TOOLZ: Black Magic Cinema Drops 2 New Cameras at NAB – HOT!!!

I am saddened that for yet another year, I’m unable to attend the annual NAB Show in Vegas.  It truly is a production guy/gals ultimate toystore, tech school and playground.  (If you’ve never been, think of the NAB Show as the B&H Superstore in NYC x 1000… Yes, it’s that BIG of a show.)  Nevertheless, the news of hot new cameras, software and advances in video technology keep pouring out.  Case in point, this weeks announcement from Black Magic Design of 2 exciting new entries in the Black Magic Cinema camera line.

The original Black Magic Cinema Camera which I wrote about a few times on this blog made a big splash with it’s offering of affordable 2.5K in a relatively tiny camera.  I personally crossed the the very first BMCC off my own camera purchase list, because it just had too many awkward aspects in my opinion, even for the price.

Specifically it has:

• No removable battery (so when battery ends, so does shooting)
• No professional XLR audio connectors (works w/ XLR mics with an adapter, but still offers no phantom power)
• No built in ND filter (So you need a still mattebox or screw on ND filters)

…Of course most of these issues can be overcome with some workarounds and third party accessories, but it was all just a few too many hoops to jump through – unless I really needed cheap 2.5K in a small form factor, which I don’t.

But just like the very first RED camera back in 2007 or so, that original BMCC camera was just the first in the line, with the promise of improvements in features, workflow and ease of use in the future.  Well the future of the Black Magic Cinema camera line is here and now with some design improvements and available for pre-order right now if you want to be the first on your block to cop one.

These cameras were literally just announced this week, so not much info or test footage available yet, but here’s what is known:

Black Magic Cinema 4K Production Camera

Price: $3995.00

Effective Sensor Size
21.12mm x 11.88mm (Super 35).

Shooting Resolutions
3840 x 2160, 1920×1080.

Frame Rates
3840 x 2160: p23.98, p24, p25, p29.97, p30,
1920 x 1080: p23.98, p24, p25, p29.97, p30, i50, i59.94.

Dynamic Range
12 stops.

Lens Mount
EF and ZE mount compatible with electronic iris control.

Screen Dimensions
5″ and 800 x 480 resolution.

Microphone
Integrated mono microphone.

SDI Video Output
1 x 6G-SDI 10-bit 4:2:2 with choice of Film or Video Dynamic Range.

Analog Audio Input
2 x 1/4” jacks for professional balanced analog audio, switchable between mic and line levels.

Computer Interface
Thunderbolt port for capture of HD video and audio. USB 2.0 mini B port for software updates and configuration.

Storage
Removable 2.5” SSD (Solid State Drive).
880 Mbps using Apple ProRes 422 (HQ).

Compressed Recording Formats
Apple ProRes 422 (HQ) at 3840 x 2160 and 1920 x 1080, visually lossless compressed CinemaDNG RAW at
3840 x 2160 and 1920 x 1080 with either Film

PRE-ORDER The BMCC 4K Production Camera HERE.

Black Magic Cinema Pocket Camera

Price: $995.00

Effective Sensor Size
12.48mm x 7.02mm

Shooting Resolutions
Lossless CinemaDNG RAW and Apple ProRes 422 (HQ) at 1920 x 1080

Frame Rates
23.98p, 24p, 25p, 29.97p, 30p

Dynamic Range
13 stops

Focus
Focus button turns on peaking.

Iris Control
Iris button automatically adjusts the lens iris settings so no pixel is clipped in film mode. Scene average auto exposure in video mode.

Lens Mount
Active MFT

Screen Dimensions
3.5″ and 800 x 480 resolution.

Microphone
Integrated stereo microphone.

Mounting Options
1 x 1/4″-20 UNC thread mounting point on top of camera. 1 x 1/4″-20 UNC thread tripod mount.

Storage
Removable SDXC, SDHC cards.
220 Mbps using Apple ProRes 422 (HQ)

HDMI Video Output
1 x Micro HDMI Type D output.

Analog Audio Input
1 x 3.5mm stereo audio.

Software Included
DaVinci Resolve Lite grading software 

Software Included
DaVinci Resolve grading software including Resolve USB dongle for Mac OS X and Windows. Blackmagic Media Express software. DiskSpeed Test.

PRE-ORDER The BMCC Pocket Camera HERE.

Personally, I’m still don’t have much need for a 4K camera – of any type – but that little pocket joint could really come in handy for the many occasions when I “borrow” locations  (I never steal them. – I always give them back.) or just need to pop off some quick and easy B-Roll shots on the go.

I’ll keep y’all post as more news and footage becomes available, in the meantime here’s a little video intro from the NAB Show floor. Hopefully, I’ll catch y’all there next year.  Peace…

4K Blackmagic Production Camera at NAB 2013 from NEXI Internet Television on Vimeo.