Blackmagic Forum

Hello, I just recently got the blackmagic cinema camera and am still waiting on my canon 17-55mm lens to come in (it was on back order). Anyways... I was playing with my BMC/messing with the menu and decided to take lens mount cap off while the camera was on. I noticed the picture was fuzzy! Then read something from blackmagic that said its recommended to not switch lenses with camera on.
I am just wondering... Did I screw my camera up? Or is it not a big deal? The camera was on with no lens or cap on it for a total of five seconds

I've changed both lenses and ssd's with the camera on (no time to read the manual!) and my camera is fine.

What image is fuzzy? The one filmed without a lens cap? If so I'm surprised you got anything resembling an image at all.

Seriously, what are you doing with a $3000 camera when you don't know the basics. I mean, you don't know what happens yet when you take the body cap off while the camera is on. You see a big white nothing. That's all the unfocused light spooging onto the sensor. Don't do that. When you're changing lenses in the field, you cover the mount with your hand until you can get the lens on there. Why? Cuz light and dust and wind are the sensor's enemy. The camera should be OFF unless you're composing, lighting or shooting.

As has been discussed before, the BMCC-EF (with its active lens mount) should be powered-off when changing digital (electronic) lenses to prevent damage to the camera or lens. Fully-manual lenses that don't have electrical contacts can be changed w/o powering-down the camera.

SSD drives (and the camera) obviously use an active electrical connector, so the camera should be powered-off when inserting & removing the SSD. This is also true of SSD drive docks connected to a computer: The dock should not be powered or connected to the computer when inserting & removing a SSD (or HDD).

True, you might get lucky changing lenses or SSDs when devices are powered-on -- with no apparent damage done -- but eventually your luck will run out.

As for operating a camera w/o a lens cap: Generally this is not a problem, except that the sensor might possibly be more likely to attract dust & dirt when powered-on. Also avoid pointing the cam at the sun when the lens cap is removed to prevent heat damage.

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Not sure about the camera but pretty much every SSD I have come across is designed to be hot swappable as they are used in RAID for exactly this purpose.

Electronic equipment nowadays should be able to be dropped kicked across the floor and still work.

All standard SATA devices are hot-swappable (including drives with spinning platters)... but I'd turn off the camera between drive swaps.

Thanks guys!
I've never used this type of camera before. 1/3'' chip cameras is what I have been using. This is my first interchangeable lens mount camera. So don't judge me haha

Thanks again guys

Aaron Scheiner wrote:All standard SATA devices are hot-swappable (including drives with spinning platters)... but I'd turn off the camera between drive swaps.

Understood. Yes, the SATA standard "supports" hot-swapping.

Do I trust that devices (including the BMCC), drive docks, and computer operating systems & applications will keep my data (and hardware) safe when a SSD/HDD is hot-swapped?

No, I do not.

YMMV.

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The Hyperdeck Shuttle is Hot Swappable....would be really surprised if the BMCC wasn't exactly the same :-

http://www.amazon.com/Blackmagic-Design ... B005B3G2EE

I appreciate the idea of people wanting to be careful with their investments but Amplifiers should be able to we wound up to 10, Speakers should be able to be driven flat out and SATA drives, once the data is finished writing, should be able to be pulled at will.

If it can't be dropped, kicked, powered off and on repeatedly, run hot and have the cables pulled and pushed then it probably is a crap designed product. Specially now days.......