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This might be the holy grail of portable cinema cameras

PostPosted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 10:42 am
by Craig Marshall
RedSharkNews publishes Part III of their BMPCC4K review.

BMPCC4K_part_3_-5.jpg
Light weight and compactness means easier accessibility to locations like this
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https://www.redsharknews.com/production ... ma-cameras

Re: This might be the holy grail of portable cinema cameras

PostPosted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 7:00 pm
by rick.lang
Craig, first off, the important stuff: Did you steal my hat?

Thanks for that post from RedShark.

Re: This might be the holy grail of portable cinema cameras

PostPosted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 7:38 pm
by Craig Marshall
Wish I still had it Rick. The harsh Aussie sun takes it's toll on fair skin but you only notice the damage after fifty years or so and by then, it's usually too late...

Nice camera though and a good starting point for just about anybody. Simon, the writer is very experienced with ENG cameras particularly and he's quite impressed. Shame it doesn't suit any of my lenses...

Re: This might be the holy grail of portable cinema cameras

PostPosted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 9:11 pm
by rick.lang
I’m going to make the BMPCC4K work with all my PL lenses since I can’t get into funding lenses that are designed for mFT. If I do go for one mFT lens, it will be a parfocal Cine Zoom, but at this point a 12-60mm T2.8 or so will do. That’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I have to try it.


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Re: This might be the holy grail of portable cinema cameras

PostPosted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 11:12 pm
by Craig Marshall
You know, that's exactly what I would do - mate it with a dedicated MFT cine zoom with the longest focal range available. I'd be prepared to pay three to four time the price of the camera for such as lens because any camera is only as good as the lens it's attached to.

But and it's a big one, I'll wait first till BMD offers the P4K camera in a traditional, on the shoulder 'Video' form factor - along the lines of the best 16mm and Super 8 cameras or Ursa Broadcast even - instead of the silly DSLR shape it is now. There is no way it would work for me like that without a built in EVF. I've noticed with all BMD products, good things come to those that wait. We have a huge amount of BMD hardware here but the only BMD camera which comes close to suiting our general production requirements is the URSA Broadcast which I think is an absolutely brilliant concept.

This might be the holy grail of portable cinema cameras

PostPosted: Fri Oct 12, 2018 3:27 am
by rick.lang
Craig, maybe you’ll be open to something like these Fujinon MK T2.9 zooms. If I was just starting out with mFT, these would both be on my wishlist:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... _lens.html

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... _lens.html



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Re: This might be the holy grail of portable cinema cameras

PostPosted: Fri Oct 12, 2018 4:35 am
by Tristan Pemberton
Craig Marshall wrote:We have a huge amount of BMD hardware here but the only BMD camera which comes close to suiting our general production requirements is the URSA Broadcast which I think is an absolutely brilliant concept.

Yes, I agree. I bought one recently and took it into the Western Desert to shoot a doco. I'm a huge fan of Super 16 for doco, and this is basically the modern Super 16 reimagined. It shoots a digital negative with all the benefits of a modern shoulder mounted ENG camera.

My Canon 8-64 T2.4 S16 lens now lives on it to make a very capable film machine.

The Pocket 4K will mostly be used when I need to be really light and portable, and for Ronin-S stabilised shots.

Re: This might be the holy grail of portable cinema cameras

PostPosted: Fri Oct 12, 2018 5:04 am
by Craig Marshall
Yes, Rick they would be the lenses I'd want. I didn't know Fuji made them for MFT as I though they were only available for S35. I would need both though so my pick, as Tristan mentions, is for the URSA Broadcast equipped with say, a Fuji HA series 18:1 ENG zoom or at least one of their 10:1 'wide' zooms with a 2x converter. I'd still like to see BMD make a slightly smaller S16 'video' camera, along the lines of the ill fated Digital Bolex.

Re: This might be the holy grail of portable cinema cameras

PostPosted: Fri Oct 12, 2018 9:58 am
by Simon Wyndham
But and it's a big one, I'll wait first till BMD offers the P4K camera in a traditional, on the shoulder 'Video' form factor

I guess it comes down to what you need it for. For myself I need to be able to load it into the back of a white water kayak with very lightweight lenses. That's impossible with a more traditional form factor. Well, not completely impossible, but the boat ends up handling like a dog. It's nice to be able to trek up a mountain and be able to still have a functioning lower spine when I get back home! ;-)

I was suspicious of the DSLR form factor at first, but the camera is so light in the right configuration it is actually very good for handheld. What isn't apparent until you pick it up and use it is how well placed and focussed the controls are. By getting rid of all the surplus stills photography gumph that clogs up hybrid cameras makes the P4K very quick to use and operate.

Re: This might be the holy grail of portable cinema cameras

PostPosted: Fri Oct 12, 2018 11:36 am
by Tristan Pemberton
Simon Wyndham wrote:
Craig Marshall wrote:But and it's a big one, I'll wait first till BMD offers the P4K camera in a traditional, on the shoulder 'Video' form factor

What isn't apparent until you pick it up and use it is how well placed and focussed the controls are. By getting rid of all the surplus stills photography gumph that clogs up hybrid cameras makes the P4K very quick to use and operate.

