Blackmagic Forum

Carlos Garcia-Diaz wrote:

Chris Whitten wrote:Not being good for weddings is a judgement call. It's not a defect with the camera.
?

A camera suddenly shutting off is not good for anything. Judgement call has nothing to do with this. Do you work for BM's marketing department or something? I find the tendency to belittle people's legitimate problems with BM cameras by some people on these forums to be ridiculous. Nothing will ever improve unless users ask for accountability from BM/better QC/etc. Excuses never solve problems.

That's it. I write: It's an original battery, it was fully charged.... But somehow it seems that some people didn't understand it. They immediately have the problem: it's a user error.

And again, if i say what it is, it's the original battery, why is it hard for you to have it true?
And when I report that and criticize BMD on a few points, I do. Where is the problem? It would be positive if you and your friend Chris here don't blame others if BMD camera doesn't work. Now I'm asking too: Do you work for BM's marketing department or something?

Australian Image wrote:The fact that the supplied battery is crap is well known and well reported. Some have reported that the camera doesn't even come with a battery anymore.

Well, then we agree.

There are problems with batteries, this is not a BMD specific problem...other manufacturers may have the problem too. I had a similar problem with a new laptop the other day.

There is such a thing. There are production errors.

I haven't seen one post of yours that doesn't in some way directly or indirectly bag Blackmagic.

I'm not here to tell Blackmagic about Santa Clauses, but to address some points, such as why they abandoned the old BMPCC and why not 60fps if technically possible. Now and then I write here and there... You don't have to worry about me. That's not what this is about. You steer in another direction and become personal. This can lead to this thread being blocked.

In all cases with stuck "Canon" batteries it turned out they were faked Canon batteries, not genuine. All problems started with cheap third party batteries not being up to the task because the camera is consuming so much more power than a standard DSLR. When those batteries get discharged at the high rate the camera demands - those cheap cells get really stressed and fail - dissipating a lot of extra heat or even bulge.

Where BMD has clearly failed was to take better care of what kind of batteries people are gonna use and instruct people accordingly. While they released a list of recommended recording media, they also should have released a list of recommended (or even certified) batteries, taking out the guesswork.

I can see why users think it is a problem of the camera when in truth it is a problem of the battery. Most users don't know much about how batteries work, about charge and discharge rates and so on. Or about basic electronics knowledge like P = I * U. It is the duty of the camera manufacturer to make sure end users can't harm their camera and to instruct them accordingly. If end users then choose to ignore the instructions then they are on their own.

I fully agree with you.

Is it really true that BMD doesn't check the cameras before delivery?

My colleague threw away the original battery, otherwise I would have taken a picture of it. He said it was very difficult to remove the orig. battery from the battery compartment.

Ugh, the endless negativity about BMD continues....

I received my BMPCC4K about four weeks ago. It came with a BMD battery. I have used the battery a couple of times and yes it lost power quite quickly. I had no problem getting it out of the camera.
I also have a legitimate Canon battery I bought recently. Very expensive - £70.
I have not noticed any great difference between the performance of the BMD battery and the Canon, although there may well be. I just haven't specifically tested it.
I have seen NO evidence the BMD battery is 'cheap'. I have seen NO evidence BMD have stopped shipping their battery with the camera (I got mine just before Christmas). I have had NO problem installing or removing the BMD battery.
On purchasing the BMPCC4K from a large, major dealer, I also bought their recommended battery recharging kit with additional battery (Hahnel). On using this battery for the first time it DID stick in my BMPCC4K battery compartment. I will no longer feel comfortable using this battery, although I will continue to use the Hahnel recharger.
I must stress - this Hahnel battery was not bought cheap off Ebay or Amazon. It was supplied (recommended) by a main BMD dealer. At the time I was trying to get it out, their tech guy was able to insert a Hahnel battery in his BMPCC4K and remove it without a problem. Anyway, I got it out and won't use it again.

Chris, I am not negative against BMD. I just call them out on the battery front not thinking it through.
I'm also offering the reason why most cheap (must not mean bad, just not up to the task) batteries won't work as you would think with the PCC4K.

I think the reasoning behind BMDs decision to use LP-E6 style batteries was to make the transition for Canon DSLR shooters easier and also because they already have products like the video assist using that style.

In my opinion it would have been better to go with a 14.4V style battery like the latest Canon BP-A30, which is a great power option with 48Wh and a very small size (4.2 x 4.5 x 7 cm), although not cheap.
For comparison the Sony BP-U30 with the same dimensions offers only 28Wh. Both are weighted around 220g.

Yes, I wasn't replying to you specifically. More to the odd person who jumps on anything possibly negative about the camera and amplifies it.

I just wanted to add, so far my BMD battery has been OK. The Hahnel (for anyone thinking about it) possibly not OK.

