This is all so funny to me. It's right and wrong at the same time.
Here's the wrong part:
People blast BM for not communicating when things will be developed. That makes sense. People want to know when products will be released or updated.
AND
People blast BM for not making their posted deadlines. That makes sense. People want to know when products will be released or updated.
But you can't be mad that they won't tell you because they're worried they won't make the deadline, and at the same time be mad when they DO tell you and don't make the deadline.
At that point, you're actually just mad that they aren't faster.
BM isn't Canon. They don't have the next 4 years already mapped out. They aren't holding back features of the camera they're going to sell you in two years, in order to make you buy an intermediate camera. If they did that, they'd have amazing lead time on their products, and be able to do things like... announce and fulfill deadlines with "professional" accuracy.
BM is trying to push the envelope. They rattled the market big time. Then they dropped the price on the BMCC. People read this as a sign that the 4k camera would outclass it in all ways, and BM was worried theyd have to eat stock in a camera no one wanted anymore.
But clearly BM knew they weren't about to release the 4k camera. So if their strategy was to give time to clear out the BMCC stock, why not release the firmware upgrades everyone's been asking for? That'd sell more BMCC cameras easily wouldn't it?
I think theres a MUCH simpler and less paranoid answer:
BM isn't a big company and they're building it as they go.
They encounter problems, and then they have to fix them. They probably only have so many technicians etc on staff. If theyre trying like heck to fix something about the 4k camera, then the firmware for the BMCC takes a back seat.
It's less than ideal. But it's the reality of a company that's innovating, and doesn't have a long timeframe R&D pipe. It's great for us, because it provides cameras, and it challenges the marketplace. Maybe somewhere right now, Canon is moving their timetable up for something by a year or two because of the pressure BM puts on them?
At any rate, it all makes sense to me.
THe only thing is that it might be helpful if BM had more regular communication about the status of things. We'd like to think that if they said (hypothetically) "Wow the sensors are looking really bad and we need to figure out what the hell to do to fix this disaster" do you think we would all take that information like adults?
Maybe we've lost our right to be in the loop precisely because we get so upset when they DO post information and then things change, we act like customers of a large company?
Anyway no other company tells us what they're doing ahead of time. The thing that's got some of us so mad is that they DID tell us a little early, and now it's turning out to be less than correct because the info was early?
Let em do what they do. When a product you like becomes available, buy it
Meanwhile, upgrading the BMCC firmware sure would go a long way to selling me a camera. That and a powered speedbooster type mount that lets me put EF lenses on a MFT BMCC