7.9 update - a new lease of life for the PCC4K

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bobosola

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7.9 update - a new lease of life for the PCC4K

PostWed Jun 29, 2022 8:17 pm

Just wanted to post to say thanks to the BM team for the 7.9 update - it's excellent!

To be honest, I was on the point of selling my PCC4K and moving to a different platform due mainly to the almost impossibility of focusing in daylight using the rear screen after the previous update. But the vastly improved focus peaking and gyro stabilisation feature in 7.9 is an absolute game-changer. It's made moving hand-held very doable and useable. It's not gimbal-smooth of course, but it can produce perfectly acceptable footage minus the previous moving jitters which would previously make such footage unusable. And I can apply it in seconds in Resolve on my modest Mac Mini M1.

Looking ahead, I note that all the pros here seem to want box-shaped cameras for future models - presumably for rigging out massively? But as a hobbyist I want the exact opposite of that in the next PCC model. I'd like a small, light, easy-to-carry camera to capture my travels - like a Panasonic GH6 but by Blackmagic. With the new gyro stab feature in post and (hopefully) some kind of focus tracking plus an EVF option, a new PCC4K Pro could compete with the GH6 market and would be an instant purchase for me. Good portability with a regular camera-shaped body, an EVF for outdoor use (goodbye to bulky monitors and useless hoods), plus BM colour science would surely be a winning combination for the non-pro market.
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Damian Sciberras

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Re: 7.9 update - a new lease of life for the PCC4K

PostThu Jun 30, 2022 12:33 am

I have just updated to 7.9 from 7.3 and totally agree with you about the focus peaking, it's also nice to have those extra features too and the redesign is pretty cool too!

One downside from my point of view is that when using the 2:4:1 aspect ratio you can no longer set 75fps using the off speed frame rate function, it only has 60 as it's maximum.

I shot in this aspect ratio for my first film so a bit puzzled as why this is now not an option.

Although the current film I am working on is shot in DCI it does matter at the moment, but wondered if anyone else has come across this?
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David White

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Re: 7.9 update - a new lease of life for the PCC4K

PostThu Jun 30, 2022 12:51 am

Yes. Thanks for the update, Black Magic.

I also use the Pocket 4K. I like the form factor. I've purchased several Micro 4/3rd's lenses and plan to stay with that lens format. Two things I'd like to see added to a future version of the Pocket 4K are an electronic view finder and continual auto focus.

The view finder for the Pocket 6K is what I'm looking for. It's small and affordable. I mainly record out doors and greatly benefit from view finders. I don't need them to be color accurate. I can adjust colors in post if needed.

As an event recorder, I'd also benefit from continual auto focus. I suspect, adding continual auto focus to a removable lens camera may not be practical since each lens model with electronic focus control will have a different response curve. A machine learning approach might prove useful, but I'm just guessing here. If it's do-able, please considering adding continual auto focus. If not, I'll understand.

David

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