When news of the Blackmagic Cinema Camera dropped, I got that warm, giddy feeling. Everything I need in a camera and nothing I don’t! A few months of research later, I decided: this will be the camera I will shoot my feature film with. The quality of images this camera produces is superb. I love the dynamic range, the sharpness, the texture, and the richness in the blacks. I feel closer to shooting on film than I ever have. However, when it comes to peace of mind on set, it can leave a lot to be desired. There’s plenty of praises to sing, but I want to talk about some of the issues I’ve had with it, hidden expenses, and quirks to be aware of that are pertinent to the independent filmmaker. Click through for a list I’ve compiled after shooting two indie features with it, along with some comments from Dan May, the president of Blackmagic Design.
While
my directorial debut, Menthol, is still in the early editing stages, here is a teaser
from the feature I shot with Josh
Beck directing, called Ever. Many of these
shots are ungraded, but this gives you a sense of what we were able to do with
the camera on a very low budget:
1. Dropped Frames / SSDs:
Currently
BMD’s suggested
list of SSDs is proving to be a bit of a
minefield. Shooting my
film with Crucial M4 512s — in which it
was my goal to incorporate a lot of long takes — dropped frames were a drag.
They happen randomly and frequently, even in ProRes. The only upside to this is
that you know when it’s happening; the camera’s REC display blinks when a drop
frame is detected. To minimize dropped frames, it’s recommended to format your
SSDs (HFS+) after each use, which can only be done when docked to your
computer. In terms of SSDs, the general consensus is to go for the Sandisk
Extreme 480GB, though they are not immune to
dropped frames either.
It
seems that the severity of the dropped frame can vary as well, sometimes the
image skips, and other times it’s barely noticeable and it just sends your
audio out of sync. The end of the world? Certainly not, but annoying enough for
me to urge you to choose your SSD media wisely, and check in with the community
about various manufacturers’ SSD performance before buying. Here’s an example
of audio drift from a dropped frame (NSFW audio):
The
SSD bay itself is also very delicate and I don’t think it will hold up to
long-term rugged professional use. I recommend extreme delicacy when
slotting SSDs in and out of the camera. Also be aware that there is no clip
management inside the camera, this means no deleting clips in-camera. From Dan:
Different
SSD manufacturers do things different in terms of media, they actually have
their own compression built in to save space. The Crucials were really one of
the big “gotchas” that we experienced, as we tested them a lot and they were
working great and then a new firmware came along and it was like, okay, these
don’t work anymore.
The
hidden cost? If you buy the correct media the first time around, you’ll be
okay.
2. Touchscreen:
I’ve
shot with 4 different Blackmagic cameras so far, and each LCD screen seems to
have its different quirks, dead pixels being the constant, so potentially
expect to see some. However, the real problem with the BMC screen is that
it’s completely unusable in daylight or in any situation where light is hitting
the screen, and the included sun shade is not a solution by any means. A 5″
monitor hood like the Hoodman
HRT5 is a must at the very minimum
if you can’t afford an SDI EVF like the Alphatron or an HDMI to SDI converter. In regards to cheap SDI
converters like
this one, beware — it won’t always
successfully carry your signal.
In
the current firmware (1.2) the ‘Video’ display mode (REC 709) only works on the
camera’s LCD, so when using an external monitor your only option is
to view the ‘Log’ signal. Also on external monitors, Zebras and Peaking
functions disappear while recording. The touchscreen menu is also the only
place to access the camera’s options and cannot be sent out via SDI.
The hidden cost? Expect to purchase a sunshade
at the very least, and unless you own an external monitor already, one of those
too. Or you can DIY something, like I did in a pinch with my camera bag’s
velcro dividers and the almighty gaff tape:
3. Data Rates:
I’ll
be the first to admit it: I can’t afford to shoot RAW for anything long-form
like a feature. On my film, we shot for 20 days and my ProRes footage totaling
~5TB, or ~60 hours, multiplied x3 for redundancy (it’s all about redundancy); that’s ~15TB of data, and all we had room in the budget
for. The RAW data rates otherwise are just too
intense. This is championed as a narrative
camera, but it seems unaffordable to shoot a feature film in RAW at the
sub-$100k level. I suspect a lot of indie filmmakers will make great use of the
ProRes and rarely utilize RAW.
