Any less excited about the Pocket Camera?

We've all been pretty excited about this camera based on the specs and hype, but now that a few are trickling out to people for reviews, we're getting a more clear picture.

What we've learned:
• no Raw, and no ETA for Raw
• horrendous battery life
• at least one camera so far (Cheesycam's) had faulty/noisy internal audio
• we've seen real life examples and comparisons of the extreme crop factor
• no included battery charger, etc
• blooming shutter

Is anyone feeling less excited about it now? Hopefully we'll see more "real user" footage soon, and hopefully it looks amazing.

Im more excited about the price drop of the original cam, the Pocket Cam will meet my expectations when it gets the RAW update (hopefully).

We've all been pretty excited about this camera based on the specs and hype, but now that a few are trickling out to people for reviews, we're getting a more clear picture.

What we've learned:
• no Raw, and no ETA for Raw
• horrendous battery life
• at least one camera so far (Cheesycam's) had faulty/noisy internal audio
• we've seen real life examples and comparisons of the extreme crop factor
• no included battery charger, etc

Is anyone feeling less excited about it now? Hopefully we'll see more "real user" footage soon, and hopefully it looks amazing.

Raw isn't everything and even at NAB I'm sure they said it wouldn't have raw on release.
From what I've heard battery life is about 45min-1hr which is about what BMD said.
1 out of how many? until we know figures 1 faulty unit doesn't mean Jack.
Extreme crop factor? perhaps compared to DSLR, that is no concern to me as I don't shoot on DSLR.
what? there's an a.c. charger included...

seems like you've been believing the exaggerations of some customers who expected more than promised.

I think they said they were hoping to have raw on release, but no big deal.

No one would get an hour out of the battery, which is what BMD said. 45 mins tops.

I don't find crop factor too bad. It is what it is and you can work around it easily enough.

The included ac charger gives no indication of charging unless you turn the camera on. Other than that its fine for charging one battery at a time, but realistically considering the battery life you need a twin battery charger, just like you do with other cameras.

Despite the issues, the camera is ridiculously addictive and now that I've got it I'm more excited that I was when I preordered. I'm used to buying extra batteries, SD cards. It's a fact of life so you can't get too annoyed about it. Charging could have been better thought out but I'll be getting an extra charger anyway.

So many more creative possibilities with this thing I'm looking forward to playing with it more!

Raw isn't everything and even at NAB I'm sure they said it wouldn't have raw on release.
From what I've heard battery life is about 45min-1hr which is about what BMD said.
1 out of how many? until we know figures 1 faulty unit doesn't mean Jack.
Extreme crop factor? perhaps compared to DSLR, that is no concern to me as I don't shoot on DSLR.
what? there's an a.c. charger included...

seems like you've been believing the exaggerations of some customers who expected more than promised.

Well, going back over all the reviews and interviews from NAB, everything I see said that raw wasn't implemented yet, but that it would be by the time the camera was ready to ship.

Cheesycam's review of the camera last week said they were getting about 20 min off of the battery.
The battery is cheap, so I'm ok with getting multiple, but it is a valid concern he's pointing out.

As far as crop factor, though it has been known since day one, the crop factor is extreme, compared to both DSLR's as well as m43 cams. A typical m43 camera has a 2x crop compared to a full frame camera- my gh2 has a 1.86 crop factor. So when I put my 14mm Panny lens on it, it's equivalent to about a 26mm lens on a full frame cam. On the pocket cam, the crop factor is 2.88, so my 14mm lens would be equivalent to 40mm on a full frame camera.
It will be nearly impossible to get any kind of wide angle shot on the pocket cam.
Well, we can go anamorphic I guess.

What we've learned:
• no Raw, and no ETA for Raw
• horrendous battery life
• at least one camera so far (Cheesycam's) had faulty/noisy internal audio
• we've seen real life examples and comparisons of the extreme crop factor
• no included battery charger, etc

Is anyone feeling less excited about it now?

Nope.

Though, I'm in no hurry to get one while working with BMCC MFT.

1. ProResHQ is more than adequate for 80% of what I shoot. When RAW comes around, hurray.
2. I use an external battery solution.
3. It was one reported issue. It will be fixed by.Event then, I use Dual system recording.
4. I absolutely ADORE the "s16mm" sensor size.
5. See #2

What crop factor. It's a 16mm not a 5D.

