olympus 17mm/1.8 or Samyang/Rokinon 16mm/2.0.
 
Unlike on the GH2, vintage glass doesn't look good on the Blackmagic Pocket. Since the BM Pocket gives an uncooked, non-artificially sharpened image with true organic color depth, it looks best with a good lens. A bad lens just looks bad.

Can you give more thoughts on the Panny 14mm? This is the one MFT lens I'm considering buying for the Pocket.

On Super8 I would go through about 5-8 rolls of Kodachrome. Once the sun went down the shoot would be over and I would head to the bar. Usually would get a 3-5 minute piece with about a 4:1 ratio.

Andrew, any initial thoughts on how well the Panasonic 14mm works with the Pocket?

Maxotics, I've heard of these things but I stick to daguerreotypes only!

If you have money, then you have lots of options. If you have good skill you can always get by somewhat. Otherwise, you have to depend on hacked cameras, or, yes,"beta" cameras like the BMPCC. Realizing this, and that there isn't much I can control besides my own skill, there isn't too much for me to get worked up about.