Blackmagic has issued another update for the Pocket Cinema Camera (after the recent RAW firmware), this time to fix what was actually a rather annoying issue related to shutter speed and motion blur. When the camera was set to a 180 degree shutter (or 1/48th of a second) and 23.98 fps or 24 fps, the motion blur actually looked more like a 360 degree shutter (or 1/24th of a second). To see the difference, check out the video below:
Here is Kristian Lam in the Blackmagic Forum talking about the new firmware:
Blackmagic Camera v1.5.1 has just been released.
This is just a quick update to address an issue with the weird motion blur observed when shooting at 180º shutter angle in 23.98 and 24 fps on the Pocket Cinema Camera.
There are NO changes to the Blackmagic Cinema Camera in this release.
I strongly recommend running the uninstaller first before installing the new software.
When I first got the Pocket, I couldn't believe how strange the motion blur looked at 180. It's actually a little crazy that it left the testing phase without anyone questioning the blur, but since the camera is made in Australia, and that country is 50hz, you'd normally be using a 172.8 degree shutter angle to avoid light flickering, not 180. Obviously in North America the power is 60hz, so a 180 degree shutter will help avoid flicker here.
There is no word yet on any other updates for the Cinema Camera or whether these cameras will get the ability to format cards (which should be at the top of the list in my opinion), but if you have a Pocket, you should download the new update immediately over on the Blackmagic Support page.
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