Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

Questions about ATEM Switchers, Camera Converter and everything live!
  • Author
  • Message
Offline

RANDALLZAPATA

  • Posts: 3
  • Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2020 7:40 pm
  • Real Name: Randall Zapata

Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostThu Aug 05, 2021 2:25 am

I just pre-ordered the Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K.

I have a indoor video podcast studio.

Which Micro-Four-Thirds lens should l be considering? I was thinking around the $700 range.

I talked with blackmagic support today, and they said the only official recommended lens listed are from 2018 which are:
    Panasonic Lumix G X Vario PZ 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Power O.I.S. Lens
    Panasonic Lumix G X Vario PZ 45-175mm f/4.0-5.6 Zoom OIS Lens
    Olympus 12-50mm f/3.5-6.3 ED M.Zuiko EZ Micro 4/3 Lens
    Olympus 14-42mm M.Zuiko f/3.5-5.6 Digital ED EZ Lens
Offline

Fornez

  • Posts: 112
  • Joined: Sat Mar 10, 2018 10:26 pm
  • Real Name: Jesse Forney

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostThu Aug 05, 2021 1:51 pm

Unfortunately I can't speak to the electronic zoom lenses. But if you feel that you don't need EZ then the Lumix 12-35 f2.8 is an amazing lens that fits your price range. I bought a used one just recently and it still looks amazing for being a photo lens.

Also I would imagine that the 45-175mm is probably overkill for a small studio. So going with the shorter range lens that has a wider aperture will probably work better for you.
Offline

atmosfar

  • Posts: 207
  • Joined: Fri Jun 05, 2020 1:06 pm
  • Real Name: Conor Sexton

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostThu Aug 05, 2021 2:39 pm

Agree with the above, Olympus 12-40/2.8 or Panasonic 12-35/2.8 are good options. The Olympus is usually a bit cheaper I think because it doesn't have image stabilization built in - but you won't need that in a studio.
Offline

Jim Simon

  • Posts: 29808
  • Joined: Fri Dec 23, 2016 1:47 am

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostThu Aug 05, 2021 3:09 pm

I owned the 45-175. I ended up returning it to B&H.

I have a more cynical view than BMD that m4/3 lenses can be made to work as well as proper B4 broadcast lenses with "the right control".
My Biases:

You NEED training.
You NEED a desktop.
You NEED a calibrated (non-computer) display.
Offline

Howard Roll

  • Posts: 2506
  • Joined: Fri Jun 03, 2016 7:50 am

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostThu Aug 05, 2021 5:42 pm

The Oly 12-100mm f4.0 is looking pretty decent given the increased sensitivity of the newer cameras.

It would have been nice if BM had given folks another reason to use the B4 Fujinon lens that was designed for the Ursa Broadcast. That lens presents a good value in the space and could have been butter with the new controls.

Good Luck
Offline

Denny Smith

  • Posts: 13131
  • Joined: Thu Aug 01, 2013 4:19 pm
  • Location: USA, Northern Calif.

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostThu Aug 05, 2021 6:11 pm

Interesting idea Howard, BMD could have done a B4 mount version of the new Studio camera, to match the Ursa Broadcast. But given the larger sensor in the new Studio camera, it would need 2K crop mode like the Pocket 4K camera uses to get correct sensor/lens image coverage to match the UB?
Cheers
Denny Smith
SHA Productions
Offline

Tony Spiraletti

  • Posts: 82
  • Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2015 4:29 am
  • Location: Australia

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostSat Aug 07, 2021 4:16 am

As is usually the case with Blackmagic, they have announced a fantastic (possibly revolutionary) product let down by one major flaw. I'd love to be in the room when their product developers discuss these products!
The mount........there is nothing wrong with MFT as a mount and I think the MFT sensor is a great size for live production. Much nicer image and DOF than 2/3". The issue is that there are only two lenses currently in production that will suit this camera natively to allow Blackmagic's remote Focus and Zoom demands to work. The Panasonic 45-175 and the 14-42. Both are slow, variable aperture zooms with not a great range and they are clunky as hell! Focus and zoom really not usable during a shot.
A 12-150+ with power zoom to work with these cameras would be amazing but no one is going to make it. Olympus stopped making their MFT Power zoom lenses and I can't see Panasonic investing the money required to develop such a lens considering the niche market it would be aimed at. Something like Sony's FE-PZ lenses is really needed for this but made for MFT.
Sure, we could use Canon's CN-E lenses with an adaptor but I wonder how well they would work with the BMD remotes? While BMD design tout the MFT system as having a huge lens selection, it really isn't the case for this type of camera. There is currently not one single 'do it all' lens in the MFT system that can go from a wide shot to a close up to suit these cameras like there would be with the B4 mount. If BMD want these cameras to really take off, they need to commission a company like Panasonic or Olympus (maybe even Fujinon!?) to make a lens for them to suit this camera. Failing this, I think that BMD should switch to a fixed lens system for these live production cameras like found on the DVX200.
Once again BMD, so close but yet so ......so far!
Offline
User avatar