As far as crop factor, though it has been known since day one, the crop factor is extreme, compared to both DSLR's as well as m43 cams. A typical m43 camera has a 2x crop compared to a full frame camera- my gh2 has a 1.86 crop factor. So when I put my 14mm Panny lens on it, it's equivalent to about a 26mm lens on a full frame cam. On the pocket cam, the crop factor is 2.88, so my 14mm lens would be equivalent to 40mm on a full frame camera.
It will be nearly impossible to get any kind of wide angle shot on the pocket cam.
Well, we can go anamorphic I guess.

-No one talked about "crop factor" in cinematography until the DSLR revolution happened. It's just a reference number to explain sensor size variance among the DSLRs in a photography context. Unfortunately, its now become a reference number that tends to be some magical number for a lot of people that makes or breaks a decision to buy a camera. What? Why?

-Even if you're inclined to use "crop factor" as an argumentative point, Using 135 "Full Frame" as your reference is just silly. NO ONE shot in 135 FF in cinematography, or of a comparable size, before the 5D. (Minus the little bit of IMAX, 65mm, and to some extent paramount's vista vision., which were for all purposes mostly special purpose capture) Using Crop Factor relative to S35mm makes a whole lot more sense.

-No. Just no. The benefit of different image capture mediums is that equipment (glass included) can be engineered to perform optimally for that specified format. S16mm or "S16 Size" included. You can get S16 glass at 6-8mm. Or the Sigma 8-16? The Tokina 11-16? Speedbooster? That's just being lazy.

-No one talked about "crop factor" in cinematography until the DSLR revolution happened. It's just a reference number. Unfortunately a reference number that tends to be some magical number for a lot of people that makes or breaks a camera. What?

-Even if you're inclined to use "crop factor" as an argumentative point, Using 135 "Full Frame" as a reference is just silly. NO ONE shot in 135 FF in cinematography before the 5D. (Minus the little bit of IMAX, 65mm, and to some extent paramount's vista vision., which were for all purposes mostly special purpose capture) Using Crop Factor relative to S35mm makes a whole lot more sense.

-No. Just no. The benefit of different image capture mediums is that equipment (glass included) can be engineered to perform optimally for that specified format. S16mm or "S16 Size" included. You can get S16 glass at 6-8mm. Or the Sigma 8-16? The Tokina 11-16? Speedbooster? That's just being lazy.

Thank you for explaining it better than me. From the original ef mount the whole crop factor has been blown out of proportion. The other thing is most of the people talking about this stuff don't seem to realise the huge amount of s16 glass that has just become available to them to use. Get a cmount adaptor and see the range of incredible glass available to buy. Look for Wollenshak, bolex etc

-Even if you're inclined to use "crop factor" as an argumentative point, Using 135 "Full Frame" as a reference is just silly. NO ONE shot in 135 FF in cinematography before the 5D. (Minus the little bit of IMAX, 65mm, and to some extent paramount's vista vision., which were for all purposes mostly special purpose capture) Using Crop Factor relative to S35mm makes a whole lot more sense.

Ok, you have a point, I forgot about super16mm glass.
Damnit, send me my camera already so I can stop thinking about all this sh*t!

I don't understand where the S16mm, and other smaller format capture medium, hate came from. Do people just see a smaller number and just hate on it? Are people that insecure?

It's just a different format! That's it! I absolutely ADORE material shot on S16mm. People going to tell me a film is less worthy cause the dimensions of the film frames are smaller? Give me a break.

TV shows like "The Wire" and "The Shield" and the insanely popular "The Walking Dead" is all Super16 film. All of Darren Aronofsky's work, in S16mm. Oscar winner "The Hurt Locker" all S16mm. S16mm was the gold standard for the BBC for a long time.

I don't get it. Literally, where did the hate come from?

And Briwil, I'm not aiming anything negative towards you, I'm just confused how certain mindset's became so prevalent. People are making issues out of things, that were not issues before. It's confusing.

And Briwil, I'm not aiming anything negative towards you, I'm just confused how certain mindset's became so prevalent. People are making issues out of things, that were not issues before. It's confusing.

Well, it is an issue when I'm thinking that my lenses will be somewhat crippled when I put them on this camera, but as you pointed out (which I'd forgotten) I do have other options with super16 glass, so you have an excellent point.

As far as something like a report of 20 minutes of battery life, that's a legitimate concern, I don't think I'm dwelling on the negative if we point out something negative about an otherwise promising little camera.

I don't understand where the S16mm, and other smaller format capture medium, hate came from. Do people just see a smaller number and just hate on it? Are people that insecure?