Your battery was fine. Ok, nice. But that my colleague's battery was not in order, shouldn't be allowed to say that? You and your colleague (Australian Image) really have a problem. The Baterrie problem with BMPCC4K is actually known (here I agree with your colleague). There are a lot of reports about it on the net. There's nothing we can do about that, and I don't want to argue here either. Look for other problems outside... instead of selling the customers for stupid! I ignore you from now on!

Back on topic ? ^^ I come back to this thread for shipping infos, not faulty batteries.

Valentin Remy wrote:Back on topic ? ^^ I come back to this thread for shipping infos, not faulty batteries.

Amen

I just learned from my reseller that i got 7 peoples before me for shipping --' tried to estimate, so i asked how many they can ship by week or month.. Didn't got an answer for that, so i'm sure there are not shipping anything for the moment..

It seems my supplier is now stating end June 2019 for delivery, I must ring them, this must be some kind of joke, it was announced at NAB 2018 - April 6 - 11!

Considering when it was announced getting on for a year ago, seems to be another public relation disaster.

I cancelled my pre-order after 6 months....... I thought I would check back today and I am shocked at all of this.

However to be fair after giving up in 2018, I have just made a new order for end June 2019 (I hope) - this is no fun for the supplier in Zürich or me the customer. However, I am willing to give Blackmagic another chance to deliver. I doubt it will be on time, I am now 9th in the queue. Lets see.

@Australian
that was my third experience with the BMPCC4K.

back to topic und read here my experience: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=80576&p=473652#p473652

Yes I'm wondering about the shipping, Idk where this rumors about the shippent delays or manufacturing problems come from since I haven't found some information about it, I was just wondering where do people get this from?

I have called all the suppliers in my country and they don't know anything about anything it seems, so I have ordered from two different suppliers now.

Do we have some shipping information here?

Any update to how much backlog BMD has for the BMPCC 4K? Ordered one on Jan 7th from Adorama, still waiting.

So is the Camera still shipping? Where does this information about a shipping hault come from? I've reached out to many suppliers here in Sweden and no one knows an expected delivery date.

Can I somehow just buy it from BlackMagic directly and skip all the waiting lines?

Australian Image wrote:

lee4ever wrote:@Australian
that was my third hand experience with the BMPCC4K.

Fixed

The original battery is not fixed, but in garbage can.

Bagging Blackmagic products based on third hand experience?

I reported my experience.

And so that we stay on topic. The dealer has removed the Pocket 4K from the sales list. The suppliers said it would take 12 weeks for the Pocket 4K to be available. After 4 weeks he got a message from suppliers that it would take 12 weeks again. :/

I ordered the camera on December 12th from B&H and still waiting. Have emailed/online chatted with both Blackmagic and B&H. After several emails with Blackmagic, they keep passing the buck saying that they have no delays in shipping. Finally, I decided to call B&H and they told me that while they get shipments every week, they are super small. So I must conclude Blackmagic HORRIBLY underestimated the demand. However, I would like just a little accepting of responsibility. The fact is that retailers are left just sitting on their hands until they get a meager shipment. It's like trying to feed a ravenous bear with bread crumbs! I sold my other camera thinking I would get this one in quickly to start some jobs. How stupid I was!

JordanMcgehee wrote:I ordered the camera on December 12th from B&H and still waiting. Have emailed/online chatted with both Blackmagic and B&H. After several emails with Blackmagic, they keep passing the buck saying that they have no delays in shipping. Finally, I decided to call B&H and they told me that while they get shipments every week, they are super small. So I must conclude Blackmagic HORRIBLY underestimated the demand. However, I would like just a little accepting of responsibility. The fact is that retailers are left just sitting on their hands until they get a meager shipment. It's like trying to feed a ravenous bear with bread crumbs! I sold my other camera thinking I would get this one in quickly to start some jobs. How stupid I was!

The same here, I decided to buy BM than other cameras, and still waiting.. without job. More than 3 months.
German official reseller talks me, no cameras in more than one month..
For Andorra is ZERO "0" cameras, so who lives in Andorra only can buy it outside the country! Terrible!

Here in forum to many people asking about shipments but BM is still silent!
FIrst and last product from BM!

JordanMcgehee wrote:I sold my other camera thinking I would get this one in quickly to start some jobs. How stupid I was!

That was not a smart move indeed.. Hopefully you learned your lesson !

Checking every week stores from Belgium, Germany, UK, France. Nowhere to be found... Wished I could bring it in Jordan in March for an upcoming project :/ I guess we'll bring our GH5 instead, or Panasonic's new S1R if available !

