Black-Magic Design Announces 2.5k Cinema Camera

[Kieran Scannell]

Got to play with it at IBC . I was equally impressed and dissapointed. It's hard to figure out who this camera is aimed at.I would guess the 5D owner user who really would like to have a RAW option. The footage I saw was very good both the graded RAW and the ProRes but that is hardly surprising.It's the camera itself I had more worries about it has a kind of "My first RAW camera" feel to it. For example the audio input is Jack and I know you have XLR to jack converters but that's going backwards I think.

 

But it is $3000! Though I'm guessing you'll be closer to $6000 when you've Bought some extra lenses SSD cards, and an external battery option.

 

Anyway Philip Bloom likes it!

[Peter J DeCrescenzo]

If your sense of humor or fairness is impaired you might not want to read this ...

Some reviewers feel compelled to reinterpret kick *ss Blackmagic Cinema Camera features as "limitations", such as:

 

- The BMCC's sensor is "only" more than twice as big as the ones used to shoot many popular films, including "Slumdog Millionaire" and "Avatar", the latter having earned >$2.75 billion.

 

- The BMCC is "only" available with electronic EF or passive m43 interchangeable lens mounts, "only" directly compatible with hundreds of lenses, and "only" hundreds more via inexpensive mount adapters, ranging from extreme telephoto to ultra-wides.

 

- The BMCC is "only" able to shoot scenes with a "wide" field of view equivalent to a ~18mm lens on a S35 16:9 motion picture camera — considered "wide" in most movies & TV shows — if the BMCC is fitted with a lens such as the <$700 Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 zoom, or a FOV equiv. to using a 13mm lens on S35 16:9 (crazy wide!) if using a <$700 Sigma 8-16mm rectilinear zoom. The BMCC m43 version "only" has additional wide lenses available for use with it. Clearly it's not practical or affordable to shoot "wide" with the BMCC!

 

- The BMCC is "only" capable of 13-stop dynamic range, almost but not quite as good as cameras which cost >3 times as much.

 

- The BMCC can "only" shoot uncompressed 2.5K 12-bit RAW CinemaDNG @ 5 megaBYTES/frame, and compressed 1080p 10-bit ProRes 422 HQ @ 220 megaBITS/sec (and soon DNxHD 220, too) with "Film/log" or "Video/Rec.709″ gamma …

 

… but, the BMCC's uncompressed RAW CinemaDNG files are so huge I have to buy fast, high-capacity storage, backup & archive systems and fast, new computers even if I can't afford it – instead of, you know, like considering for a moment that the BMCC's compressed ProRes 422 HQ recording feature is totally awesome — not quite CinemaDNG awesome, but with the same dynamic range — and way way better than what 99% of other video cameras can record — and requires "only" 1/5th the hardware storage, speed and cost — including older Mac & Windows computers & software — and yet produces very high-quality HD video results.

 

- The BMCC "only" records to commodity-priced SSD (fast-fast-fast) media, which is more cost-effective than the solid state media used by other pro cameras, and the speed and capacity of SSD continues to increase while its cost plummets.

 

- The BMCC can "only" run for 90 min. when completely disconnected from any external power source! The BMCC can also "only" be connected to any external 12-30VDC power source to recharge or operate, at any time — even while recording!

 

- The BMCC "only" features 2 balanced 1/4″ TRS analog audio (mic/line) inputs @ 48kHz at 24bit uncompressed, same as Alexa and RED EPIC, requiring use of standard self-powered microphones, line level audio sources, external sound mixers, and other standard audio gear.

 

- The BMCC "only" has a clean, bog-standard, externally recordable, "Film/log" or "Video/Rec.709″ 10-bit 4:2:2 1080p HD-SDI output, via a locking industry standard BNC connector.

 

- The BMCC "only" has a 5″ capacitive touchscreen LCD for video and its GUI, and, if required, to which an appropriate, extremely inexpensive piece of 3M anti-reflective film can probably be applied.

 

- The BMCC "only" has three 1/4-20 threaded mount points on top, possibly forcing me to consider buying an expensive camera cage, even though in many (most?) situations one is unnecessary.