Tarek Saneh

  • Posts: 187
  • Joined: Fri Jun 27, 2014 8:28 pm
  • Location: DUBAI

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostSat Aug 07, 2021 8:01 am

I think bm they did this camera with the available sensor technology they have, they really need 2/3 3CMOS sensor to have a good live broadcast camera, because b4 lenses are essential for live production, this new camera is good in locked shot in studio and the same think can be achieved with bmpcc4k and 6k
Tarek Saneh
Creative & Technical Director
http://www.wonderweb.ae
Dubai - UAE
Offline

Tony Spiraletti

  • Posts: 82
  • Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2015 4:29 am
  • Location: Australia

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostSat Aug 07, 2021 11:36 am

Image wise, I really like MFT for live production.....we just need lenses!!
Offline

Denny Smith

  • Posts: 13131
  • Joined: Thu Aug 01, 2013 4:19 pm
  • Location: USA, Northern Calif.

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostSat Aug 07, 2021 4:46 pm

I disagree, B4 lenses are not essential to live productions, unless you are trying to cover sporting events or concerts (if trying to do it with one or two cameras. Original TV live production was done in studio cameras with fixed or three lens turrets, and the camera was dolled back and forth to frame a shot with a given fixed focal length lens. Most productions only used three cameras, with three camera operators. The B4 Zoom was not originally used in the studio, it was developed and primarily used for electronic news gathering on location live entente, being covered by one or two cameras operators, recording their shots or later live switched for some remote productions.

Today, most studio productions use fixed several cameras and one or two manned cameras. So lens choice is going to do more with the type of production, cameras being used, and how the studio is setup for a specific production. The use of the B4 zoom in the studio is a fairly recent change, down to using the same cameras for both field and studio production. Doing a live zoom in a studio shoot, while once popular, is no longer in favor and not done. So a selection of primes, and/or short range zooms will cover most situations just as well.

You can do many of the same types of productions with fixed or limited range zooms that a full range B4 zoom is used for. Very few situations in a studio camera for being able to go from a very wide shot to a head only close up with just one camera. I had a b4 zoom on our Ursa Broadcast camera (which as an ENG style camera made sense as it was used in the field too), but never needed the full range of the zoom during a studio production. So lens choice is going to boil down to what type of shot you want, and if you have the camera resources to dedicate a single camera to close ups, and another for wide shots, with a mid range zoom on a third camera.

While using primes and having to change lenses, and have dedicated cameras setup is not as convenient as a wide range zoom, one can get by very nicely without using a big B4 zoom in the studio.
Cheers
Denny Smith
SHA Productions
Offline

RANDALLZAPATA

  • Posts: 3
  • Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2020 7:40 pm
  • Real Name: Randall Zapata

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostSat Aug 07, 2021 9:12 pm

Thank you for all the great feedback.

What using the manual focus Meike Cine lens for MFT Mount?

Has anyone used these lenses?

I was thinking since my people are sitting that a manual focus would work as well.
Offline

Tony Spiraletti

  • Posts: 82
  • Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2015 4:29 am
  • Location: Australia

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostSun Aug 08, 2021 12:37 am

Denny Smith wrote:I disagree, B4 lenses are not essential to live productions, unless you are trying to cover sporting events or concerts (if trying to do it with one or two cameras. Original TV live production was done in studio cameras with fixed or three lens turrets, and the camera was dolled back and forth to frame a shot with a given fixed focal length lens. Most productions only used three cameras, with three camera operators. The B4 Zoom was not originally used in the studio, it was developed and primarily used for electronic news gathering on location live entente, being covered by one or two cameras operators, recording their shots or later live switched for some remote productions.

Today, most studio productions use fixed several cameras and one or two manned cameras. So lens choice is going to do more with the type of production, cameras being used, and how the studio is setup for a specific production. The use of the B4 zoom in the studio is a fairly recent change, down to using the same cameras for both field and studio production. Doing a live zoom in a studio shoot, while once popular, is no longer in favor and not done. So a selection of primes, and/or short range zooms will cover most situations just as well.

You can do many of the same types of productions with fixed or limited range zooms that a full range B4 zoom is used for. Very few situations in a studio camera for being able to go from a very wide shot to a head only close up with just one camera. I had a b4 zoom on our Ursa Broadcast camera (which as an ENG style camera made sense as it was used in the field too), but never needed the full range of the zoom during a studio production. So lens choice is going to boil down to what type of shot you want, and if you have the camera resources to dedicate a single camera to close ups, and another for wide shots, with a mid range zoom on a third camera.

