BMPCC as a still camera

Picked up a BMPCC6K to see if I could use it as a 24MP still camera.

Some things may be unfixable, like the startup time or the autofocus speed or rotating portraits, but there are some things that might be reasonable QoL fixes for future updates.

• Option to save stills to SD card and video to CFast. Saving to the CFast is a waste, performance wise, and SD card readers on laptops are common. But the time to change the configuration to record to CFast is too long, so I would miss any video options as the frames drop almost immediately.
• Option to remap the top record button to stills. Just for digital ergonomics. The front button can stay fixed function.
• Option for shutter sound. Some click or beep or something to let me know when the shutter released.
• Viewing of recorded stills.
• Option to prevent the ISO, iris, etc. from rolling over from the lowest to highest value. I want to spin the wheel on the grip and not worry about watching where it lands. I should know that if I spin it far enough, it will lock, then I can spin it back 3 clicks to the value I want. All without looking.
• Read the CFast or SD card when connected to computer via USB.

Chad, sounds like you hit the wrong camera. The Picket 4/6K are Cinema Video Cameras that can take a single raw frame grab. Your wish list is not likely to happen, misread not physically possible due to the camera design.

You should look at the new Canon Mirrorless or the Nikon Z6, they can do what you are requesting.
Cheers

Denny, that Nikon Z6 is sounding like a Swiss Army Knife.


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Yes, yes it is Rick. It is a video camera, it is a still camera, it is a level and a horizon indicator, it is a poor man’s Gimbal, it is jack of many trades, and a master of none...

Denny, that Nikon Z6 is sounding like a Swiss Army Knife.


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)) Only a lot of items, Rick, you have mentioned here, that one are able to meet worldwide confirms that this army even exist. So in any case they are selling a lot of unnecessary stocks, much more than any other army of the world.))

The same thing with still BM option. It's not really for any type of photography. This option first is for film making. You are able to check your location/lens/point of shoot/available light. You are able to make notes for camera man. For serious still shooting first you need good optional viewfinder.

Picked up a BMPCC6K to see if I could use it as a 24MP still camera.

Some things may be unfixable, like the startup time or the autofocus speed or rotating portraits, but there are some things that might be reasonable QoL fixes for future updates.

• Option to save stills to SD card and video to CFast. Saving to the CFast is a waste, performance wise, and SD card readers on laptops are common. But the time to change the configuration to record to CFast is too long, so I would miss any video options as the frames drop almost immediately.
• Option to remap the top record button to stills. Just for digital ergonomics. The front button can stay fixed function.
• Option for shutter sound. Some click or beep or something to let me know when the shutter released.
• Viewing of recorded stills.
• Option to prevent the ISO, iris, etc. from rolling over from the lowest to highest value. I want to spin the wheel on the grip and not worry about watching where it lands. I should know that if I spin it far enough, it will lock, then I can spin it back 3 clicks to the value I want. All without looking.
• Read the CFast or SD card when connected to computer via USB.

Is this a joke?

Jack of all trades, master of none, but better than a master of one.

Yes, yes it is Rick. It is a video camera, it is a still camera, it is a level and a horizon indicator, it is a poor man’s Gimbal, it is jack of many trades, and a master of none...

Right you are Duane!
Cheers

Picked up a BMPCC6K to see if I could use it as a 24MP still camera.

Some things may be unfixable, like the startup time or the autofocus speed or rotating portraits, but there are some things that might be reasonable QoL fixes for future updates.

• Option to save stills to SD card and video to CFast. Saving to the CFast is a waste, performance wise, and SD card readers on laptops are common. But the time to change the configuration to record to CFast is too long, so I would miss any video options as the frames drop almost immediately.
• Option to remap the top record button to stills. Just for digital ergonomics. The front button can stay fixed function.
• Option for shutter sound. Some click or beep or something to let me know when the shutter released.
• Viewing of recorded stills.
• Option to prevent the ISO, iris, etc. from rolling over from the lowest to highest value. I want to spin the wheel on the grip and not worry about watching where it lands. I should know that if I spin it far enough, it will lock, then I can spin it back 3 clicks to the value I want. All without looking.
• Read the CFast or SD card when connected to computer via USB.

Is this a joke?

I don't know. I assumed BMD put a button there for a reason.

Chad, sounds like you hit the wrong camera. The Picket 4/6K are Cinema Video Cameras that can take a single raw frame grab. Your wish list is not likely to happen, misread not physically possible due to the camera design.

I'd still like the option to store that grab on the SD card and be able to view it on the camera. I've never seen a camcorder with a screen that couldn't play back the images it recorded.

You should look at the new Canon Mirrorless or the Nikon Z6, they can do what you are requesting.