JordanMcgehee wrote:I ordered the camera on December 12th from B&H and still waiting. Have emailed/online chatted with both Blackmagic and B&H. After several emails with Blackmagic, they keep passing the buck saying that they have no delays in shipping. Finally, I decided to call B&H and they told me that while they get shipments every week, they are super small. So I must conclude Blackmagic HORRIBLY underestimated the demand. However, I would like just a little accepting of responsibility. The fact is that retailers are left just sitting on their hands until they get a meager shipment. It's like trying to feed a ravenous bear with bread crumbs! I sold my other camera thinking I would get this one in quickly to start some jobs. How stupid I was!

I ordered mine December 4th. Seemed like there was a large shipment at the start of the month, but are still at Nov. 20-ish orders (via the forums). I'm thinking about maybe purchasing something else, but haven't decided on what yet.

I really feel for anyone who sold their previous BMD camera in anticipation of receiving the BMPCC4K. I guess one option might be bidding for one on eBay. Costly but better than not working!

Sounds like the URSA Broadcast could be an effective option.


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In fairness there has been plenty of evidence about slow delivery since the end of September.
If people who pre-ordered in April are having to wait until late December to get their camera, it's un realistic to order one in early December and expect to have it now.
I shot my last project on my original BMPCC in late September and sold it a couple of weeks after I received my new BMPCC4K just before Christmas. I had pre-ordered the BMPCC4K within 24 hours of it's initial announcement (10th April).

Chris Whitten wrote:In fairness there has been plenty of evidence about slow delivery since the end of September.
If people who pre-ordered in April are having to wait until late December to get their camera, it's un realistic to order one in early December and expect to have it now.
I shot my last project on my original BMPCC in late September and sold it a couple of weeks after I received my new BMPCC4K just before Christmas. I had pre-ordered the BMPCC4K within 24 hours of it's initial announcement (10th April).

I ordered mines in October of 2018 and received on December 5th of 2018

Yep, I'm just saying, from the various long running BMPCC4K threads around the web, you'd have to understand that ordering the camera in December and expecting delivery within three weeks would be a long shot. MOST people have waited several months, unless they were lucky enough to find a small store with cameras incoming and not much of a pre-order list.

It took 8 months before I got the BMCC EF after I ordered it 3 months after its announcement at NAB.
It took 6 months before I got the UM46k EF after I ordered it, although it had been announced over a year ago at NAB.
It took 5 months before I got the PCC4k after I ordered it during its announcement at NAB.

It is difficult to get a production chain up and running. It is difficult to estimate the demand of a product in foresight, you just can't built a few more production plants in a short time to double, triple, whatever the production rate. Apple produces several millions of iPhones per month and still people think Apple is playing a game of artificial shortage for their goods...

I ordered 20th Sept and still waiting. Considering cancelling, not so hyped for it anymore.

Dan, at least there are thousands of the cameras out there already. Not like the URSA Mini 4.6K that was announced in April 2015 and began shipping late March 2016! When we do receive the camera, we are much better informed about it so less likely to be blindsided by something. With NAB 2019 9½ weeks away, there’s no escape from the press and customers wanting a frank disclosure. Of course BMD may provide another status update with more details before NAB 2019.

It’s probably just wishful thinking on my part, but I can’t help wonder if the apparent slowdown is related to new or updated products to be shown at NAB.


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Hi, was just wondering if there was any news on info on the shipping for the bmpcc 4k this year? have one on pre-order here in South Africa, cant seem to get any info on ETA from their official re sellers so its a bit strange!

So there's a huge thread of people talking about P4K shipping times. Most of it is people talking about either cameras they received back in December or people on wait lists. Very little discussion of people recently receiving their cameras.

So I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who has received a Pocket 4K in the last few weeks. It would be great if you could say when you ordered it and what retailer you ordered from. It would be a nice to get a sense of when and where units are showing up. As well as some hope to those of us on waiting lists!

I just talked to my dealer yesterday and asked him how deliveries or going. He told me that they haven't received any units in January. This seems to be the case for most of the dealers in the EU, as far as I have read from several other users.

Hi Robert, That's all that is being reported in the other thread. That's why I started this one to specifically hear from anyone with a different experience.

At least one person in one of the facebook groups got theirs today, in Ireland. Another person just posted a new unboxing video. https://www.facebook.com/groups/896900333767779/

I ordered mine from AValive (USA) on 1/3, it shipped on 1/12, and it was in my hands on 1/14.

My dealer had non in jan too. But someone just put 4 on eBay in England so they’re coming from somewhere...

Steven Reid wrote:I ordered mine from AValive (USA) on 1/3, it shipped on 1/12, and it was in my hands on 1/14.

I ordered mine (in mid-Jan) from AVAlive, as well… it arrived today. I’m very, very happy.

Bristol, RI USA

I placed my order for a Pocket 4K with adorama.com (in NYC) on 12/29/18 and received it a couple of weeks later on 1/16/19. Very happy with the camera!

-

This thread is a terrible idea! Did the OP not consider the pain and torture these testimonials can cause? It’s a heartless world.