While using primes and having to change lenses, and have dedicated cameras setup is not as convenient as a wide range zoom, one can get by very nicely without using a big B4 zoom in the studio.
Cheers


I agree that B4 lenses are not essential to live production in the studio but these days, not a lot of live production ( in the class of production that these cameras are aimed at) gets done from a studio. In the past studios had many lights but blackmagic make a point of boasting about the low-light ability of these new cameras so if they are only to be used for 'traditional' studio production, why is low-light important? Also, studio cameras traditionally used very expensive pedestals and a camera operator could track in and out very easily to reframe so an all in one lens with good 'do it all' range was not so important. I can't see these cameras getting bought to use on nice smooth shiny floor studio shows though or being placed on expensive pedestals so lens range is far more important.
Today, live streaming of events is in high demand, events that are almost never done in the studio and this is the market I can see this camera really shining in.....if only there was a good 'do it all' & PARFOCAL lens available! While I'm no fan of zooms in narrative production, for event coverage, sometimes a slight zoom during a shot is necessary if a singer or speaker is walking toward you so having the option is handy.
As I said, I like the MFT mount and sensor size for live production and think it could be the future if other companies took it on board but, with only BMD adopting the standard, and with the current lens selection and state of MFT lens production, I'm not all that keen on investing my money in four of these cameras and four zoom and focus demands when Panasonic, the only last manufacturer of suitable lenses for this camera, could decide to stop producing the only two lenses remaining that are really suitable for this system.....like Olympus did!
For me ideally, I'd love to see BMD convince a lens manufacturer to build at least one good 'do it all' lens for this system. If they can't do this, they need to adopt another more widely accepted mount to build their range on and for live production, even though I'd prefer the larger MFT sensor, B4 would make more sense as there are a plethora of suitable lenses available.
Offline

Tony Spiraletti

  • Posts: 82
  • Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2015 4:29 am
  • Location: Australia

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostSun Aug 08, 2021 3:26 am

RANDALLZAPATA wrote:I just pre-ordered the Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K.

I have a indoor video podcast studio.

Which Micro-Four-Thirds lens should l be considering? I was thinking around the $700 range.

I talked with blackmagic support today, and they said the only official recommended lens listed are from 2018 which are:
    Panasonic Lumix G X Vario PZ 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Power O.I.S. Lens
    Panasonic Lumix G X Vario PZ 45-175mm f/4.0-5.6 Zoom OIS Lens
    Olympus 12-50mm f/3.5-6.3 ED M.Zuiko EZ Micro 4/3 Lens
    Olympus 14-42mm M.Zuiko f/3.5-5.6 Digital ED EZ Lens


Getting back to the OP, if you want a native lens which will communicate with an ATEM Mini for remote control, I can recommend the Olympus 12-50 EZ. I have two of them that I sometimes use on my Pocket4k cameras when doing smaller live streaming jobs. They are no longer made but you can get them very cheaply second hand.
Offline

Denny Smith

  • Posts: 13131
  • Joined: Thu Aug 01, 2013 4:19 pm
  • Location: USA, Northern Calif.

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostSun Aug 08, 2021 5:31 am

The Olympus Pro zooms are also a good option, but zoom control will be manual. One could rig a FF gear on the zoom ring and setup a small servo dontrol. Yes, I agree small event productions is where the new studio cameras will be mostly used. I was taking a devil’s advocate position to expand the discussion on different options other than ENG zooms, which have their place in event coverage also.
Cheers
Denny Smith
SHA Productions
Offline

Jim Simon

  • Posts: 29808
  • Joined: Fri Dec 23, 2016 1:47 am

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostSun Aug 08, 2021 1:46 pm

Tony Spiraletti wrote:I think that BMD should switch to a fixed lens system for these live production cameras
Along with handles that have Zoom and Focus built in as an option.
My Biases:

You NEED training.
You NEED a desktop.
You NEED a calibrated (non-computer) display.
Offline

Brett Tippet

  • Posts: 16
  • Joined: Mon Oct 21, 2013 4:04 am

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostFri Aug 13, 2021 12:20 pm

So what i'm reading, without spending $6k+, there's no useful Power Zoom lenses that would be good for concerts or sports?

What a shame to have such a great product at a good price point, and then you have to spend 5x that value of that product to use it.
Offline
User avatar

Russ Blaise

  • Posts: 52
  • Joined: Thu Nov 15, 2012 12:59 pm

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostFri Aug 13, 2021 1:07 pm

I pre-ordered the Blackmagic Studio Camera Plus version from B&H. I already have the Lumix 12-35 f2.8 that I'm using on my GH5. Great lens, very sharp! Plan on using my Nikon lenses with a speed booster.
Mac Pro (2012) 2 x 3.46GHz 6-Core, Catalina (Open Core), 96GB RAM, Radeon RX 580 8 GB, Intensity Pro 4k, Resolve Studio.
Offline

Tony Spiraletti

  • Posts: 82
  • Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2015 4:29 am
  • Location: Australia

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostSun Aug 15, 2021 1:05 pm

Brett Tippet wrote:So what i'm reading, without spending $6k+, there's no useful Power Zoom lenses that would be good for concerts or sports?

What a shame to have such a great product at a good price point, and then you have to spend 5x that value of that product to use it.