The Z6 can't shoot 21MP images at 50fps continuous.

The BMPCC 6K is the closest I've seen to a decent hybrid camera. Sometimes it just isn't practical to carry two cameras everywhere. Most others do a terrible job on one or the other. I know some people bemoan the autofocus, even if they're using it exclusively for video, just because it's a nice option to have.

Right you are there Chad, in it won’t.
Cheers

I used pocket4k in emergency like photo camera this august, shooting in braw q0. Extracting with resolve braw frame, edit color partially in resolve, export like tug 16bit then -> captureOne.
But...
problem for shooting, problem to see focus, different grip than photo camera
I never suggest it

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I often use my Pocket 4K as a stills camera when traveling light. My lenses & filters on the Pocket 4K are typically more versatile & easily controllable compared to my smartphone's camera, and carrying a separate pro "DSLR" plus lenses & accessories adds significant weight.

Certainly, a DSLR & lenses will be far preferable for most photographic stills, but I like being able to record very high-quality video and pretty good stills in one lightweight package.
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=97434

Concerning using the Pocket 4K screen in bright environments, I'm looking forward to testing a LeViteZer loupe with my Pocket 4K soon.
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=99285

Cheers.

Pocket 4K images processed in DR16.1b3 and Apple Photos, Olympus 12-40mm f2.8, Hoya Solas 1.2 ND.

"BLM Wild Horses": BRAW, CQ Q0, 4K DCI scaled & cropped in post to 1920x1080 16:9:

A001_09240918_C051.braw-1080hq.jpg (620.88 KiB) Viewed 6204 times

"Fort Rock State Park": BRAW, CQ Q0, 4K DCI scaled & cropped in post to 1920x1080 16:9:

A001_09230937_C013.braw-1080hq.jpg (604.82 KiB) Viewed 6204 times

"John Day Fossil Beds - Blue Basin": BRAW, CQ Q0, 4K DCI scaled & cropped in post to 1920x1080 16:9:

A001_09271233_C105.braw-1080hq.jpg (849.16 KiB) Viewed 6204 times

I tried shooting Q0 BRAW with timelapse on, and that was nice. Could basically capture a burst of frames quickly, or just one if I set the interval long enough. Made capture to SD viable (even though I had CFast installed for video).

One odd thing is I kept having to calculate the framerate. Would be nice if the timelapse could just be straight variable framerate instead of thinking "Oh, if I want to shoot 6 frames per second, I can set the record format to 24 and timelapse to every 4th" instead of the timelapse slider just having me set 6 fps.

So maybe it would just be nice to be able to toggle multiple settings with one of the three function buttons at the top. In my case, turn on timelapse and set record target to SD card. Then the switch between modes becomes straightforward.

Peter, those look really nice. Were those DNG's taken with the photo button or were you shooting DNG sequences with the old firmware?

... Peter, those look really nice. Were those DNG's taken with the photo button or were you shooting DNG sequences with the old firmware?

My Pocket 4K has firmware 6.2.1 installed.

Some of the frames I posted earlier today were "press the STILLS button" DNG files, and some were BRAW Constant Quality Q0 4K DCI time-lapse "video" frames.

However, later today I went back and reviewed my original footage and decided I liked the BRAW time-lapse frames better than the DNG stills. I re-rendered them to 16-bit TIFs (instead of 8-bit PNGs) before compressing them to JPGs. As a result I think they now look cleaner,

I deleted the earlier versions from my post above, uploaded the new renders and labelled them accordingly. Cheers.

Folks, I have never used the still camera feature of the BMPCC 6K. Why would I? After all it is a cine cam. But last week, while doing a "lock down" short, I wanted to take a stills as continuity reference shots for the make-up and prod design folks and instead of whipping up my camera phone, I told myself I got this camera, all in position, I'll just have to click on the still shutter and get my ref shots.

Well, ask I did, there was no audible indicator that the shot was taken. After a look at the screen, there was an icon that flash when I pressed the button. Okay, I won't complain. But then I took a few more still shots. Then when I came back to it to show the design folks, there was only 1 still picture capture (the first one I took). I can't find the other stills. That was really frustrating. I tested it after, paying a bit more attention. I notice that every time I press the shutter, it will show the icon but I don't get to playback the picture. I also notice that it takes a few seconds between pressing the shutter otherwise the still capture icon won't appear if I press it in rapid succession. Is this a camera issue or am I doing something incorrectly like does it have to be in some record setting?

Wasn't there some "press and hold" trick or something? (Or press quickly?) This was discussed on another thread.

It takes the picture when you release the virtual shutter as in releasing the press. I’d expect it to take the picture with the press down, but it happens when the button is released up. Managed to take over 800 stills of a theatrical production without knowing that so you can imagine how sore my trigger finger was!

