BMPCC4K start shipping

I think there are reasons for the halt (or slow down) some people aren't considering.
Most common are mentions of a component shortage or a faulty component.

Keep in mind there are issues around tooling or re-tolling or revamping the production line which could require a halt or slow down. Also, they may be working on improving Quality Control because too many returns are impacting what may be very low margins.

Just to be clear the above does not mean a part shortage or a fundamentally flawed component. It's just that in order to improve production flow and better QC, they need to take some manufacturing offline. It may mean changes to QC to catch the occasional problem cameras before they ship. And Sometimes it means testing any changes in production protocols before ramping back up.

They shipped thousands of cameras and only heard a couple of people returning their camera for repair. If it was something to worry about they would tell us. Production is not haunting it’s just so many orders.

I've watched as much as I can on the camera on YouTube and many have had to return theirs almost straight after receiving them.

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I did too, and the only person I can remember returning theirs was potato jet, everyone else complained about the battery life, tilting screen, and some the ssd not recognizing

So many complain about those things.. the battery is tiny. Really what BM should have said is... for short stints the battery is fine, but a better use is to ensure uninterruptible use while you use other battery options. When Dimitry gets his 18650 unit out, for example, or other small/lighter battery options, the battery in the camera allows you to run a good 30 minutes or so while you swap bigger batteries. So you can go all day, without stopping recording should you need because they built in the ability for the camera to use the LPE6 should the DC battery not provide enough juice. Beautiful.

The SSD, well apparently that is fixed now, so thats not an issue any more.

The tilt screen.. dang.. ok.. I can see that I guess, but me personally, I am looking to add a monitor anyway, bigger one if possible. I want to find a good light but big 9" or bigger monitor. The bigger problem is that the 2x zoom doesnt seem to reflect on external monitors, so I still have to 2x zoom then focus on the little 5" monitor. So my 7" is useless for focusing because I cant see the 2x zoom when I try to do that.

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I did too, and the only person I can remember returning theirs was potato jet, everyone else complained about the battery life, tilting screen, and some the ssd not recognizing

He just did camera comparison and he has another BMPCC4K.

People spreading FUD on an informative site is pretty...

There is no reason to manufacture controversy about some issue that doesn't exist.

If there were some underlying problem with the P4K I'm pretty sure I'd know it, having two in pretty much constant production since the first batch was released.

We just finished another week of production on two films where the P4k was used in multiple scenarios.
It works flawlessly in every aspect and just got a whole lot better with the new firmware update.

I know it sucks waiting for something you really want to produce with. All I can tell you is it is worth the wait.

Whatever may be involved in the rate of release, it isn't because the camera is faulty.

Whatever may be involved in the rate of release, it isn't because the camera is faulty.

Totally agree and this is the second most enjoyable digital camera that I have ever used (the first being an ancient Olympus E1).

I think that many BMPCC4Ks are broken and there are those that don't even realise it. I was watching some new videos on YouTube taken with the BMPCC4K and they are all in slow motion (up to five minutes or more of just slow motion). Clearly these cameras can't be set to normal fps and the users are putting up with the problem, or they bought the camera thinking it was a slow motion camera.

People spreading FUD on an informative site is pretty...

There is no reason to manufacture controversy about some issue that doesn't exist.

If there were some underlying problem with the P4K I'm pretty sure I'd know it, having two in pretty much constant production since the first batch was released.

We just finished another week of production on two films where the P4k was used in multiple scenarios.
It works flawlessly in every aspect and just got a whole lot better with the new firmware update.

I know it sucks waiting for something you really want to produce with. All I can tell you is it is worth the wait.

Whatever may be involved in the rate of release, it isn't because the camera is faulty.

That's good to hear. It's depressing reading "FUD" whilst waiting for this game changer and seeing the great examples of footage from those lucky enough to already have theirs.

I've watched a lot of Youtube videos too.
Firstly, most of these people are vloggers. They aren't working with cameras, they are demoing and reviewing cameras. That's the extent of their Pocket 4K experience....shooting a demo and reviewing it.
The vast majority of them are returning the camera anyway, but often they give an excuse about it's core design - the small battery, the non-tilting screen. Not many (if any?) are returning a faulty camera.
CVP (UK dealer) must have shipped about 500 Pocket 4K's by now. If even 50 had been returned faulty we would have known about it.

I got mine in the first batch from B&H. It's been fine, zero issues. The iso and wb buttons are really difficult to press and I think it's an assembly problem. But I can live with it and just use the touch screen.

