If you've been following the shipping updates, Blackmagic has been going through quite a frustrating situation since the Cinema Camera was originally supposed to ship back in July. The company that makes their sensors has been having quality control issues, and it has taken a few months to sort out the problem and figure out ways to correct it. Grant Petty, CEO of Blackmagic, has updated the public once more on the current situation.

Here is what he posted in the Blackmagic forum:


Ok good news everyone as the test run of sensors have just been built into cameras and they look good. Very good. So we have just given the sensor supplier the go ahead to commence volume production of the sensors and we hope to start getting them within the next week to start building cameras. How many cameras? I am not sure, as we have all stopped production and so we all need to restart production and see how many they can produce. However we will be working hard to build as many cameras as possible over the next few weeks.

I hope people start to see more cameras shipping, but it might be a good idea if I post another update early January to update everyone on how production is progressing. 

As for the micro four thirds model, it's ready to go, however the problem is I feel until we are shipping a whole bunch of EF model cameras, there is little point building any of the MFT model. So we will ship as many as we can and then perhaps see where we are mid Jan and do a few MFT models then.

It is sure a relief seeing this problem coming to a close. I cannot believe this happened and it's been an incredibly frustrating delay. However I am feeling really positive now.

Things look like they're heading in the right direction, and if you've been waiting for a camera, the wait may finally be over in the next month or two. There is no word on how many cameras have been pre-ordered (I would think it's in the thousands), so it really will come down to how quickly they can manufacture them. Assuming the company doesn't hit any more snags in production, those who are getting the EF mount camera should have one in their hands sooner or later -- unless you just pre-ordered in the last few weeks, in which case, you may be at the end of a long line.

As for the MFT mount cameras, that wait may be a bit longer, but you certainly could see one within a few months depending on how quickly production is ramped up. Either way, this is a heck of a camera for this price, and I think people are going to be more than satisfied once they finally get theirs and take a look at the image quality.

Link: Camera Shipping Update: 12/14 -- Blackmagic Forum