It's just a different format! That's it! I absolutely ADORE material shot on S16mm. People going to tell me a film is less worthy cause the dimensions of the film frames are smaller? Give me a break.

TV shows like "The Wire" and "The Shield" and the insanely popular "The Walking Dead" is all Super16 film. All of Darren Aronofsky's work, in S16mm. Oscar winner "The Hurt Locker" all S16mm. S16mm was the gold standard for the BBC for a long time.

I don't get it. Literally, where did the hate come from?

It's mind blowing to me as well. You shoot to the strengths of the tools you use. First and foremost does it create a great image. The answer is yes. You then test the camera and learn it's nuances.

Whilst the DSLR revolution was fantastic for getting people to learn the technicalities of actual photography it created a new mind set.

And Briwil, I'm not aiming anything negative towards you, I'm just confused how certain mindset's became so prevalent. People are making issues out of things, that were not issues before. It's confusing.

Well, it is an issue when I'm thinking that my lenses will be somewhat crippled when I put them on this camera, but as you pointed out (which I'd forgotten) I do have other options with super16 glass, so you have an excellent point.

As far as something like a report of 20 minutes of battery life, that's a legitimate concern, I don't think I'm dwelling on the negative if we point out something negative about an otherwise promising little camera.

Instead of thinking of them as crippled think of them as creating a new look for you to add to your arsenal. Your camera will create a full hd image regardless of the lens crop. It will just react more like 16mm.

As for battery life. I'm waiting for a full spec report on it from a few sources. If it's just 20 minutes battery life all in then yes it is a bit of a hiccup but one that can be worked around and can be improved upon. If it's 20 minutes recording life then we'll see. It can also depend upon the battery and the age.

I don't see any hating on the s16 format here at all- the "crop factor" concerns are relative to those of us using DSLR or mirrorless lens and how different (worse) they might be on this camera. Or even my collection of FD lens for that matter. If Mikaton ever releases their m43 lens turbo, I'll feel a little better.

Mostly, any negative mindset I have is because I feel like I've been tricked by Blackmagic, tricked into thinking I'd have this camera at the end of July, and now it seems like it could be more like the end of the year, and it just seems like they are continually lying to us or withholding information about why it's taking so long to get us all our product.

Very stupid in the big picture, but pisses me off all the same, because I could cancel this order but I really do want it.

Not sure where you get 'end of the year' from, the Pocket camera has already started shipping. The initial quantity was small, but as BM have stated they are shipping out more every day.

When you come from film, where you have to stop everything for quite a while to change a film magazine, that lasts 10 minutes, dropping in a new battery every 20 minutes or so (which takes only seconds) doesn't look so bad. And while at it, you can change the SD card as well.

It's an hobbyists luxury problem IMHO, nothing a professional production would even think about.

When you come from film, where you have to stop everything for quite a while to change a film magazine, that lasts 10 minutes, dropping in a new battery every 20 minutes or so (which takes only seconds) doesn't look so bad. And while at it, you can change the SD card as well.

It's an hobbyists luxury problem IMHO, nothing a professional production would even think about.

Way to put it into perspective.

The battery life is listed on the tech specs link for the camera.
http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/product ... /techspecs

Indeed, the whole thing with complaining about crop factor is silly. It's like buying a small car and then complaining about the size. BMDPCC is actually a tad bigger format than S16 (12.48x7.02 mm vs 11.9 x 6.7 mm) . There are plenty excellent lenses both from the film world and m43 photography sector. Eg 7-14 from Panasonic and Olympus on BMDPCC remain almost too wide for even the most bizzarre film shots. Their equivalent on S35 would be 15-30mm. How many times is a 15 mm lens used in a typical 3-pert film production?? 32mm is considered the spherical "normal" on S35. The 12mm/f2 Zuiko is like 25mm on S35. The widest many DoP's would ever use. And the Zuiko is fantastic.

Indeed, the whole thing with complaining about crop factor is silly. It's like buying a small car and then complaining about the size. BMDPCC is actually a tad bigger format than S16 (12.48x7.02 mm vs 11.9 x 6.7 mm) . There are plenty excellent lenses both from the film world and m43 photography sector. Eg 7-14 on S16 from Panasonic and Olympus remain almost too wide for even the most bizzarre film shots. Their equivalent on S35 would be 15-30mm. How many times is a 15 mm lens used in a typical film?? 32mm is considered the spherical "normal" on S35.

