Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

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Kristian Lam

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Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostThu Jun 27, 2024 7:39 am

Hi,

We've just released Camera 8.7 Public Beta. This adds the proxy live syncing support to Cinema Camera 6K and URSA Broadcast G2. All the stuff in 8.6 has also been rolled into the 8.7 release.

In the meantime, please keep the feedback coming. We may not respond to every post, but we do read them.
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chang123456

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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostThu Jun 27, 2024 9:03 am

The 8.7 beta release doesnt fix the DJI RS-2 Pro Gimbal issue unfortunalty.
I dont understand why a next release wouldn't fix such a crucial issue.
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Obadiah

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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostThu Jun 27, 2024 9:19 am

Why delete the EVF Smooth Motion option from 6K FullFrame on 8.7?
And give 1.5x Anamorphic Desqueeze Option Pls :cry:
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Kristian Lam

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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostThu Jun 27, 2024 11:57 am

chang123456 wrote:The 8.7 beta release doesnt fix the DJI RS-2 Pro Gimbal issue unfortunalty.
I dont understand why a next release wouldn't fix such a crucial issue.


DJI is looking into this. We're not sure why that's broken at the moment.
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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostThu Jun 27, 2024 12:12 pm

Kristian Lam wrote:We've just released Camera 8.7 Public Beta. This adds the proxy live syncing support to Cinema Camera 6K and URSA Broadcast G2.


Any improvement on lens servo control, for the UBG2, Kristian? Both analogue and digital drive B4 lenses are performing worse than on 8.5.1 than before, for servo aperture.
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chang123456

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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostThu Jun 27, 2024 12:27 pm

Kristian Lam wrote:
chang123456 wrote:The 8.7 beta release doesnt fix the DJI RS-2 Pro Gimbal issue unfortunalty.
I dont understand why a next release wouldn't fix such a crucial issue.


DJI is looking into this. We're not sure why that's broken at the moment.


Thanks for letting me know.
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Mark Grgurev

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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostThu Jun 27, 2024 4:44 pm

My 6K FF still has the Focus and Zoom Demand pages for some reason.
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roger.magnusson

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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostThu Jun 27, 2024 9:17 pm

Why shouldn't it have those pages? Are the demands not supported like they are on the pockets (and Studio cameras of course)?
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TitusKing

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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostThu Jun 27, 2024 9:40 pm

Is anyone having difficulties installing the firmware on the cameras? I have two BM Studio 4k Pro G2 cams & the camera setup just shows a spinning circle of death while trying to connect.
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Mark Grgurev

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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostThu Jun 27, 2024 11:33 pm

TitusKing wrote:Is anyone having difficulties installing the firmware on the cameras? I have two BM Studio 4k Pro G2 cams & the camera setup just shows a spinning circle of death while trying to connect.



8.7 doesn't have anything new for the Studio 4K Pro G2, just the Cinema Camera 6K and Ursa Broadcast G2. If you already have the newest update for your camera then it won't upgrade you to 8.7.
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Mark Grgurev

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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostThu Jun 27, 2024 11:42 pm

roger.magnusson wrote:Why shouldn't it have those pages? Are the demands not supported like they are on the pockets (and Studio cameras of course)?


There's no mention of those pages in the manual so I imagine it doesn't. The 6K FF isn't intended to be used in broadcast scenarios.

My P4K doesn't have those pages even though it should.

Edit: Looks like the P4K isn't supposed to have it either. The Focus and Zoom Demands only work on the Pocket 6K G2 and 6K Pro.
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roger.magnusson

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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostThu Jun 27, 2024 11:48 pm

Yes and the 6K Pockets are no more "broadcast" than the 6K FF. I don't see why they wouldn't have it in the 6K FF. All those cameras can be controlled by the Atem Minis too.
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Mark Grgurev

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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostFri Jun 28, 2024 12:10 am

roger.magnusson wrote:Yes and the 6K Pockets are no more "broadcast" than the 6K FF.


