Tag Archives: BlackMagic Pocket Cinema

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If you want to make Time Lapse with your GoPro Hero3 or SmartPhones a little more interesting you can add motion. Simple motion can add an entirely new dimension instead of your basic static shot, and this can be done without complicated rigs. With my iPhone i'm using iMotionHD & with my Android phone i'm using an app called DroidLapse. Here's a quick clip (below) I did while out in Monterey, CA using my Samsung Galaxy S4.

The easiest motion is panning, and although there are ways to build DIY contraptions with Egg Timers, today you can find a variety of off-the-shelf versions for under $30 dollars.

Time Lapse Egg Timer GoPro BlackMagic Pocket CinemaEgg Timer GoPro Panning Motiontime lapse panning egg time gh4 camera
find-price-button Rotating Panning For Time Lapse

This product is essentially a redesigned Egg Timer as you can still hear ticking and even rings a bell at the end of it's travel. It does offer a female 1/4 thread under the base for a small tripod, and a male 1/4"-20 stud to mount your camera. It is designed for small compact cameras and smart phones, and will rotate 360 degrees in 60 minutes.

You can find this product via eBay (click here).

GoPro Hero3+ Camera Time Lapse
find-price-button Rotating Panning For Time Lapse


[Example Flow Mow via YouTube]

If you want something that pans slower, the Flow-Mow product states it takes 120 minutes (2 Hours) to rotate a full 360 degrees and even shows that it's capable of supporting a small mirror less camera (found here).

Flow Mow Time LapseFlow Mow Mirrorless Camera
find-price-button Flow-Mow 360 Degree 2 Hour Panning Timelapse Base

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I've had this Mitakon Lens Turbo MFT Adapter for a almost a week and I am just getting ready to publish a video showing some examples from this. Recently I noticed an increase of questions and the amount 'buzz' picking up around the Internet, so I wanted to quickly provide some additional important information. THIS ADAPTER WILL NOT WORK ON THE #BMPCC BlackMagic Pocket Cinema Camera. It simply will not fit or attach to the camera.

If you're not familiar with this adapter, it's similar to the Metabones Speed Booster (found here) (but less than half the price). Always a concern on smaller MFT cameras is the cropped sensor. The Lens Turbo adapter offers a wider field of view on these smaller sensor cameras and also increases your Aperture by 1 F-Stop. Your lenses are now wider and faster!

Metabones Speed Booster MFT M43 Nikon Adapter
find-price-button Metabones SpeedBooster Nikon to M43 MFT

Right now the Lens Turbo MFT / M43 adapter fits Nikon (F, G, Ai, Ai-s, E) manual lenses and should work perfectly on your Panasonic GH3 or BlackMagic Cinema Camera MFT mount (not Pocket Cinema). How well does it actually perform? Give me a few days, and you'll see a video with a variety of examples.

For more info, you can find the Lens Turbo MFT Focal Reducer adapter available now via eBay (click here).

Mitakon_AI_m43_MFT-Nikon_Focal_reducer_speed_booster
find-price-button Lens Turbo Focal Reducer Nikon to MFT Micro Four Thirds Adapter

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If you're working with a client or talent that needs to pitch a script, or even if you're a sole blogger who needs to remember key points during your video presentation, nothing beats a legit teleprompter. By 'legit' I mean a camera's lens that sits directly behind an actual beam splitter. Throwing your smart phone to the side of the lens does not yield the same results when your talent's eyes are wandering off.

An iPad sized prompter should cover most use cases, but because of the size, it may not always be practical for travel, working in the field, or when using small camera systems. For times when you want minimal, small, compact, and lightweight this Listec PW-04 Teleprompter is great for mobile screens and smaller camcorder systems (and perhaps #GH3, #BMPCC?).


via YouTube kelbymediagroup

Typically sold for $320 dollars, the Listec PW-04 is available today with an instant savings of -$120 (now just $199) complete with hard case and bluetooth remote. Check it out (click here).

listec-pw04listec-pw-04-telepromter-bmpcc
find-price-button Listec PW-04 Teleprompter w/ Bluetooth Keyboard Remote Android iOS

[ Prompter Software Tip: ] Of course the Listec will offer prompting software, and there are dozens available through the app stores, but EasyPrompter.com is another option as a web based version. Here' a bit more info, and you can check it out at EasyPrompter.com:

EasyPrompter is a free web-based teleprompter solution that offers many of the benefits of expensive products. It's unique in that it's completely cloud-based, so even something like a Chromebook can be used as a teleprompter. It also offers a subscription PRO service ($9.99 / mo or $99 per year) which adds the ability to save an unlimited number of scripts along with settings.

Some of the features available:
Adjustable font size
Variable speed
Mirrored display capable through our exclusive font download
Elapsed Time Display
Supports keyboard and mouse controls (start/pause, ff/rew, etc) so you can control the prompter remotely
Can run full screen with no distracting ads, banners or control graphics
Control pad can be undocked for 2 screen operation - this way there is nothing but the text on the second monitor

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Cyber Monday Deals

I can't wrap my head around all the deals this weekend, but as far as what I think might be of interest to this audience, here's a short list.

