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Ursa upgrade question


Philip Kral

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The BMPCC in film mode and their "raw" is about the closest I've gotten to what I loved about 16mm. Plus it lets me use all my S16 glass although I've found myself using more Nikon lenses with the speed booster. Still need that footage counter or something to let me know how much time we have left on a card and proper audio meters.

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You could quite possibly even sell it on eBay for as much as you brought it, or even more! Once the price goes back up at the end of next month.

I just checked my bank account and yay, payment for the latest job came through. So I'm off to buy a BMPCC for myself! Where is the best place that is recommended to buy it from?

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There's a certain point, Phil, when i think you have to actually say, who cares? Announced, released, whatever. It's great to be on the bleeding edge; but at the same time, once in awhile you get a good deal you should just take-- because even if the camera becomes outdated, and which camera doesn't, it never really becomes non-functional (unless it breaks). Even the humble DVX i'm staring at (not mine) still has it's place and utility-- though it changes with the trends of the time.

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You're absolutely right; this is a conversation I have - inversely - with people all the time.

 

Lenses do scare me, though. Ideally, one would want that 10x6.6 that Jonathan is selling, which is about ten times the value of the camera.

 

P

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After looking around the likely places, it seems like B&H and Adorama are the only remaining options which make sense.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/964117-REG/blackmagic_design_blackmagic_pocket_cinema_camera.html
http://www.adorama.com/BMCCP.html

I guess buying it from B&H makes the most sense as they throw in a free hotshoe mount, which would be handy. Any other thoughts or suggestions where to buy a BMPCC instead that I might have overlooked?

Edit: oops... just realised Adorama also offers the same "Wooden Camera 1/4-20 Hot Shoe", which I guess make both Adorama and B&H an equal choice for me once again! (which one is likely to ship it in the smallest sized packaging box? As this does matter to me! As no matter what, I'll need to use a reshipper to then get it to NZ)

And yes, I know they are back ordered currently at both Adorama and B&H.

Edit2: Hmmm.... is it true that if I want to record CinemaDNG RAW then I have no choice but to buy the "SanDisk - 64 GB SDXC Memory Card Extreme Pro Class 10 UHS-I" with it? (& whoa.. I'll only get 15 minutes of recording! Guess I'll need to stock up on a LOT of these $100 cards! lol, but I reckon just one will do for now)

Because it appears nothing slower works, and I can't even save money on buying a smaller sized 32 GB one?

Apparently there is some very minor difference between the "SanDisk - 64 GB SDXC Memory Card Extreme Pro Class 10 UHS-I" and the "SanDisk - 32 GB SDXC Memory Card Extreme Pro Class 10 UHS-I" such that the 32 GB version doesn't work for CinemaDNG RAW without dropping occasional frames. Correct?

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Heh, getting back on topic because this is the URSA thread.... I was just thinking about its price and what I'd do if I had that much to spend on new equipment.

 

I could get a BMPCC, Panasonic GH4, Sony A7s, *and* a Atomos Ninja Blade for 4K recording for the same price as an URSA, and *still* have some cash left over! I know I'd pick that collection any day over an URSA! Clearly the URSA isn't such a bargain for me, like it is for others.

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An interesting theory (I won't call it any more than a "theory" though) which I read on Facebook about why the BMPCC's price got slashed in half:

<<The new studio cam (only camera head) has the same sensor like the pocket, but Blackmagic don't sell it as expected. So they had a lot of unobstructed sensors at home and decided to build up some more pockets for half the price! Nice, but not clever to all early adaptors...
Greetz,
Tom, 4W Team>>

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Go Adorama.

 

B&H screwed me over - had to report them to Visas credit card scam hotline before they would give me my money back...

 

And that wasn't squeaky wheeling it, Visa people considered the circumstances were dodgy.

 

YMMV, Adorama looks very similar.

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An interesting theory (I won't call it any more than a "theory" though) which I read on Facebook about why the BMPCC's price got slashed in half:

 

<<The new studio cam (only camera head) has the same sensor like the pocket, but Blackmagic don't sell it as expected. So they had a lot of unobstructed sensors at home and decided to build up some more pockets for half the price! Nice, but not clever to all early adaptors...