It's an amazing little camera. I easily would have paid 3k for this thing, it's an amazing value.

FYI my 2 cents. I'm in Australia (home of Blackmagic as you know) I've had my preorder since october with Dragon Image and I was position 6 then and I'm still position 6. They say they have received no cameras and thats coming up to 5 months.

First, Blackmagic don't distribute the cameras in Australia.

They are distributed by New Magic, an independent and entirely different company. That aren't Blackmagic.

So it goes like this.

You place an order with Dragon Image.

Dragon Image place an order with New Magic...at some point....

New Magic place an order with Blackmagic (likely not even in Australia) at some point....

You are position 6 with Dragon Image, but what position in the que are Dragon image with New Magic ?

What position are New Magic in the que with Blackmagic globally ?

This is why you can't take your position with a local reseller as being your position in the que. You don't know what is going on at the next two levels above you and you have no way of finding out.

This is why some smaller dealers get a few cameras seemingly earlier than bigger dealers.

And Blackmagic certainly aren't parochial about nationality. They are first come first serve. You'll never hear about it, but I've seen some VERY big hollywood names try and jump the que with cameras in short demand and they're strict about going through dealers.... first come first served (to their model).

Now that doesn't hold true by the time it goes through two more levels of distribution to you, but that is the model they have because they don't direct distribute.

Frustrating, and honestly, this happens every single time they have an in-demand release, back to their first camera. For some reason the UK seem to feel it worst and almost always those guys are the ones making the most complaints.

JB

This is really helpful information. The problem we have in the uk at the moment is dealers have stopped receiving cameras and they are understandably frustrated by us lot emailing for updates. They are not having any communication from BM or the distributor as to why shipments have stopped which is making it impossible to give customers any indication of when we might get them.

FYI my 2 cents. I'm in Australia (home of Blackmagic as you know) I've had my preorder since october with Dragon Image and I was position 6 then and I'm still position 6. They say they have received no cameras and thats coming up to 5 months.

First, Blackmagic don't distribute the cameras in Australia.

They are distributed by New Magic, an independent and entirely different company. That aren't Blackmagic.

So it goes like this.

You place an order with Dragon Image.

Dragon Image place an order with New Magic...at some point....

New Magic place an order with Blackmagic (likely not even in Australia) at some point....

You are position 6 with Dragon Image, but what position in the que are Dragon image with New Magic ?

What position are New Magic in the que with Blackmagic globally ?

This is why you can't take your position with a local reseller as being your position in the que. You don't know what is going on at the next two levels above you and you have no way of finding out.

This is why some smaller dealers get a few cameras seemingly earlier than bigger dealers.

And Blackmagic certainly aren't parochial about nationality. They are first come first serve. You'll never hear about it, but I've seen some VERY big hollywood names try and jump the que with cameras in short demand and they're strict about going through dealers.... first come first served (to their model).

Now that doesn't hold true by the time it goes through two more levels of distribution to you, but that is the model they have because they don't direct distribute.

Frustrating, and honestly, this happens every single time they have an in-demand release, back to their first camera. For some reason the UK seem to feel it worst and almost always those guys are the ones making the most complaints.

JB

CVP (UK dealer) must have shipped about 500 Pocket 4K's by now. If even 50 had been returned faulty we would have known about it.

Not even close. CVP have only just reached 200 units in total. I ordered on 22nd April and was 350-400th in their queue. They email me once a month with the latest figures, the 200 is from a couple of week's ago.

I also have a camera on order with another UK supplier. Both CVP and the other company have confirmed to me personally that they haven't received any stock for a month. I have seen posts on Facebook groups from people waiting for orders to be fulfilled by other retailers that confirms at least a UK wide hiatus.

Time and again these dealers are saying that BM distributors are telling them there's a problem. I find it very hard to believe the "it's just the random nature of BM's supply model" argument that keeps being rolled out.

I can't know or wouldn't question that there may be an issue in the supply chain of parts that may have caused a "problem" with distribution.

What I'm saying, in order to try and prevent the spread of FUD, is that the camera itself - the design and build and performance - is not a problem.

Ours work, and have worked without issue for several months of heavy use.

It's an absolutely great camera - a game changer in many ways. I used it on location a few times this week and was virtually giddy to my team about it's performance.

Blackmagic hit another home run, like the original pocket, and hopefully the supply chain will burst open and rain them down on all my awaiting friends.