 

- The BMCC can "only" be held with 2 hands, "only" features a rubbery easy-to-grip surface, "only" weighs less than 4 pounds, and "only" includes a nice shoulder strap and LCD shade. Its operator-side mounted connector panel may force me to use right-angle plugs if I mount it on my right shoulder. The BMCC's case is "only" strong machined aluminum instead of lightweight plastic. Its buttons and interface are simple & uncluttered.

 

- The BMCC's Thunderbolt interface is "strangled" due to its copper implementation, and can "only" handle up to 20 Gbs data rate, and "only" enables use of the Ultrascope and MediaExpress software included free with the BMCC.

 

- The "only" grading software bundled with the BMCC for free is the latest full version of industry-leading Davinci Resolve, which requires a desktop computer with a new-ish, relatively inexpensive GPU, or a new-ish not inexpensive MacBook Pro.

 

- The BMCC's name (yes, its name) is too complicated, forcing us to have endless discussions via Twitter, Facebook & online forums about the "best" acronym or nickname for it ("BMC"? "BMCC"? "BM"? "MagicCam?" "MagiCam"?), despite the fact that the product's name is "Blackmagic Cinema Camera" ("BMCC").

 

And worst of all:

 

- The BMCC "only" costs $2995 US, forcing users to spend the money we saved (by buying it) on other things, such as a better: script, crew, actors, location, props, wardrobe, makeup, camera support, lights, sound, rentals, catering, post-production, etc.

 

Essentially, just about every feature listed on the Blackmagic Cinema Camera website is really an "issue" if you don't think it through, right?

 

Cheers.

 

Note: BMCC feature requests are welcome here.

[Phil Rhodes]

In my view the two fixable things that are critically wrong with it are that the casing is shiny silver and very reflective, and the power connector is laughably inadequate. Yeah, I know, it'll run from batteries and save the take, but there needs to be a big warning that the external power just went away in the viewfinder (bear in mind also it's a lithium battery, it will lose 20% of its capacity every year even if you don't use it, and I'm not aware that they've made any plans to sell replacement battery kits).

 

I will believe the thirteen stops when I test it personally. All the stuff I've seen looked... well, okay, but not like a really good 13 stop camera. That's Alexa territory.

 

Also I don't particularly go for the overall layout with the display on the back and the connectors on the side, it seems backwards to me. It's not friendly to rod-oriented builds with accessories behind the camera, and protruding connectors are a collision risk, but that's to some extent a task specific issue and depends what you're intending to do with it. It's not the right place for a viewfinder, I don't think. Anyway.

 

The only thing that is problematic and probably not easily fixed is that the rolling shutter is really quite... rolly, or at least it was when I saw it back at NAB. That's really not ideal.

 

Otherwise I don't think there's anything that much wrong with it. It isn't an Alexa, but what d'you want for three grand. The choice to do an MFT lens mount is a good one.

 

P

[Peter J DeCrescenzo]

If the BMCC's DR turns out to be "only" 11 or 12 stops I don't think I'll ask for my $3K US back. Instead I'll ask BMD if there's anything they can do to tweak it to be a bit better via a firmware update. After all, they're marketing it as a "13-stop" camera, so it can't hurt to ask for it. But for $3K, an honest 11 or 12 stops is OK in my book.

 

Concerning the BMCC's built-in battery (which I think is a great feature), on page 50 in the BMCC user manual it says, "The built-in camera battery is not user-servicable. Should the battery require replacement, you will need to send it to your nearest Blackmagic Design service center for replacement. If the camera is outside of its warranty period, the battery replacement will incur a small service fee for the cost of the battery, labor and return of the camera to you. Please contact Blackmagic Design Support to find out details of where to send your camera, how to package it safely and how much the replacement will cost in your country."

 

John Brawley posted at one point that the cost to replace the battery might be something like $80 US, which is what BMD charges for replacing the similar battery in the Hyperdeck Shuttle. It would be great if BMD also offers the battery as a purchasable part that a qualified tech could install themselves (out of warranty of course).

 

To the best of my knowledge, definitive BMCC rolling shutter tests haven't been done yet, despite repeated requests from Barry Green and others to get the few properly-shot frames required to do the calculations. But I assume eventually this data point will get filled in. More than one person who has used the latest camera builds says (in their opinion) that the BMCC's rolling shutter is better than any conventional DSLR, but not as good as cameras costing more than twice the price of the BMCC. If true, this is about what I'd expect from a $3K US video camera.