4. Internal Audio:
No
internal audio metering (yet). Seems like a basic camera feature, but is
nowhere to be found. No phantom power. While on paper the audio preamps in the
camera are of good quality, they still aren’t working as intended. She’s
quirky: if the camera feels like the signal is going to overload, then it
switches itself from MIC to LINE which, when using a PreAmp like the JuicedLink
riggy, which can cause lost
audio. Balanced TRS inputs instead of XLR
is a minor headache, although if you’re from the DSLR world you’ll be used to
this. Dual-system sound can’t be beat, and until Blackmagic sorts out their
internal audio issues, I wouldn’t feed anything to the camera other than a
scratch track. More from Dan:
There’s
one or two audio things that we’re trying to work on, but I can’t definitely
say that we have an answer for that yet. I don’t think that there are VU meters
coming soon. We’re working on fixes for the camera, and we’re working on
getting to NAB, and there’s a bunch of stuff post-NAB, but to say that VU
meters are coming soon wouldn't be accurate. We understand why people want VU
meters on the touchscreen itself, but there are ways around it, such as using
an external monitor.
5. 24 vs 23.976:
Final
Cut Pro 7 editors: be careful! This camera has the option of shooting in true
24fps. Not 24p (23.976/23.98) but true 24.
Final Cut Pro has some quirks when it comes to editing on a true integer
sequence such as 24fps, the biggest issue being audio drift. You’ll notice if
you bring in your 48.000khz audio that it will drift. The solution for this in
small applications is to speed up or slow down your audio by .01% (so either by
changing your audio clip speed to 99.90% or 100.10%, depending on which version
of the problem you’re compensating for). Premiere doesn’t have this problem,
and is another reason I’m happy I made
the switch. I shot some stuff on true 24 on
accident, assuming it was 23.98 — my mistake, yes, but a headache nonetheless.
So just make sure to shoot on 23.98 unless you really mean true 24.
As to why it’s there, it’s for shooting alongside film:
We were trying to find a the cross between the DSLR and the film world, so we just wanted to cover as many bases as possible.
6. Infinity Focus / Iris Control:
Reports
of issues with infinity
focus on various lenses is
cause for concern as well. I planned to shoot a majority of my film on the
Tokina 11-16, a popular choice for covering the wide lengths on the
Blackmagic’s intense crop factor. After reading people having problems with
infinity focus on the EF version of the lens, I decided to rent the Nikon
version and use a G adapter
with manual iris control, as the
F-mount version doesn’t seem to have the problem. Blackmagic has
addressed this issue and is fixing cameras that show
this problem.
In
terms of iris control, a lot of lenses (even EF) simply aren’t supported. I’ve
always championed the use of manual lenses — I personally need to be able to
control exposure with something physical, with my hands. With this camera, you
just don’t know if you’ll be able to control aperture with your lens until you
try it.
There
is no official list of lenses that we certify, obviously there are user reports
and a lot of internal discussion about what works and what doesn’t. I don’t
want to comment if there’s going to be an official list because I don’t think
we’ve decided at this time.
The
hidden cost? Depending on what lenses you use, it might not be a problem. Look
for user
generated lists on what works and what doesn’t.
7. Crop Factor:
While
it’s worth mentioning that the crop factor is workable and shouldn’t be a huge
detractor for many, it’s pretty different from what I’m used to in S35. In
general I don’t like what it does to my focal lengths, and I’ve found myself
using zoom lenses more to compensate for this. The general rule of thumb is
obvious: it’s harder on the wide end and easier on the telephoto end.
The
hidden cost? At roughly 2.3x (from full frame, 1.6 from S35) it’s an
awkward crop factor, which means it might require additional lenses, depending
on what lenses you currently own and what focal lengths you need to cover.
8. Moire:
Those
from the DSLR world will be used to this, as the moire from the BMCC‘s sensor can be just as bad. Perhaps Mosaic
Engineering or another company will design some
kind of VAF (Video Aliasing Filter) for the camera, but nothing has hit the
market yet. Is it a huge problem? Not if you’re used to it and know how to look
for it, but definitely worth knowing about. Will BMD develop anything to solve
this? Don’t hold out for it:
There’s
so many great third-party manufacturers out there it’s hard to see us spending
a lot of time and energy doing that kind of stuff, unless there’s a huge gap.
We’re a $3,000 camera, and what we deliver is a whole lot of camera. The
only time we make an accessory is when a third party really falls down on the
job, then we will go out and make it.
9. Power:
One
of my favorite things about the camera is actually the ~1.5 hours you get out
of the internal battery. It’s very useful if you need to be covert when
‘stealing’ locations. You can strip it down, pop it off your rig and it makes
it easy to get shots on a public bus or a supermarket. This is something that
DSLR users will find familiar in terms of form factor. However, be aware that
you absolutely need an external battery system for normal all-day shooting,
like a V-Mount or Gold-Mount (Anton
Bauer) system. They aren’t cheap, and as
always, you get what you pay for. The hidden cost? Expect to pay around $500 at
the very minimum for a working V-mount system. Many professional battery
systems, like the IDX
Indura can take an even larger bite out of
your wallet. I’m glad using this camera pushed me to start working with an
external battery system though — I won’t ever go back.
