We got our 1st taste of Blackmagic Production Camera 4K footage yesterday, and now we've got even more -- this time some of the most gorgeous stuff that has been shot on any of the pre-production cameras. Hook, who previously shot with prototype Blackmagic cameras, has delivered some spectacular-looking images with his new video. If you've been waiting for some real samples to see what the Blackmagic 4K can do, you should really take a look at the video below:
Here is what he had to say about the footage, which was all shot in ProRes 4K on the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8, Canon 35mm f/1.4L, Canon 50mm f/1.2L, Canon 85mm f/1.2L, Canon 100mm f/2.8L, and Canon 70-200mm/2.8L IS (there is a UHD/4K link coming soon as well):
I went out and grabbed footage like with the previous two cameras just to see how it did 'out in the wild', but i also arranged with my good friends Tanya and Lance from The Storyboard to bring the camera onto a music video they were working on with me as 2nd Unit DP. Kent Belcher was the main DP for this shoot and a Red MX was to serve as 'A Cam' with me operating the 4K as 'B Cam'. After the first couple of shots of the shoot, Kent and Tarn (Director) were loving the 4K and it basically became 'A Cam'. :-D The shots i've included in this video are random clips i picked myself and don't reflect the edit or final video (still in progress as i write this). What was interesting to me is that this was a night shoot and i had the camera set at ASA400 (had already tested at night with 800 which is at the end of this video) and the red was at 1200 yet Kent and I were both surprised the Blackmagic looked brighter on the monitors!
The rest (and bulk) of the footage as i said is just me grabbing footage when i had the chance (busy time of year for everyone!), but i'm still impressed with this camera. I didn't think global shutter would be a big deal for me, but i LOVE the motion from this camera, and the colour is what i would expect from BMD (i REALLY like it).
Honestly i kind of went into this thinking i probably wouldn't like this camera as much as the other two, but right now i like it more! The images are really nice, really really nice. This time the BMDFilm coming from the camera has a lot more contrast and saturation than the previous two, so you don't have to do anywhere near as much to grade it (but yes i already have a LUT i've made/been using with it to speed things up even more). I went for quite a contrasty/saturated grade with most of this to see if i could push it 'there' (combined with my LUT i made it for it). I think it holds up really well.
Obviously any camera is going to look good in daylight, but we do get to see a little more night footage here. With fast lenses you might come pretty close to what the original BMCC is doing, but it will likely be noisier when pushed to higher ISOs.
The biggest thing we heard after the original announcement of the BMCC was that people wanted a Super 35mm sensor version, and now we've got it. Not only that, but it doesn't seem like the penalty going to a global shutter will be that bad judging by the footage. Yes, the original BMCC might edge this new camera in low-light and dynamic range, but it looks like you're going to be able to get nearly indistinguishable results from both (though extreme low-light may be a bit much for the new 4K cam).
It might be late, but it's better late than never considering there are no large sensor cameras at this price point giving you high-quality ProRes and RAW. Blackmagic might have some issues with quality control in the manufacturing process, but they've shown time and again that whatever they put out to the public is going to give video that is both cinematic and very malleable in post.
Just like with the 2.5K BMCC, the company has started with a Canon EF mount, and while it does make perfect sense for this sensor size, it does mean there are fewer options for adapting lenses, and no way of increasing the amount of light hitting the sensor with something like a Metabones Speed Booster. I am pleasantly surprised by this recent video, and it looks like the color science is very similar to the other two cameras -- even though the sensors are completely different.
We're likely going to get a lot more footage in the coming weeks, so stay tuned if you're still on the fence.
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231 Comments
This footage sealed the deal for me. I'm in line with a pre order.
December 21, 2013 at 1:58PM, Edited September 4, 8:45AM
I can't afford this yet, but for test footage, this looks very promising. Good luck to those who ordered it!
Looking forward to seeing more footage!
December 21, 2013 at 5:18PM, Edited September 4, 8:45AM
We're at a point in technology where format is a discretionary choice and I clearly said that I am biased because of my film background. We've gone full circle in digital as DP's are now even de-rezzing footage to get grittier looks. Sounds alot like the impressionist movement of the 20th century when they rejected realism. And to Gene, there is no absolute superior format. I only speak for my own tastes.
December 21, 2013 at 5:20PM, Edited September 4, 8:45AM
To me it seems it's not designed to be comparable to the Alexa. It's designed to be an affordable digital cinema camera that is not throttled by what the major camera companies have been milking for years now: the slow, profitable transition from video camera to digital cinema camera. Black Magic is taking pro features and offering them at a nearly consumer price. They aren't saying "This camera is 4K so it will make everything you shoot beautiful." They're saying 'This is a camera that will not LIMIT you to 1080p, 4:2:0 and 8-Bit, 24MBps AVCHD for your $4000."