Adobe Lightroom V5. (expires in a few hours).
Great Deal especially if you're working with RAW images (or even CinemaDNG files).
Adobe Lightroom V5 $121.00 Now just $72 dollars (found here).

Rokinon Lens Deals.
They seem to be promoting these quite a bit today (and selling quite a few).
Rokinon 14mm F2.8 Ultra Wide Lens - Choice in Mount $279 (found here)
Rokinon 8mm f/3.5 Fisheye (Nikon, Canon, Pentax, Sony) $199 (found here)

Panasonic GH3 Save $300 OFF
Probably the most full featured MFT Video & Photo Camera. It rocks.
Panasonic GH3 Camera -$300 OFF Cyber Monday (found here)

Sigma Macro Lens - ALL MOUNTS -$300 OFF
Portraits or up close details. Great for Wedding & Event Coverage.
Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG OS Macro Lens -$300 OFF - Cyber Monday (found here)

Canon Powershot S110 -$100 OFF
Nothing beats a solid pocketable camera. If you can't afford the $750 Sony RX100, the Canon S110 for just $219 (today) is my next suggestion.
Canon Powershot S110 - Cyber Monday (found here)

Seagate 3TB Drive + THUNDERBOLT Dock
These are so awesome, I own three. If you're working with SSD Sata drives (BlackMagic Cinema Cameras), you can dock directly to this and start editing. Once you work with Thunderbolt Speeds, it's hard to go back to USB. Sucks for me - I paid over $400+ each. Today, you can get it for just $199.
Seagate Backup Plus 3 TB Drive + Thunderbolt Dock Desktop External Hard Drive (found here)

Sandisk Extreme PRO SDHC / SDXC 32GB - 64GB
A must have for the BlackMagic Pocket Cinema Camera to shoot RAW. 64GB will give you about 20 minutes of RAW on the BMPCC, time to stock up. They are now up to 30% cheaper than when I purchased them.
Sandisk EXTREME PRO SDHC / SDXC Up to 30% OFF (found here)

Canon 70-200mm F/2.8L IS II
Newest version. Originally $2499, now down to $2K. But wait, could this also qualify for the current Mail-In-Rebate for an additional $300 OFF bringing it down to just $1700?
Lens Listing: Canon 70-200mm F/2.8L IS II - Checkout Price $2K (found here).
Mail-In-Rebate: Additional $300 OFF (found here)

[Keep checking back as i'll be updating through the day].

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If you love building and tinkering, here's a look at another fun little project idea from ServoCity.com. They've added a new low friction channel slider that has very low tolerance, can accept a decent load, and that slides over their lightweight aluminum channels. In this video they have assembled a drive system that pulls the carrier through the channel, to work as a video slider.

These aluminum channels can be purchased in various lengths if you're looking for longer or shorter runs, and the motors can be swapped out for faster or slower RPMs depending on your project. The overall design allows these motors to pull quite a bit of weight even vertically, but if you're looking to carry heavier camera systems, just make sure to look into the channel slider that wraps around all four sides (here).

Slider_Kit_with_Phone_MountSlider_vertical_with_phone_mount

Now if you're looking to do some tinkering of your own, I highly suggest taking a look at the dozens of videos showing you step-by-step on how to build these projects at the Servo City YouTube Channel.

For more information about the Slider Kit A, take a look at their Channel Slider Kit product pages which shows examples and a list of parts required to assemble.

ServoCity YouTube Channel
ServoCity.com Precision Building Systems

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Here's a few more BlackMagic Pocket Cinema Camera related tidbits of information. If you're looking for another inexpensive option for SDHC media, the Transcend 16GB/32GB SDHC 600X UHS-I (found here) / or the the Transcend 64GB/128GB SDHC 600X UHS-I (found here) media seems to work.

[Update 11.06.13] There are mixed experiences on some Transcend Cards experiencing dropped frames. Transcend has yet to respond to the comments.

transcend 16GB 600X blackmagic pocket cinema cameraTranscend 32GB 600x SDHC BlackMagic Pocket Cinema Camera
find-price-button Transcend 16GB/32GB SDHC 600X UHS-I

9030221003464
find-price-button Transcend 64GB/128GB SDXC 600X UHS-I

If there is one single lens to choose for the BMPC, I would have to go with the Sigma 18-35mm F/1.8 lens. This lens can maintain that constant F/1.8 aperture through it's focal range crowning it as the 'World's Fastest Zoom Lens'. It's obvious why this lens has been on constant backorder since it's release.
Sigma 18-35 LiveLens Redrock MFT GH3 Pocket Cinema
find-price-button Sigma 18-35mm F/1.8 - B&H

Sigma 18-35 LiveLens Redrock MFT GH3 Pocket Cinema
find-price-button Sigma 18-35mm F/1.8 Canon - Amazon (in stock)

The Sigma 18-35mm is available to fit a variety of cameras, but unfortunately it's not available in a direct MFT (micro-four thirds) mount. So to control the aperture you'll have to look into something like the Redrock Micro LiveLens MFT Active Lens Mount.