I don't think there are any servo zoom lenses that use an L-mount. There are EF servo lenses though and most of them only support coverage up to Super35, not Full Frame.

roger.magnusson wrote: I don't see why they wouldn't have it in the 6K FF. All those cameras can be controlled by the Atem Minis too.


The 6K FF doesn't mention anything in it's manual about the ATEM Mini like the Pocket's do.

When the the 6K FF was announced, Grant said the reason it doesn't have Pocket in the name is because it's meant to be more of a successor to the original Cinema Camera and that they have different intentions for it than the Pocket cameras. He then mentioned that the Pocket cameras work in broadcast setups and they don't want to do that with the 6K FF. They want to save room in it's firmware for cinema-focused features.
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roger.magnusson

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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostFri Jun 28, 2024 12:34 am

It does say on the tech specs page that the demands are supported. It's strange that it's not in the manual.
https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/blackmagiccinemacamera/techspecs/W-CIN-20

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Blackmagic Zoom Demand and Blackmagic Focus Demand for controlling your camera and lens from tripod handles.

iPad control, Bluetooth control, USB PTP camera control. External control of some camera settings, focus, iris and zoom with compatible lenses. Camera Control REST API over USB Ethernet for external control via HTTP when used with REST client applications such as Postman.


I don't buy the "save room" argument, the camera supports a whole range of external control APIs.

Here's a video with the BMCC6K FF being controlled by an ATEM Mini (and specifically how to disable control).
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Mark Grgurev

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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostFri Jun 28, 2024 2:35 am

roger.magnusson wrote:It does say on the tech specs page that the demands are supported. It's strange that it's not in the manual.
https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/blackmagiccinemacamera/techspecs/W-CIN-20

External Control
Blackmagic Zoom Demand and Blackmagic Focus Demand for controlling your camera and lens from tripod handles.

iPad control, Bluetooth control, USB PTP camera control. External control of some camera settings, focus, iris and zoom with compatible lenses. Camera Control REST API over USB Ethernet for external control via HTTP when used with REST client applications such as Postman.



Good catch. Wonder why they aren't mentioned in the manual then. I don't know what lenses the Zoom Demand is supposed to work with though.

roger.magnusson wrote:I don't buy the "save room" argument, the camera supports a whole range of external control APIs.

Here's a video with the BMCC6K FF being controlled by an ATEM Mini (and specifically how to disable control).


Interesting.

I don't buy the "save room' thing either because I doubt even the P4K is running low on firmware space. It has 8GB of storage which is more than some desktop Linux distros use. I was just quoting Grant though.

I interpreted what he was saying (as well as the absence of broadcast features mentioned in its manual) to mean that it wouldn't have those features.



Looking at the announcement video again, I guess the only thing he says they didn't put in it is "color correctors for live production" so I guess the color features of the ATEM Mini don't work with it.
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Alex Mitchell

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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostFri Jun 28, 2024 3:33 am

Mark Grgurev wrote:I don't buy the "save room' thing either because I doubt even the P4K is running low on firmware space. It has 8GB of storage which is more than some desktop Linux distros use. I was just quoting Grant though.


So when it comes to "saving room" in terms of features on cameras like this—cameras that are built around FPGAs instead of ASICs—the space that is being saved isn't necessarily a storage pool like RAM or NAND. FPGAs only have so many LEs (Logic Elements) that can be assigned at any one time, so if the current feature set is using up all the available LEs then you can't really add more features.
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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostFri Jun 28, 2024 4:22 am

Alex Mitchell wrote:
So when it comes to "saving room" in terms of features on cameras like this—cameras that are built around FPGAs instead of ASICs—the space that is being saved isn't necessarily a storage pool like RAM or NAND. FPGAs only have so many LEs (Logic Elements) that can be assigned at any one time, so if the current feature set is using up all the available LEs then you can't really add more features.