December 21, 2013 at 5:24PM, Edited September 4, 8:45AM
Would love to see the raw footage and check out the highlights. Although the image looks nice to me, the highlights are questionable after seeing this footage (but maybe these are pushed in post).
December 22, 2013 at 6:27AM, Edited September 4, 8:45AM
I once heard a true-life story of a well-known director. He had recently won some award or other and was invited to a residential dinner, celebrating his achievements. At a certain point in the meal, the hostess loudly says to the director- "Your films are so amazing, you must have a great camera!" The director, in turn, said to her just as loudly- "The food is delicious. You must have some great pots and pans!"
(of course- the analogy is a little different since the difference in digital cameras inherently affects the image, but both of the big Blackmagics are great, I'd love to own either, and I can't imagine any film being significantly better or worse due to choosing one over the other.)
December 22, 2013 at 10:30PM, Edited September 4, 8:45AM
I think the issue will be where distribution finally settles, if 4K catches on or not. If so, the the HD epic you make this year may not make the distribution criteria a few years from now. Some of the older standard definition cameras could give beautiful imagery in talented hands, but the distribution options might be limited now.
December 23, 2013 at 2:54AM, Edited September 4, 8:45AM
I hear you, and if you're in the features world and submitting to festivals and all, it's probably a different ballgame. I'm coming more from the "what can I rent to make great looking internet videos" mindset right now. And in that world, HD is the current standard and looks to be an acceptable standard for many years to come, and all of the BlackMagics deliver incredible imagery for that purpose.
(kinda a tangent- for internet, what we need is higher bitrates- not higher resolution. A 40Mbit SD video can look a hell of a lot better scaled up than a 1MBit native resolution video. Both Youtube and Vimeo "HD" are very misleading. Not that long ago we didn't talk about resolution really, we talked about "vhs-quality", "DVD-quality", "Broadcast-quality" - all the same resolutions, but different bitrates. I think with internet delivery it makes more sense to bring that mindset back into the picture, at least as a large part of the equation. In other words- I'd rather the youtube dropdown tell me the bitrate than the resolution size (they do increase bitrate with each resolution))
December 23, 2013 at 8:07AM, Edited September 4, 8:45AM
I posted this info in the LG 4K monitor thread - my local cable company is offering 30 Mbps speed for $40/mo these days (their second lowest tier among - 3, 30, 75, 100). With the HEVC efficiency, this is enough for 8K @ 24 fps and broadband speeds will only increase with the new standards that are already approved. In terms of displays, the "retina" quality product has been out for over a year and many new smaller screens actually exceed it.
December 23, 2013 at 4:18PM, Edited September 4, 8:45AM
"Absolutely breathtaking"? Let's ease up on the hyperbole.
December 23, 2013 at 10:01AM, Edited September 4, 8:45AM
"Fuck this camera I'm getting a digital bolex!" - said no one ever
December 23, 2013 at 5:53PM, Edited September 4, 8:45AM
Interesting but why to crash blacks like that?
Shame about NO 50/60P and NO ND Filters.
Anyway great product for $4,000.
December 24, 2013 at 12:36PM, Edited September 4, 8:45AM
Hey, there's BLUE in these images! Won't see that from a Red.
December 24, 2013 at 10:50PM, Edited September 4, 8:45AM
Please don't post on vimeo ... from Italy, doesn't matter which type of connection you have, is practically impossible to view in HD. Please post also on youtube. Thank you very much ... Guido
December 25, 2013 at 12:43AM, Edited September 4, 8:45AM
Guido, you can just pause it an let it buffer for a while. I can't stream it in real time.
February 14, 2014 at 5:49AM, Edited September 4, 8:45AM
Guido YouTube link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE4NrC9jD0M
December 25, 2013 at 5:38AM, Edited September 4, 8:45AM
This looks a lot better than the previously published footage which I had downloaded and finally given up on grading.
December 25, 2013 at 6:46AM, Edited September 4, 8:45AM
Just remember - this guy is seriously talented. I bought the BMCC and could rarely achieve the images that Captain Hook gets from the camera. So I can imagine most of the beauty of these shots should be credited to the man not the camera!
December 26, 2013 at 7:52AM, Edited September 4, 8:45AM
So true
February 10, 2014 at 7:19AM, Edited September 4, 8:45AM
When BMD released the original BMCC2.5K, it was also in Canon EF mount. It was only later and due to popular demand that they released it in u4/3 mount. I wonder if there is any hope of BMD releasing the BMCC4K in E-mount as that would allow far more lenses to be adapted to this camera?
Just thinking aloud.
December 26, 2013 at 1:26PM, Edited September 4, 8:45AM
I think it's too much like DSLR footage. 2.5k bmcc just looks better.
December 26, 2013 at 1:32PM, Edited September 4, 8:45AM
How would you know? You are not viewing this footage in 4k
December 26, 2013 at 4:37PM, Edited September 4, 8:45AM
I watched it from my new macbook pro and it's not that good. What's with all the footage directly in the sun?
December 26, 2013 at 8:07PM, Edited September 4, 8:45AM
Agreed. No amount of pixels can make up for the crappy shooting and editing. Are they afraid if they linger even a second or two on a shot we'll be able to see that it's soft or too shaky to use? And give us a break with that awful music. But the camera looks promising....
December 28, 2013 at 7:12PM, Edited September 4, 8:45AM
it wasn't published 4k, so even your macbook can't make it so.
February 1, 2014 at 10:22AM, Edited September 4, 8:45AM
I start to believe in low budgets to buy amazing cinema cameras...many movies I´ve watched during 2013 had a comparable image. Of course DR might be an issue to some but with an image like this I don´t think it will. Some blown highlights but a very pleasant image. I love my 2.5k but the 4k will go to my arsenal ASAP. ;-)
December 26, 2013 at 2:44PM, Edited September 4, 8:45AM
This cam looks awesome. Just wondering what the chances are in the future that they put xlr inputs on it and make it an even better package for film makers?
December 26, 2013 at 3:11PM, Edited September 4, 8:45AM
not too sure how you can tell anything with it pointing into the sun like this... silly for a camera test from the jump.
December 26, 2013 at 7:23PM, Edited September 4, 8:45AM
Great Camera ,but guys , seriously! ONLY 30 frames max recording ????
Say goodbye to decent slow motions!
At least they would think to make an option of 2K recording and 50- 60 frames
I was going to purchase the camera , but now I still need to wait for the next model or firmware update (if any).
December 28, 2013 at 2:06AM, Edited September 4, 8:45AM
That's my issue right there. I want a 4k camera, definitely, and I'm happy to spend some coin on it. But I want higher frame rates, and I'm willing to just sit around and wait until I get them. SO important to my work.
February 19, 2014 at 11:41AM, Edited September 4, 8:45AM
This camera looks fantastic. I am trying to surprise my husband for this birthday next month and a camera like this would definitely make him happy.
December 28, 2013 at 10:49AM, Edited September 4, 8:45AM
Would you consider marrying me? Nice gift!
December 28, 2013 at 7:14PM, Edited September 4, 8:45AM
The best wife ever !!! Lucky guy !!!
December 28, 2013 at 10:14PM, Edited September 4, 8:45AM
it's a very random reel... many shots are horrible composition (pointing into the sun), but other shots looks really nice. I think people who review test footage shoot realize that to show "everything" like sharpness and dynamic range -- you really need to plan your test footage. Like you are NOT going to get a full perfect demo in one day of shooting...
February 10, 2014 at 1:42AM, Edited September 4, 8:45AM
Yeah I really didn't care for the stuff outside either but thought it looked great at night.
February 10, 2014 at 12:59PM, Edited September 4, 8:45AM
Shooting into the sun doesn't equal "horrible composition". My mind was far from blown by the footage, but the backlit, into the sun shots were probably the most interesting, the best shots, and the ones that show the abilities of the camera the most.
February 10, 2014 at 9:32PM, Edited September 4, 8:45AM
I'm looking forward to getting this camera...but I'll try to forget I watched the crappy video above which simply can't do it any justice.
Never seems to amaze me that the first available cameras go to people who don't seem to do them justice...
February 12, 2014 at 1:32AM, Edited September 4, 8:45AM
Blackmagic cheats its customer by giving false promises. I bought this camera yesterday in India as they claimed as it can record 4k DNG raw. I have told by some expert that we hav to wait for the firmware uograde to shoot in 4K. It mean buy the camera now... shot 4k later. I have project to shoot in 4K raw immeadialty starting. thats y i bought it immediatly. But now i become a fool by seeing this camera cant record 4K raw. Its clear case of cheating. They didnt mention anything about this software upgrade anywer in their site or even manual. Manual tells u to select 4k DNG raw and shoot. One hour i was sitting infront of my camera and thinking why my camera not showing that settings. Really they fooled me. Wanna see waht i can do for this disgusting cheating experience
March 30, 2014 at 5:18AM, Edited September 4, 8:56AM
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April 14, 2014 at 6:32PM, Edited September 4, 8:56AM
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