Blackmagic Pocket 4K camera does not keep date/time updated

Hi,

I have tried many times to change/update my Blackmagic Pocket 4K camera's date and time but it does not keep the new values. I update it but when the camera does not have a charged battery inside for some hours (battery recharge) it looses the updated date/time and goes back 4 days and 10 hours. The firmware is the latest and the camera works perfectly except for that small detail.
Any ideas of why this could be happening?

Thanks in advance

You might not want to hear this:
Yes, this is correct, because the clock needs power. Without a battery it can't run. But beside that, even with a battery inserted, the clock drifts quite heavily within a couple of days.

You might not want to hear this:
Yes, this is correct, because the clock needs power. Without a battery it can't run. But beside that, even with a battery inserted, the clock drifts quite heavily within a couple of days.

Well it's quite better than what I originally thought (no time for Tech Service)

Thank you for for the help!

I'm glad I am not the only one having this issue. I generally don't worry about the date / time setting on my Pocket 4K but I noticed this weekend the date/time drifted two months over a three day period with the battery in the camera the whole time! Given that computers can keep precise time with just a small watch type battery powering the bios you would think a video camera could do the same? Especially since I've never had this issue with any other DSLR camera I've owned even with the main battery removed from those units.

Especially since I've never had this issue with any other DSLR camera I've owned even with the main battery removed from those units.

That's because other cameras use a little internal battery to keep time; that battery will ultimately die and you'll have to get it replaced. The Blackmagic cameras use a supercapacitor instead, which only maintains a charge for a short time. On the plus side, you'll never have to bring it in for an internal battery replacement. On the negative side, you have to adust the date/time before every shoot.

If you have easy access to the USB input on the camera, you can update the date/time just by plugging it into a computer. That doesn't work for me because I have my cameras in cages mounted on plates, and the plate obstructs the USB input (I'm using the Micro Cinema Camera; updating the date and time on those takes a couple of minutes of punching tiny buttons and cursing).

I've always wondered why Blackmagic doesn't add a small batter to run the clock. On those occasions where you're in a hurry or just in general it would be nice. At least my vote, not that voting might count anymore.

Personally I’m glad there’s no battery to replace. Before every shoot, there’s a list of items to verify are set correctly and the system time is one of them. Recently I didn’t check the time and the file creation dates were a few days off in one camera. Thankfully all media Timecode values were correct thanks to the Tentacles.

In the old days, professional cameras had easily replaceable lithium batteries (usually watch batteries). Prosumer cameras often had them soldered internally and difficult to get at without disassembling the camera. If the only option is the latter then yes it's better to have none at all.

battery.jpg (150.64 KiB) Viewed 6831 times

I generally don't worry about the date / time setting on my Pocket 4K

As that data makes it way into Clip Names, I find it very useful myself.

The drifting internal clock in a high tech device is a bit weird considering we've had electronic clocks for decades. It is what it is now, but in the future I'd like to see a user replacable battery.

I wonder if it would be possible to update the internal clock from timecode with a firmware update. Now, if you plug a timecode device in the camera the timecode updates, but the internal clock remains in what time you set it to be - or forgot to set. Just have the internal clock update when a timecode device is detected. It's a bit ironic when there's a device plugged in feeding accurate to the millisecond time and the camera still thinks it's three days ago at 3:07 in the morning.

Incredibly frustrating. I have 2x 6K Pros and over the course of a week, I had A-Camera's clock drift backward 1 year, and B-Camera's clock jump forward 4 years!

I understand drifting a few hours at this budget range, but I would call this unacceptable, even for affordable cameras like this.

Is it possible to have the time of day updated by an external timecode generator, like a Deity or Tentacle? I thinking like turn on the camera(s) plug in the TC generator, set timecode but also update ToD, then you're good to go for the rest of the day.

So frustrating.

Another option for BM, could put a GPS chip in it, get the time from the GPS sat each time it powers on.
Seems crazy in this day and age that the time isn't kept automation.