The Best Camera Blackmagic Ever Made

Just for some context...I've had this camera since 2015 I'd say, and I used it very sparingly. At the time, the Canon 5D/MK2 was the love of my life lol, and I just used to shoot everything on that. Once the year hit 2020 though, I began to take out the BMPCC more and more, for various random projects and footage.

In 2024 though, I've really dusted it off and picked it back up again. For what it's worth, I just think the image coming out of it is special, and has a certain energy / feel to it. A certain soul. I figured out a cool way to rig it up, keep that power going to it, but most of all keep it small and nimble.

I shot this footage as flat as I could, then dialed in a look that I felt captured how it felt outside. The last few days of summer, 5pm, sun going down...and a brisk air / slight wind.

I just found out about this forum today, just wanted to share...and hope to learn more about different builds or post processing that other people are doing with the camera.

The look did indeed fit very well with the impressions you captured and the music amplifies the vibes.
I would have liked to see a bit less harsh highlight roll-off, though.

Almost felt like found footage from the past, only the Tesla triangle mess was a hint of the present - although that thing’s shape reminds me of a building site container - so could be from the past as well.

The image coming of the OG is really nice and organic. I've been going through the footage I shot with it years ago and just putting it through a CST it looks sooo nice. It has a sort of analogue quality to it when you expose the camera right.

BTW would it be possible to post a picture of your compact rig? I've been thinking of building something like that for a while and any inspiration is welcome .

I just found out about this forum today, just wanted to share...and hope to learn more about different builds or post processing that other people are doing with the camera.

Nice job! I still use mine all the time, along with the Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera, which has essentially the same sensor but has active cooling and can shoot at 60fps when you want slow motion.

For builds on the original BMPCC I keep it simple; just a cage with an NP-F battery plate on top (which I could mount directly to the camera and dispense with the cage if I wanted to). I've used monitors, follow focus, matte box, etc. in the past but only use those on the Micro Cinema Camera these days. When I want to handhold the camera, I have a Zacuto Marauder Mini plus the Zacuto viewfinder and that works pretty well for stable handheld footage although the viewfinder tends to fog up quickly and the Marauder Mini's shoulder/breastplate arm is a bit too short for me. I used that setup with the original BMPCC for this short clip of a jazz singer in a nightclub recently: https://vimeo.com/1011471368/124524b762?share=copy

In terms of post processing, I find Resolve Color Management does an excellent job on this camera's footage with very little tweaking required. I'm not a fan of film emulation except for special purposes, but I have played around with the Film Look Creator in Resolve 19, applied to the timeline, and it's nice. But the footage from the original BMPCC is filmic enough out of the box that you don't really need to do much more to it. Most of the film emulation footage I've seen with this camera on Youtube looks overprocessed to me. Much depends on the lens of course.

would definitely put this in the top 3...

the ursa 4.6k G2 IMO is still the best camera they've ever made even without the firmware updates that it SHOULD have gotten.

BTW would it be possible to post a picture of your compact rig? I've been thinking of building something like that for a while and any inspiration is welcome .

It's shown at the end of the video. I'm curious what that viewfinder is; I have the Zacuto one which is similar, but it tends to fog up (especially when shooting in warmer conditions) and I end up taking it off as I can't see anything through it.

You Also .....

I own three BMPCC 's , one with a Speedbooster for Canon lenses , one with a Speedbooster for Nikon lenses , and one " barefoot " ..

This short and wonderful film shows what can be achieved with this little Cam .. Nice people , and really pleasant to look at , congratulations Matteo , you are talented and you know how to use a Camera ... it's so good it would almost push me to get married ..... Very Nice .. " Silvia and Stefano " ..

And here is what Rodney Charters said about the Pocket Cam ..

With my Regards from our old France ...

Mike ..

would definitely put this in the top 3...

the ursa 4.6k G2 IMO is still the best camera they've ever made even without the firmware updates that it SHOULD have gotten.

Agreed! The UMPG2 is a GOAT!

Sad it was left out of all the firmware upgrades over the last 5-years. But hasn’t hindered it from being a phenomenal camera.


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I picked up the 4.6K G2 in May for the big price reduction. I am so pleased to have that camera!

The dynamic range handles shooting into the sun of a late summer afternoon or evening with ease.

Using the Autokroma Studio plug-in in Premiere, i can set it to Gen 5 automatically. In Resolve, you can also set to Gen 5.

That said, I really wish we would get an update including this for the camera. That is a really capable, beautiful capture tool. The images are simply stunning to work with.

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