Yep!

Although even the options at 5x the price are not guaranteed to work with the new zoom and focus depands as ypu would need to use an adaptor to use Canon CN-E powered lenses and I'm not sure they've been tested.

Let's just hope one manufacturer can make a useful lens for this camera!
Offline

Raphaël Jacquot

  • Posts: 801
  • Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2012 4:15 pm

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostSun Aug 15, 2021 8:21 pm

what we need is BMD to step up and commission someone, anyone, but probably panasonic / olympus to come up with proper lenses for their M43 cameras...
Offline

Tony Spiraletti

  • Posts: 82
  • Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2015 4:29 am
  • Location: Australia

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostMon Aug 16, 2021 1:43 am

Raphaël Jacquot wrote:what we need is BMD to step up and commission someone, anyone, but probably panasonic / olympus to come up with proper lenses for their M43 cameras...


100%!

With some good lens options as I suggested a fee posts up, BMD would sell many more of these cameras and their potential target market really widens.
Offline

Alastair Leith

  • Posts: 78
  • Joined: Mon Nov 05, 2012 2:28 am
  • Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostMon Aug 16, 2021 4:39 am

100%!

With some good lens options as I suggested a fee posts up, BMD would sell many more of these cameras and their potential target market really widens.


They could sell this new lens as a kit lens with the Studio Camera 4K/Pro at a discount and put in a big order with Panasonic or Olympus.

I recall looking around at decent EZ lens a while back when considering the studio camera and being shocked at the price of Sony EZ lenses and scant market for options. I'm torn between this and BMPC 4K ATM. Pros and cons on both sides. Very happy about the 10G ethernet connection, hoping this signals embrace of NewTek standards by BMD.
Offline
User avatar

Tarek Saneh

  • Posts: 187
  • Joined: Fri Jun 27, 2014 8:28 pm
  • Location: DUBAI

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostMon Aug 16, 2021 4:23 pm

MFT lenses for live video production is a joke except for locked shot, no parafocal no reach, ppl who feel MFT lenses is a good idea please buy those cameras they are awesome they have tally, talkback and ccu control like broadcast cameras
Please Don’t start to tell me that those cameras are only for studio, for studio fixed shot basically you can use any camera that have hdmi or sdi out
Tarek Saneh
Creative & Technical Director
http://www.wonderweb.ae
Dubai - UAE
Offline

robertsmu

  • Posts: 204
  • Joined: Thu Sep 12, 2019 12:54 pm
  • Real Name: Rob Walker

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostMon Aug 16, 2021 10:33 pm

In my experience, broadcast lenses are ALWAYS more expensive than their cameras.

If you desire the features of broadcast lenses (parfocal, back focus and constant aperture) for the BMPSC 4k, you can try the Fujinon MK18-55mm T2.9 Lens (or the 50-135 depending on your shooting distance) with a Chrosziel Compact Zoom Control Kit for Fujinon MK Lenses.

Of course that will cost you about $5,600 before you arrange a power solution and rear focus and zoom controls, so add $1800 to the budget for that, though less if you can find a Varizoom product to work.
Offline

Tony Spiraletti

  • Posts: 82
  • Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2015 4:29 am
  • Location: Australia

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostTue Aug 17, 2021 1:37 am

robertsmu wrote:In my experience, broadcast lenses are ALWAYS more expensive than their cameras.

If you desire the features of broadcast lenses (parfocal, back focus and constant aperture) for the BMPSC 4k, you can try the Fujinon MK18-55mm T2.9 Lens (or the 50-135 depending on your shooting distance) with a Chrosziel Compact Zoom Control Kit for Fujinon MK Lenses.

Of course that will cost you about $5,600 before you arrange a power solution and rear focus and zoom controls, so add $1800 to the budget for that, though less if you can find a Varizoom product to work.


I'm fine with lenses costing more than the camera. I really don't understand why people think the camera has to be the most expensive item in the kit. Camera sensor technology is moving fast so the life expectancy of a camera is far shorter than a well designed lens made for a well thought out system. A good lens will outlast many camera bodies.
BMD's problem is, does a lens maker commit to the R&D costs to develop a lens for this system given that the MFT system seems to be in decline and that apart from BMD, is not used in live broadcasting. It's a bit of a gamble butvi believe that if taken, I can possibly see MFT becoming the norm for live production. It's a really nice sensor size for live production.
Sony can make power zoom and focus lenses that are parfocal and constant aperture for ther full frame cameras that only cost around $2000. Surely something similar could be made for the smaller MFT sensor for a similar price?
Offline

Alastair Leith

  • Posts: 78
  • Joined: Mon Nov 05, 2012 2:28 am
  • Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostTue Aug 17, 2021 5:06 am

Tony Spiraletti wrote:Sony can make power zoom and focus lenses that are parfocal and constant aperture for ther full frame cameras that only cost around $2000. Surely something similar could be made for the smaller MFT sensor for a similar price?