 

My major concern is that BMD start manufacturing the BMCC as described on their website in volume ASAP.

 

Or, just one BMCC for me would be OK, too. ;-)

 

 

Meanwhile:

 

A new BMCC review and very nice 720p video by Jon Carr.

UPDATE:

Jon's edit of his RAW CinemaDNG footage is now available for viewing in 1080p!

And, Philip Bloom's edit of his ProRes 422 HQ footage is now available in a relatively-high bit rate 1080p!

[Peter J DeCrescenzo]

At the Amsterdam Supermeet last week, John Brawley leads a great demonstration of grading BMCC 12-bit RAW CinemaDNG footage in Davinci Resolve 9:

 

http://vimeo.com/49445441

[Mike Lary]

The internal battery for hot swapping is a nice feature. There are already external solutions for primary portable power. You can run a brick from an adapter cable if you don't mind (or want) the additional weight on the rails. Ikan just announced a tiny 12v rail mount adapter that will take batteries from Canon and other manufacturers, as well.

 

edit: Not much detail on the specs for the Ikan converter yet, but I shot them an email.

Edited September 17, 2012 by Mike Lary

[Andy_Alderslade]

My worry about this camera is lenses, its already a compromise with the C300 and Compact Primes - all these new cameras and chip sizes no one's actually bringing out a lens system that is relative the prices of the cameras - that does everything you need it to.

 

It was a bit more straight forward in the 16mm/35mm days, you'd have 9.5mm to 50mm for 16mm, or 17m to 135mm for 35mm, all with the same maximum aperture and a practical close-focus - with all these new cheap digital cinema cameras - the lens problems are always being met retrospectively. Like with the GH2/Panasonic101 its only recently that Panasonic has brought out a fast wide zoom to use with them.

 

I suppose with this new chip-size will need something from about 12mm to 85mm, begs the question which Super 16 lenses will cover it?

[Gregg MacPherson]

.....I suppose with this new chip-size will need something from about 12mm to 85mm, begs the question which Super 16 lenses will cover it?

 

 

Has anyone tried some S16 lenses yet to see what the coverage really is? Data on actual image circle for each lens is hard to find. Trying to get a rough idea I drew a 15.6x8.8mm rectangle on paper and holding a lens in my hand focused an image and looked at the image circle. I have a set of Zeiss MK II super speeds here to try. The image circle gets bigger as the lenses get longer. The 12mm looked like it just covered, but the test is quite crude. So maybe 12, 16, 25, 50mm are viable. No 50mm here to try but I know that one has a big image circle.

[Dom Jaeger]

Has anyone tried some S16 lenses yet to see what the coverage really is? Data on actual image circle for each lens is hard to find. Trying to get a rough idea I drew a 15.6x8.8mm rectangle on paper and holding a lens in my hand focused an image and looked at the image circle. I have a set of Zeiss MK II super speeds here to try. The image circle gets bigger as the lenses get longer. The 12mm looked like it just covered, but the test is quite crude. So maybe 12, 16, 25, 50mm are viable. No 50mm here to try but I know that one has a big image circle.

 

I've collected some image circle data on 16mm format lenses, but it's not always cut and dry. The circle often shrinks when a lens is stopped down, so for example a 25mm Kern Switar will cover the roughly 18mm image circle needed for the Black-Magic sensor when fully open, but stopped down past about f/2 you'll get more and more vignetting. The 50mm Switar covers easily.

 

I haven't checked a 12mm Zeiss Super Speed, but the 16 covers (just), the 8 and 9.5 do not.

 

Most of the wider focal lengths I've measured won't cover an 18mm image circle. That includes Kowa 16, 12.5 and 9, Angenieux 5.9, Kinoptic 5.7, Optex 5.5, Switar 10 and Cooke SK4 6, 9.5 and 12. Anything 50mm and over shouldn't be a problem, but there's larger format options for that end anyway.

 

Zooms tend to be worse than primes, I can't find any that wouldn't vignette on the BMCC under 40mm. With zooms the image circle changes more with focus distance, so at 40mm they might cover at infinity but vignette when focussed under 10 feet.

 

One possibility is using zooms with a doubler. A Zeiss 10-100 with a 2x Mutar for example would cover an 18mm image circle all the way from 20 to 200, providing you didn't stop down too much past T8.