I recommend cheating, and just rolling footage. If you have the quality settings at max, you'll be able to export stills from Resolve that you can print. And no need for Photoslop... because you have Resolve

Wasn't there some "press and hold" trick or something? (Or press quickly?) This was discussed on another thread.

I think you are right but I couldn't find it with the search words I was using. ;(. Anyway, I tried your suggestion of "press and hold" and it worked. So you have to press it, wait for the icon to appear and go way, then release the shutter. So I need to have my eye peeled for that little icon on the upper right corner to show. What a pain!

However, it does not playback on the camera display. Only video files plays back. I had to take out the card and insert it on my MBP. There I see all the files under the Stills folder and was able to access and view them.

It takes the picture when you release the virtual shutter as in releasing the press. I’d expect it to take the picture with the press down, but it happens when the button is released up. Managed to take over 800 stills of a theatrical production without knowing that so you can imagine how sore my trigger finger was!

Holly Molly! Rick, you do have patience.

I recommend cheating, and just rolling footage. If you have the quality settings at max, you'll be able to export stills from Resolve that you can print. And no need for Photoslop... because you have Resolve

Thanks and tried this out too. I used BRAW Q0 6K (I doubt the 6K record mode has anything to do but I digress). It generated HQ DNG files. I'd rather use my DSLR or phone camera for stills next time. I was just not sure if the camera was faulty or it was something that I was doing wrong.

On future firmware, I'd like to request that they add the following to the still camera feature of the pocket 4/6K.

1. Shutter press audio
2. If there is an SD Card, write all recorded stills in the SD Card; otherwise whatever next available media available.
3. For still capture, always default to BRAW Q0 (Highest quality and highest resolution). It's a DNG format anyway.
4. Be able to preview (playback) still on the camera display.

BMD, I hope you're taking note.

Thanks and tried this out too. I used BRAW Q0 6K (I doubt the 6K record mode has anything to do but I digress). It generated HQ DNG files. I'd rather use my DSLR or phone camera for stills next time. I was just not sure if the camera was faulty or it was something that I was doing wrong.

I haven't tried shooting any stills with the Pocket cameras, so I don't know... but having worked with footage from a Pocket 4K and a Pocket 6K, I think that as long as subject motion blur isn't an issue, you can pull stills from Braw and get great results from it.

I think that as long as subject motion blur isn't an issue, you can pull stills from Braw and get great results from it.

You can also capture precise moments that you might easily miss pressing a shutter button. Like this one (from CDNG raw on a Micro Cinema Camera). I had no idea my cat could open his mouth this wide.

(Edited because I uploaded a grab with the wrong white balance)

paotrigfangwb_1.2.3.jpg (424.2 KiB) Viewed 4091 times

You can also capture precise moments that you might easily miss pressing a shutter button. Like this one (from CDNG raw on a Micro Cinema Camera). I had no idea my cat could open his mouth this wide.

Cats usually find some way to surprise you

Every time I tried to film my cat, even after waiting for her to doze off, she'd either try to noseprint the lens or jump into my lap, so I had to catch her with long lenses while she was distracted by something else

The nice thing about cats is that they don't require model releases. A treat or two will suffice. And they make nice confinement subjects.

Paotrig cross leg.jpg (635.11 KiB) Viewed 4106 times

The nice thing about cats is that they don't require model releases. A treat or two will suffice. And they make nice confinement subjects.

That they do!

They make for very entertaining videos sometimes, too

I'm probably going to adopt another cat one of these days.

I haven't tried shooting any stills with the Pocket cameras, so I don't know... but having worked with footage from a Pocket 4K and a Pocket 6K, I think that as long as subject motion blur isn't an issue, you can pull stills from Braw and get great results from it.

Yes, that's true. I have no plans to use the Pocket as a still camera. The reason why I did was just to take continuity ref shots during a location shoot. I didn't have a still cam with me and wanted to show the make-up and production design crew what the last sequence was so they have a reference for the next sequence. This might be the reason why BMD added that still shutter - IDK. I could have just equally done a playback of the recording.

However now that the button is there, maybe BMD can just add a few more adjustments (as requested above) to make it more user friendly and usable.

The nice thing about cats is that they don't require model releases. A treat or two will suffice. And they make nice confinement subjects.

That's true. Cute cat and nice pose.

Whenever I press the Stills button, the camera seems to apply or bake in a LUT on the DNG images when I try to view them on my hard drive. Is there something I'm missing here in the camera settings that disables that. When shooting video the picture is nice and flat and has no LUT applied, this only happens with the dedicated "stills" button.

Anyone figure out a fix for this?