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Maybe the factories had a week or two off over the holidays (despite probably not 'celebrating Christmas').
Australia for example more or less grinds to a halt between December 24th and mid-January.
I received my Pocket 4K in mid-December. Very happy with it.

rick.lang wrote:This thread is a terrible idea! Did the OP not consider the pain and torture these testimonials can cause? It’s a heartless world.


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'pain and torture' is a bit strong, but frustration and bewilderment at a company that announces in April 2018 and my dealer in Switzerland hasn't a clue apart from expected delivery in June 2019!

It makes me wonder at the number of cancellations or orders lost...

Swissified wrote:

rick.lang wrote:This thread is a terrible idea! Did the OP not consider the pain and torture these testimonials can cause? It’s a heartless world.


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'pain and torture' is a bit strong, but frustration and bewilderment at a company that announces in April 2018 and my dealer in Switzerland hasn't a clue apart from expected delivery in June 2019!

It makes me wonder at the number of cancellations or orders lost...

Just to clarify: The PCC4K was announced in April at the NAB and they also announced that they hope to start delivery in September or later. Which happend and the first units were received by customers in early October.

Canada. I ordered in Sept, and haven't got it yet.

I was at NAMM last weekend and BMD had a booth, so I asked one of the reps straight up and she told me that they cannot meet demand. She basically said there were like 10,000 pre-orders and they fulfilled them, and then 10,000 more orders were placed and keeping up is hard. She didn’t say anything about supply chain being stopped or anything like that.

I bet there will be people who have to wait a year, until Oct 2019 to get their PCC4K? I like BMD, but seriously, I can’t imagine what those people waiting a year to get a camera are thinking, I have clients, I can’t count on unreleased gear. I’ll get a PCC4K, but not until a software update has been released and I can just pick it up without a pre-order.

Ordered in early November here in Germany, so waiting for 3 months now. Last response from my dealer a couple of days ago: "Production paused". Since I can see U.S. and U.K. customers got their cameras, I don't know what to believe...

Stephen Fitzgerald wrote:I was at NAMM last weekend and BMD had a booth, so I asked one of the reps straight up and she told me that they cannot meet demand. She basically said there were like 10,000 pre-orders and they fulfilled them, and then 10,000 more orders were placed and keeping up is hard.

Well I ordered from CVP in the UK on 22nd April and haven't received my camera yet so the pre-orders have not been fulfilled. CVP are still only up to mid-April pre-orders and have had around 200 cameras to date. I was between 350-400 in the pre-order queue but I know a lot of people have jumped ship so hopefully I am sneaking towards the head of the line by default.

I also have a camera on order from UK Digital where I am 12th in the queue. They had been receiving a couple of cameras a week and so hoped to get me one in 6-8 weeks. However they contacted me to say they have had nothing in January which is the message from numerous dealers across Europe (Facebook groups are full of the tales of woe).

Kristian Lam commented on a couple of Facebook threads to deny the rumours that there were problems with the LCD screens which had caused the delay. It's still not clear from his responses whether there is a hiatus for different reasons however.

Unfortunately there is a complete absence of information from Blakcmagic which just leads to rumour upon rumour running unchecked. While it isn't reasonable for BM to respond to all of the rumours it would be useful for some sort of official statement given that the dealers in the EU and elsewhere believe there to be a problem with production.

vgs2003 wrote:Ordered in early November here in Germany, so waiting for 3 months now. Last response from my dealer a couple of days ago: "Production paused". Since I can see U.S. and U.K. customers got their cameras, I don't know what to believe...

Well exactly public relations at zero. Far better to come out in the open and say what is the reality.

Pete Tomkies wrote:

Stephen Fitzgerald wrote:Unfortunately there is a complete absence of information from Blakcmagic which just leads to rumour upon rumour running unchecked. While it isn't reasonable for BM to respond to all of the rumours it would be useful for some sort of official statement given that the dealers in the EU and elsewhere believe there to be a problem with production.

Agreed completely, some official statement would be I can imagine much appreciated by the people like myself also who ordered last year and still do not have a firm delivery date.

Stephen Fitzgerald wrote:I was at NAMM last weekend and BMD had a booth, so I asked one of the reps straight up and she told me that they cannot meet demand... She didn’t say anything about supply chain being stopped or anything like that... I’ll get a PCC4K, but not until a software update has been released and I can just pick it up without a pre-order.

Stephen, I’m sure she was very careful in the choice of her words. What she didn’t say is more telling than what she did say.

Waiting for the first firmware update shouldn’t be long at all. And this thread has many examples of people ordering well after the cameras began to shop and receiving their camera fairly quickly. Let’s get back to the pain and suffering of hearing those stories of those who recently received the BMPCC4K.


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This video does an excellent job of portraying the pain of waiting:

Yes, yes it does...
Cheers