$2k would be more than reasonable. Will all the YouTube studios around the world exploding I'd have thought there's more than a trivial market, but I guess a large proportion of these video productions are solo operations who wouldn't need this level of polish and function. I'd pay 2k and pair with Studio Camera 4K or a BMPC 4k for sure.
Offline

Raphaël Jacquot

  • Posts: 801
  • Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2012 4:15 pm

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostWed Aug 18, 2021 5:15 am

Tarek Saneh wrote:MFT lenses for live video production is a joke except for locked shot, no parafocal no reach, ppl who feel MFT lenses is a good idea please buy those cameras they are awesome they have tally, talkback and ccu control like broadcast cameras
Please Don’t start to tell me that those cameras are only for studio, for studio fixed shot basically you can use any camera that have hdmi or sdi out


if BMD commissions lenses to be manufactured, it would indeed make sense for these to be parfocal.
Offline

Alastair Leith

  • Posts: 78
  • Joined: Mon Nov 05, 2012 2:28 am
  • Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostFri Aug 20, 2021 5:27 am

Tarek Saneh wrote:MFT lenses for live video production is a joke except for locked shot, no parafocal no reach, ppl who feel MFT lenses is a good idea please buy those cameras they are awesome they have tally, talkback and ccu control like broadcast cameras
Please Don’t start to tell me that those cameras are only for studio, for studio fixed shot basically you can use any camera that have hdmi or sdi out


Grant Perry doesn't agree, but what would he know? He addresses this issue in the release video for this camera on the BMD homepage. Start video at 0:56:56:00 for the discussion around lenses and making MFT lens work ("almost parafocal, they're so well made, pretty close") more like a B4 lens through controlling them better. He suggests if you want to use big B4 lenses then use the URSA Broadcast Camera, as it's a better fit (and if your paying $8K for a lens…).
Offline

Tony Spiraletti

  • Posts: 82
  • Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2015 4:29 am
  • Location: Australia

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostFri Aug 20, 2021 1:06 pm

Alastair Leith wrote:
Tarek Saneh wrote:MFT lenses for live video production is a joke except for locked shot, no parafocal no reach, ppl who feel MFT lenses is a good idea please buy those cameras they are awesome they have tally, talkback and ccu control like broadcast cameras
Please Don’t start to tell me that those cameras are only for studio, for studio fixed shot basically you can use any camera that have hdmi or sdi out


Grant Perry doesn't agree, but what would he know? He addresses this issue in the release video for this camera on the BMD homepage. Start video at 0:56:56:00 for the discussion around lenses and making MFT lens work ("almost parafocal, they're so well made, pretty close") more like a B4 lens through controlling them better. He suggests if you want to use big B4 lenses then use the URSA Broadcast Camera, as it's a better fit (and if your paying $8K for a lens…).


In that video, Grant has an Olympus 12-50 EZ lens mounted. It seems to work really well with the zoom and focus demand. The issue is, that Olympus Lens has the best 'do it all range' of the four power zoom lenses available for MFT but is no longer made by Olympus. Grant also says there are 'a lot of power zoom lenses for MFT'...there are three and they are kinda junk. I own two of the Olympus 12-50's that I bought for some lower end live streams I did with my P4K cameras and they are not very good.

There are plenty of B4 lenses available that are much cheaper than $8000. You can find a plethora of them on the second hand market for 6-8 times less than 8k! In terms of B4 lenses being too big for this camera, he says himself that the focus and zoom demands add a lot of weight to the back of the camera so you will probably need to add counterweight to the front to balance it out. To do this, the easiest option I am think of is to add 15mm rails out the front under the lens amd hang some kind of weight off them. I mean, we are kind of beyond worrying about the size of the body now if we add long rails amd weights to the setup! Alternatively, I reckon a B4 lens would have balanced it out just nicely. Or, a large constant aperture 12-150 parfocal MFT lens that nobody makes ;)
Again, with the correct lenses (of which no one has made yet) I like the idea of MFT for live production but.......the lenses don't exist!
Offline
User avatar

Xtreemtec

  • Posts: 5391
  • Joined: Wed Jan 02, 2013 11:48 am
  • Location: The Netherlands

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostFri Aug 20, 2021 3:17 pm

Tony Spiraletti wrote: Grant also says there are 'a lot of power zoom lenses for MFT'...there are three and they are kinda junk.

Exactly my point.. So Grant pull that Rabbit out of the hat and show us the BMD parafocal MFT lens with motorised zoom and focus and F1.8/F2.. Ooh wait they dont have it.. And those are not made by anyone either..

They just should have gone with the option to mount a B4 lens to it.. So many SD lenses on the market that you buy for $300 and will out perform most of those MFT lenses anyway..

