17Apr Blackmagic Cinema Camera, 2.5k Raw footage for under $3000
Blackmagic’s video camera announcement seems like it came out of nowhere. A company known for their converter boxes and HDMI recorders is now set to release a DSLR form factor video camera that shoots up to 2.5k (2432 x 1366) raw in an open CinemaDNG format. All the inputs and outputs you would expect in a normal video camera, plus it records directly to SSD drives. The camera also supports Canon EF mount lenses among others.
The biggest thing about this announcement is that the Blackmagic camera offers a raw file format for under $3000, which is less then the Canon 5d mark III. No word yet on the low light performance but they say 13 stops of dynamic range. The downside is the small sensor size. Not quit sure on the crop factor of the 15.6 mm x 8.8 mm sensor, but it should be somewhere around 2.3x to 2.6x, so don’t expect to have many wide angle lenses to choose from.
I think a camera like this is a little closer to what low budget film makers are looking for, but many people will find the crop factor unacceptable. If you film a lot of action sports, the lack of supper wide angle lens options will be a large downside. Change the sensor to full frame or at least a APS-C size sensor and I think a camera like this would take over the low budget market. I think this will end up being almost but not quit.
April 17th, 2012 at 10:17 pm
Anamorphic will take care of the wide issue. I’ve been researching and the 2x anamorphic lenses are too wide for the 16:9 with the 1.33x anamorphic lenses getting proper cinescope crop. The 2X lenses are built for a 4:3 aspect ratio as are the 1.5x anamorphic lenses. This will be key and also add a decidedly cinematic look and feel to footage from this device. The digitalbolex.com is in this category as well and will use the anamorphic lenses with a max 4:3 sensor ratio. I for one am super excited to see these cameras open up fidelity to the indie film maker. The digital bolex is a ccd not cmos so no rolling shutter at or any of the other artifacts that the HDSLR paradigm presents. I’m not going to give up my T2i but should budget allow, one of the cameras I mentioned will at least get a test.
April 17th, 2012 at 10:17 pm
Interesting development. This camera does beg several questions.
The sensor size is smaller than 4/3rds cameras. Why not 4/3rds lenses. A lot more optics would be available than expensive EF glass. And some great wide angles
Built in battery working for an hour and a half with a two hour recharge? Not! Come on guys. Needs an external battery right off the bat.
SDI and not HDMI for more expensive monitoring. Needs an external viewfinder. HDSDI external viewfinders cost over $1000.
April 18th, 2012 at 5:54 pm
I’m sure you’ll be able to adapt 4/3 glass down the road, though there are a number of lenses in that category (Olympus comes to mind) that cost as much or more then EF lenses of equivalent focal lengths.
As for batteries, the power input supports a wide range of input voltages, so if you already use a high end V-lock mount battery setup or similar, you’ll be all set. For everyone else, that $500 in savings you got from not buying a 5d mark III can be spent on battery packs.
April 18th, 2012 at 6:27 am
quite it!
April 18th, 2012 at 7:46 am
how much wider than 11-16 does one need to go? I for one would get this before the canon mk3. RAW is a big deal guys… especially for 3k bucks. The footage looks more like RED than anything else, I wasnt wild about canons new stuff
April 18th, 2012 at 5:45 pm
With a 2.3x crop factor the 11-16mm would be about 25-36mm which is wide, but a lot of skateboarding and other sports related footage is shot at around 16mm or below. If you don’t need ultra wide angles a 17-55mm f2.8 lens would give you about 39-126mm, that could be a one size fits most solution for documentaries and drama. Plus 2.5k would give you a little more room the punch in if you needed to do some cropping.
As far as the advantages of a Raw work flow, it’s great if you have the time to use it, but I know many lowbudget RED users that don’t even bother with 4k or a raw workflow. Instead they just grab 2k and go, makes you wonder what the point was in renting or owning the camera.
April 18th, 2012 at 12:12 pm
Anamorphic lenses will take care of the wide issue. If this devices allow for 4:3 full frame shooting then the 2X anamorphic lenses will give you a perfect cinescope crop in post.
April 18th, 2012 at 5:31 pm
I’m not really a fan of the anamorphic look, but for those who are, that would do the trick. You could also grab an 8mm lens which would work out to something like 18mm. That should be fine for many shooters.
April 19th, 2012 at 1:56 am
I understand what you’re saying Deejay. Anamorphic is so decidedly film and may not be appropriate for many projects. Thus this camera may be more “film” centric, than “video” centric.
April 19th, 2012 at 11:51 am
Also just another note: The audio inputs are not XLR, they are 1/4″ jacks. Not a big deterrent for anyone recording audio externally for syncing in post.
BMD is also saying the Da Vinci Resolve and some other software will be shipped with any purchased units. (Software total is $3-4k on it’s own).
March 13th, 2013 at 10:14 am
Deejay, I’ve seen a few people in town (LA) with them now. It looks like they are finally shipping all the pre-orders. Are you going to do a review (if you bought one?). I would love to know more about all of the accessories one would need to get this baby going.
March 13th, 2013 at 10:55 am
I’ve looked over the workflow and had a chance to play around with a rental. Unless you can handle RAW and all the work it takes, it’s not really a good buy. It’s ergonomics aren’t great, low light isn’t amazing, battery packs are a pain, the touch screen is a pain, and you don’t even get XLR inputs. The people I’ve talked to that are using the BMC regularly have said they shoot mostly in ProRes, which basically defeats the point of buying the camera. If you are going to do that you might as well shoot on a Sony FS100, same price and much better equipped.
On the other hand if you are the type that wants to spend weeks in post working with and correcting RAW DNG files and you already have a large file server setup (12tb at least), you might be at a good starting point. Just remember the price doesn’t include the extra $2000 or so worth of extra equipment you’ll need to get this thing working like a normal camera.
I don’t plan on spending much time with the BMC, it’s just not ready for prime time.