Pocket camera – first day, first impressions...
 

I read that this fellow put his new Pocket Camera on Ebay and got about $1800.00, US that is, for it. Good for him. I wouldn’t take $1800.00 for mine, that’s for sure. I’m not sure how much money it would take to take to prise it from my hands and I’m not about to find out. Which is to say today was a good day. After several fumbles getting going, none of which caused irreparable damage to me or the camera, and under a super-bright sun in a biting cold wind I finally hit the record button with little understanding of what I was doing and even less understanding of what was happening under the hood.

After the first few clips I headed down into the village and purchased another pair of reading glasses, plus 3 which is the strongest available. So now I use two pair of reading glasses and can just make out what I need to see on the screen and then only when I shade the thing. No doubt you people with younger eyes shooting in seedy clubs in polluted cities will not have this problem but here in the open under the fierce southern sun the screen is almost useless.

And in these conditions an ND filter is absolutely essential. I have one but it’s a huge 77mm size and I need to get step-up rings or a variable ND filter that fits the lens I have.

Which brings me to the lens. John Brawley said the Panasonic 14-42 el cheapo works just fine, and so it does, but in my hands it’s quite useless. On a tripod no problem but seems the built in image stabilization is not activated on the Pocket camera and none of my hand-held footage is worth a damn. The tripod stuff is a different matter altogether, I’m delighted to report. So I need a new lens, and one that has built in image stabilization that works on the Pocket Camera. Suggestions most welcome.

I shot using both the video mode and the film mode. Under the conditions of today film mode is the way to go.

A quick play in post, for me that’s Vegas Pro 12, seems simple enough and very effective. White balance adjustment, sharpening, brightness and contrast and render off to whatever and the results are nice, very nice. I am more than delighted, and that was just day one.

It’s been said already but let me repeat; this is not a point and shoot camera. But it’s not rocket science either. I reckon by the end of summer (and spring has just begun) I might have this thing sorted.

White orbs and black spots – nope; not a problem, at least not today.

Well done, Blackmagic, and thanks.

Re: Pocket camera – first day, first impressions...
 

Thanks for the brief review. Looking forward to some footage. I just watched half part 2 of Blooms review. I'm loving the images I'm seeing so far. Also just watched a short video someone posted filmed at Rotterdam Harbor. I'm sure if I watched frame by frame, the white orb issue would be there in the harbor videos but why would anyone watch something like that? Can't wait to get my hands on mine.

Re: Pocket camera – first day, first impressions...
 

would agree the need for an ND filter is frustrating. I'm sitting in the Serengeti with amazing things happening all around and I can use it. Mind you it's not my primary or even secondary camera, so it's no loss.

Re: Pocket camera – first day, first impressions...
 

Dear KRIS ZIMBELMAN,

We are pleased to inform you that the following items from your order have been shipped. (If this email was sent on a Sunday or a Legal Holiday, your order has been packed and will be shipped on the next business day.)

BLPKCINECAM 1 Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera

Re: Pocket camera – first day, first impressions...
 

Good for you Kris, I trust you get a kick out of getting to know the Camera, as I’m sure you will.

Given the limitations of the cheap 14 42 lens and that the stabilization is ineffective on the Pocket I went ahead and ordered the new Panasonic Lumix G Vario 14-140mm F3.5-5.6 ASPH. / Power O.I.S H-FS14140. I asked the question over at the Blackmagic forum but no feed back there. It is a new lens and perhaps they are few and far between. The stabilization is reported to be more effective than the earlier model and in as much as all it needs from the Pocket is power it should be just fine. If not then I might just need to get a Panasonic G6 body:-)

When that arrives, along with ND filters and a spare battery, I should be good to go.

Now if only the howling southerly winds would cease and desist...horizontal sleet is a pain!

Re: Pocket camera – first day, first impressions...
 

I can tell you the g6 is amazing and it was a choice g6 v B.M.C.C , the g6 came out tops...check this out g6 playing around from the camera just standard profile

Re: Pocket camera – first day, first impressions...
 

"check this out g6 playing around"

Not impressed, look cheap and bad in shadows.

Re: Pocket camera – first day, first impressions...
 

Saw this a little while ago. I'm wondering if this is ungraded pocket camera footage.

Re: Pocket camera – first day, first impressions...
 

Hard to judge from what appears in the above video. The scenes outside the windows in the BMPCC clip look a little overexposed compared to those in the GH3's. The BMPCC's shadows also show more details against mere dark shadows in the GH3's, again could just be the result of more exposure. Added in the YouTube compression, different degrees of grading, then you could probably make one look decidedly distinct than the other either way.

Re: Pocket camera – first day, first impressions...
 

I agree, it is hard to judge, so much so that I've given up trying.

Today was the first decent day here in a while and I made the most of it. I filled a 32GB card just as the battery ran out. So tonight we will see what happens in post.

I have a new battery, battery charger and lens due early next week. Total expense to date about $2000 US.

Re: Pocket camera – first day, first impressions...
 

You trying to be smart???

Re: Pocket camera – first day, first impressions...
 