Also,
be aware that the barrel size on the power connector is 2.5mm, slightly larger
than the standard 2.1mm power pins that you find on your DSLR. You’ll need
something like
this D-Tap cable to provide power to your camera.
10. Sunspot:
Pointing
the camera in the direction of the sun causes a photosite overload — it
transforms bright sources, like
the sun, into a large black dot. For most
situations, it’s not a problem, but in the case where you have a client who
needs “beautiful sunflares, blah blah blah” it’s going to cause you problems.
All CMOS sensors are capable of overloading like this, as did the RED ONE in an
early firmware. DaVinci Resolve’s ‘recover highlight’ function should fix this
for those who need to in post. (Note: this doesn’t seem to be present on all
units.)
This
is going to be addressed in the future firmware update that is in the works,
which will definitely be post-NAB.
11. Framerates:
No
frame rates above 30fps. No brainer, no big deal. This is a narrative camera,
but just be aware of it. It’s amazing the surprise I hear when I tell people
this. So if you plan on doing a re-make of Paranoid Park, you’ll have to pick a different camera. A lot of clients
ask for slow motion, so if your primary accounts are music videos or short /
experimental films, it could be a drawback.
12. Auto Sleep Mode / Camera Death:
I
had one camera die on me in the middle of shooting. While scrubbing through
playback, the camera shut off and wouldn’t turn back on. Blackmagic support
replaced the camera for me, but our production had to rent one for 5 days while
it was being shipped, and it was a miracle that I even knew someone with a
camera body to rent at the time. I’m now basically PTSD when looking at
playback, I always think it’s gonna kill the camera, and try to avoid playback
in-camera as a general rule. Very stressful. BMD’s support team diagnosed the
problem as a glitch with its auto-sleep mode, that apparently activates when
the batteries are low, and they said it must’ve gotten stuck in this mode.
However, I was fully charged when it happened, so it’s still a mystery to us —
and mysteries are scary.
I
have never heard of that before. I had a really early beta camera that had a
weird experience kind of in that area — the battery died, won’t revive — but
that was in March of last year. The thing should be well grounded, it shouldn’t
get electrical shocks, but that sounds like a freak accident, I have not heard
of a camera just falling asleep with full batteries.
So
the mystery remains, but is to be expected with a company blazing a new path,
and the Blackmagic Support team are very helpful and responsive to your needs.
More from Dan May about their journey making the camera:
Certainly
we are not the first person to go out and say we’re just going to make a camera
out of another guy’s system? It’s a complicated process, the fact that we were
able to actually get the camera out the door in a reasonable amount of time,
granted we had lots of challenges, but a lot of the problems that you
mentioned, some of them have been addressed by firmware updates or will be
addressed by firmware updates, or have workarounds out there that are
reasonable.
The
hard part is: how much time do we want to spend developing the ‘silver bullet’
product, and can that be an affordable product that people will buy? If we kept
the camera a secret for another 2 years and put all these features in it, all
of a sudden it’s a $10,000 camera and it’s 2 years late. That is part of the
process of being a manufacturer, it’s just about trying to develop the best
product as possible and get it into the hands of as many people as possible.
When
asked about this year’s NAB:
Unless
we invent time travel I don’t think we can top the shock and awe of last year,
but I think it’ll be another great NAB, so look out for it, it should be pretty
exciting.
Remember,
any camera is just a tool, and you should be aware of what the tool is
providing for you that you really need. Do you need a RAW workflow?
Do you need the dynamic range? Above all, shoot with what works for
you. A lot about filmmaking is learning the tools so we can forget them. By now
it’s a cliché, but it’s true. To be able to transcend the tools is so
important, because when you’re shooting, you want to be solving creative
problems, not technical ones.
So
if you have a 7D/5D and are looking for an upgrade to the BMCC, keep in mind that the camera presents a whole new set of
quirks. Blackmagic Design has never made a camera before, and it comes with all
the bumps and bruises you could expect from a bleeding edge piece of
technology. Most importantly, it should not be looked at as a
simple upgrade from a DSLR. It’s a camera that delivers
features at its price-point that is defying what the market offered even 6
months ago, but it’s not for everyone, and you can’t just jump in without a lot
of consideration.
Sometimes
you just can’t know something until you’ve spent some time with it and learned
how to optimize it for your use. Now that I know a lot more about how to handle
it by keeping this list in mind, I feel more comfortable going out and shooting
with it. As with any camera system: test, test, and test some more!...
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