I say looks like a great camera but i dont blow money on it until there is a B4 version of it someone comes with a really great lens option for this camera.. ( but guess that wont happen... ) :roll:
Daniel Wittenaar .:: Xtreemtec Media Productions ::. -= www.xtreemtec.nl =-
4K OBV Trailer, ATEM TVS HD, 4M/E Broadcast Studio 4K, Constelation 8K, Hyperdeck Studio 12G, Ursa Broadcast 4K, 4K fiber converters with Sony Control
Offline

Sander Vreuls

  • Posts: 143
  • Joined: Fri Mar 22, 2013 5:09 pm

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostFri Aug 20, 2021 6:41 pm

If only they had added a 12 pins hirose (used for B4 and others) with analog and digital pinout, then a lot of lenses could have been used with control of iris and local zoom/focus as well..
Offline

Tony Spiraletti

  • Posts: 82
  • Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2015 4:29 am
  • Location: Australia

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostFri Aug 20, 2021 8:56 pm

Sander Vreuls wrote:If only they had added a 12 pins hirose (used for B4 and others) with analog and digital pinout, then a lot of lenses could have been used with control of iris and local zoom/focus as well..


Yep, really a big missed opportunity by BMD.

I love BMD and how they are really challenging the industry in many areas. I have two of their cameras, one of their switchers, use their post production software and own many of their capture devices and Converters but they have really fallen short in live production cameras only due to a few (but major) questionable decisions by their designers and product managers.
Offline
User avatar

Tarek Saneh

  • Posts: 187
  • Joined: Fri Jun 27, 2014 8:28 pm
  • Location: DUBAI

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostSat Aug 21, 2021 5:24 pm

I love bmd equipment great technology killer prices, but until they have 2/3 inch 3cmos (for b4 lenses) technology forget about live production (events, concerts, sports) as for YouTube studios (fixed camera shot) the pocket 4k and 6k with atem minis is fine using fiber hdmi cables, so i dont see this new camera a big improvement, its the same as the old studio camera with a better sensor.
Oh yes and no one will make 10x f4 power zoom parafocal mft lens for this camera, it will cost 20000$
Tarek Saneh
Creative & Technical Director
http://www.wonderweb.ae
Dubai - UAE
Offline

Tony Spiraletti

  • Posts: 82
  • Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2015 4:29 am
  • Location: Australia

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostSun Aug 22, 2021 12:04 am

Tarek Saneh wrote:I love bmd equipment great technology killer prices, but until they have 2/3 inch 3cmos (for b4 lenses) technology forget about live production (events, concerts, sports) as for YouTube studios (fixed camera shot) the pocket 4k and 6k with atem minis is fine using fiber hdmi cables, so i dont see this new camera a big improvement, its the same as the old studio camera with a better sensor.
Oh yes and no one will make 10x f4 power zoom parafocal mft lens for this camera, it will cost 20000$


A lens could easily be made for less than $20,000.

To keep the cost down, I'd be happy with variable aperture but something like f2.8-4 ......something similar to the lens in Canon's new XF605 that covers a 1" sensor proves that it's not a ridiculous request although as it's a built in lens doesn't directly compare... BUT as you say I don't think anyone will make a Power Zoom lens for MFT system anyway. We can only dream!
Offline

Raphaël Jacquot

  • Posts: 801
  • Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2012 4:15 pm

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostSun Aug 22, 2021 5:13 am

Tony Spiraletti wrote:A lens could easily be made for less than $20,000.

To keep the cost down, I'd be happy with variable aperture but something like f2.8-4 ......something similar to the lens in Canon's new XF605 that covers a 1" sensor proves that it's not a ridiculous request although as it's a built in lens doesn't directly compare... BUT as you say I don't think anyone will make a Power Zoom lens for MFT system anyway. We can only dream!


my take on this is it's a volumes thing.
only BMD knows how many cameras they sell, they probably have solid numbers to commission the manufacture of lenses by panasonic (with olympus being part of Sony now, and going out of the photography/video market).
Offline

Thibaud

  • Posts: 153
  • Joined: Tue Feb 05, 2019 11:05 am
  • Real Name: Thibaud Lepercq

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostSun Aug 22, 2021 12:39 pm

Olympus 12-100 F4 all the way
Offline

Alastair Leith

  • Posts: 78
  • Joined: Mon Nov 05, 2012 2:28 am
  • Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostMon Aug 23, 2021 2:57 pm

Tony Spiraletti wrote:
Alastair Leith wrote:
Tarek Saneh wrote:MFT lenses for live video production is a joke except for locked shot, no parafocal no reach, ppl who feel MFT lenses is a good idea please buy those cameras they are awesome they have tally, talkback and ccu control like broadcast cameras
Please Don’t start to tell me that those cameras are only for studio, for studio fixed shot basically you can use any camera that have hdmi or sdi out


Grant Perry doesn't agree, but what would he know? He addresses this issue in the release video for this camera on the BMD homepage. Start video at 0:56:56:00 for the discussion around lenses and making MFT lens work ("almost parafocal, they're so well made, pretty close") more like a B4 lens through controlling them better. He suggests if you want to use big B4 lenses then use the URSA Broadcast Camera, as it's a better fit (and if your paying $8K for a lens…).


