Oliver Daniel

I had to use what I was given from my local rental house regarding the kit I had for the Pocket. They gave me the kit in an effort to ask for feedback on how to improve it for professional shoots. If I had my own way, and the rental house could do it, I would of asked for 10 batteries, external power, and more memory cards. For my GH3, I can get through an entire 8 hour shoot on one battery and a couple of 32Gb cards, so it was interesting to compare to what I'm used to. I knew that there are workarounds for the cameras shortcomings, but as this is a 'Pocket' camera, I did feel it was necessary to try it out as was it is intended to be - 'Pocket'. You just need more cash to beast up this camera for a painless experience. Definitely more extras than you need for a DSLR. I will be using the camera again, and Ill definitely be using an external power source and using more cards. I like the camera, its a decent start to the model, just a befuddling one. ;)

I've just finished up a shoot using the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera on a professional shoot, so I thought I would share my experience with the camera in this environment. (I will post the video when its finished up)   The Shoot   My business was hired to shoot a music video for a concept on Green Screen. It was a parody of infomercials, so the task was to film various models and comedic hosts demonstrating several very silly products. I was the DoP/camera operator, and we also had a director, 2 assistants, 2 photographers and  a make up artist.   The Gear The Blackmagic was mounted on rails in a Wooden Camera Cage, with just a Follow Focus. I had 4 x Sandisk Extreme Pro SD cards, 3 batteries, mic, charger and AC adapter. The camera was connected through HDMI to an external monitor. The green screen was lit with 2 Kino Flo 4-Banks, and the models with Kino Flo Diva 401s and Dedolights.    I would not recommend the Wooden Cage. Its just ok. The screw holes all over it make no sense. The battery charger was the worst piece of kit I've ever used in the history of video production. Cant remember the brand (begins with a H), but lots of companies are selling it with the camera as a bundle. You can put AA batteries in it and its so fiddly. It sucks.    Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera Feedback Whilst I was impressed with the BMPCC, I did have various issues with the camera - mostly with the lack of in-camera formatting and batteries. I will display these through Pros and Cons.    Pros + The build is solid and of high quality   + The back screen is nice and clear, a very decent size!   + Very simple to use meaning you can focus on creating   + Image quality is fantastic. Compared it with the GH3 in flat profile and the difference was staggering   + Skin tones are beautiful, very organic   + Not much dynamic range to see, but the roll-off was very smooth on the models   + The size makes it easy to handle and not a pain to shift around. Nice and quick.   + Zebras are very useful. Wish I had these on my GH3!   Cons - This camera eats memory cards for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! Used all of the 4 x 32gb cards. So the cost of running this camera at a professional level could be quite costly.   - Battery life is dreadful. The shoot was 8 hours long and we went through 9 full charges.    - No ability to format cards in camera. Completely unacceptable. We ran out of space, backed up the cards and tried to format one to exFat on a Mac. Camera wasn't having it. 10 mins left til close. So had to use GH3 for last 2 shots. Director wasn't happy.    - No indication of recording time left. No idea if 1 second left on 60 mins! Again, this is unacceptable.    - Auto focus is absolutely terrible. I don't use it much, but its useful when you are against time in a studio. Just doesn't work. Why bother Blackmagic? Your features HAVE to work.    - Focus Peaking is temperamental. It works, then sort of does, then doesn't at all. Maybe something wrong with this unit?    - Manual focusing with the Panny zooms seemed to be a lot more fiddly on this camera than on the GH3. It seems to be much more intricate and I have no idea why that is. The director agreed.    - No articulated screen. Its 2013. I don't want to sit on the floor or bend over in front of models to see the screen.    - Moire. Can't handle fine lines.    Conclusion Having only use the camera once for a studio shoot, its hard for me to give a full opinion on this camera - but from my experience there are some definite quirks that I feel are a major issue for its use in a professional (and general usage) environment for its target 'DSLR video user' market.    Ok, it shoots in 10 bit ProRes and has a beautiful image. It will shoot RAW soon. Its cheap. But...   For professional use, the fact you cant see how much recording time you have left or even format a card is a completely ludicrous omission and causes issues. Issues that take more time, more work, more stress, more stuff you shouldn't have to deal with in a camera. Blackmagic need to sort this out, it cant be difficult.    The fact the the camera is labelled 'Pocket' is mind boggling. Batteries constantly need charging, and its always a worry. If you were to really carry this round in your 'Pocket', expect to need a bagful of batteries. Or you are screwed.    The focusing area of the camera also seems unfinished. Auto focus doesn't work, and peaking just can't be arsed half the time. Didn't they test the camera, or is it a good-egg, bad egg thing with the production line?    My opinion so far is that this camera isn't completely ready for use in a professional environment, and is better suited as a hobbyist item for (very) short films. If you can afford lots of storage, 60 billion batteries and a ton of memory cards, and dont mind a few workarounds then you should enjoy it - its a cool gadget with a beautiful image that a video DSLR really needs.    Its very quirky and needs more work, which is expected of a 1st generation model. Lets hope for more improvements and a Blackmagic employee facepalm about essential little features that are unacceptably missing.    I like it. Its just a pain in the arse. Like my fiance. You might just have to put up with its issues just because its so beautiful ;)

Thanks for that  :)   I'm pretty much setup now. Got everything to minus the spills.