 

Of course even if a 16 or S16 lens covers there's no guarantees that the image won't be degraded in the corners, since they were only optimised to cover that size image circle.

[Mike Lary]

My worry about this camera is lenses, its already a compromise with the C300 and Compact Primes - all these new cameras and chip sizes no one's actually bringing out a lens system that is relative the prices of the cameras - that does everything you need it to.

 

Good glass is expensive and slow to manufacture, and sensors are getting bigger. I wouldn't hold my breath for a lens manufacturer to start targeting this market. Their focus should be on accommodating future sensors that won't be covered by existing glass, not the other way around.

[Chad Stockfleth]

You can color grade it all you want, but it still looks like video. Sadly :(

 

Yes, but it looks like very cinematic video for very cheap. ;)

[Francisco Martins]

Yes, but it looks like very cinematic video for very cheap. ;)

 

Honestly, it looks like my 7D only with more pixels.

[Peter J DeCrescenzo]

Honestly, it looks like my 7D only with more pixels.

 

You must be looking at compressed-for-the-web footage, or on a terrible monitor, because BMCC resolution and dynamic range is w-a-y better than typical DSLR footage.

 

For example, download this 2 gigabyte (!) comparison video created by Marco Solorio, which puts BMCC RAW CinemaDNG video up against 5DM3 h.264 video at its best:

 

Again: Download Marco's "original" edit file rendered to ProRes 422 HQ @ 220 megabits/sec. from the Vimeo page, and play it using QuickTime or in the latest VLC Media Player, etc. Don't watch it in your web browser.

[Francisco Martins]

That's great and all, but what I was referring to was the feel of the video. When recording 24p, for example the woman playing pool, it doesn't feel like film, it feels like typical smooth, flat and sharper-than-it-should-be video and that's whats my main concern. I can live with the other technical details being less.

 

Im not a tech-head so its probably just not for me.

[Peter J DeCrescenzo]

Blackmagic CEO Grant Petty posted the following BMCC shipping status message on their forum:

http://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1288

 

=========================

 

 

Hi,

 

I wanted to give everyone an update on where we are with Blackmagic CinemaCamera shipments.

 

As you know, we have been dealing with a supplier delay which has stalled our ability to build cameras. I thought it might be a good idea to explain in more detail what is going on, and do a technical "brain dump" on the problem so everyone understands the nature of the delay and what we have been doing about it.

 

Over a month ago now, we completed the testing of the Blackmagic Cinema Camera and started production. Very quickly we started to see cameras failing our production testing as they suffered from blemishes on the sensor. These are high end cameras so need to be built to a very high specification.

 

We started testing to discover the cause of the problem and discovered that the problems were from our second shipment of sensors. The first shipment of sensors were fine. All the cameras you currently see people using had been built from this first batch of sensors and that is why we did not see any issues until we started to build cameras in volume.

 

While investigating the problem our engineers found the blemishes were in the glass that covers the sensor, and not the sensor itself. This is good because the glass might just be dirty so we saw this as a quick fix, but wondered how a supplier could deliver us sensors that had blemishes, as they are supposed to pre test them.

 

It is worth noting here what this glass does. Each sensor has a glass cover to keep contamination off the surface of the sensor itself, which is essentially a large semiconductor. If the surface ever got dirty, it would be impossible to clean, however the glass is easy to clean. All sensors have this glass cover. It is a high quality glass with optical coatings, similar to lens glass.

 

Anyway getting back to the issue, when talking with the supplier, it turned out they had a bug in their test software that tested sensors after the glass had been applied. That's why they shipped us bad sensors and did not notice. They fixed that problem and could then see the problems we saw and stopped production as about 95% of sensors were suffering this problem with the glass.

 

The next step for the supplier was for them to work out the cause of the blemishes on the glass. They developed tests for the glass before being bonded to the sensor, and discovered it contained the blemishes on the glass before being used in the suppliers factory. After more testing over the last few weeks, the supplier has discovered the blemishes are caused by a contamination from the packing materials used by the glass supplier to ship the glass to the sensor supplier.

 

So that's where we are at now. The supplier is due to get more glass later this week and then hopes to start up production again using new clean glass that will result in good quality sensors that we can use to start building cameras again.

