#yegfilmReview of Black Magic Pocket

Cinema Camera(BMPCC)

Who am I?

● Edmonton filmmaker● Website: http://unidob.ca● INTERCUT Film podcast: http://intercut.net

○ Co-host with Cody Lang @codylang2

#yegfilm

● #yegfilm is a non-profit collective meant to connect filmmakers and accelerate film production in Edmonton

● Website: http://yegfilm.ca● Blog: http://blog.yegfilm.ca● Twitter: @yegfilm

Disclaimers

● Personal review, just what I think○ Not a professional cinematographer or DoP

● Also I don’t know what I’m doing ○ Never have, probably never will○ Being an amateur is a lot easier

BMPCC: What is it?

● A very small, relatively inexpensive, digital video camera, which can record in either ProRes HQ or lossless compressed raw

Image credit: EOSHD.com

BMPCC Pros

● Lossless compressed raw○ 24 images per second, those image files essentially

“zipped”, ie. compressed without loss of data● “13” stops of dynamic range

○ Detail in clouds! Wow!○ Real life might be 9 stops, vs GH2 at about 5 (?)

● Records to SD cards

BMPCC Pros

● Relatively affordable - $995 USD● Versatile M4/3 lens mount

○ Could mount (some) 16mm lenses● Davinci Resolve 10 is a beast, and it’s free!

○ No noise reduction in lite version though● Set to raw or prores, 800 ISO, film range,

24fps...and that will be it

BMPCC Cons

● Batteries○ Bought four extra batteries from B&H (~$100)○ Need a larger V-mount style battery for cam and

EVF● Smallish sensor - 3x crop

○ though not a big deal for me● Autofocus slow, but who cares

BMPCC Cons

● Like most DSLRS, can’t see anything on the monitor in the daylight, need loupe or EVF

● LCD screen doesn’t articulate● Lots of post work, but I don’t mind (yet),

prefer the flexibility of raw● Need a good computer for Davinci Resolve

○ With a good graphics card, possibly 2

BMPCC Cons

● Only one (that I know of right now) SD card handles lossless compressed raw

● Moiré still an annoying problem

Quick look at Resolve 10 (lite)

IR filter● Once enough ND is in front of the lens, most sensors will show IR pollution, so need

an IR filter in cases of a lot of ND filtering

Thanks!curtis@yegfilm.ca

PS.

● Apologies for the audio quality, was testing a new mic and it didn’t work that well