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Blackmagic Pocket 4K media & power thread -- the best alternatives


Emanuel
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I had already posted this same info in the main Pocket 4K thread as I forgot that there was a separate thread created for discussion of media/power options for the Pocket 4K here.

.....

There is currently a small discount on offer from B&H (until Nov 3rd) and Amazon for the Samsung T5 in 500GB and 1TB sized versions. If anyone is interested in possibly using them with the Pocket4K here are some links.

Samsung T5 SSD 500GB - $107.99 (w/ discount)

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1346577-REG/samsung_mu_pa500b_am_t5_500gb_portable_ssd.html

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-T5-Portable-SSD-MU-PA500B/dp/B073GZBT36?th=1

 

Samsung T5 SSD 1TB - $227.99 (w/ discount)
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1346575-REG/samsung_mu_pa1t0b_am_t5_1tb_portable_ssd.html

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-T5-Portable-SSD-MU-PATB/dp/B073H552FJ?th=1

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34 minutes ago, Shirozina said:

How about this;

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FM-F970-NP-F-Battery-Power-Supply-Plate-Mount-System-for-Canon-LP-E6-DC-Battery/292764515022?_trkparms=aid%3D555018%26algo%3DPL.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D52945%26meid%3Dcb342a62acf24727b4182aea69271c61%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D5%26rkt%3D9%26sd%3D132771711548%26itm%3D292764515022&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

Not strictly 'alternative' but I just got some Neewer brand (which work well on my GH5) LP-E6 batteries and they show the battery % and voltage on the P4k. They are also dirt cheap on Ebay at <£10 each!

do they have similar run times as the originals ?

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10 minutes ago, Kisaha said:

What exactly does it do?

Why so expensive and rare?

It gives you three cables with the 2 pin DC input on the end. (Dtap, DC Barrel and bare wire.)

So you can power it from different battery solutions or even fabricate one yourself with the bare end.

The 2 pin locking DC connectors themselves are between £10-15 each (and you have to hunt them down as while they are not proprietary to BM they are not a standard part in any electrical store) so the price is not too bad.

As to why they are so rare, that is just a good old fashioned balls up as far as I'm concerned as they should have been available from day one.

You'd have to think cables were the easy part of this particular project really so I don't understand it.

It has also left BM open to a lot of heat literally and figuratively regarding running it on batteries.

I have been working on the camera with it sat powered from the mains for hours on end (literally 8 and 9 hour days) and it produces barely any heat but within 10 minutes of then doing the same off the internal battery it is getting plenty warm.

So for me this cable pack is not just about having ways to get longer run times any more but also about not running it on the internal battery unless absolutely necessary because the heat generation is a long term concern.

 

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Batteries:

I bought two Dynacore LP-E6 batteries however they last less than the BM battery since they are 7,2V / 1800mAh  / 12,96Wh and not 7,4V / 2000mAh / 14,8Wh as the BM battery. So they last less. Buy quite a bit. At least it feels like that. Not recommended (the shop recommended them for the BMPCC4K so I didn't double check the specs...)

However at least they show linear % value in the camera ( not like the BM battery that gives a super odd and jumpy readout without % )

Thinking of trying this: (25% extra capacity than the BM battery)
https://www.amazon.com/Opteka-2600mAh-Capacity-Battery-Digital/dp/B00CHT37LQ
 

Storage:

Besides a couple of 64GB V90 sd cards (great for up to 4K DCI 25fps prores HQ/ 1080p120 prores HQ) I have a Sandisk Extreme portable SSD 500GB. It works great with raw as well up to 4K DCI 60fps 3:1 raw without dropped frames. (400+MB/s write speed)

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I noticed today that when using the external usb C drive (at least mine) it takes some  seconds before it is available to record on. After booting/turning on the camera!
The more full the ssd is, the longer it takes. With 350GB occupied it takes the camera around 6s extra to calculate available recording time and indexing clips or something. So the 3-4s startup time suddenly gets 2-3x longer.

That should (hopefully)be fixable with a firmware update.

is the behaviour the same on big SD/CF cards?
 

Update: My ssd is ExFat formatted, Will try with HFS+ and report back it it acts different.

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35 minutes ago, dslnc said:

I noticed today that when using the external usb C drive (at least mine) it takes some  seconds before it is available to record on. After booting/turning on the camera!
The more full the ssd is, the longer it takes. With 350GB occupied it takes the camera around 6s extra to calculate available recording time and indexing clips or something. So the 3-4s startup time suddenly gets 2-3x longer.

That should (hopefully)be fixable with a firmware update.

is the behaviour the same on big SD/CF cards?

Really pertinent information, thanks for reporting : )

35 minutes ago, dslnc said:

Update: My ssd is ExFat formatted, Will try with HFS+ and report back it it acts different.

Please. Rather useful information : -)

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