Distributors don't generally know any more about a situation than the man on the street. We also don't know how the parts for the camera are sourced, manufactured and assembled. There could easily be a supply line issue that has affected the sourcing or manufacture, which then could have affected assembly scheduling if being done by a company that also provides for others.

Jim, with that kind of endorsement of the BMPCC4K, and the addition of BRAW, given its price point, it would seem the BMPCC4K will continue to experience heavy demand for another year or two.

Will be kind of funny if this thread is still popular a year down the road with people speculating why it’s taken them 6 months to get the camera! By then BMD may even have a BMPCC4K2 with SDI and better audio to make thousands more people frustrated with the wait.


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Drop an Ursa mini pro 2 on us with better low light and I will order immediately.

Then have to wait a year

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Not even close. CVP have only just reached 200 units in total. I ordered on 22nd April and was 350-400th in their queue. They email me once a month with the latest figures, the 200 is from a couple of week's ago.

And ProAV..,.and Wex....
How many out of the 200 from CVP have been returned with a fault?
You don't know, I don't know. So the whole point is just guess work.
I ordered within 24 hours of the announcement, and received my Pocket 4k about six weeks ago. So the fact you ordered two weeks after me, and still haven't received your camera is not that shocking, or suspicious.

I wasn't making any comment on the level of returns, just correcting your assertion that CVP had received 500 orders when in fact the number is considerably less than half that figure.

Irrespective of the quantities all of the UK retailers had been receiving regular stock on a weekly basis - but that drip feed has dried up across the UK. I don't know why but I am sure BM do. Sadly whilever they remain silent rumours will fester which must affect sales as some customers jump ship to rival brands.

Either BM are so arrogantly confident that demand will remain high they don't care about the bad press... Or the truth would be even more damaging. Either way it's awful PR and does their reputation no good.

Irrespective of the quantities all of the UK retailers had been receiving regular stock on a weekly basis - but that drip feed has dried up across the UK. I don't know why but I am sure BM do. Sadly whilever they remain silent rumours will fester which must affect sales as some customers jump ship to rival brands.

And which might those 'rival' brands be?

Either BM are so arrogantly confident that demand will remain high they don't care about the bad press... Or the truth would be even more damaging. Either way it's awful PR and does their reputation no good.

Rather than being arrogant, perhaps they have discovered that it's not prudent or worthwhile trying to assuage unhappy individuals, as anything that they say will be taken the wrong way by the impatient and those wishing mischief upon Blackmagic.

You just have to see posts on this forum to realise that there is no satisfying some.

I wasn't making any comment on the level of returns, just correcting your assertion that CVP had received 500 orders when in fact the number is considerably less than half that figure.

Irrespective of the quantities all of the UK retailers had been receiving regular stock on a weekly basis - but that drip feed has dried up across the UK. I don't know why but I am sure BM do. Sadly whilever they remain silent rumours will fester which must affect sales as some customers jump ship to rival brands.

Either BM are so arrogantly confident that demand will remain high they don't care about the bad press... Or the truth would be even more damaging. Either way it's awful PR and does their reputation no good.

Agree completely. I think their silence is not good.

And there are excellent alternative options out there. I'll still wait for the pocket 4k as I've been Sony for many years but really like the detail and colour I see in BM footage. Tempted by the Ursa mini pro but it's been around a while now.

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And there are excellent alternative options out there.

And what exactly are those excellent alternatives?

And there are excellent alternative options out there.

And what exactly are those excellent alternatives?

I can't tell if your serious or not.

Do you define viable alternatives by those in the same price bracket? Or image quality? If its price bracket then I'm not interested in arguing with a fan boy over whatever. But for people who make a living from their cameras then anything under say $20k is generally a nobrainer. There are many cameras with beautiful images that in a blind test you couldnt pick apart.

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And there are excellent alternative options out there.

And what exactly are those excellent alternatives?

I can't tell if your serious or not.

Do you define viable alternatives by those in the same price bracket? Or image quality? If its price bracket then I'm not interested in arguing with a fan boy over whatever. But for people who make a living from their cameras then anything under say $20k is generally a nobrainer. There are many cameras with beautiful images that in a blind test you couldnt pick apart.

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I'm quite serious. You're the second poster that's suggested that there are better alternatives. I'd like to hear what they are and why they are better or an excellent alternative. And no need to get abusive, it shows that you're standing on thin ice when it comes to justifying your argument.

And if cost has nothing to do with the comparisons, then why are you here complaining about the BMPCC4K when you have so many options readily available? Why do you so crave the BMPCC4K when there are excellent alternatives available and cost is not a factor?