In that video, Grant has an Olympus 12-50 EZ lens mounted. It seems to work really well with the zoom and focus demand. The issue is, that Olympus Lens has the best 'do it all range' of the four power zoom lenses available for MFT but is no longer made by Olympus. Grant also says there are 'a lot of power zoom lenses for MFT'...there are three and they are kinda junk. I own two of the Olympus 12-50's that I bought for some lower end live streams I did with my P4K cameras and they are not very good.

There are plenty of B4 lenses available that are much cheaper than $8000. You can find a plethora of them on the second hand market for 6-8 times less than 8k! In terms of B4 lenses being too big for this camera, he says himself that the focus and zoom demands add a lot of weight to the back of the camera so you will probably need to add counterweight to the front to balance it out. To do this, the easiest option I am think of is to add 15mm rails out the front under the lens amd hang some kind of weight off them. I mean, we are kind of beyond worrying about the size of the body now if we add long rails amd weights to the setup! Alternatively, I reckon a B4 lens would have balanced it out just nicely. Or, a large constant aperture 12-150 parfocal MFT lens that nobody makes ;)
Again, with the correct lenses (of which no one has made yet) I like the idea of MFT for live production but.......the lenses don't exist!


yes I did watch some YouTube videos of people putting different lens on BMD cameras and started to search eBay for B4 lenses, certainly much less than $8k but I wonder how many are out there if demand picked up?

speaking of demand, seems like most people still by the pocket camera rather than these studio/live production cameras. For doco work as well as live production I see the studio camera as being very attractive, if only it had electronic focus and zoom control and that is the missing piece of the puzzle it seems. big touch screen for not just easily & quickly getting focus and exposure correct, but diving into menus without those annoying camera menu systems SLRs have, and new slick zoom and focus controls off the camera body… but no way to get B4 lenses on a MFT sensor and get enough light on it I guess? if it was doable you'd think a small nimble company like metabones would be already onto it.

I take it there is no conversion possible… to allow some kind of B4<>MFT Metabones to the rescue? even I it needed electronics for drive control single conversion?
Offline

garthdb

  • Posts: 7
  • Joined: Mon May 04, 2020 5:24 pm
  • Real Name: Garth Braithwaite

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostThu Aug 26, 2021 5:49 pm

Has anyone been able to figure out what lens was used in the live streamed announcement video? The lens cap is Olympus, but I can't quite make out text on the side.
Offline

garthdb

  • Posts: 7
  • Joined: Mon May 04, 2020 5:24 pm
  • Real Name: Garth Braithwaite

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostThu Aug 26, 2021 5:55 pm

garthdb wrote:Has anyone been able to figure out what lens was used in the live streamed announcement video? The lens cap is Olympus, but I can't quite make out text on the side.


I think it's the Olympus M.Zuiko ED 12-50mm f3.5-6.3 EZ that has already been mentioned here. https://www.getolympus.com/us/en/lenses/m-zuiko-lens-msc-ed-m-12-50mm-f3-5-6-3.html
Offline

Tony Spiraletti

  • Posts: 82
  • Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2015 4:29 am
  • Location: Australia

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostFri Aug 27, 2021 12:54 pm

Yep, it’s the Olympus 12-50 EZ which has been discontinued
Offline
User avatar

Tarek Saneh

  • Posts: 187
  • Joined: Fri Jun 27, 2014 8:28 pm
  • Location: DUBAI

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostFri Aug 27, 2021 1:42 pm

I guess the best lens option for now is the olympus 12-100 f4 and you can use tilta nucleus for the zoom control
Tarek Saneh
Creative & Technical Director
http://www.wonderweb.ae
Dubai - UAE
Offline

Howard Roll

  • Posts: 2506
  • Joined: Fri Jun 03, 2016 7:50 am

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostFri Aug 27, 2021 7:35 pm

Tarek Saneh wrote:I guess the best lens option for now is the olympus 12-100 f4 and you can use tilta nucleus for the zoom control


Pretty much. The biggest problem is that it’s not parfocal, however intrepid makers like Kim Janson have developed lens control systems to overcome this obstacle.

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=66387&hilit=A+bit+more#p391736

Good Luck
Offline

floh79

  • Posts: 320
  • Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2020 10:45 am
  • Real Name: Florian Erfurth

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostFri Aug 27, 2021 9:21 pm

If the Studio Camera 4K is able to control focus and zoom of the lens with focus demand & zoom demand, then it shouldn't be difficult to implement the parafocal in zoom demand unit for non-parafocal-lenses. There should be a setting, like a graph, for lens so you can tell the camera like "if zoom is set to x, then set focus to y". (Hello BMD :idea: 8-) wanna hire me? I'm a SW-Developer :ugeek: )
Offline

Thibaud

  • Posts: 153
  • Joined: Tue Feb 05, 2019 11:05 am
  • Real Name: Thibaud Lepercq

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostSat Aug 28, 2021 2:22 pm

The Olympus 12-100 is actually almost parfocal. In the sens that if you focus on an object at 100mm, it will retain focus when zoomed back to 12mm. But at some point between 12 to 100 ( i don't remember when) it's not parfocal.
Offline

Howard Roll

  • Posts: 2506
  • Joined: Fri Jun 03, 2016 7:50 am

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostMon Aug 30, 2021 10:46 am

At 12mm the dof is so great that virtually everything is in focus unless the camera is only a few feet from the subject. At 1m from the subject, wide open at f4, the dof is .99m. Move the subject to 2m and now the dof is over 10m. It’s harder to miss focus at that distance than hit it.

