Blackmagic Forum

So I finally got my BMCC and some SSD's in the mail and of course the first thing I did was pop a properly formatted drive in the camera and hit record. Now, I always assumed that the 2.5 K resolution was universal for all formats outputted by the BMCC, but when I loaded up one of the clips(prores) I saw that it was only at 1920x1080. I haven't played around with it hugely, but I have found no indications that you can change the resolution in any of the camera's menu's. Even the selection of RAW in the menu says that it is "2.5K" which would seem to indicate that this resolution is unique to that format. Is 2.5K resolution only available when recording raw?

If true, is this a limitation imposed by the processor being unable to compress that kind of resolution or something else?

That is correct. It's also as per the specs on the BM site. The HDSDI also only outputs 1080p (or 1080i)

No word from BM as yet if we will ever see 2.5k ProRes in any future firmware updates.

The DNxHD format only supports up to 1080p so we'll never see higher resolutions in DNxHD.

2.5K is only available in raw. Even the Alexa only outputs 1080p and 2K prores, if you want to go higher you need to go raw. As a side note the only time I´ve used raw on Alexa is for sfx shots or shots in need of imagestabilization. You´re fine with 1080p most of the time even if you´re shooting for the big sceen.

regards
Hans Engstrom

I never really wanted that extra resolution for delivery, just to allow myself the ability to crop or stabilize footage in post which is something that you may need to do almost any time you are shooting.

S_Pfeiffer wrote:I never really wanted that extra resolution for delivery, just to allow myself the ability to crop or stabilize footage in post which is something that you may need to do almost any time you are shooting.

Just go raw then, the good part is that you don´t need to rent a codex for it like you would do on the Alexa.

Hans Engstrom wrote:Just go raw then, the good part is that you don´t need to rent a codex for it like you would do on the Alexa.

I understand. It's just that if I find myself shooting some kind of event or something else that requires me to keep the camera rolling for long stretches, prores would be preferable due to lower space requirements. Also, I wouldn't be able to do a "take 2" because the tripod got jostled or my hand slipped a bit. Obviously, one should always do their best to keep the camera steady at all times, but it would be nice to have that extra bit of insurance. Y'know?

S_Pfeiffer wrote:

Hans Engstrom wrote:Just go raw then, the good part is that you don´t need to rent a codex for it like you would do on the Alexa.

I understand. It's just that if I find myself shooting some kind of event or something else that requires me to keep the camera rolling for long stretches, prores would be preferable due to lower space requirements. Also, I wouldn't be able to do a "take 2" because the tripod got jostled or my hand slipped a bit. Obviously, one should always do their best to keep the camera steady at all times, but it would be nice to have that extra bit of insurance. Y'know?

Ok I get it, I´m not used to shoot events myself so I have no experience on that.

regards
Hans Engstrom