Oh I know. I noticed when you switch between ProRes and BRAW on the P4K and P6K, you see the interface hide and I believe the screen blacks out for a second. I'm pretty sure what it's doing there is re-flashing the FPGA to the act as an encoder for the new codec since implementing both on the FPGA at the same time is a waste of logic elements. Likewise, switching to playback mode re-flashing it again to decode one of the formats.

That being said, I definitely wasn't thinking of FPGA space when interpreting his statement. I never used either camera with an ATEM switcher so I didn't know there was a live color corrector in-camera. That would make sense to implement in the FPGA but I don't know what the 6K FF would be using that reclaimed space for. The obvious thing would be the h.264 proxy recording but I feel like that would require way more LEs to implement than a color corrector. Maybe it's just a very simplistic FPGA implementation but I was assuming they either used a dedicated h.264 encoding chip or a newer FPGA with way more LEs.

... or maybe they were doing all the SDXC and SATA/CFast protocol stuff on the FPGA before and since CFExpress just uses PCIe, they're able to connect it directly to the SOC's PCIe block and free up LEs. IDK.

The reason I mentioned the 8GB thing is just that a lot of the other features of the camera are likely just being done in software. For example, most of the things added in the 8.6 and 8.7 updates aren't so computationally intensive that they couldn't be handled with software drivers and libraries like they are on any other computer.
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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostFri Jun 28, 2024 10:30 am

Grant saying that about the color correction feature is strange, as the feature itself is available through the REST "Color Correction Control API" according to the manual dated October 2023. But maybe it's not available when controlled by an ATEM Mini via HDMI, I don't know.

Hinting at saving room for firmware features to come is l think something where most of us have already learned our lesson. If it happens, great, but don't expect anything huge. With that said, the cloud features that were added might be a huge deal for some.
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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostFri Jun 28, 2024 2:19 pm

Mark Grgurev wrote:
TitusKing wrote:Is anyone having difficulties installing the firmware on the cameras? I have two BM Studio 4k Pro G2 cams & the camera setup just shows a spinning circle of death while trying to connect.



8.7 doesn't have anything new for the Studio 4K Pro G2, just the Cinema Camera 6K and Ursa Broadcast G2. If you already have the newest update for your camera then it won't upgrade you to 8.7.


Gotcha, the camera is on 8.2 right now, and I do want to update due to the new UVC webcam functionality. This way I can bypass the ATEM Mini in simple operations.
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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostFri Jun 28, 2024 4:07 pm

After I installed this on my Cinema 6K FF, my camera no longer recognized my Angelbird AV PRO SE CFexpress B card, though it did recognize my SanDisk USB drive. Performing a factory reset did not solve the issue.

Then I downgraded back to v8.3.2, and the camera sees my Angelbird card again.
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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostFri Jun 28, 2024 4:58 pm

TitusKing wrote:Gotcha, the camera is on 8.2 right now, and I do want to update due to the new UVC webcam functionality. This way I can bypass the ATEM Mini in simple operations.


Updating won't give you UVC support unless BMD specifically adds that feature to your camera. Right now the only cameras that can be used as a webcam are the Pocket Cameras and the Cinema 6K.

The UVC and HDMI output on those cameras is only 1080p and the UVC output has higher latency. I don't see UVC getting added to the Studio Camera Pro G2.
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Another beta, no final release?

PostSun Jun 30, 2024 12:52 am

Please BMD. Could you not have released a final version of 8.6 before another beta with even more functions?

There are functions in 8.6 I want to use on 3 BM cameras but I won't risk a beta. A constant beta release seems a little unprofessional.

It's been 3 months since 8.6 beta, when is a final version likely to be released please.
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Re: Another beta, no final release?

PostSun Jun 30, 2024 8:11 pm

Paul Millard wrote:Please BMD. Could you not have released a final version of 8.6 before another beta with even more functions?

There are functions in 8.6 I want to use on 3 BM cameras but I won't risk a beta. A constant beta release seems a little unprofessional.