Good Luck
Offline

SkierEvans

  • Posts: 970
  • Joined: Wed Jan 24, 2018 9:59 pm
  • Location: Ottawa, Ontario
  • Real Name: Ron Evans

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostMon Aug 30, 2021 11:17 am

Does anyone know why BM would spend development money on the remote controllers if there are only two lenses in production that would work with the zoom. The focus controller may of course work on lots of lenses but the zoom is limited to the 4 lenses. The lens in the demonstration is not available new anymore either. I have that lens and it does work with my GH5 and GH5S with LANC control.
Threadripper 1920, Gigabyte X399 DESIGNARE EX, 32G RAM, Gigabyte 4070Ti 12G, ASUS PB328Q, IP4K, WIN10 Pro 22H2, Speed Editor

Resolve Studio 18, EDIUS 9WG,EDIUS X WG, Vegas 18

Studio Max M1 24 core GPU, 32G, 1T drive. iPad Pro 12.9` M2 16G, 1T
Offline

Tony Spiraletti

  • Posts: 82
  • Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2015 4:29 am
  • Location: Australia

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostTue Sep 28, 2021 8:36 am

SkierEvans wrote:Does anyone know why BM would spend development money on the remote controllers if there are only two lenses in production that would work with the zoom. The focus controller may of course work on lots of lenses but the zoom is limited to the 4 lenses. The lens in the demonstration is not available new anymore either. I have that lens and it does work with my GH5 and GH5S with LANC control.


BMD (as much as I love their products) make some really weird decisions in development stages of their products that severely limits their appeal. Maybe they only want their new studio cameras to be used in the smallest of studios where the limited zoom range isn’t a factor. Maybe they think that because Panasonic’s BGH1 camera is MFT then they should just blindly follow them ? Panasonic are another company that make some really weird choices in product design. I’m as puzzled as you!

Maybe they know that there will be an amazing donut all focal length lens about to be released (I doubt it)?

It’s puzzling that they release a whole new style of camera and accessories that rely on a dwindling range of pretty average lenses. Would love to hear from the product manager on why they went this route.
Offline

Thibaud

  • Posts: 153
  • Joined: Tue Feb 05, 2019 11:05 am
  • Real Name: Thibaud Lepercq

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostTue Sep 28, 2021 8:45 pm

Have you tried the Olympus 12-100 ?
Offline

Tony Spiraletti

  • Posts: 82
  • Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2015 4:29 am
  • Location: Australia

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostWed Sep 29, 2021 1:01 am

Thibaud wrote:Have you tried the Olympus 12-100 ?


It’s currently the best option for a ‘do it all’ zoom lens for this camera although no power zoom is a bummer.
Offline
User avatar

Johannes Jonsson

  • Posts: 390
  • Joined: Mon May 01, 2017 2:35 pm
  • Location: Iceland

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostThu Sep 30, 2021 11:06 am

Are those Servo zoom Panasonic and Olympus lenses parafocal?
Somehow I highly doupt it, good Servo zoom parafocal lenses cost far far more then prices on those lenses, and for a reason.
Johannes
Offline
User avatar

Xtreemtec

  • Posts: 5391
  • Joined: Wed Jan 02, 2013 11:48 am
  • Location: The Netherlands

Re: Lens for Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

PostThu Sep 30, 2021 2:41 pm

Johannes Jonsson wrote:Are those Servo zoom Panasonic and Olympus lenses parafocal?
Somehow I highly doupt it, good Servo zoom parafocal lenses cost far far more then prices on those lenses, and for a reason.


No.. I doubt there is even a Parafocal MFT lens.. They trust too much on the Auto focus to "make it parafocal" :roll: :roll:

As said before there are no good zoom focus lenses on MFT..... i already have read 30/40 complaints from people that bought the camera and are now very disapointed the lens choices are no good at all.. And no good way to convert it either to B4 or EF..
Daniel Wittenaar .:: Xtreemtec Media Productions ::. -= www.xtreemtec.nl =-
4K OBV Trailer, ATEM TVS HD, 4M/E Broadcast Studio 4K, Constelation 8K, Hyperdeck Studio 12G, Ursa Broadcast 4K, 4K fiber converters with Sony Control
Next

Return to Live Production

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 46 guests