Shutter Sync Production 4K

Hi all,

We are looking to shoot some 3D stereo using a pair of Production 4K cameras but from the research I've done so far there seems to be no way of syncing the shutters on the two cameras. I see no Genlock or other Reference inputs.

I've found that some have had success syncing shutters on other brands via LANC and a microcontroller but this is dependant on having oscillator control via LANC.

Does anyone know if this will be possible either via either some BMD or OEM/Home-brew solution?

Thanks

John

Genlock or sync via LANC aren't announced features of the BMPC-4K. They're also not a capability of the BMCC, on which the BMPC-4K is based.

We won't know exactly what the BMPC-4K will or won't be capable of until it starts shipping. But at this point it seems unlikely genlock or sync via LANC will be supported.

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There are (basically) two ways to "sync" cameras via LANC:

The usual way is to start the cameras at the same time and then hope they will run in good sync for at least a couple of minutes; usually there is a display of some kind (green/yellow/red LEDs, or a numeric display) informing the camera operator about the delay between the two cameras. This method doesn't do anything to actively achieve or keep synchronisation.

With some select cameras it was (is?) possible to influence the pixelclock through LANC-commands; there are devices that can use this feature to slow down or speed up one camera to get in sync with the other, and to keep synchronisation. But i haven't seen this kind of active synch'ing since DV days.

It is very unlikely that the Production Cam could be influenced the second way, so from what we know today this only leaves the "sync'ed start" method. And it remains to be seen how well the cameras will keep in sync.

I'm waiting for the Pocket CC to arrive, and if the device lives up to my expectations i might get a second one to enhance my stereoscopic filming - for now i'm stuck with consumer grade cameras, mainly for their small form factors which allow interocular distances of less than 60 mm.

Indeed that's the conclusion I've come to so far... It's a shame as the BMPC-4K is ideal for our task in every other way.

Looks like we'll have to opt for some High end Sony gear or go with a Camlink based system.

Thanks for your replies.