It's been 3 months since 8.6 beta, when is a final version likely to be released please.


If the features of 8.6 are still in beta than they can't just release an 8.6 stable. It's not "unprofessional" to have have two beta's, that's not even uncommon.

Also beta's really aren't risky and if you do experience problems you can just roll back.
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Joe Shapiro

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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostSun Jun 30, 2024 10:37 pm

Does this mean that 8.6 is essentially dead and we should be using 8.7 beta? It seems odd to be developing both if 8.7 is a superset of 8.6.

Or put another way, will BMD be releasing new versions of 8.6 beta and ultimately 8.6?

I hope someone from BMD will chime in on this one as they’re the only one with actual information. Any other replies are pure speculation.
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Mark Grgurev

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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostSun Jun 30, 2024 11:33 pm

Joe Shapiro wrote:Does this mean that 8.6 is essentially dead and we should be using 8.7 beta? It seems odd to be developing both if 8.7 is a superset of 8.6.

Or put another way, will BMD be releasing new versions of 8.6 beta and ultimately 8.6?

I hope someone from BMD will chime in on this one as they’re the only one with actual information. Any other replies are pure speculation.


Kristian said in the first post that 8.6 Public Beta has being rolled into 8.7 Public Beta meaning that they're adding one more feature to the 8.6 Beta and calling it 8.7. The stable release will be 8.7.
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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostMon Jul 01, 2024 1:15 am

Mark Grgurev wrote:
Joe Shapiro wrote:Does this mean that 8.6 is essentially dead and we should be using 8.7 beta? It seems odd to be developing both if 8.7 is a superset of 8.6.

Or put another way, will BMD be releasing new versions of 8.6 beta and ultimately 8.6?

I hope someone from BMD will chime in on this one as they’re the only one with actual information. Any other replies are pure speculation.


Kristian said in the first post that 8.6 Public Beta has being rolled into 8.7 Public Beta meaning that they're adding one more feature to the 8.6 Beta and calling it 8.7. The stable release will be 8.7.


Unless they decide to add yet another feature and roll it into 8.8 beta.

As I said in my previous post that you kindly answered on behalf of BMD, betas are produced essentially to test the ground and stability of new features, I personally don't want to be a tester but I do want to be able to delete bad takes which I feel is a feature that should have been available from day one. If they keep adding features to the beta to create a new beta this makes no logical sense. Create a beta, test it, rectify issues, release stable final.
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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostMon Jul 01, 2024 1:16 am

I did see that comment but wasn’t sure if it meant just that all the stuff in 8.6 is already also in 8.7 or that 8.6 was now dead and 8.7 will be the one that makes it to release.
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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostMon Jul 01, 2024 9:01 pm

Paul Millard wrote:Unless they decide to add yet another feature and roll it into 8.8 beta.

As I said in my previous post that you kindly answered on behalf of BMD, betas are produced essentially to test the ground and stability of new features, I personally don't want to be a tester but I do want to be able to delete bad takes which I feel is a feature that should have been available from day one. If they keep adding features to the beta to create a new beta this makes no logical sense. Create a beta, test it, rectify issues, release stable final.


While it's not common for BMD's firmware releases, it's not uncommon in software development in general to have multiple betas or for some minor new features to get added in subsequent betas without stable releases in between.

Sure, they can add another feature and extend the beta into 8.8. And? Why should they wait until other features are out of beta before they test something that is basically an extension of one of the features that is already in beta?

Try the beta out. If you don't want to use the webcam, remote upload, remote control, and tethering features then they won't effect you anyway. If you experience issues with the File Browser or clip deletion (I haven't heard of anybody having issues with them) then you can provide feedback and roll back if it's too much of an issue.
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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostTue Jul 02, 2024 1:17 am

OwenCrowley wrote:After I installed this on my Cinema 6K FF, my camera no longer recognized my Angelbird AV PRO SE CFexpress B card, though it did recognize my SanDisk USB drive. Performing a factory reset did not solve the issue.

