Just testing some different color grades using RAW footage from the new BlackMagic Design Micro Cinema Camera. This was shot in compressed 3:1 RAW on a Sandisk Card in 60p and then conformed in FCPX. I originally thought you couldn't shoot RAW in 60p on this camera, but that was because I was trying Full RAW. If you set it to RAW 3:1 (compressed RAW), then you can definitely do 60p.
The camera is a bit quirky without an LCD screen or Grip, so you need to add a few things to it to make it functional. But in such a small package it's amazing to get 60fps 12-bit RAW Video for under $1K. No other camera offers this. I can only imagine the quality people will get flying this on Drones (as it was originally intended for). Or even just used for car mount projects as this camera is tiny but packs incredible quality.
The BMMCC is very sharp, but my images in the video (above) are soft because I forgot to bring a good ND Filter and needed to stop the Panasonic 20mm lens down to F/16 (max). This lens is typically sharp around F/2.2 or so, and stopping it down (from bright daylight) really makes the images soft (Most lenses will be softer when at it's widest aperture or stopped down). I'll have to go out and shoot again, this time with a better lens and ND filter.
Obviously the #BMMCC #Blackmagic #MicroCinema camera is not designed to be as sensitive in low light as the Sony A7s, but at ISO 1600 it's not too shabby. As long as you can get your exposure set properly and push everything down in post, noise shouldn't be too much of an issue. It's when you shoot underexposed and then decide on trying to push up the Shadows, Mids, or Highlights that you'll see a big problem. Instead you should be setting your exposure so that your know in post you will be pushing down your Highlights, Mids, and Shadows. If you can't set your exposure, you'll have to light your scene. Personally I think I would stick to ISO 800 as much as possible, but here's a test at ISO 1600 where I felt I was still shooting underexposed, and you can see some of that noise.
BTW, if you have a decent set of headphones or speakers listen to the Stereo Audio recorded by Azden's new SMX30 which is two microphones in one! So handy to be able to switch from a directional microphone for focused sound, or to Stereo to capture natural ambient sound. Unlike a mono audio track, you can actually hear the people walking from one side to the other, or cars driving by.
BlackMagic Design Micro Cinema Camera RAW ProRes 60p
Cheesycam
Post author@Ryan - Sorry i'm not using a shoulder pad in that article.
Ryan
Hey there I'm not sure if it was mentioned but could you please tell me what shoulder pad you are using in the video? I can't seem to find anything like it.
Thank you.
Kay O. Sweaver
Thanks Emm! I'm seriously considering a Black Magic for my next video camera, so your samples and reviews are super helpful.
Cheesycam
Post author@Kay O. Sweaver - It's definitely YouTube compression. But there may be some strobing from the night lights as well. The camera doesn't having any noise strobing itself.
Kay O. Sweaver
The noise in the low light sample is really weird to me. I can't tell if its YouTube's compression doing it or if its from the camera but it almost seems like blocky strobing. I didn't notice it initially, but once I saw it it really bugged me.
Cheesycam
Post author@Ian Swarbrick - If you are just starting out, I would go with the Phantom 4. The camera is great, but you need a lot of practice flying to get good shots. Or get the entry level Inspire1 and if you want a better camera upgrade it to X5 or X5R.
Ian Swarbrick
emm, you wrote:
"I can only imagine the quality people will get flying this on Drones (as it was originally intended for)."
If you were starting drone filmwork from scratch, never having owned a drone before, but being particular about image quality, would you a) buy the Phantom 4 or b) buy this and wait for a tailored flying platform to come on the market for it?