I don't get it either. I have a nice collection of 16mm cine lenses that I've been using on my GH2. A $10 adapter is all that was needed and I really love the personality of the vintage glass. There is vignetting but I just push it out in post. It's an easy fix.

Great story always pushes through any "crop factor".

The battery life is listed on the tech specs link for the camera.
http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/product ... /techspecs

So batteries are meant to last an hour recording. Perfect. More than enough.

I don't get it either. I have a nice collection of 16mm cine lenses that I've been using on my GH2. A $10 adapter is all that was needed and I really love the personality of the vintage glass. There is vignetting but I just push it out in post. It's an easy fix.

Great story always pushes through any "crop factor".

Similarly, I'll take dynamic range, color space and quality encoding over super shallow DOF. Every. Time.

I don't get it either. I have a nice collection of 16mm cine lenses that I've been using on my GH2. A $10 adapter is all that was needed and I really love the personality of the vintage glass. There is vignetting but I just push it out in post. It's an easy fix.

Great story always pushes through any "crop factor".

Similarly, I'll take dynamic range, color space and quality encoding over super shallow DOF. Every. Time.

And I would take global shutter over some of that range.

I agree. S16 is a great format. I started out with a Bolex, 16mm. Frank nailed it, when you compare digital to film, you only got 10-min on a roll (or 30min max, with an extended mag), you had to check film gate after every take to ck for dust, etc. and reload batteries. So now, reload a SD card or SSD (very quick compared to reloading a film cam), and stick in a new battery. For longer time shoots, you can always use an ext. battery. I had to do this with my XL2 running a pro B&W viewfinder, no big deal.

As for lens selection, the Academy 16x9 crop of S16 lists 8.3-12mm as "wide", 17mm normal, 29-46 Short Tele, 62-103 Mid Tele. So a 12mm SLR Magic, a great lens for the PPC, gives same view as a 25mm on a 4/3rds, 35mm on Super 35 (normal lens) and 50mm on Still 135 camera. Learn to use this reference and think of lens focal length from the perspective of the format you are Using. Forget crop factors--think like a DoP. I went from 16mm to pro video (standard was a 2/3rds sensor), I did not go back and forth trying to figure out a focal length based on 135mm film. In 2/3rds, 13.3mm was normal "50mm/35mm/30mm... going down in format from 135 standard" view (this was picked as it offers similar perspective to human vision looking ahead at a scene). If you want a long tele shot, work from this "normal focal length" point, go to longer focal,length to give the look you want. Same goes for wide angle. Very few shots call for something wider than 7 or 8mm in S16 (which would be 20/24mm in 135)

A 8mm Rininon or 8mm S16 lens is fairly wide for most situations. I am starting with a basic kit 12mm, 17mm, 25mm, and 45mm. This should cover most situations. I also have two zooms, 11-16 Tokina (very big) and Leica 12-50mm 4/3rd zoom (a little smaller/lighter, but still "big" 72mm front ring.

Learn to think "inside" the box you are using, not "outside"

Fair enough on the global shutter, though I have to say I'm very impressed with the shaky footage I've seen from the Pocket Cam so far, I was expecting it to be much more jello-y and even in some of the handheld footage it's hardly present. Would still definitely love a truly global shutter though.

The battery life is listed on the tech specs link for the camera.
http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/product ... /techspecs

So batteries are meant to last an hour recording. Perfect. More than enough.

They're meant to. They don't. 40 minutes is about what to expect.

The battery life is listed on the tech specs link for the camera.
http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/product ... /techspecs

So batteries are meant to last an hour recording. Perfect. More than enough.

They're meant to. They don't. 40 minutes is about what to expect.

Batteries are variable on this camera, like they are on the BMCC because it has an active cooling system. (just like an Alexa)

This means it takes POWER to cool the sensor.

The smaller body size and no fan means the active cooling system also has to work harder to keep the sensor temperature down. As the camera gets hotter, the cooling system uses even more power to maintain it's ideal temperature.

The bigger brother the BMCC doesn't seem to fluctuate as much because it has a larger heat radiator (the body itself) and a fan.

What you will see with this camera is a more "variable" battery life that depends a little on how the camera is being used.

@ slvs and @magicandmayhem, this is a real names forum.

jb

@ slvs and @magicandmayhem, this is a real names forum.

jb

Edited my signature.

@ slvs and @magicandmayhem, this is a real names forum.

jb

Edited my signature.

