Blackmagic Forum

I've run some tests on my Pocket 6k and found that if I change ISO while its recording, I no longer have access to adjusting the ISO in Resolve. Under camera-raw, the menu is greyed out (also in Premiere).

Same camera, same media - if I don't change the ISO during recording, Braw file is adjustable as normal.

Is this a known limitation for ISO setting during recording, or is there a way to unlock this option?

Seen some forums talking about high ISOs locking you out but we never went over 1250 ISO during recording.

Thanks in advance!

When you say you 'never went over 1250 ISO during recording'- did you go up to 1250?

1250 is the first ISO of the higher circuit. So it could be that if you cross that line, you can no longer adjust in post. You could try it again by going up to and stopping at 1000.

I went to 1250, yes. I will test later today to see if staying below that, under 1000 for example, allows the change or not.

Appreciate the response!

I can confirm that changing the iso from minimum to 1000 WHILE recording allows for changing of the ISO in Resolve during color pass. However, if you go to 1250 or over WHILE recording, it will lock it at 1250.

Starting at 1250, WHILE recording, and then increasing the iso allows for changing during color as long as you don't go BELOW 1250 again.

Its odd that this isn't obvious in the literature (or on phone with customer service). Hope this helps someone!

To confirm - only tested with the Blackmagic Cinema Pocket 6k Pro (gen 1) so may not apply to other models.

What is the reasoning to change the ISO during recording?

I didn’t know that was even possible.

I can think of one use case when recording events and you have no control over the lighting but you find large changes in lighting.

If you used the iris to adjust the exposure, that ramps over many frames and may not be ideal to manage in post. If you altered ISO, that’s a change that occurs at a precise frame and is easier to manage in post when you further correct the video.

Yes, exactly the use-case here where the live event went from very bright to dark, a fairly extreme change with zero control. In addition, the background was black so the focus assist would pulse the noise from the sensor and make it harder to register the focus lines; also a "reason" to adjust.

Naturally we're locking in the iso but this event revealed a specific limitation(s) to note. At least for this camera/model.

Appreciate all you're input!

I remember testing that many years ago on my PCC4K as I was curious what happens when changing th ISO. But as ISO is just metadata it doesn’t matter what I set to, it can be changed later. Just need to keep in mind that PCC4K and PCC6K are using dual ISO gain stages.

You can always use the exposure slider in Resolve‘s RAW settings - it will result in the same as setting ISO.

Great info, yes will keep in mind!

The ISO lock out in post is something that has always been a limitation. I wouldn't change ISO while recording. Since the ISO is just metadata, just increase the ISO in post after the fact.