Then I downgraded back to v8.3.2, and the camera sees my Angelbird card again.


What capacity is your media?
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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostTue Jul 02, 2024 3:26 am

Any fixes for the gyro in the Blackmagic Micro Studio Camera G2?
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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostTue Jul 02, 2024 8:21 pm

Kristian Lam wrote:
OwenCrowley wrote:After I installed this on my Cinema 6K FF, my camera no longer recognized my Angelbird AV PRO SE CFexpress B card, though it did recognize my SanDisk USB drive. Performing a factory reset did not solve the issue.

Then I downgraded back to v8.3.2, and the camera sees my Angelbird card again.


What capacity is your media?

1 TB
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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostTue Jul 02, 2024 11:40 pm

Hi, Kristian: It is July 02, 2024.

I have a one Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera 6K and one 6K G2. I'm trying to install the latest firmware update (8.7 beta). I've followed all the steps for downloading the update and saving it to my system. I have both an iMac (iOS) and PC (Windows) so I've downloaded the updates for each operating system to the applicable computer. While on both my iMac and my PC the respective systems recognize my cameras, when I click the image of my camera on my iMac, I receive the settings dialogue box, but nothing about my camera needing to be updated. Instead when I enter the information it seems to be seeking, I click save and nothing else happens.

When I try to update the other BM camera (6K G2), the camera setup utility "sees" my camera but when I click the image (as directed), it show that it's trying to connect but never connects.

Of course the cameras need to be updated because the firmware version on each camera is 8.6. Yet, in neither case do I get a message along the lines of "there is an update available..." Instead all I see is the setup screen that cannot seem to connect...My Wi-Fi connections are fine; the camera is connected to my computer and is seen by the camera setup utility. But nothing. Any ideas as to the reason? Thank you, Kristian, for your time and consideration. James Creighton
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roger.magnusson

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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostWed Jul 03, 2024 12:45 am

As per the release notes, the 8.7 beta release doesn't have any updates for those specific cameras as the latest update for them at this time is the 8.6 beta.
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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostWed Jul 03, 2024 3:51 am

If this is the answer I really think it’d be helpful to change the UI to say such or change the firmware update process so the camera always updates its version to the latest firmware even if no features or fixes are added.
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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostWed Jul 03, 2024 4:31 am

Does anyone her have critical problems with firmware 8.7 on first gen. Pockets 6K?

I would be happy to upgrade the firmware on my Pocket 6Ks 1st gen for an upcoming shoot.

Thanks
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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostThu Jul 04, 2024 9:04 am

jamesbcreighton wrote:Hi, Kristian: It is July 02, 2024.

I have a one Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera 6K and one 6K G2. I'm trying to install the latest firmware update (8.7 beta). I've followed all the steps for downloading the update and saving it to my system. I have both an iMac (iOS) and PC (Windows) so I've downloaded the updates for each operating system to the applicable computer. While on both my iMac and my PC the respective systems recognize my cameras, when I click the image of my camera on my iMac, I receive the settings dialogue box, but nothing about my camera needing to be updated. Instead when I enter the information it seems to be seeking, I click save and nothing else happens.

When I try to update the other BM camera (6K G2), the camera setup utility "sees" my camera but when I click the image (as directed), it show that it's trying to connect but never connects.

Of course the cameras need to be updated because the firmware version on each camera is 8.6. Yet, in neither case do I get a message along the lines of "there is an update available..." Instead all I see is the setup screen that cannot seem to connect...My Wi-Fi connections are fine; the camera is connected to my computer and is seen by the camera setup utility. But nothing. Any ideas as to the reason? Thank you, Kristian, for your time and consideration. James Creighton


Try a different USB cable. Even though your camera is detected the cable may have deficiencies in bandwidth. Just a suggestion. Cheers.
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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostFri Jul 05, 2024 7:33 am

Hello, Kristian. Hello, Blackmagic Forum.