Yes.

Easy to be civil isn't it ?

jb

@ slvs and @magicandmayhem, this is a real names forum.

jb

Edited my signature.

Yes.

Easy to be civil isn't it ?

jb

It is!

On an unrelated note, do you remember approximately how much battery life you lost per battery used? I have 4 spare EN-EL20s at the moment (5 when my bmpcc arrives) and I was hoping these would last for about 3-4 hours from the 5 of them, is that realistic or should I get more batteries?

It is!

On an unrelated note, do you remember approximately how much battery life you lost per battery used? I have 4 spare EN-EL20s at the moment (5 when my bmpcc arrives) and I was hoping these would last for about 3-4 hours from the 5 of them, is that realistic or should I get more batteries?

I get on average, about 30-40 mins from my aftermarket batteries. I think you'd need more if you want it to be on for all that time. The camera does boot up quickly though. It won't be long before someone works out how to rip the battery door of and run an external battery though there or though the ext power connector.

It's also (for me) annoying to have to change batteries by fiddling with the little battery door, and on some tripods it might means you have to take the camera off. One of the downsides of an interchangeable internal battery.

jb

As for lens selection, the Academy 16x9 crop of S16 lists 8.3-12mm as "wide", 17mm normal, 29-46 Short Tele, 62-103 Mid Tele. So a 12mm SLR Magic, a great lens for the PPC, gives same view as a 25mm on a 4/3rds, 35mm on Super 35 (normal lens) and 50mm on Still 135 camera. Learn to use this reference and think of lens focal length from the perspective of the format you are Using. Forget crop factors--think like a DoP. I went from 16mm to pro video (standard was a 2/3rds sensor), I did not go back and forth trying to figure out a focal length based on 135mm film. In 2/3rds, 13.3mm was normal "50mm/35mm/30mm... going down in format from 135 standard" view (this was picked as it offers similar perspective to human vision looking ahead at a scene). If you want a long tele shot, work from this "normal focal length" point, go to longer focal,length to give the look you want. Same goes for wide angle. Very few shots call for something wider than 7 or 8mm in S16 (which would be 20/24mm in 135)

A 8mm Rininon or 8mm S16 lens is fairly wide for most situations. I am starting with a basic kit 12mm, 17mm, 25mm, and 45mm. This should cover most situations. I also have two zooms, 11-16 Tokina (very big) and Leica 12-50mm 4/3rd zoom (a little smaller/lighter, but still "big" 72mm front ring.

Learn to think "inside" the box you are using, not "outside"

Denny, thanks very much for this information. I have been wanting exactly this summary of the whole crop factor discussion.

Thanks for that John. Pretty cold here at the moment but be interesting to see what kind of life our northern hemisphere friends get.

Also slvs I charged all my batteries a couple of days ago (4 knockoffs, one BMD) and noticed last night all those I hadn't used were still full. So seem to hold charge for now but I'm curious how the knockoffs will go over time.

I'm no less excited though I have no plans to get one until they are more readily available. Hopefully someone makes a decent and affordable battery grip solution by then. My usage and style of filming tend to be more on the tele side(event filming, handheld with an OS zoom lens), so not having super wide angles isn't a deal breaker. For me RAW will probably already be on the cam by the time I own it, but I am more excited about prores for my workflow. I just wonder if I can hold off getting one long enough to wait until a 60p version is released....

Thanks very much jb for the clarification on the cooling. Your comments are consistently the highest-value posts I see on this forum.

I have to say I am impressed that such a dinky camera can use active cooling to boost DR and low light imaging. Who else would even attempt such a thing? I want to see the RAW, though. That should really bring this baby in, even with slight compression.

Where I see this camera really coming into its own is for cases like on a quad copter or plane, or with handheld and active stabilization (which is really coming on strong right now). It helps a lot to reduce the weight (of camera and glass) in those cases.

After playing with the pocket cam at the L.A. event and realizing how hard it would be to add meta data without a touch screen I canceled my pre order and bought the EF bmcc and luckily that night grant petty dropped the price $1000 bucks and I got the difference refunded. I've since realized I never should have ordered the pocket cam since when I shoot live events I need more than 37 minutes of continuous record time. Also it's nice to have raw now and davinci full version. Maybe I'll eventually get a pocket cam as a b cam.

Also slvs I charged all my batteries a couple of days ago (4 knockoffs, one BMD) and noticed last night all those I hadn't used were still full. So seem to hold charge for now but I'm curious how the knockoffs will go over time.