Yes, I totally agree with this.

It's like the portability of a stills camera, but with the usability of a cinema camera. Seems so obvious when you pick it up and use it, but no-one else has actually done it until now.

This might be the holy grail of portable cinema cameras

PostPosted: Fri Oct 12, 2018 1:38 pm
by rick.lang
Simon, if you need some clickbait to take early retirement, may I suggest you do a YouTube video:

50 Reasons why I shoot BMPCC4K and not GH5




There was a time when posting a video called The Holy Grail would guarantee riches, but alas, you’re several hundred years too late to the party.


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Re: This might be the holy grail of portable cinema cameras

PostPosted: Fri Oct 12, 2018 1:41 pm
by steve connor
Craig Marshall wrote:But and it's a big one, I'll wait first till BMD offers the P4K camera in a traditional, on the shoulder 'Video' form factor - along the lines of the best 16mm and Super 8 cameras or Ursa Broadcast even - instead of the silly DSLR shape it is now.


Strange comment - It's a "Pocket" camera, designed to be small, If you want shoulder mount then that's what the Ursa Mini Pro is for!!

Re: This might be the holy grail of portable cinema cameras

PostPosted: Fri Oct 12, 2018 4:03 pm
by Rakesh Malik
Craig Marshall wrote:But and it's a big one, I'll wait first till BMD offers the P4K camera in a traditional, on the shoulder 'Video' form factor - along the lines of the best 16mm and Super 8 cameras or Ursa Broadcast even - instead of the silly DSLR shape it is now.


YES! I probably would have pre-ordered one had its physical design matched the rest of it, rather than following the lame duck dSLR design.

Re: This might be the holy grail of portable cinema cameras

PostPosted: Fri Oct 12, 2018 4:08 pm
by Rakesh Malik
rick.lang wrote:Simon, if you need some clickbait to take early retirement, may I suggest you do a YouTube video:

50 Reasons why I shoot BMPCC4K and not GH5


Simon, if you lend me yours I'll happily make such a video for it... and get some attractive models to pose with it ;)

Re: This might be the holy grail of portable cinema cameras

PostPosted: Fri Oct 12, 2018 5:17 pm
by JacobSchuhle
Simon Wyndham wrote:
But and it's a big one, I'll wait first till BMD offers the P4K camera in a traditional, on the shoulder 'Video' form factor

I guess it comes down to what you need it for. For myself I need to be able to load it into the back of a white water kayak with very lightweight lenses.


Mine's going on a ronin and rarely coming off. It's going to be a b-cam to my UMP

Re: This might be the holy grail of portable cinema cameras

PostPosted: Fri Oct 12, 2018 5:25 pm
by Denny Smith
Craig Marshall wrote:Yes, Rick they would be the lenses I'd want. I didn't know Fuji made them for MFT as I though they were only available for S35. I would need both though so my pick, as Tristan mentions, is for the URSA Broadcast equipped with say, a Fuji HA series 18:1 ENG zoom or at least one of their 10:1 'wide' zooms with a 2x converter. I'd still like to see BMD make a slightly smaller S16 'video' camera, along the lines of the ill fated Digital Bolex.


Craig, the new Fuji Zooms are Sony E mount, but you can order a special MFT mount from MTF Services, it is available on B&H. Yiu can swap the mounts yourself, or have a lens tech do it and check the FFD and collimation.
Cheers

Re: This might be the holy grail of portable cinema cameras

PostPosted: Fri Oct 12, 2018 8:50 pm
by Craig Marshall
Denny Smith wrote:Craig, the new Fuji Zooms are Sony E mount....

Thanks Denny. So they are designed for E-Mount and S35 sized sensor? Which means adapting them to MFT without a focal reducer, you would lose the wide end. That would be a pity as they are not particularly wide to start with anyway.

The overall sizing of the new camera appeals to me but as I've said before, not the shape. A fully optioned URSA Broadcast is just too big for my needs so do you know of a large ratio, ENG style lens with or without a servo zoom motor which is able to offer the same flexibility as a regular B4 ENG lens yet designed for native MFT?

I guess I'm still trying to reproduce this, the camera that kick-started my career in film and TV forty years ago. As gar as 'ergonomics' went, it was perfection personified. HaHa! A 14:1 parfocal servo zoom with a constant aperture of f/1.4... Yes!

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Re: This might be the holy grail of portable cinema cameras

PostPosted: Sat Oct 13, 2018 5:58 am
by Denny Smith
Nice camera Craig. The only true parfocal MFT zooms I know if, are the new Lanasonic 12-60 f/2.8-4 Zoom and thenoriginal Oly SW (FT) 14-35 f/2.0 (not much range on the long end) but it is parfocal and has true manual focus also. The only other actual Parfocal zooms similar to your film camera Angie (I assume this is an Angenieux Zoom lens) are the older standard 35 cine zooms and the newer S35 cine zooms, all are manual focus and non Servo zooms, like the Optimo DP.

Your othernoption is to use a 2/3ds optical corrected B4 Mount like the one from MTF Services and use a B4 Fujnion Cine Zoom or a ENG zoom, which will need external power to get the Servo working.
Cheers