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Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K


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So we are reaching that freaking point where filmmakers are considering smartphones as tools and vloggers want to record stuff in ProRes or even RAW... Wow.. BM shouldn't have put that rec button above the mount. It's like a beacon for these guys. You know, these guys that when the spec list of this camera showed up the first thing that came on their mind was "dude this is fu**ing ugly!!!". The same guys that would make a Vlog with an Alexa if the price was "right" for them, thank god it isn't...

 

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4 hours ago, Axel said:

Thanks, kye!

I'm not sure if you were asking for recommendations, or just being thankful that I offered...  but regardless, here's a few 'vlogging' channels with high production value:

Here's a few channels with high production value that aren't 'vlogging' channels:

and just for sanity, here's potentially the best YT channel out there, which is probably shot on a point-and-shoot... https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAL3JXZSzSm8AlZyD3nQdBA Primitive Technology, which is videos of a guy making things without any tools - he literally has a pair of shorts on and walked into the jungle and makes things with what he finds.  Why is it so great? He doesn't talk, there's no music, but they're still hugely engaging.  It's a combination of "what is he doing?" and one of those rainforest tapes people meditate to.  This is a channel where the content is so good I don't give a sh*t what it's shot on.

4 hours ago, Axel said:

Yesterday I saw this, and became so angry that I - almost - downvoted the video, something I'd never done before:

I got as far as him saying he "looked at the spec sheet and....".  Judging a camera from the specs alone is the equivalent of judging a restaurant by googling recipes of the dishes on the restaurants menu.

The fact that this thread is mostly around this has not escaped me! :D

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Pretty sure one of the most famous YouTube Vloggers, Peter McKinnon, uses a Canon 1DC mkII to record his vlogs. No flip out screen and quite large for the task but the images look nice. Still wouldn't use RAW though. 

 

Anyway, to those intending to use the USB-C port to record to external drives..... The usbc port on my samsung galaxy s8 used to have a reassuring notch when plugging a usbc cable into it which would hold it in place. Sixteen months later and that notch is gone (worn out) and the usbc cable often falls out easily when plugged in and in my hand. 

I really don't think it's going to be a great option for recording once you've used the camera for a while. Might seem fine at first... I wonder how BM warranty will deal with the usb c port wearing out. Just wear and tear? 

 

Edit: maybe the solution is to never un plug the USB-C cable from the camera and instead unplug from the drive end. Or hopefully someone will soon make a cage that has a lock port device.... 

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1 minute ago, Tone1k said:

Pretty sure one of the most famous YouTube Vloggers, Peter McKinnon, uses a Canon 1DC mkII to record his vlogs. No flip out screen and quite large for the task but the images look nice. Still wouldn't use RAW though. 

 

Anyway, to those intending to use the USB-C port to record to external drives..... The usbc port on my samsung galaxy s8 used to have a reassuring notch when plugging a usbc cable into it which would hold it in place. Sixteen months later and that notch is gone (worn out) and the usbc cable often falls out easily when plugged in and in my hand. 

I really don't think it's going to be a great option for recording once you've used the camera for a while. Might seem fine at first... I wonder how BM warranty will deal with the usb c port wearing out. Just wear and tear? 

It's going to need a clamp of some kind.

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1 minute ago, jonpais said:

It's going to need a clamp of some kind.

You got in before I finished my edit. Yep, a lock will definately be needed. A cage for this camera is needed to protect the HDMI and USB-C ports. I'd like a cage that leaves the right hand side hand grip accessable so as not to hinder hand holding the camera. 

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5 minutes ago, jonpais said:

It's going to need a clamp of some kind.

There are also magnetic ones on the one side. You just unplug the cable, not the plug, and they stick back magnetically. I have one cable permanent on a charger and an iPad, usb c, usb micro magnetic plugs (I am not sure about the terminology) on specific devices.

I am not sure if this is suitable for high data rate though.

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If you're having trouble with USBc slipping out, follow @BTM_Pix advice and epoxy it into the camera :grin:

Seems like a very poor design that the end of the camera has nothing for the port to grab onto, like every other cable end. Maybe you can buy ones with a right angle , so it's harder to be yanked out? 

Judging by this picture though, there are a few little notches that should help hold it in. I would have thought it'll take ages for all of them to wear out. I'm willing to bet @Tone1k charges his phone every day, but this USBc port isn't going to see quite so much daily action.

image.png.0dadda5c551f29dbde302dca2647091a.png

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29 minutes ago, jonpais said:

USB-C should be able to last some 7,000-8,000 insertions according to a non-scientific test done by tech-quickie.

The port will theoretically still work, but the mechanism to keep it in place will have worn out meaning it will fall out easily. Not so much an issue when you have a drive sitting on a desk motionless and the desk is supporting the cable but moving around hanging off a camera, that's another story. 

39 minutes ago, Anaconda_ said:

If you're having trouble with USBc slipping out, follow @BTM_Pix advice and epoxy it into the camera :grin:

I'm willing to bet @Tone1k charges his phone every day, but this USBc port isn't going to see quite so much daily action.

image.png.0dadda5c551f29dbde302dca2647091a.png

Haha I was going to joke about that!

True, I do charge my phone every night. On a shoot though , I change media at least thee to four times a day. While I don't shoot every day, I would shoot most days so not to dissimilar in use to my phone considering I don't charge my phone 3-4 times a day. 

