Before I bought this camera, I researched the pro's and con's of this camera, so there were no surprises when I turned it on for the first time. Keep in mind that with firmware updates, the camera is becoming a much better tool.
Pro's:
-Image quality: WOW! The images coming out of this camera are incredible. The detail is lovely.
-Codec: 95% I shoot in raw DNG which is leaps and bounds better than h264. The amount of information in the ProRes HQ codec is fantastic, but raw has that extra bit of magic in it (this is my experience). It allows for so much more flexibility in post regarding color grading.
**UPDATE** As of July 17, 2014, Blackmagic Design has updated the firmware to allow for more ProRes options: ProRes HQ, ProRes 422, ProRes 422 LT and ProRes 422 Proxy all in 10-bit. So, what does that actually mean? Higher recording times, but more compression (HQ having the least amount of compression and Proxy being the highest compressed format). Don't let the compression scare you because even ProRes Proxy is still superior to H.264. With Proxy, you can record up to about 3 hours and 45 minutes on a 64 GB SD card. Also, I can't stress enough to not skimp on cheaper SD cards. Stay with the recommended cards from BMD!
-Dynamic rage: 13-stops. Enough said.
-Focus peaking/zebras: These are VERY helpful. I set zebras to 100% and ETTR (most of the time) for maximum dynamic range. Focus peaking is also very helpful. The autofocus is pretty lame, so I don't bother with it.
-Form factor: Okay, so most people don't like the form factor, but I love it. You can rig up a small camera to be big, but you can't make a big camera smaller. Get my point? I can put my panny 14-45 OIS, grab some extra batteries and just shoot with that if I am on vacation or walking around town. I can "blend" in with crowds easier as it just looks like I'm holding a point-and-shoot. I can also rig the crap out of it with a follow focus, matte box, EVF, etc if I needed for a production environment.
-Sensor: there is a con to it (explained below). Why is it a "pro," as well? Lenses! There are lots of old lenses out there than can be utilized with this sensor size with the correct adapter. Adapters can be ~$20 all the way up to ~$650.
-Active MFT mount: Using my 14-45 OIS (has physical OIS switch), I can utilize the stabilization if using handheld. With adapters, like the Metabones speedbooster, the lens options are virtually limitless.
The shortcomings (for me); battery life, storage, file sizes, light, camera controls.
-Battery life: I am not the first, and won't be the last to say that battery life on the little EN-EL20 is just sad. Buy some extra batteries for your walk-around-town/minimalist setup--they're cheap. Another option is to purchase an external battery solution. Yes, you can spend lots of money getting some sort of V-Mount setup, or you can buy something like an AnkerPro external battery with the correct adapter, and you'll have power for hours.
-Storage: This camera DEMANDS fast SD cards and lots of storage. Let's remember WHY: 12-Bit Compressed raw DNG or 10-bit ProresHQ 422! These files are HUGE but contain loads of information for color grading. **Reiterating the firmware update here; you can avoid the huge files by recording in ProRes LT or Proxy.** Tip:Go to Blackmagic Design's website for approved SD cards before you start spending money.
-File sizes: As previously mentioned, the file sizes are very large--prores or raw. Make sure you have a FAST hard drive with lots of storage. That being said, make sure your computer has enough horsepower to edit the footage from the BMPCC (especially if using Resolve Lite).
-Light demanding: This is NOT a low-light camera, nor should you expect it to be with the super-16mm sensor size. However, the noise pattern is much more pleasing to the eye than any DSLR.
-Camera controls: I wish I could control the color temp with the navigation buttons instead of having to go through the menu options. ASA is not a huge deal to me as I always stay at 800 (native ISO) and use the aperture and variable ND for exposure.
So, why did I end up buying this camera? Well, I understood the shortcomings, I knew how I would use it, and it fit my budget. This camera fits most situations that I will be shooting. Is it for every situation? NO! There isn't a camera on the market that is best for ALL situations. Again, get the camera that fits you, your objectives, your aptitude for editing, and your budget. This camera fit the bill for me, and I absolutely love it. Hope this helps someone.
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This Item  Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera with Micro Four Thirds Lens Mount |  |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | $999.99 | $2,535.00 | -5% $2,097.99 List: $2,199.99 | $1,798.00 | $798.00 | $1,995.00 |
| Delivery | — | Get it as soon as Tuesday, May 14 | Get it as soon as Wednesday, May 15 | Get it as soon as Wednesday, May 15 | Get it as soon as Tuesday, May 14 | Get it May 16 - 21 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
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| Picture quality | ||||||
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| Auto focus | ||||||
| Sold By | Ace Photo | Scharf Industries LLC | Amazon.com | Amazon.com | Amazon.com | AVLGEAR |
| display type | LCD | — | LCD | LCD | LCD | — |
| display size | 3.5 inches | 5 inches | 3 inches | 3 inches | 3 inches | 5 inches |
| lens type | Zoom | Zoom | Wide Angle | Zoom | zoom | No Lens Included - Body Only |
| shooting modes | — | — | Bulb Mode, Time Mode,Aperture Priority, Manual, Program, Shutter Priority | — | Auto, scene, and P, S, A, and M | Auto, Manual |
| connectivity tech | USB | HDMI | HDMI, USB | HDMI, Wi-Fi, USB, NFC | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB | Bluetooth |
| video resolution | 1080p | 6K | 2160p | 2160p, 1080p | 4320p | 2160p |
| optical zoom | 10 multiplier x | 2 multiplier x | 0 multiplier x | 3 multiplier x | 1 multiplier x | 3 multiplier x |
Reviews with images
Great Image, requires lots of gear and patience.