I just received my camera. I have not taken the lens cap Off yet, and I'm wondering if this affects whether the camera will come on or not. I'm just trying to charge the battery. I've plugged the camera into a power supply and there are no indications that It is charging. when I push the power button I just get a flash of light at the bottom of the screen.

Re: Pocket camera – first day, first impressions...
 

Kris, the power switch is tricky. One needs to press it for a second or more to turn the camera on however if you continue holding it the camera will turn on, the flash of light appears, and then it turns off again. So press the power button and immediately you see the flash of light let it go. It should then be powered up and the information bar, small that it is, should appear at the bottom of the screen and at the right-hand end the battery status should be visible..

It matters not whether you have a lens attached or a card inserted, at least that is so on mine.

Good luck

Re: Pocket camera – first day, first impressions...
 

got it , Thanks
I will be attending the University of Oklahoma\West Virginia football game which starts at 6 PM tomorrow.
I plan on taking some band shots as they walk through the campus, tailgating and some game sequence.
I will be shooting Pro RES. This is the lens I will be using.
https://secure.bhphotovideo.com/c/se...op+Nav-Search=

I know that the conditions can vary and that these things can change on the run, but can you recommend any initial settings?

Re: Pocket camera – first day, first impressions...
 

I hope you'll post some video, as I have that lens patiently waiting for the pocket camera to arrive. Looking forward to seeing some nice wide open depth of field shots.

Re: Pocket camera – first day, first impressions...
 

Frame rate is very much over to you and your preference. There is no right or wrong. I shoot at 30 fps and if 60 was available that would be my preference.

I set zebras at 100% and then reduce the aperture one stop below. Film setting as the video setting seems to produce footage that is very contrasty. ISO, I have 400 selected and then outdoor on a sunny day I need ND8 to get the aperture down to about f8 to f 11, the sharp point of my lens. If you want shallow DoF as I believe Jeff wants then you will need a lot of ND's for outdoor shooting, I'm guessing.

But as you say this does depend on the conditions and the intensity of the light in your neighborhood.

It's not too complicated really. My biggest problem is seeing and reading the screen, but then that's age related to some degree. A bolt-on EVF is on my wish list.

Re: Pocket camera – first day, first impressions...
 

The lens needs to have a manual IS switch or IS won't actually work with the pocket camera.

I'm not sure why this is the case, but its something to do with the way the protocol is enabled. I'm hoping they will fix this in the future....it's on a growing to do list.

Are you shooting RAW or ProRes ? I have some exposure suggestions but it depends how you shoot.

EDIT---woops. You won't have RAW yet ;-)

I find with ProRes you don't tend to want to ETTR as much as you do with RAW. Mainly because there is less bit depth so it's generally better to have a little more headroom at the top end.

When you change the ISO in ProRes, you're also shedding some DR. Even though you're dropping the ISO, all it's doing is mapping the same exposure and applying a more bent curve at the expense of top end. Some users say they prefer the noise profile from this, but it's worth noting that to get the most DR, you should generally shoot at 800 and use ND's.

jb

Re: Pocket camera – first day, first impressions...
 

Thanks John, that tip about ISO 800 vs 400 is most helpful. I have now switched to 800 as you suggest so we will see how we go with that.

I’m getting there, it is a fun little camera, that’s for sure, and I do like the look.

Re: Pocket camera – first day, first impressions...
 

Hey John, any chance this slip means you are currently testing raw?

Re: Pocket camera – first day, first impressions...
 

I'd invite you to test 400 and 800 at the corrected ISO's for yourself.

Also, if you end us using Resolve, there's a great LUT that's been created by a fellow Kiwi there, Captain Hook. It's a great way to shoot FILM and get to a pretty nice result without trying too hard.

CaptainHook | Blackmagic Cinema Camera LUT

jb

Re: Pocket camera – first day, first impressions...
 

Oh well, then it must be perfect:-)

Thanks, I have downloaded and installed his LUT and tonight I shall give it a whirl. Right now the sun is a-shining, a couple of clouds in the sky just to make it interesting, spring is here, the new lens arrived just 5 minutes ago; I'm off...see ya later!

Re: Pocket camera – first day, first impressions...
 

Try to create some moire (I assume that's what it is)
On a Canon APS-C I find it mild enough to miss when just fooling around, even though it crops up a lot.
On some early BMPCs footage you don't see that sort of thing most of the time, but when you do -Pow-, there it is.

Re: Pocket camera – first day, first impressions...
 

Nothing yet. Here's a prt scn where one might have expected to have seen problems.

Re: Pocket camera – first day, first impressions...
 

Yeah. Thinking I could probably use some examples in case any one asked I tried to find some in the recent footage going around. Haven't been able to yet. Not sure what I saw previously. It's quite possible it was actually on a different camera altogether.

Re: Pocket camera – first day, first impressions...
 

Can someone please post some original files shot ins raw and prores so I can test workflows and push the grading. I don't mean youtube or vimeo. I mean to upload the original files.using one of the many free sites for uploading large files.

Alex