It was a really nice feature, as many of us want it, if you could give us the possibility to use custom de-squeeze factor - or at least 1.33, 1.5, 1.55, 1.6, 1.8 or 2.0x - in all record modes in the next (or futures) update.

That will be great!

But, hey, your are doing a fantastic job. I just bought my 6KFF with an anamorphic 1.6x 35mm and I love it.

Keep up your excelent work, and keep listening to your public. You have my respect.

Cheers.
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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostSat Jul 06, 2024 8:02 am

In the last thread I mentioned that I feel like there's no point in the 6K FF and PXYIS having Super 16 crops because I think they're poorly suited for it. While revisiting and editing my topic about adding more crops to the cameras, I had a slight change of heart.

I still don't think anybody would choose to shoot Super 16 with on these cameras but a Super 16 17:9 crop (2112 x 1118) would be able to shoot 120 fps. That makes the 1920 x 1080 useless as anyone targeting 17:9 would get the same frame rates at 20% higher affective resolution than if they shot at 1920 x 1080 and cropped it to 17:9.

Even someone targeting 16:9 can just crop from the S16 17:9 crop and it would still be 7% higher resolution than the current 120 fps crop.
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Howard Roll

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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostTue Jul 09, 2024 1:44 pm

Late to the party as usual but I’d like to point out that camera control and the color corrector are separate features. For example the Ursa 12k can be controlled via the demands or an Atem but the 3 way primary color corrector is unavailable. I imagine the CC is using the partition within the FPGA that encodes Prores (with the Pockets) which is why that format is unavailable when connected to an Atem as the feature was added after the camera’s had shipped. Zoom on L mount, yeah, not so much but everything else is a bonus. It’s not like a Preston only controls focus.

Good Luck
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Mark Grgurev

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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostTue Jul 09, 2024 6:50 pm

Howard Roll wrote:Late to the party as usual but I’d like to point out that camera control and the color corrector are separate features. For example the Ursa 12k can be controlled via the demands or an Atem but the 3 way primary color corrector is unavailable. I imagine the CC is using the partition within the FPGA that encodes Prores (with the Pockets) which is why that format is unavailable when connected to an Atem as the feature was added after the camera’s had shipped. Zoom on L mount, yeah, not so much but everything else is a bonus. It’s not like a Preston only controls focus.

Good Luck


I'm pretty sure the codec section of the FPGA is reflashed when switching between BRAW and Prores. You can't shoot both at the same time so the camera only stores one codec on the FPGA at a time and reflashes it everytime you switch between both of them. My P4K kind of soft resets when switching between codecs and even does it in playback mode when you watch a Prores file right after you watched a BRAW file and vice versa.
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nikinthemud

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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostWed Jul 10, 2024 1:33 pm

Kristian Lam wrote:
chang123456 wrote:The 8.7 beta release doesnt fix the DJI RS-2 Pro Gimbal issue unfortunalty.
I dont understand why a next release wouldn't fix such a crucial issue.


DJI is looking into this. We're not sure why that's broken at the moment.


Why does DJI have anything to do with this? It wasn't their update that messed up the connectivity. I mean the cam and gimbal worked fine until the BM update made it not so. I am pretty sure it has something to do with the new webcam mode. Somewhere along the lines the wire got crossed and like I said before, not DJI's problem. It's be a month since anyone important has mentioned a fix and then nothing...no word at all from BM or DJI.
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Kristian Lam

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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostThu Jul 11, 2024 12:55 am

It's a beta. Things will break. That's why there is the GM release on the website.
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ka00

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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostThu Jul 11, 2024 7:01 pm

Kristian Lam wrote:It's a beta. Things will break. That's why there is the GM release on the website.


Kristian or anyone else: Is there a camera firmware version for the 6K FF that is confirmed to work with the RS2? My 6K Pro worked with an earlier firmware, but I wasn't able to roll back on the 6K FF to any version that could communicate with the RS2.