 

We build our cameras in our own factory on a production line built for the camera so we can start shipping cameras again the day we receive good sensors.

 

I deeply apologize for the delay in shipping and it has been very frustrating for us as well to be sitting on a completed and tested product for a month that we cannot sell. Especially when people need them urgently.

 

As you can also see from the breakdown of the problem above, there has been multiple stages of testing to discover the cause of the problem so it has been hard to lock down dates or what was going on until now, so its been hard to update everyone on the exact details.

 

I hope this update helps people understand the delay. We should know more details about shipping times once the new glass arrives at our supplier.

 

We also have a new software update v1.1 for the camera due in a few days. The original v1 software did not have DNxHD support so thats now been added, as well as support for lens stabilizers and a bunch of other small features.

 

Regards,

 

Grant Petty

Blackmagic Design

 

=========================

[Peter J DeCrescenzo]

For the few lucky folks who have a Blackmagic Cinema Camera in-hand, Blackmagic Design today released a new firmware update version 1.1 which includes long-promised support for DNxHD recording, plus new features: Support for EF lenses with IS (image stabilization), and some additional shutter angles.

 

Of these changes, IS support is perhaps the biggest deal. It's a completely brand new feature, not yet mentioned on the BMCC product page.

 

With this v.1.1 firmware update, BMD also apparently improved the BMCC's audio input feature. It's reported that sound recoded via the "Mic" level input setting now sounds fuller, less "thin". A brief before & after audio recoding sample was posted to BMCuser.com. The "Line" level input sound quality is reportedly unchanged. In general, the BMCC has very good audio specs for a $3K video camera.

 

Below is a list I made of the reported new shutter angles and their shutter speed equivalents calculated using this website (to the best of my knowledge the list is correct; since I don't have my camera yet I can't confirm it, regrets).

 

Below that is the text of BMD's Read Me file (Mac version). I assume the Windows version of the Read Me file is similar:

 

===========================================

 

BMCC firmware v1.1 shutter angle and shutter speed equivalents, at 3 example frame rates (with "normal" shutter angle of 180 degrees in bold):

 

@ 24p

 

360 = 1/24th

324 = 1/26.66

270 = 1/32

216 = 1/40

180 = 1/48

172.8 = 1/50

144 = 1/60

108 = 1/80

90 = 1/96

45 = 1/198

 

@ 25p

 

360 = 1/25th

324 = 1/27.77

270 = 1/33.33

216 = 1/41.66

180 = 1/50

172.8 = 1/52.08

144 = 1/62.5

108 = 1/83.33

90 = 1/100

45 = 1/200

 

@ 30p

 

360 = 1/30th

324 = 1/33.33

270 = 1/40

216 = 1/50

180 = 1/60

172.8 = 1/62.49

144 = 1/75

108 = 1/100

90 = 1/120

45 = 1/240

 

===========================================

 

BMD's READ ME:

 

About Blackmagic Cinema Camera Utility

 

Welcome to the Blackmagic Cinema Camera Utility for Mac OS X. This utility allows you to update your Blackmagic Cinema Camera to the latest software release for new features, bug fixes and other enhancements.

 

Blackmagic Cinema Camera Utility 1.1

 

What's New?

 

• Avid DNxHD MOV support

• Support for EF lens with in-lens image stabilizer

• Increased number of available shutter angles

 

Minimum system requirements for Mac OS X

 

• Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion or later

• Mac OS X 10.7 Lion or later

• A suitable USB 2.0 port

• Thunderbolt port for UltraScope and Media Express

 

Installing Blackmagic Cinema Camera Utility

 

The Blackmagic Cinema Camera Installer will install the following components:

 

• Blackmagic Cinema Camera Utility

• Blackmagic Media Express

• Blackmagic UltraScope

• Blackmagic Disk Speed Test

 

Before installing the software, we recommend that you run "Uninstall Blackmagic Cinema Camera" first.

 

Additional Information

 

Please check www.blackmagic-design.com for additional information on third party software compatibility and minimum system requirements.

 

© 2012 Blackmagic Design Pty. Ltd. All rights reserved. Blackmagic Design, Blackmagic, DeckLink, Multibridge, HDLink, Workgroup Videohub, Broadcast Videohub, FrameLink, and "Leading the creative video revolution" are trademarks of Blackmagic Design Pty. Ltd., registered in the U.S.A and other countries.