I suppose there are a few work arounds and the easiest is to disconnect the drives from the drive end and leave the cable plugged into the camera as much as possible. 

Just something to be take into consideration. 

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52 minutes ago, Anaconda_ said:

If you're having trouble with USBc slipping out, follow @BTM_Pix advice and epoxy it into the camera :grin:

 

Except I didn't actually say to do it at the camera end but hey ho.

The solution to the USB C port wear is to use a short extender cable that you do leave attached to the camera and then plug/unplug the device with its cable on the end of the extender. If you then get wear it will be at the end of an easily replaceable £2.50 cable rather than your £1200 camera.

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38 minutes ago, Tone1k said:

On a shoot though , I change media at least thee to four times a day.

Even if you have 1tb media? If so, like others have suggested, disconnect the drive from the cable, not the cable from the camera during the shoot.

33 minutes ago, BTM_Pix said:

Except I didn't actually say to do it at the camera end but hey ho.

My mistake.

Don't you feel leaving in an extender could do more damage though? It's something to get caught when you're putting the camera in or taking it out of the bag, something to snag onto your hand as you reach to focus the lens, another connection to go loose midtake (unless you use epoxy). 

My feeling is I will only use the USB if all my other media is full, or if the camera's locked off on a tripod and I can fix the drive onto the tripod leg with some velcro. Minimizing any risks. trying to go handheld with a cable that doesn't lock in won't be worth the risk to me. 

That said, I'm fairly certain someone will make an SSD cage, complete with USB clamp on both ends. 

 

I  imagine playback will work fine.

Thinking about it, I've not seen any blinky lights by the card slot, so it'll  alert you in the same way you know you're recording to the SD. most likely with space or time left on the selected media.

should the cable slip out, you probably get an error message and any blinky red recording lights on the monitor and tally lamp will stop. 

Does the drive have a little read/write led? Most hard drives do, but I don't know about this one.

Judging by this photo, it tells you how much you can record to the media connected to the camera. And it'll be hard to miss if it stops recording for any reason.

68653C03-FCAF-4AE1-B874-1C795888B0F9.jpeg

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43 minutes ago, Anaconda_ said:

Don't you feel leaving in an extender could do more damage though? It's something to get caught when you're putting the camera in or taking it out of the bag, something to snag onto your hand as you reach to focus the lens, another connection to go loose midtake (unless you use epoxy). 

It depends on your usage I suppose both in terms of frequency that you are going to use it and also how often you swap the media.

If you are only going to use it infrequently then it will be OK to connect directly (though you still need to address the mounting of the media itself so its not just dangling there). At the risk of getting stuck (ho ho) with another epoxygate, I do actually think that using it to attach cold shoe or similar mounting threads to a drive like the one illustrated would be effective. Or even using one of the sliding smartphone to shoe mounts.

If you were using the USB-C part every day but swapping media on it multiple times a day then you will be saving a lot of wear and, yes, just take the extender out at the start and end of the day.

If you are using the USB-C part every day, swapping multiple media every day and changing locations frequently every day then I think it makes the point even more to be using an extender as your wear/damage potential is even higher and with that amount of reliance on it as your recording media then its increasing the risk even further.

What I would envisage to be honest is a clamp/cage system that is providing locks for most of the cables in that part of the camera and people just having to take the hit on the size increasing. An ideal solution would channel them downwards to prevent potential knocking whilst operating from that side.

 

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53 minutes ago, BTM_Pix said:

though you still need to address the mounting of the media itself so its not just dangling there

I'm going to get some velcro. stick the rough side on the side of my tripod head, so the cable doesn't tighten with pans or tilts, and the the soft side on the SSD. Also, if there's space, I'll add some rough side onto the bottom of the camera, so long as it doesn't interfere with a tripod plate. That way I can go handheld  and not worry so much.

I'm hoping you can get right angle USBc cables and then there's nothing to worry about really, since in theory everything will be flush(ish) with the body. No hanging wires etc.

You might also be able to modify the rubber caps on that side to help keep the cable in somehow...

With all of this said though, it might just not be a problem and BM haveade a way for the socket to hold onto the cable with no problems...

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If you use the camera everyday, then just buy a couple SD and/or a couple CF cards. I do not understand how suddenly recording on an external USB C drive became mandatory workflow, and puzzles us for 4 pages!

It offers another option, it doesn't mean that replaces other media completely.

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As far as I understand the charging only works while the camera is off. If you want to power the camera while running you have to use a battery adapter. 

Thus the USB-C can easily be used just for saving. That being said, I find the USB-C connection at least as loose as the HDMI especially after some time of use. So I would try to make a locking solution for both the camera and the drive ends. 

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2 hours ago, jonpais said:

Is there any way to verify that the T5 is actually recording during a take and is there any way to play back the footage on the drive to be sure you’ve got what you need? 

The T5 has a small, blue, blinking LED indicator on the port-end that flashes when reading or writing. 

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58 minutes ago, Kisaha said:

If you use the camera everyday, then just buy a couple SD and/or a couple CF cards. I do not understand how suddenly recording on an external USB C drive became mandatory workflow, and puzzles us for 4 pages!

It offers another option, it doesn't mean that replaces other media completely.

Yeah but we're bored waiting for it already so have to fixate on something to get the page count over the 100 mark ;)

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