Thanks
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TitusKing

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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostFri Jul 19, 2024 5:37 pm

jamesbcreighton wrote:Hi, Kristian: It is July 02, 2024.

I have a one Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera 6K and one 6K G2. I'm trying to install the latest firmware update (8.7 beta). I've followed all the steps for downloading the update and saving it to my system. I have both an iMac (iOS) and PC (Windows) so I've downloaded the updates for each operating system to the applicable computer. While on both my iMac and my PC the respective systems recognize my cameras, when I click the image of my camera on my iMac, I receive the settings dialogue box, but nothing about my camera needing to be updated. Instead when I enter the information it seems to be seeking, I click save and nothing else happens.

When I try to update the other BM camera (6K G2), the camera setup utility "sees" my camera but when I click the image (as directed), it show that it's trying to connect but never connects.

Of course the cameras need to be updated because the firmware version on each camera is 8.6. Yet, in neither case do I get a message along the lines of "there is an update available..." Instead all I see is the setup screen that cannot seem to connect...My Wi-Fi connections are fine; the camera is connected to my computer and is seen by the camera setup utility. But nothing. Any ideas as to the reason? Thank you, Kristian, for your time and consideration. James Creighton


Hi James,
I also have a studio cam 4k G2 Pro and the Blackmagic Camera Setup software 8.7.

When I ran the software on a PC, the same thing happens to me, the software sees the camera, but as soon as I click to get into settings it just can't connect. I also did it on a mac and the software can connect to the camera just fine. I think it's a software bug since i've tried it on more than one windows pc.

The cameras themselves do not always update to the version installed on the computer. E.g., I have Blackmagic Camera Setup version 8.7 installed on my mac, but the latest update for that particular camera is version 8.2. So 8.2 is the version installed on the camera.
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avaimedia

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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostSun Jul 21, 2024 1:38 pm

I updated two Pocket 4Ks from firmware 7.9 to 8.6 using the 8.7_b1 installer. I did some test filming with no problem, and then filmed with both cameras on an actual production, and noticed some irritating problems which really slowed things down on set.

• After recording a clip, often the director will want to watch playback. When I tap the physical play button to enter playback mode, back in firmware 7.9 the clips were presented in order. C001, then C002, then C003, etc. Of course there was a limitation where if a clip was recorded at a different frame rate it wouldn't appear at all until first switching the camera into that frame rate and then entering playback mode, but still the clips were presented in order. In firmware 8.6 the clips appear to be randomized. I'll see C008, then C002, then C005, then C001, then C012... So finding the clip the director wants to watch can take a minute or two.

ׇ• Also when in playback mode, I tap the physical play button a second time (or tap the touchscreen play button) to actually play a clip back. After playback, I will tap the physical record button on the top of the camera, which in firmware 7.9 would switch the camera from playback mode back into record mode so we could get ready for the next take. When I press the physical record button on the top of the camera in firmware 8.6, instead of switching from playback mode to record mode, it shows me a black screen which doesn't go away until I power cycle the camera.

• I have the camera configured to stop recording in the event of a dropped frame. In firmware 7.9 if this happened, I would see a white exclamation mark inside the red recording icon on the screen, and I could tap the record button to begin recording a new take. In firmware 8.6 when this happens, the white exclamation mark appears inside the red recording icon on the screen, but the camera is completely unresponsive and I cannot begin a new recording. Even if I flip the physical power switch to the Off position, the camera remains on, but unresponsive and unusable. I must unplug the Weipu to D-Tap cable from the V-Mount battery in order to actually get the camera to shut down. Then I can plug the Weipu to D-Tap cable back into the V-Mount battery, and then flip the physical power switch back to the On position to start the camera again, and then I can record again.