Your posts are beginning to sound like those of a troll.

Ursa mini pro
Sony F5, FS7
Canon C200, C300

Alternative isnt even the right work since at the moment and likely for months anything but the pocket 4k are the only options.

I had an F5 for a long time and liked the look of the A7s more. Bought one as a B cam and then found I wasn't using the F5 enough. Sold it for another A7s. These days A7R2 but I don't like Sony colour as much as what I see from blackmagic. So I want to try a pocket 4K.

I like the size of the DSLR form but not the photographic buttons. That's why the pocket appeals to me.

Those alternatives may not all shoot Raw but their images look great and they are video cameras with other features too.

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I don't know why you're comparing AU$8000+ cameras to an AU$1800 camera, though that $1800 camera punches well above it's weight. And Sony cameras comparisons aren't much better, especially when considering features.

Your comparisons just don't make sense.

I'm basing it on if a person makes a living from their camera the cheapness of the pocket is a bonus but there are alternatives. Reliable available now alternatives.

If the Ursa mini pro was better in low light I'd be considering that rather than wait but who knows what might come from NAB.

I want the pocket. Still have the preorder and will eventually get my hands on it. Just want some communication from BM so we can make decisions.

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Why would Blackmagic have even bothered to make the BMPCC4K if the target audience was based on you? What was the point of making a AU$1800 camera if money was no object to the target audience? By your reckoning there is no need, and potentially no market, for the BMPCC4K.

Have you given any thought to what you're saying?

[Kristian Lam]

Hey guys,

Take it easy.

Production ebbs and flows depending on parts availability and factory closures due to holidays etc. There is NO deliberate production halt. The camera is quite popular and we're building as fast as we can.

Hi Kristian. As Senior software engineer can you shed any light on bmraw for the pockets progress?

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Don't care when. Just want to know it Will happen for sure?

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Don't care when. Just want to know it Will happen for sure?

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Me too as that would be quite a bow to add to the 4K's strings.

Ursa mini pro
Sony F5, FS7
Canon C200, C300

Alternative isnt even the right work since at the moment and likely for months anything but the pocket 4k are the only options.

I had an F5 for a long time and liked the look of the A7s more. Bought one as a B cam and then found I wasn't using the F5 enough. Sold it for another A7s. These days A7R2 but I don't like Sony colour as much as what I see from blackmagic. So I want to try a pocket 4K.

I like the size of the DSLR form but not the photographic buttons. That's why the pocket appeals to me.

Those alternatives may not all shoot Raw but their images look great and they are video cameras with other features too.

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I had the ursa mini 4.6k, not the pro, and the c200, I loved both cameras. The c200 honestly doesn't compare to the pocket 4k, unless we're talking about raw, then they are the same. However, canon raw lite is really slow compared to CDNG. And it takes up way more space. I traded in the c200 for the pocket 4k, and let me tell you it's a better option. It has some pro features, like ND and SDI. However, their HDMI port is really nerfed. And their codec is really nerfed. You go from 8bit 4:2:0 to raw. You can get 10bit 4:2:2 but that's by an external recorder. Plus it's only recorded in 2K. Then again the image is still good, but you are limited. Those cameras are two times the price of the pocket 4K, but dont even come with the features that the pocket 4k come with internally, that's the difference between those cameras, besides the ursa mini pro

I ordered the Black Magic Pocket Cinema 4K, and about a grands worth of accessories November 7th.

Unfortunately for myself and lots of other videographers and filmmakers in Ireland, Black Magic have not shipped a single unit to the entire country since early November. The only official Black Magic dealer here (Camerakit) haven't got a single shipment since then.

I've spoken to other videographers (via the Irish Filmmaker Network) who've ordered as far back as early April and are still awaiting their units.

I understand manufacturing delays, especially with the production issues (battery door, battery life, blown out red channel etc) the camera has faced. But this is infuriating. To see folks in the US getting recent orders, when Black Magic can't be bothered shipping any units to Ireland is infuriating. Honestly I would have cancelled my order a month ago, had I not already invested in accessories. It's a really bad look for a company known for production issues and delays. Talking to other people in the video community here, it's turning them off Black Magic products in general, and it's likely to lead to a reduction in use of BM cameras on larger projects for years to come.

Speaking for myself, I've already lost out on a significant amount of work that required a second camera (smaller shooters here very rarely provide an equipment budget), as well as work specifically advertised for BMPCC4K shooters. I was planning to pick up and Ursa Pro later this year, but I'd be extremely reluctant to deal with BM again.