Hi.    I am looking for advice on a project. As I have limited green screen expereince, I want to make sure i get it right. I'm much more an 'on-location' kind of guy!   I've just been assigned a music video project using green screen and the Blackmagic Pocket Camera. Its a mickey take on Japanese infomercials.   The screen is painted 18FT wide, and we will be shooting around 8FT before the wall.   I have in my ownership 3 Dedolights and 2 Kino Flo Divas 401s. I know I will require more lights to light the screen (as my owned lights will be mostly lighting the actors), and I was thinking of mounting some Kino Flo 4 banks on C-stands high. The studio location has no lighting grid at the top.    The Pocket will always be on a tripod, filming wides, mids and close-ups of the products/adverts the Japanese people are 'selling.' Got the Panny 12-35mm and 35-100mm, the SLR Magic 12mm and loads of Canon FDs.   Does anybody want to give me any advice about this and the use of the Pocket camera? It would be much appreciated. I'm certain I'm doing everything right, just want to make sure I have everything in tow.    Thanks. 

Its about bloody time we heard something from the very quiet people at Panasonic. The GH3 is excellent, yet there has been no update whatsoever on the video camera front. I was hoping for a much more compact FS700 destroyer from them as they are the only other company (like Sony)  to bother with higher frame rates at the GH price point.    I'm hoping to see a GH4 develop into a top professional video hybrid with 120fps 1080p, more Mbps, increased DR and better low light. Hoping they add this and more.      Hopefully, we can expect a nice surprise!

He just said end of this month ;)

Have you heard of the BeSteady Four? I ordered a BeSteady One!

My local rental house has received their Pocket camera. They cancelled the order for the MFT original camera and had their EF stolen, but won't replace it. They said they had the EF for 3 months and nobody bothered with it. The 4K sounds like an absolute beast. So I guess it would be better to wait longer and get a better camera that hopefully doesn't have white orbs and black spots.

I've ordered the BeSteady One. The thing I like about this than the other offerings is their continuation to innovate and improve the product almost instantly. Can't wait.

    I completely agree.   Great achievement to make your own camera, but compared to other cameras on the market now, it doesn't touch other raw offerings.   Wouldn't even use it instead of a regular DSLR. Very much a novelty camera really! But well done to whoever made it. ;)   Oh and ....the image is quality is fantastic too. ;)

I think the footage from this camera looks pretty special, blooming orbs or not. But still hope it gets fixed. Still, for all its merits, I'm still astounded that you can't format a card or delete a clip. But you can shoot in ProRes and soon in RAW. Rooooar!!! Baffling.

I'm not sure if anyone else has noticed, or if this is just an error with the camera/capture/whatever - but my eyes are seeing something in BMPCC footage that looks a bit peculiar.    Basically I can see a grid pattern on the shots, only very faintly. The best example I could see was the Bloom clip with his cat.    Or is it just me?     

It sucks that the 'big' people use Kickstarter to fund their 'passion projects'. What's wrong with their own bank balance?    Kickstarter won't do anything, they get 5% of the funding.   As for Stallone,......... "ADDDDDRRRRIAAANNNNNN!!!!!!"

Unfortunately, I think thats your only solution.  :unsure:   I have a 3Tb hard drive that cost me £120. Nothing fancy but stores lots. Grab a few of them perhaps? 

Lacie 2Big perhaps?   http://store.apple.com/uk/product/HB643ZM/A/lacie-6tb-2big-thunderbolt-series-raid-hard-drive-with-thunderbolt-cable?afid=p219%7CGOUK&cid=AOS-UK-KWG-PLA-PLA_UK_BTB   Sure, it costs a bit but you need a fat hard drive anyway ;)

    I have the GH3 and the BeSteady One 3 axis stabiliser. Very happy with that.    Cameras get replaced all the time. Lenses and other gear, not so much. 

  The GH3 is simply an astonishing camera. The more I use it, the more I'm impressed. It can match a C100 in the right hands ;)   Its also a great combo with the Pocket Camera, MFT mounts and all. Can have a bit of a fiddle with RAW.

Its true you do get what you pay for, but I do think most rig kits are far too expensive for what they are.    I currently have a 15mm rod shoulder support, more of a Franken-rig really, using different parts from different models. I saved a lot of money doing it this way, and it works beautifully. 

Canon completely baffle me with their lack of 1080p60 mode in their professional cameras, yet the mode is in the Powershot? As some would say....WTF!!

These devices are fantastic. I don't see why there are people turning up their noses on them. I invested in the BeSteady on its Kickstarter campaign, which definitely looks like the best of the bunch. I don't care if more get released next year. Companies like BeSteady will be well ahead and provide innovative upgrade paths for more features along the way. Shipped in September. Thank you.

I use the FS700 a lot as a rental camera, and the results can be amazing. Although I find the camera to struggle with strong highlights and its ergonomics are terrible, I enjoy using this camera. It has a unique place in the market as no other camera can do what it does. I don't really feel that it needs to be compared to other cameras because its use is for specialist purposes. The image also grades pretty well, and the image is incredibly sharp if you have used a decent sharpening plugin, such as Crumplepop Finisher (which is an amazing little plugin). But I really do think Panasonic (hello?) should put out a camera that trumps the FS700. They seem to be the only other company to offer 1080/60p to the masses. And no major video camera release since the AF teapot camera.

Full sun is a pain in the arse, especially with shots that cover a wide dynamic range. ND filters are a must. In controlled shoots, I usually think around it by blocking it out. Again, pain in the arse.

So many of us are absolutely obsessed with talking about VL and PB on this forum.   Its as though people forget how may other filmmakers are out there actually making amazing films, all accessible within a few mouse clicks or fingertip touches.    The world is bigger than you think. 

I don't care about what Vincent Laforet is doing or has done. Nor do I find an issue with the absolutely rubbish footage released for the Pocket Camera. I only care about what I CAN do with a camera. Seeing what these cameras can achieve is cool, but its much cooler having the thing in our hands and looking at ways to be creative with it.

Nobody should sell their cameras to put a 50d in their arsenal. Still love your current camera. Cool that a 5 year old camera can do that though for the price! Would be good as a hobby cam and to see what raw is about for little money.