These three issues make firmware 8.6 from the 8.7_b1 installer not practical for use on set. We lost so much time because I was constantly searching for the right clip, or unplugging the camera. Both of the Pocket 4K cameras exhibited these same problems. I've rolled back to 8.5.1 and will test with that firmware to see if there are any issues. I suppose I can always roll back to 7.9 which gave me zero issues for nearly two years. I just wanted to describe the problems I encountered, in case anyone else encounters them and tries to search for them as I had. I hope the stable release of 8.7 will resolve these issues.

Have a good day, everyone.
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chang123456

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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostSun Jul 21, 2024 9:09 pm

Kristian Lam wrote:
chang123456 wrote:The 8.7 beta release doesnt fix the DJI RS-2 Pro Gimbal issue unfortunalty.
I dont understand why a next release wouldn't fix such a crucial issue.


DJI is looking into this. We're not sure why that's broken at the moment.


Hi Kristian,

I just tested DJI latest firmware dated 2024.07.17. The firmware version is v01.05.00.00.
The issue remains with the Beta 8.7 firmware. DJI focus nor record button works.

Can you share what DJI shared? I dont understand as they havent not released a firmware since 2023.05.16. The DJI was always working on all the blackmagic firmware updates till the beta 8.6 came out. Than it broke and rolling back the blackmagic 6K G2 to 8.5.1 fixes the problem. So obvious the fault is somewhere between 8.5.1. and 8.6 beta. Can you not do a diff check on the source code?

DJI didnt update anything between the 8.5.1 and 8.6 beta, so how can this be a problem of DJI?
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Kristian Lam

Blackmagic Design

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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostTue Jul 30, 2024 4:33 am

Hi,

We're using the Tilta Advanced handle, which works fine with USB start/stop between both versions. So we are still not quite sure what is happening but we are investigating.
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TitusKing

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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostFri Aug 02, 2024 4:39 pm

I posted about this up above, but I recorded a screen capture so tech support can see what's going on.

I am trying to get into the settings of the camera with the BM Cameras software. The software can see the camera, but it cannot connect, it gets stuck on the spinning wheel.

See these screen recordings:



Camera firmware is version 8.2.
BM Camera Software is version 8.7.

I have tried this with two different 4k pro G2 cameras and with different PCs, and also with ethernet and USB connections with the same results.

I was able to get into the controls with a mac, but I use a PC for this studio setup. Any ideas?
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carlomacchiavello

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SSD support problem

PostTue Aug 06, 2024 1:10 pm

pocket 6k g1 (i had three cameras, bought in different time):
i use it from some year with different usb disk.
i usually record 50p 5:1 or Q3. all fine from zero to fill disks, in many different environment and many different kind of picture, every time deep focus picture (high bitrate result).

after 8.6/8.7 upgrade i can use only cfast card.
Every usb disk not work fine or cannot format, it stay for hours to try to format, but never start to do it, if i turn off and on camera, disk was never formatted.

go back to 8.1 firmaware, all fine, all disks come back to work like a charm like ever.
update to 8.6/8.7 problem, back to 8.1 work fine.

seems something is change about disk support and not in better.
these are the enclosure :
- ORICO Case SSD M.2 NVMe, external Enclosure, USB 3.2 Gen2 10Gbps PCIe M-Key SSD 2230/2242/2260/2280 with UASP with wd black 2tb
- StarTech.com Box eSATAp/ eSATA 6 Gbps USB 3.0 with UASP with San disk extreme 500gb and 1tb

box and ssd listed are also used to record uncompressed cdng 60p with my UMP that mean are enought strong to work on 6k compressed data.

but also with approved disk i had same problems
- 2x t7 shield 1tb
- 2x wise PTS-1024 Portable SSD.

please come back or check why not work fine.
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Kristian Lam

Blackmagic Design

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Re: Camera 8.7 Beta Release Available

PostFri Aug 09, 2024 4:46 am

carlomacchiavello wrote:after 8.6/8.7 upgrade i can use only cfast card.
Every usb disk not work fine or cannot format, it stay for hours to try to format, but never start to do it, if i turn off and on camera, disk was never formatted.


We can't seem to reproduce this. Will keep trying.
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