What knockoffs do you have? I have Wasabis, I use their 5D and GoPro batteries and have been very impressed by their performance with those cameras, where they easily outperform the ON-brand bricks, I'm hoping their EN-EL20's are on the same level.

The Wasabi EN-EL20s are 1200 mAh as compared to BMD and Nikon's 1020 mAh.

We've all been pretty excited about this camera based on the specs and hype, but now that a few are trickling out to people for reviews, we're getting a more clear picture.

What we've learned:
• no Raw, and no ETA for Raw
• horrendous battery life
• at least one camera so far (Cheesycam's) had faulty/noisy internal audio
• we've seen real life examples and comparisons of the extreme crop factor
• no included battery charger, etc

Is anyone feeling less excited about it now? Hopefully we'll see more "real user" footage soon, and hopefully it looks amazing.

you also forgot to mention that:

• Cannot format card with the camera
• Cannot delete clips on the card in the camera
• No audio meter
• Need high end SD card and even then on a 64G you can only record max 50min on Pro Res (maybe 35 min Raw when it comes out)
• No battery charge indicator on the camera when charging
• Heating issues have been reported in earlier posts

is anyone feeling less excited about it now? Yes (me and you both)
will they cancel their orders ? some may some don't care

What knockoffs do you have? I have Wasabis, I use their 5D and GoPro batteries and have been very impressed by their performance with those cameras, where they easily outperform the ON-brand bricks, I'm hoping their EN-EL20's are on the same level.

The Wasabi EN-EL20s are 1200 mAh as compared to BMD and Nikon's 1020 mAh.

Mine are 'DSTE', 1400mAh. Got 4 for $30 on ebay. Figured worth a punt, and so far they've been as good as the BMD one.

I ordered 3x 1850 mah batteries for the Pocket! Check on ebay, these should give a bit more stamina.

so far they've been as good as the BMD one.

Do the Pocket last as advertised (~1 hour)?

• Need high end SD card and even then on a 64G you can only record max 50min on Pro Res (maybe 35 min Raw when it comes out)
• No battery charge indicator on the camera when charging
• Heating issues have been reported in earlier posts

is anyone feeling less excited about it now? Yes (me and you both)
will they cancel their orders ? some may some don't care

BMD are pushing the limits of SD cards, can't blame them for the high end SD requirement. It's necessary for ProRes and raw. Want a camera that takes cheap SDs? Buy something that records AVCHD.

No battery charge indicator is not a deal breaker, and you'll want an external battery charger anyway.

You've read too much into earlier posts to see 'heating issues'. JB rightly points out that batteries discharge differently at different temps. Could be the camera, or the environment. Camera gets no warmer than my 7D when recording.

so far they've been as good as the BMD one.

Do the Pocket last as advertised (~1 hour)?

Not for me, although I'm starting to think they last longer if you don't power cycle. Today I seemed to get close to an hour by leaving the camera on and recording as needed.

Battery indicator is still unreliable though. Mine went from 43% to 23% but still lasted about 50 mins or so. So close just by leaving it on.

I ordered 3x 1850 mah batteries for the Pocket! Check on ebay, these should give a bit more stamina.

Link? Look forward to hearing how they go!

Link? Look forward to hearing how they go!

Actually 1800 may.. Hope I have a camera soon to try them out!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251238011638? ... 1423.l2649

Link? Look forward to hearing how they go!

Actually 1800 mah. Hope I have a camera soon to try them out!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251238011638? ... 1423.l2649

That eBay deal looks sweet! 1800mAH is 80% bigger than the Nikon original. I already have 4 genuine Nikon batteries but will probably buy some of these as well. Can you post an update once you get a chance to test them in your BMPCC?

Batteries are variable on this camera, like they are on the BMCC because it has an active cooling system. (just like an Alexa)

This means it takes POWER to cool the sensor.

The smaller body size and no fan means the active cooling system also has to work harder to keep the sensor temperature down. As the camera gets hotter, the cooling system uses even more power to maintain it's ideal temperature.

The bigger brother the BMCC doesn't seem to fluctuate as much because it has a larger heat radiator (the body itself) and a fan.

What you will see with this camera is a more "variable" battery life that depends a little on how the camera is being used.

@ slvs and @magicandmayhem, this is a real names forum.

jb

Out of curiosity, what is the cooling system in the pocket like? I would have imagined passive at that size.