Some comments after a few days of use ...
I’ve mostly used rangefinder and large format cameras and every time that I pick up the Blackmagic I look for a viewfinder. My Leica M 240 has live view, but I haven’t used it much, and the Blackmagic version is taking some getting used to. The quality of the view in daylight, or rather lack of it, has me thinking about bringing along the dark cloth that I use for 4x5 and 8x10. A decent dark cloth works like a Superman cape, with Velcro to affix it around your neck. It may actually be a solution for what I now call the “Blackmagic sometimes view”.
I have discovered that my 63 year old Leica rangefinder with 35mm lens is quite a bit lighter and more compact than a Pocket 4K and the Fujinon, which weigh in at about 1.8 kilos (4lbs) and measure 30cm (12”) from the back of the camera to the front of the Fujinon lens hood. After a couple of days of using the Pocket 4K I can no longer say that I’m using it handheld with a straight face. My monopod is proving its worth, and yeah, I won’t be abandoning the MFT adapter for my Leica primes.
When it comes to figuring out exposure, I’m afraid that I’m in the dark ages, which means that I use a handheld light meter. Using cameras that are completely mechanical, and a Mamiya 7II, which has the most eccentric metering ever devised, will do that to you, as will discovering incident light metering. I am trying to learn how to use the Pocket 4K’s interactive approach to exposure, at least when I can see what’s on the screen. Another argument for my Superman cape.
When it comes to focusing, I really, really miss seeing two images resolve into one. I could use some assurance that I can trust the camera when it tells me that I’m in focus. In the meantime, I’m about to make an apparent depth of field chart for the Fujinon at various focal lengths. I suspect that zone focusing is going to have its place.
Apart from those niggles, it’s going swimmingly :) I’m pretty sure that the camera is capable of good results, even if I’m not, and the lens is turning out to be something of an education.
Cheers
I’ve mostly used rangefinder and large format cameras and every time that I pick up the Blackmagic I look for a viewfinder. My Leica M 240 has live view, but I haven’t used it much, and the Blackmagic version is taking some getting used to. The quality of the view in daylight, or rather lack of it, has me thinking about bringing along the dark cloth that I use for 4x5 and 8x10. A decent dark cloth works like a Superman cape, with Velcro to affix it around your neck. It may actually be a solution for what I now call the “Blackmagic sometimes view”.
I have discovered that my 63 year old Leica rangefinder with 35mm lens is quite a bit lighter and more compact than a Pocket 4K and the Fujinon, which weigh in at about 1.8 kilos (4lbs) and measure 30cm (12”) from the back of the camera to the front of the Fujinon lens hood. After a couple of days of using the Pocket 4K I can no longer say that I’m using it handheld with a straight face. My monopod is proving its worth, and yeah, I won’t be abandoning the MFT adapter for my Leica primes.
When it comes to figuring out exposure, I’m afraid that I’m in the dark ages, which means that I use a handheld light meter. Using cameras that are completely mechanical, and a Mamiya 7II, which has the most eccentric metering ever devised, will do that to you, as will discovering incident light metering. I am trying to learn how to use the Pocket 4K’s interactive approach to exposure, at least when I can see what’s on the screen. Another argument for my Superman cape.
When it comes to focusing, I really, really miss seeing two images resolve into one. I could use some assurance that I can trust the camera when it tells me that I’m in focus. In the meantime, I’m about to make an apparent depth of field chart for the Fujinon at various focal lengths. I suspect that zone focusing is going to have its place.
Apart from those niggles, it’s going swimmingly :) I’m pretty sure that the camera is capable of good results, even if I’m not, and the lens is turning out to be something of an education.
Cheers
Last edited by robedge on Fri Jan 24, 2020 2:12 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Video Cameras: iPhone, Pocket 4K
Microphones: Schoeps, DPA
Audio Recorder: Sound Devices
Microphones: Schoeps, DPA
Audio Recorder: Sound Devices