 

Some applications use the QT UI framework (http://qtsoftware.com) under the terms of the LGPL version 2.1. The QT dynamic libraries, built from unmodified source are included in the application bundle. A copy of the LGPL is included in the Blackmagic application support directory. The support note at http://www.blackmagi...SDK=0&snid=9703 provides further details including how to obtain the QT source.

 

Updated October 04, 2012.

 

===========================================

[Peter J DeCrescenzo]

At the risk of getting myself on Blackmagic Design's poop list ... :-)

 

Concerning the letter posted by Grant Petty, CEO of BMD, supposedly explaining the reason for the months-long delay in their shipping the Blackmagic Cinema Camera, the following is my personal public service announcement:

 

I don't actually see any promise in Grant's letter concerning further updates. The wording appears to be very careful. I don't know if it's overly-careful on purpose (e.g.: as if it were run past BMD's legal dept.) or just by happenstance (which seems far fetched to me).

 

IMHO, Grant's letter is a textbook example of the appearance of detailed information & full disclosure, but without actually revealing or promising much at all.

 

As I've posted elsewhere, IMHO, days or weeks before Grant posted his letter, BMD could & should have said something approximately like the following:

 

=====================

"We deeply apologize for the delay in shipping your cameras. We've discovered what we believe is a solvable issue with the sensor assembly and are working diligently with our suppliers to address the issue as soon as possible. The issue appears to be one that may take at least a few weeks to fully address, but until we have complete information, we can't be more specific. Shipping date information is not possible at this time. We'll keep you informed of our progress on a weekly basis. Thank you very much for your patience."

=====================

 

Something like the above (the wording could be different) both conveys the seriousness of the problem and also sets expectations about how BMD plans to proceed, without revealing more detail than actually necessary. Most importantly, it promises regular updates that will contain additional information, whatever that may be.

 

As others have correctly said, once BMD got themselves into this mess by setting an approximate shipping date (e.g.: by the "end of July" or whatever) and encouraging pre-orders, honest communication was/is vastly preferable to no communication -- or vague communication.

 

I strongly believe that BMD should tell us on a regular basis (e.g.: weekly), what they know, as they know it, even if it's bad news or no news. Otherwise, the vacuum gets filled up with drivel like my posts. I'd rather read straight facts from BMD.

 

 

EDIT 10/11/12: In response to questions elsewhere, I’ve added the following:

 

Since I’m making a serious charge against BMD, I’ll explain a bit more what I mean.

 

To me it’s pretty simple.

 

Starting at the NAB expo in April, BMD spokespeople repeatedly made statements that they expected shipments of the BMCC to start by the end of July. Myself and many others took that to mean that shipping would start around Aug. 1st or so, ramping up from a relatively small number of units, with volume increasing over the following weeks & months.

 

In all this time, there’s never been a statement on BMD’s website discouraging customers from placing a BMCC pre-order through BMD’s dealer network. Quite the opposite. In fact, their website makes it easy to find dealer contact info. Not discouraging customers from placing pre-orders is exactly the same as encouraging them.

 

At any point, if BMD thought there might be a reason customers should not place pre-orders, they should have said so ASAP. Instead they waited until late Sept. to describe the sensor assembly issue. Yet BMD still does not discourage their dealers from taking pre-orders, even though BMD hasn’t declared BMCC production to have restarted, or if not, when it might restart.

 

Worse, BMD allows its dealers to take deposit payments, sometimes payment in full, even now when production continues to be a question mark. I understand that it’s up to customers to decide how, when & whether to spend their money, but under the circumstances, BMD’s attitude and actions (inaction) in this regard is not admirable.

 

So, as much as I look forward to receiving ASAP a fully-functional BMCC-EF that I pre-ordered in mid-April, and as much as I generally respect BMD’s products & tech support team, I’m very unhappy and disappointed with how they continue to handle BMCC marketing (e.g.: their encouraging pre-orders) and how infrequently they communicate with customers about it.

 

As of today, it been more than 2 weeks since Grant posted his one and only BMCC status update. Since then, BMD has missed 2 opportunities to post weekly updates containing additional info. It’s literally impossible for BMD not to have lots of useful info they could share with us. To give just one example: BMD’s dealers would dearly like to know WTF is going on. This saga is costly them money and customer good will. That’s just one example.