Hey guys,

Take it easy.

Production ebbs and flows depending on parts availability and factory closures due to holidays etc. There is NO deliberate production halt. The camera is quite popular and we're building as fast as we can.

Thanks Kristian, that's a reassuring and welcome response

Hi Kristian. As Senior software engineer can you shed any light on bmraw for the pockets progress?

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He’s the product manager. This is his camera. He’s not a software engineer.

BMD have a policy of not talking about what’s coming. It’s rare that Kristian would weigh in here.

JB

His LinkedIn profile says different but I'm sure you know what's right.

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Ignore that. It doesnt say it now. Or I miss read.

Either way some feedback on BM raw would be nice since its a factor in some of our decisions.

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Hey guys,

Take it easy.

Production ebbs and flows depending on parts availability and factory closures due to holidays etc. There is NO deliberate production halt. The camera is quite popular and we're building as fast as we can.

Hi, Kristian, thank you for the reply here but how you can see, is a lot of people from Europe reporting long delays of the camera. For example I have ordered in two official resellers shops in France and Germany and have received some messages from dealer like: "We don't have received cameras last one month, last two months".
Cheers

Ignore that. It doesnt say it now. Or I miss read.

Either way some feedback on BM raw would be nice since its a factor in some of our decisions.

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You’ve got all the feedback you’re going to get. As I said they don’t really talk about future product till it’s announced officially.

Grant has alluded to this happening and that’s the closest you’ll get to an announcement.

JB

Grant has alluded to this happening and that’s the closest you’ll get to an announcement.

JB

Several BMD reps have been pretty clear that braw IS coming to the Pocket 4K, but they haven't given any timetables for it.

So... whether or not it's coming is pretty certain; the answer is yes. When is an open question though, since BMD isn't going to rush it out before it's ready.

Alluded to bmraw happening? I thought he said it WAS happening?

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It is a work in progress and I expect it will be announced via email and press release just before NAB 2019. Or announced at NAB 2019. Less than 8 weeks.


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FWIW, I ordered my BMPCC 4K on Jan 30 from B&H. I got an email from them after filling out an online survey that says, "the manufacturer is heavily back ordered and this item is not expected to arrive in our warehouse until April 15th. Once this does arrive we will ship the orders promptly."

FWIW, I ordered my BMPCC 4K on Jan 30 from B&H. I got an email from them after filling out an online survey that says, "the manufacturer is heavily back ordered and this item is not expected to arrive in our warehouse until April 15th. Once this does arrive we will ship the orders promptly."

That's interesting. My order in Australia in October was told any week now for a couple of months then in December based on the flow they were getting said they were sure January. I emailed them last week and they suddenly said APRIL... I was in Bangkok last week and enquired there too and they said they expect APRIL.

So what's with April??

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So what's with April??

That's when I ordered mine last year and received it in Oct last year.

Ordered the BMPCC4K on Jan 7th from Adorama. Just received an email stating it is being shipped today!

Hey guys,

So I ordered a BMPC4k in early December (it was backordered) and as of today, February 12th, B&H tells me they have no information about when it might be available because it's still backordered.

Is there any sense of when the next round of cameras is going to start going to out to resellers? I knew there would be SOME delay but heading into month 3 I'm getting a little antsy.

Thanks!

Hey guys,

So I ordered a BMPC4k in early December (it was backordered) and as of today, February 12th, B&H tells me they have no information about when it might be available because it's still backordered.

Is there any sense of when the next round of cameras is going to start going to out to resellers? I knew there would be SOME delay but heading into month 3 I'm getting a little antsy.

Thanks!

Remember it just not three places selling the pocket 4k, there are a lot of smaller places selling them too. And it’s first come first serve, so they are most likely waiting in que.

Ordered the BMPCC4K on Jan 7th from Adorama. Just received an email stating it is being shipped today!

This has me excited. I ordered on Jan 17th from Adorama. Hoping I'll see mine soon!

Ordered the BMPCC4K on Jan 7th from Adorama. Just received an email stating it is being shipped today!

This has me excited. I ordered on Jan 17th from Adorama. Hoping I'll see mine soon!

May not be. I just ordered my camera today, and called B&H and Adorama. B&H I was behind over 1,000 people, and at Adorama, the guy told me I was behind around 570 people. I decided to order from Tape Central in Columbus, Ohio. They had '0' people waiting, except for me now...