Greetz,

Tom, 4W Team>>

I know there's a 1080p version of the studio camera, but I don't believe it uses a S16 size sensor like the BMPCC. Maybe they got a great deal on sensors but I don't think it was because another camera used them.

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Yikes... can you elaborate more on this, how did they "screw you over"?

Bought $12K worth of gear for delivery to LA but with an NZ credit card.

 

Their website stated that the price I paid it was domestic only (i.e. US).

 

They took my money.

 

Days later I get an email saying they couldn't take my money from a kiwi credit card.

 

Looking at my account I see they HAVE taken my money.

 

I ring them up (2hrs on an international call) - this is where it unwinds into a mess of sh!t - %90 of them are stating it's 'impossible' to take my money and that is why they can't proceed with the order.

 

Finally I speak to someone who can actually see they have my money but they still won't proceed with the order but instead will return my money:

 

'in 2 weeks'

 

This is when I lose my sh!t and they in turn refuse to talk with me anymore.

 

I had to borrow money to make another order (with another website) to get the gear in LA in time. A lot of money out in cyberspace!

 

After contacting Visa fraud my money was returned in 1 day.

 

All I wanted was to give them money for a camera. They turn into this strange circus where they can't take my money, but do - then they can't return it, but can.

 

As for their phone staff, choose at least two of the following:

 

Arrogant, untrusting, inept, rude, condescending, thick.

 

:D

 

It wasn't immediately apparent when I visited in store a few years later... Go figure.

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Hey, we're both kiwis! Where are you? I'm in central Auckland.

 

And ohhh.... so this was years and years ago? Probably very different now. I've ordered stuff via B&H with my NZ Visa beforehand (got my Tascam DR-60D and Rode NTG 2 via B&H).

Anyway, I pulled the trigger and ordered the BMPCC from Adorama early this morning! Fingers crossed it all works out.

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Will Montgomery, they both use exactly the same sensor size: "12.48mm x 7.02mm". I wouldn't be too surprised if they're sourced from the same place, identical even. Reusing a sensor helps keep costs down, which is what Blackmagic is all about?

 

http://nofilmschool.com/2014/04/blackmagic-broadcast-industry-with-4k-studio-camera-for-3k-nab/

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Ja, central AK in about 12hrs (long haul flight from summer time).

 

But I actually live in Melbourne, just a short stop visiting the family ;)

 

It would have been about 5 years ago now I guess, maybe more (when the Sony EX1 was new?)

 

Have fun with your new camera !

 

:)

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  • 2 weeks later...
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I played with the URSA at a local conference. It was the prototype and honestly, it wasn't very noisy at all. I thought the image looked great, very crisp and with the rec 709 output in 4k, pretty damn colorful as well.

 

Unfortunately, the camera has three HUGE problems.

 

- The big beautiful display is absolutely worthless. I'm so depressed having used the camera because its even worse then I predicted. Not only is it HUGE, but it prevents the camera from being hand held. Its almost impossible to find proper focus with the display as well, because even with the focus aid, you still can't see how sharp certain parts of the shot were. Plus, add some sunlight and the glare washes out the display. These are problems filmmakers encountered decades ago and solved by making something called an "eye piece", something blackmagic designs haven't quite yet figured out. So now your buying an OLED viewfinder for a grand and not using that built-in display ever.

 

- Two channels of audio. Seriously? Two channels of audio? Seriously??!?! Yea, absolutely worthless. If you're gonna make a camera with preamps and XLR inputs, that should be a minimal of 4 channels. Two XLR's in the front of the camera for an attached mic and two XLR's in the back for your wireless mic's. This in my view is a HUGE fail for them, having used ENG cameras for more then 20 years.

 

- Weight/shape/size. Yea, its just not a friendly camera to hold. Its heavy, but what ENG camera isn't? I'm more concerned about its over-all design and how poor it was.

 

The URSA has a great image, 4k sensor with rock-soild global shutter which is amazing. But unfortunately, its missing the features to make it truly an outstanding camera. I hope BMD realizes this and over the years builds the proper accessories to make the URSA whole.

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