 

There are many other reasons why BMD should start talking, and the sooner, and more frequently (once a week would be nice), the better.

 

 

Cheers.

[Tebbe Schoeningh]

I've collected some image circle data on 16mm format lenses, but it's not always cut and dry. The circle often shrinks when a lens is stopped down, so for example a 25mm Kern Switar will cover the roughly 18mm image circle needed for the Black-Magic sensor when fully open, but stopped down past about f/2 you'll get more and more vignetting. The 50mm Switar covers easily.

 

I haven't checked a 12mm Zeiss Super Speed, but the 16 covers (just), the 8 and 9.5 do not.

 

Most of the wider focal lengths I've measured won't cover an 18mm image circle. That includes Kowa 16, 12.5 and 9, Angenieux 5.9, Kinoptic 5.7, Optex 5.5, Switar 10 and Cooke SK4 6, 9.5 and 12. Anything 50mm and over shouldn't be a problem, but there's larger format options for that end anyway.

 

Zooms tend to be worse than primes, I can't find any that wouldn't vignette on the BMCC under 40mm. With zooms the image circle changes more with focus distance, so at 40mm they might cover at infinity but vignette when focussed under 10 feet.

 

One possibility is using zooms with a doubler. A Zeiss 10-100 with a 2x Mutar for example would cover an 18mm image circle all the way from 20 to 200, providing you didn't stop down too much past T8.

 

Of course even if a 16 or S16 lens covers there's no guarantees that the image won't be degraded in the corners, since they were only optimised to cover that size image circle.

 

Do you have a chance to check the image circle of Arri Ultra 16 Primes?

[Peter J DeCrescenzo]

Today, after a 2 week wait since his last communication, Mr. Grant Petty finally posted on the BMD forum his 2nd status update concerning the long-delayed BMCC, which is still not shipping in volume 2.5 months after its promised released, and 6 months after its announcement at NAB 2012.

 

To me, one of the most important things Grant says is, "I will have more updates mid to late next week." I also wonder how many BMCC cameras "$20M in parts" represents? (My guess is tens of thousands of cameras.)

 

I sincerely hope he keeps to that update schedule, and most of all I hope BMD starts shipping BMCCs in volume very, very soon.

 

- Peter

 

 

================================================================

http://forum.blackma...baf18ec1f#p9489

 

Hi,

 

There was supposed to be an update posted late last week, however I was offline so could not do it personally. It looks like it did not happen, and no doubt as we have all been busy with the camera production ramp up.

 

The latest news is that sensors are starting to trickle through and we are testing them heavily and its looking good so far. Its going slower than we hoped because the sensor supplier is testing each sensor heavily to make sure they have correctly fixed the problem, and we are also testing heavily as we build cameras too. This is important as the only thing worse than a delay in shipping the cameras, is shipping thousands of them that have faults. So we want to make sure they are all good.

 

I appreciate how frustrating this has been for everyone, and its been more frustrating for us. Most people are expecting delivery of 1 camera. We are expecting delivery of thousands, so this means it's thousands of times more painful for us. You should see what a warehouse full of $20 million dollars of camera parts looks like. Its not good.

 

Its also very upsetting for us because we finished the camera months ago and its a really great design. Everyone here worked so hard on it, then to suddenly get more than 2 months of production delays due to a problem that was totally expected has undone all that work the teams here have done.

 

The good news is that at least the sensors are looking good and cameras are being built. Just in low volume initially this week. I hope over the next week or so as everyone becomes more confident that the sensor glass problem has been solved that we get increasing volume and people get their cameras. This could mean that cameras start arriving at resellers in about a week or two, depending on how things ramp and how long it takes to ship them.

 

I hope this update helps. The sensors we are getting are good, and so thats a really good sign. As long as the following batches remain good, then we will be ok. However it looks good so far from this weeks production results.

 

We are trying to give everyone updates as often as possible, but it takes days to do tests and see how things go, so that means its often a week or more before we have anything to update everyone with.

 

I will have more updates mid to late next week.