Without power, it's a high quality EF to MFT lens adapter to be used with manual lenses, but when powered up it can control the aperture settings in any electronic EF Lens. A must have for anyone who shoots with Canon EF lenses on MFT cameras like the BlackMagic Pocket Cinema Camera, MFT Cinema Camera, or even the popular Panasonic #GH3 (currently on sale).

BlackMagic Pocket Cinema RedRock Micro LiveLens EF MFT Adapter
find-price-button RedRock Micro LiveLens EF MFT Adapter - via B&H

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I know this very particular Pocket Cinema Camera I have in my hands may have some weird internal noise, but when using an external mic it actually sounds pretty darn good. Yesterday I had a few hours to play with the BlackMagic Pocket Cinema Camera, but I decided to try something different.

I had a Rode VideoMic Pro connected to the Pocket Cinema Camera and BOTH Audio & VIDEO were captured from the HDMI output directly to the Atomos Ninja 2. I did not use an SDXC card in the camera. I also only wanted to use Micro Four Thirds lenses instead of adapting larger Canon/Nikon lenses.

BlackMagic Pocket Cinema Camera
(somewhere in this mess is a Pocket Cinema Camera)

First problem, I have no spare batteries for this camera. Any current Pocket Cinema Camera owner will tell you how poor a single battery is. You'll be lucky to get 20 minutes of run time out of it. So I DIY'd my own battery cable to connect to my Tekkeon Battery Pack as an external power source. I was able to run all day and my Tekkeon didn't even take a hit. So that's why I needed rails to mount my battery.

I didn't have enough SD card storage, so I decided to bring out the Atomos. With a 240GB Solid State Drive, I could capture hours of footage. Plus I was curious how capturing from the HDMI would turn out.

Rode VideoMic Pro Atomos Ninja Atomos Ninja HDMI Recorder 10 bit 422 BlackMagic Pocket cinema
It looks ugly I know. Believe me, I never want to use this camera in this configuration, but I am waiting for extra gear to use this camera.

Now that I had all of this extra weight, I added a Top Handle with an LCD Mount. The rig was heavy enough that I needed to bring out a heavier duty tripod. In the future, I simply plan on just stocking up on a dozen batteries so that I don't have to mount a power source to the camera. If I can get enough SDHC / SDXC media cards, then I can get rid of the Atomos Ninja.

Without all the extra junk, I can get rid of the rails, carry a smaller Tripod, and finally make it a truly pocketable Cinema Camera. Moral of this story - get a lot of batteries and SD cards if you want to stay pocketable.

Pocket Cinema Camera Pocket Cinema Camera BlackMagic Design Atomos Ninja Rode Videomic
Shooting Parrots with Panasonic 45-150mm

So here's some footage I shot yesterday while making plenty of mistakes. Focusing was difficult on the LCD Screen especially in bright daylight. I tried to rely on the built in Focus Peaking feature (green lines) but I can tell many of the shots were out of focus.

The on screen Zebra lines helped let me know what was blown out, but there was no indicator if the shadows were being clipped. At times I would use the false color feature on the Atomos to help judge, but even that screen in daylight was difficult to use. An LCD View Finder or external EVF will definitely help when working with this camera.

Panasonic 7-14mm Rokinon 8mm Fisheye
I couldn't use my ND Filters on these Lenses. Panasonic 7-14mm & Rokinon 7.5mm Fisheye

I carried two very wide lenses a Panasonic 7-14mm & Rokinon 7.5mm fisheye. These lenses are sharper at a wider aperture, but because these don't come with a threaded mount, I could not use an ND Filter. I tried stopping down the aperture to F/22 but in the end the footage was very soft. I guess to use these lenses, you'll need to carry around a Matte Box.

Micro Four Third Lenses for Pocket Cinema Camera

7-14mm Pocket Cinema Camera
7-14mm F/4 		12-35 BlackMagic Pocket Lens
12-35mm F/2.8 		35-100mm Panasonic Pocket Cinema Camera BlackMagic Lens
35-100mm F/2.8 		Rokinon 8mm Pocket Cinema Camera
7.5mm Fisheye 		514tmtNtqvL._AA160_
45-150mm

The Audio in this video was from a Rode VideoMic Pro (no preamp) directly into the BlackMagic Pocket Cinema Camera (set to 0). The audio was sent over the HDMI and recorded into the Atomos Ninja 2. I thought it sounded pretty darn good for no preamp. If you see closeup footage in the video that's typically from the Panasonic 35-100mm F/2.8, or Panasonic 45-150mm. The wider shots are on the Panasonic 7-14mm and Rokinon 8mm Fisheye. I definitely need more practice working with this camera.

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