The Pocket Cinema Camera from Black Magic Design (BMPCC) is a versatile, powerful camera at its $995 price tag. It offers incredible cinematic dynamic range in the image quality and records in high quality file formats, but it is not for the average consumer looking for a walking around video camera. The BMPCC comes with a bunch of quirks if you want to get the most out of using it. In this Review I want to talk about what works and what doesn’t, pros and cons of the camera. And talk about my experience using it for the last year and a half and the gear needed to make this camera a viable production assetPros:Image Quality: The image quality of this camera is great. Whatever lens you use determine this, of course. This camera is one of the only cameras for under $1000 that will let you shoot raw uncompressed video, as well as the low compression 10-bit ProRes video codec. The 16mm Image sensor yields a sharp picture with excellent 4:2:2 Color sampling, giving a video file with much more visual information than a DSLR Camera that shoots video, or a smart phone. For example, traditional 8-bit video that you get from most DSLRs and Mirrorless Camera Systems has only 16,777,216 possible colors that can make up the video, whereas 10-bit color sampling gives you a video file made up of over one billion colors. This makes the files from the BMPCC more viable for intensive post production work such as color grading and video compositing.File formats: Raw CinemaDNG, ProRes HQ, ProRes 422 LT, ProRes ProxyPrice: At $995 its one of the cheapest available cameras that records that high quality of video files.Adaptability: This camera supports numerous accessories, and lets you customize your camera kit around it. There are adapters for every brand of lens you can imagine. Due to the size of the cameras sensor people have been started to adapt vintage 16mm film camera lenses to the BMPCC which produce a wonderful vintage cinematic character and are often very cheap to buy used. There are also many camera cages and mounting systems that let you add microphones and lights, or other accessories. It just takes some time and research to find the gear that best suits your needs as a filmmaker.Size: This camera is pretty tiny, there are bigger cell phones available these days. This can be both a pro and a con. Since you can take it just about anywhere if you have a small wide angle lens you could actually carry this around in your pocket as per the name. This also means you need a lot of accessories to make it usable as a cinema rig or a documentary filming unit.Cons:This camera while praise worthy has many setbacks. Many of the issues users had with it's initial release were software glitches and were fixed with firmware upgrades which also brought RAW video capability and additional menus and functionality. Other than that, it requires a lot of additional hardware and batteries to make it a viable production camera.Power: It has the worst battery life of any camera I have ever used. You will need to buy 5 to 10 extra batteries if you intend to be shooting without an external power solution such as a battery pack or the power cable.Crop Factor: Because the image sensor is so small compared to a full frame or APSC sensor, the BMPCC has 2.8X crop factor. Meaning the focal length of whatever lens, you use gets magnified 2.8x. A 50mm becomes a 140mm lens. This makes it extremely hard to get wide angle shotsAdaptability: While it is nice that the Pocket Camera supports a lot of accessories, I think it’s not always clear to people who want to buy this camera that you need to buy a lot of accessories to make it a usable filming unit. Expect to spend at least several hundred dollars after buying the body of the camera to get the basics of what you need.Frame Rates: The Pocket Camera offers the standard film frame rates, 24, 25, 30. But it would be nice if it offered 60fps, as a lot of newer competitors in this price range have.Low Light: The BMPCC is not great in low light. It has nice look under street lights with a fast lens at night, but other than that the maximum ISO is 1600 and that can get very noisy unless your scene is well lit.Memory Cards: The BMPCC requires specific Memory cards with fast write speeds otherwise it is prone to dropping frames. Black Magic has a list of recommended cards on their website. I Personally use the SanDisk Pro Extreme 95Mbps and have never had dropped frames even with Raw recording.Summary: The Pocket Cinema camera by Black Magic Design is affordable, produces great quality images. However, it eats batteries and requires lots of other gear to make more versatile. It is a video camera not necessarily for the average consumer looking for something to film his cats, but more intended for hobbyist to professional filmmakers and videographers looking to build a kit around a camera with a certain image quality.
Top reviews from other countries
David Tembleque
Una maravilla pero no para cualquiera.
Reviewed in Spain on February 7, 2015sabatayn76
Alles, was Sie über die BMPCC wissen müssen
Reviewed in Germany on May 1, 2014