lenses for Blackmagic Pocket

[Stefano Stroppa]

hei guys,

 

I’m finally about to buy a BM pocket camera. The fact it shoots RAW or anyway 10bit ProRes for lower than 1000 euros is appealing me big time. Yet I’m still esitating cause of some few missing features such as the lack of slow motion (beside the battery issue) -

 

anyway I just wanna ask you some suggestion about lenses, as I'm thinking on which lenses to buy along with the camera.

at the moment I’m seriously considering this series:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1181997-REG/rokinon_super_35_cine_ds.html

I used them on a Sony F5 and I liked them all, not entry level, yet not real cine lens, but it's a really good price, and I’d save on the adaptor:

 

which lenses you guys use on your Blackmagic Pocket (or the GH4 for instance)?

 

thank you :)

Stefano

Edited September 7, 2016 by Stefano Stroppa

[Jay Young]

Let me just say that using a 12-120mm zoom, I wish I had wider than a 12mm. 16mm is not going to be wide enough for you.

And that 85 will let you see into the future - I have attached that Rokinon 85mm to a BM-Pocket, its very long.

 

Those are fine lenses, but you really need to find a set with some wider options. 5.6mm, 8mm, 10mm...

 

The Tokina 11-16 works pretty well.

[Tyler Purcell]

I have most of the Rokinon's under 85mm and they're not bad for the pocket camera. The wider lenses are a bit slow and super soft, I'd say everything from the 24mm and up is fine though. If you want wide angle stuff, I'd just source some S16 cinema primes like the older Arri or Optar.

 

I absolutely love the 12-120 S16 zoom on the pocket. It's a worthwhile investment augmented with S16 cine primes or Rokinon's.

 

I don't like non-cinema DSLR glass, even older, because the focus system isn't designed properly for focusing whilst shooting and the zoom ratio is all wrong as well. So you can buy cheap DSLR glass, most of it looks ok, but just don't expect it to work as smoothly as cinema glass.

 

In terms of slow-mo, there are some really cool plugin's that solve the problem.

[Stefano Stroppa]

thank you guys for the input :)

I'll definitely have a look at that 12-200 S16 zoom!

one more thing, I should not have any problem in term of vignetting in the Pocket since it’s got a S16 sensor, instead on a GH4 (or BM Cinema camera) I could have some vignetting in the wider lenses, am I right?

[Tyler Purcell]

I use my S16 cine lenses on my blackmagic pocket camera all the time. The S16 12-120 does have a tiny bit of vignetting when all the way wide, but it's not bad. When I have time, I was going to post something about using that lens on the pocket.

[Phil Rhodes]

Do that, I'd be interested.

 

I'm wondering what happens if you put one on the 4.6K Ursa in crop.

[Giray Izcan]

I would look into Arri/Zeiss Ultra 16 lenses.

[Giorgio Taricco]

Kinoptik 12.5mm Grand Angle Special, sometimes cheap and unbeatable with macro function. Best lens I ever had.

 

G.

[Tyler Purcell]

Here are a few select clips from the feature-length BTS film I shot and probably won't be editing. These clips are private property and are not available for public viewing, so please don't post this link anywhere else.

These are select shots where I used the Zeiss 10-100 zoom lens, modified with an Optex 1.2x extender so it will cover the S16 frame, making the lens a 12-120.

I use this lens on my Aaton S16 camera, but I was having trouble getting my rather large mattebox and filters to set on my motorcycle, so on days with direct sunlight where I needed the filters, I was using this lens and it's MUCH SMALLER mattebox that doesn't fit on the Rokinon's + 3x3 filter kit. Almost everything else was shot with the Rokinon primes, mainly because I could throw the camera around more and not worry about damaging them.

The filters I use are a glass 3x3 .9 ND and on some shots with direct sun, a plastic gradient. You can see the grad very clearly on the shot of the guy with the hat talking. Usually I bring the grad up in the holder to prevent that, but I didn't in that particular take.

Most everything in this video is shot with the pocket camera @ 200ISO, 45 deg shutter, 6000k white point and 23.98. There is ONE SHOT of our lead actress pushing her face against a horse which was shot very early in the morning and it's more noisy, thanks to using 800 ISO and no filtration.

Using LOG recording in Pro Res HQ, this video was compiled from quick selects dragged into DaVinci, factory Blackmagic Pocket LUT applied (V2) and minor tweak to bring in more blue, as it always comes out overly warm thanks to the 6k white setting, which I personally prefer.

Also, all of these shots are hand held, only using a mono pod for stability. Again, riding to work on my motorcycle, couldn't fit a tripod or shoulder rig.

Any shot with direct open sky, was underexposed by a stop to help preserve the sky and you can tell how well that trick works in the second shot with the blue sky and clouds.

Here is the drop box link for playback and remember, when you're done watching, please delete off your computer. You can also download the material to see it in full resolution. I did notice my computers are playing the file back in 8 bit on the displays, which is odd. In DaVinci or on the AJA card monitor output, it's 10 bit.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xonfgpua4u2kqyn/Blackmagic%20Pocket%20with%20Zeiss%2012-120.mov?dl=0

Here is the rig on set:

 

[Giray Izcan]

Tyler, looks really good. Well done.

[Brenton Lee]

the BMPCC is my go to camera while I'm in that stage of 'shooting everything i can' and picking up anything on a moments notice. I absolutely love it.

 

I saved up and bought 12mm + 25mm Zeiss Superspeeds and 50mm Optar Illumina Primes and a 8-64mm Canon zoom. (Obviously this all required a PL adaptor)

 

I gotta say, I'm really very happy with the results and relatively speaking - they weren't that expensive. I've got those four lenses for less than $4000. Just gotta keep an eye on the forum market places and eBay.

 

As far as the battery situation goes, I bought one of those Varavon battery packs and it can film for 4+ hours. I have to change SD cards (Shooting 422) before I change the battery pack. So for $200 thats kinda paid for itself.

[Adrian Sierkowski]

Personally I am thrilled i invested in gold mount batteries and a plate for the pocket when I did since i can use them then on almost any other system out there

[Max Field]

I have a set of Rokinon primes (35-50-85) with an EF to BMPCC adapter for sale if you're looking to build an arsenal.

Edited September 27, 2016 by Macks Fiiod

[Brenton Lee]

Personally I am thrilled i invested in gold mount batteries and a plate for the pocket when I did since i can use them then on almost any other system out there

 

 

THIS too.

 

If you can save the cash to get a plate, a few AB batteries and a dual charger then you're on a winner.

 

Thats my plan, the Varavon battery pack is just a temporary measure to save me punching through EL20's.

[Muhammad Usman Khaild]

Its also a great cine lens in budget.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-SOM-BERTHIOT-PAN-CINOR-38-155mm-f-3-8-Zoom-lens-WT-Arriflex-Standard-Mount-/162041898500?ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT