Wed Sep 05, 2012 3:29 pm
Note: If your sense of humor is impaired, please don't read this post. Thanks.
Some reviewers feel compelled to reinterpret kick *ss Blackmagic Cinema Camera features as “limitations”, such as:
- The BMCC’s sensor is “only” more than twice as big as the ones used to shoot many popular films, including “Slumdog Millionaire” and “Avatar”, the latter having earned >$2.75 billion.
- The BMCC is “only” available with electronic EF or passive m43 interchangeable lens mounts, “only” directly compatible with hundreds of lenses, and “only” hundreds more via inexpensive mount adapters, ranging from extreme telephoto to ultra-wides.
- The BMCC is “only” able to shoot scenes with a “wide” field of view equivalent to a ~18mm lens on a S35 16:9 motion picture camera — considered “wide” in most movies & TV shows — if the BMCC is fitted with a lens such as the <$700 Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 rectilinear zoom, or a FOV equiv. to using a 13mm lens on S35 16:9 (crazy wide!) if using a <$700 Sigma 8-16mm rectilinear zoom. The BMCC m43 version “only” has additional wide lenses available for use with it. Clearly it’s not practical or affordable to shoot “wide” with the BMCC!
- The BMCC is “only” capable of 13-stop dynamic range, almost but not quite as good as cameras which cost >3 times as much.
- The BMCC can “only” shoot uncompressed 2.5K 12-bit RAW CinemaDNG @ 5 megaBYTES/frame, and compressed 1080p 10-bit ProRes 422 HQ @ 220 megaBITS/sec (and soon DNxHD 220, too) with “Film/log” or “Video/Rec.709″ gamma …
… but, the BMCC’s uncompressed RAW CinemaDNG files are so huge I have to buy fast, high-capacity storage, backup & archive systems and fast, new computers even if I can’t afford it – instead of, you know, like considering for a moment that the BMCC’s compressed ProRes 422 HQ recording feature is totally awesome — not quite CinemaDNG awesome, but with the same dynamic range — and way way better than what 99% of other video cameras can record — and requires 1/5th the computer hardware (1/5th the storage, speed & cost) to produce very very high-quality HD video.
- The BMCC “only” records to commodity-priced SSD (fast-fast-fast) media, which is more cost-effective than the solid state media used by other pro cameras, and the speed of SSDs continues to increase while its cost plummets.
- The BMCC can “only” run for 90 min. when completely disconnected from any external power source!
- The BMCC “only” features 2 balanced 1/4″ TRS analog audio (mic/line) inputs @ 48kHz at 24bit uncompressed, same as Alexa and RED EPIC, requiring use of standard self-powered microphones, line level audio sources, external sound mixers, and other standard audio gear.
- The BMCC “only” has a clean, bog-standard, externally recordable, “Film/log” or “Video/Rec.709″ 10-bit 4:2:2 1080p HD-SDI output, via a locking industry standard BNC connector.
- The BMCC “only” has a 5″ capacitive touchscreen LCD for video and its GUI, and, if required, to which an inexpensive piece of 3M anti-reflective film can be attached:
http://www.amazon.com/3M-Anti-Glare-Pro ... tag=vig-20
- The BMCC “only” has three 1/4-20 threaded mount points on top, possibly forcing me to consider buying an expensive camera cage, even though in many (most?) situations one is unnecessary.
- The BMCC can “only” be held with 2 hands, “only” features a rubbery easy-to-grip surface, “only” weighs less than 4 pounds, and “only” includes a nice shoulder strap and LCD shade. Its operator-side mounted connector panel may force me to use right-angle plugs if I mount it on my right shoulder. The BMCC’s case is “only” strong machined aluminum instead of lightweight plastic. Its buttons and interface are simple & uncluttered.
- The BMCC’s Thunderbolt interface is “strangled” due to its copper implementation, and can “only” handle up to 20 Gbs data rate, and “only” enables use of the Ultrascope and MediaExpress software included free with the BMCC.
- The “only” grading software bundled with the BMCC for free is the latest full version of industry-leading Davinci Resolve, which requires a desktop computer with a new-ish, relatively inexpensive GPU, or a new-ish not inexpensive MacBook Pro.
- The BMCC’s name (yes, its name) is too complicated, forcing us to have endless discussions via Twitter, Facebook & online forums about the “best” acronym or nickname for it (“BMC”? “BMCC”? “BM”? “MagicCam?” “MagiCam”?), despite the fact that the product’s name is “Blackmagic Cinema Camera” (“BMCC”).
And worst of all:
- The BMCC “only” costs $2995 US, forcing users to spend the money we saved (by buying it) on other things, such as a better: script, crew, actors, location, props, wardrobe, makeup, camera support, lights, sound, rentals, catering, post-production, etc.
Essentially, just about every feature listed on the Blackmagic Cinema Camera website is really an “issue” if you don’t think it through, right?
Cheers.
Note: BMCC feature requests are welcome. Post them here:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=265
Some reviewers feel compelled to reinterpret kick *ss Blackmagic Cinema Camera features as “limitations”, such as:
- The BMCC’s sensor is “only” more than twice as big as the ones used to shoot many popular films, including “Slumdog Millionaire” and “Avatar”, the latter having earned >$2.75 billion.
- The BMCC is “only” available with electronic EF or passive m43 interchangeable lens mounts, “only” directly compatible with hundreds of lenses, and “only” hundreds more via inexpensive mount adapters, ranging from extreme telephoto to ultra-wides.
- The BMCC is “only” able to shoot scenes with a “wide” field of view equivalent to a ~18mm lens on a S35 16:9 motion picture camera — considered “wide” in most movies & TV shows — if the BMCC is fitted with a lens such as the <$700 Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 rectilinear zoom, or a FOV equiv. to using a 13mm lens on S35 16:9 (crazy wide!) if using a <$700 Sigma 8-16mm rectilinear zoom. The BMCC m43 version “only” has additional wide lenses available for use with it. Clearly it’s not practical or affordable to shoot “wide” with the BMCC!
- The BMCC is “only” capable of 13-stop dynamic range, almost but not quite as good as cameras which cost >3 times as much.
- The BMCC can “only” shoot uncompressed 2.5K 12-bit RAW CinemaDNG @ 5 megaBYTES/frame, and compressed 1080p 10-bit ProRes 422 HQ @ 220 megaBITS/sec (and soon DNxHD 220, too) with “Film/log” or “Video/Rec.709″ gamma …
… but, the BMCC’s uncompressed RAW CinemaDNG files are so huge I have to buy fast, high-capacity storage, backup & archive systems and fast, new computers even if I can’t afford it – instead of, you know, like considering for a moment that the BMCC’s compressed ProRes 422 HQ recording feature is totally awesome — not quite CinemaDNG awesome, but with the same dynamic range — and way way better than what 99% of other video cameras can record — and requires 1/5th the computer hardware (1/5th the storage, speed & cost) to produce very very high-quality HD video.
- The BMCC “only” records to commodity-priced SSD (fast-fast-fast) media, which is more cost-effective than the solid state media used by other pro cameras, and the speed of SSDs continues to increase while its cost plummets.
- The BMCC can “only” run for 90 min. when completely disconnected from any external power source!
- The BMCC “only” features 2 balanced 1/4″ TRS analog audio (mic/line) inputs @ 48kHz at 24bit uncompressed, same as Alexa and RED EPIC, requiring use of standard self-powered microphones, line level audio sources, external sound mixers, and other standard audio gear.
- The BMCC “only” has a clean, bog-standard, externally recordable, “Film/log” or “Video/Rec.709″ 10-bit 4:2:2 1080p HD-SDI output, via a locking industry standard BNC connector.
- The BMCC “only” has a 5″ capacitive touchscreen LCD for video and its GUI, and, if required, to which an inexpensive piece of 3M anti-reflective film can be attached:
http://www.amazon.com/3M-Anti-Glare-Pro ... tag=vig-20
- The BMCC “only” has three 1/4-20 threaded mount points on top, possibly forcing me to consider buying an expensive camera cage, even though in many (most?) situations one is unnecessary.
- The BMCC can “only” be held with 2 hands, “only” features a rubbery easy-to-grip surface, “only” weighs less than 4 pounds, and “only” includes a nice shoulder strap and LCD shade. Its operator-side mounted connector panel may force me to use right-angle plugs if I mount it on my right shoulder. The BMCC’s case is “only” strong machined aluminum instead of lightweight plastic. Its buttons and interface are simple & uncluttered.
- The BMCC’s Thunderbolt interface is “strangled” due to its copper implementation, and can “only” handle up to 20 Gbs data rate, and “only” enables use of the Ultrascope and MediaExpress software included free with the BMCC.
- The “only” grading software bundled with the BMCC for free is the latest full version of industry-leading Davinci Resolve, which requires a desktop computer with a new-ish, relatively inexpensive GPU, or a new-ish not inexpensive MacBook Pro.
- The BMCC’s name (yes, its name) is too complicated, forcing us to have endless discussions via Twitter, Facebook & online forums about the “best” acronym or nickname for it (“BMC”? “BMCC”? “BM”? “MagicCam?” “MagiCam”?), despite the fact that the product’s name is “Blackmagic Cinema Camera” (“BMCC”).
And worst of all:
- The BMCC “only” costs $2995 US, forcing users to spend the money we saved (by buying it) on other things, such as a better: script, crew, actors, location, props, wardrobe, makeup, camera support, lights, sound, rentals, catering, post-production, etc.
Essentially, just about every feature listed on the Blackmagic Cinema Camera website is really an “issue” if you don’t think it through, right?
Cheers.
Note: BMCC feature requests are welcome. Post them here:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=265
Last edited by Peter J. DeCrescenzo on Wed Sep 19, 2012 6:30 am, edited 9 times in total.
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