 

Grant Petty

Blackmagic Design

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Mr. Petty's previous BMCC status update is here:

http://www.cinematog...ndpost&p=377168

[Tebbe Schoeningh]

Has anyone tried some S16 lenses yet to see what the coverage really is? Data on actual image circle for each lens is hard to find. Trying to get a rough idea I drew a 15.6x8.8mm rectangle on paper and holding a lens in my hand focused an image and looked at the image circle. I have a set of Zeiss MK II super speeds here to try. The image circle gets bigger as the lenses get longer. The 12mm looked like it just covered, but the test is quite crude. So maybe 12, 16, 25, 50mm are viable. No 50mm here to try but I know that one has a big image circle.

 

Greg,

 

I just wrote an Email to Fred from FJS International and asked him if the wider Arri Ultra 16 lenses (6mm, 8mm, 9.5mm) cover the sensor of the BMDCC.

He says: "Just heard that they were tested at Panavision LA and they do cover that sensor."

 

This is actually really good news...

[Todd Anderson]

Greg,

 

I just wrote an Email to Fred from FJS International and asked him if the wider Arri Ultra 16 lenses (6mm, 8mm, 9.5mm) cover the sensor of the BMDCC.

He says: "Just heard that they were tested at Panavision LA and they do cover that sensor."

 

This is actually really good news...

 

 

There seems to be a lot of debate on wether or not the Arri / Zeiss Ultra16's will cover the BMD sensor. I'm not sure if they do 100%. The debate continues...

 

For those interested, I have placed a band new 8mm Ultra16 (new in the box), unused with an invoice from Arri showing my purchase in August, on ebay. The listing ends tomorrow. The starting bid is $3,799 with no reserve. If no one bids, that will be the price. This is about 1/5 the price from the factory.

 

The link is below. Pictures of the actual lens and invoice can be seen on ebay.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/200830762154?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

 

Ebay item #: 200830762154

 

Thanks,

-T

[Peter J DeCrescenzo]

Grant Petty, CEO of Blackmagic Design, today posted the following, very brief, 3rd status update about manufacturing difficulties with the Blackmagic Cinema Camera.

 

=========================================================

http://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1895&sid=4d33720b6f33542354d657b153de381a

 

Hi,

 

I was going to do an update today, but I still have not quite got the latest info I need to update everyone accurately. However what I do know is there is a small amount of cameras shipping again, but its slow because some of the testing software needed to quality sensors before they ship to us was completed later than we expected. However things are starting to move. I hope to have more info next week.

 

The supplier is quite upbeat though and expects a lot more sensors next week to ship so that is good.

 

Sorry I cannot provide more accurate info, but I hope to get more details soon and then will update everyone.

 

Grant

 

=========================================================

 

 

 

 

 

-

[Peter J DeCrescenzo]

Marco Solorio has posted another in a series of video about the BMCC. This new video is titled, "The Impact of 12-bit RAW".

 

Go to the Vimeo page and download the 1GB version of the file to better see the results he's discussing.

 

https://vimeo.com/52269416

 

 

Meanwhile, extremely few BMCC cameras have been shipped to end-user customers around the world. For example, reportedly fewer than 10 in the US thus far.

 

Standing by ...

[Peter J DeCrescenzo]

Today Mr. Grant Petty, CEO, Blackmagic Design, posted another very brief status update (his 4th) concerning the BMCC manufacturing delays:

 

=====================================

http://forum.blackma...9a582260d5903b9

 

We are going to give an update in a few days, however we are shipping cameras, but less than we want to be. We are trying to get more schedule information from the supplier and will have an update once they can give us some numbers. We are only getting sensors in small batches, but they are working to improve speed. So we are shipping cameras, but just need to get it faster.

 

Will have more news soon.

 

Regards,

 

Grant

 

=====================================

[Peter J DeCrescenzo]

On 11/2/12, Blackmagic Design posted another very brief status update (the 5th) concerning the Blackmagic Cinema Camera manufacturing delays:

 

=====================================

http://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2283&sid=369c05214ccfe4c7b4ffb6405f3b39e9

 

Hi

 

We're going to be posting another update in a day or two as we have a conference call arranged with our supplier to extract more information.

 

Right now, we are still not happy with the quality that we are getting from the glass window of the sensors so we're being extra careful. As such, we are only sending out a small number of cameras each day.

 

We understand that it's frustrating and we are feeling very frustrated about it too. We'll post another update with more information in a few days.

 

Thanks for your patience.

 

=====================================