Blackmagic adds studio cameras to its live production suite, makes its switchers 4K

Blackmagic Design has long been known as a post-production hardware vendor, starting with its DeckLink cards in 2002. In 2010, the company moved into live video production when it acquired switcher manufacturer Echolab's assets out of bankruptcy. Together with its Videohub routers and video & audio monitoring hardware, Blackmagic built a fairly complete line of live production products. Then, in 2012, Blackmagic introduced its first camera, the Blackmagic Cinema Camera (BMCC). Many people wondered if the Cinema Camera could be used for live production since it has an HD-SDI output, but Blackmagic cautioned against using it that way. The BMCC's color output is so flat that it can't really be used without color correction, and Blackmagic's subsequent camera models launched prior to this year aren't much better suited for live use.

However, at NAB earlier this week, Blackmagic introduced a line of cameras designed specifically for live production, the Studio Camera HD and Studio Camera 4K (which outputs video in Ultra HD and HD.) The Studio Cameras are designed around 10" LCDs that do double duty as viewfinders and menu displays. The company claims that the viewfinders are the largest offered by any manufacturer. Unlike the Cinema Camera and Production Camera, the Studio Camera's display isn't touch-sensitive; a row of buttons below the display is used for user inputs. The company claims that by eliminating the touch-sensitive layer, the Studio Camera's display is brighter.

On the back of the display, there's a wedge that contains all of the camera's connectors, the lens mount (active Micro Four Thirds), imager and most of the camera's electronics. The result is a very strange looking camera, but one with significantly better features than previous Blackmagic models. For example, the company's previous cameras have become known for their poor battery life, but Blackmagic says that the battery in the Studio Camera will last for four hours, and a standard four-pin power connector allows users to connect external batteries for more runtime, or AC power for continuous operation. The single minijack or dual 1/4" jacks used for audio input in the previous cameras have been replaced with dual XLR connectors with phantom power.

The Studio Cameras also have several new features:

• A LANC interface for connecting a remote iris, focus and zoom control (if your lens is compatible)
• Dual jacks for connecting an aviation headset for intercom use; Blackmagic claims that aviation headsets are much less expensive than video production headsets with comparable features
• A bidirectional optical fiber connector that's compatible with the ATEM Studio Converter and provides the same functionality as the $595 ATEM Camera Converter. This enables the Studio Camera to send and receive HD or 4K video, stereo audio, talkback/intercom and tally lights over cable runs as long as 28 miles
• A software-based Remote Camera Control that works with any ATEM Production Studio. All of the settings on the camera can be monitored and controlled with this software. In addition, a full copy of DaVinci Resolve's primary color corrector is included for live color balancing

You may be thinking, "These Studio Cameras are better than Blackmagic's first-generation models in almost every way, and they're the same price, so why would anyone buy the earlier models?" One big reason is that the Studio Cameras have no storage. No SSD, no CFast, no SDXC, nothing. You can, of course, add an external recorder such as Blackmagic's HyperDeck Shuttle, and you've got other options using the Studio Cameras' SDI connections. However, an external recorder adds to the size, weight and cost of the cameras.

The Studio Camera HD is shipping now and is priced at $1,995 (U.S.), while the Studio Camera 4K is expected to ship in June and is priced at $2,995. Given Blackmagic's track record with cameras, don't bet your life on that June ship date, and expect some problems with the cameras that are shipped for the first several months.

Blackmagic has also made a number of changes to its ATEM line of switchers (all of which are shipping):

• The original HD-only models of the ATEM 1 M/E and 2 M/E have been discontinued; the sole HD-only switcher that remains in the product line is the $995 ATEM Television Studio, which is primarily intended as a "personal" switcher for webcasts and small productions
• The new ATEM 1 M/E Production Studio and 2 M/E Production Studio support 4K and HD on all inputs and outputs (except the monitor outputs, which are HD only)
• Last year's ATEM Production Studio 4K, which has similar functionality to the ATEM Television Studio except it supports 4K, remains in the product line at $1,695
• The ATEM 1 M/E Production Studio 4K is priced at $2,495, and the ATEM 2 M/E Production Studio 4K is priced at $3,995, $1,000 less than last year's model

With the Studio Cameras and its 4K switcher line, Blackmagic now has just about everything needed to build a live production facility.

Blackmagic Design adds Micro Four-Thirds mount option to its Blackmagic Cinema Camera

At the IBC conference in Amsterdam, Blackmagic Design announced the Blackmagic Cinema Camera MFT with a Micro Four-Thirds lens mount. Unlike the EF mount in the original model that supports lenses with auto-focus and auto-iris, the MFT's lens mount is "passive," meaning that Micro Four-Thirds lenses must be used in manual mode. That's the drawback, but the advantage is that the new model can use PL mount (and other) adapters, opening the camera to a much wider range of lenses. The new MFT model will be priced the same as the original BCC: $2,995 (U.S.). Blackmagic Design will work with customers and dealers who've ordered the original model but would prefer to substitute the MFT model.

The lack of automatic controls may not be all that big a deal: Canon's C300 doesn't support auto-focus or auto-iris, but that doesn't seem to have hurt its sales. In addition, as I've written before, the BCC isn't a "run & gun" camera. The trade-off of automatic controls for support of PL mount adapters will probably be fine for the BCC's target audience.

According to Blackmagic Design, it's slowing down production while it "sorts out" manufacturing and firmware issues related to the new model, which it expects to start delivering in December. If you have an order in for the original BCC and you'd prefer the new MFT model, I'd suggest that you contact your dealer today and let them know.

Blackmagic's Cinema Camera: Not the volkskamera you were looking for

(Updated, September 9, 2012) After several months of delays, Blackmagic Design is starting to get production versions of its Cinema Camera into reviewers' hands. Over the last two weeks, Vincent Laforet, Frank Glencairn and Philip Bloom have tested the BCC "right from the box," and they all have very definite impressions. I strongly suggest that you visit all three cinematographers' blogs to read their complete evaluations and see their footage and stills. Here's a summary of what they found:

Laforet wrote that the dynamic range of the BCC's sensor was almost identical to that of Canon's EOS 1DX, at a much lower price. However, the BCC sensor's size (slightly smaller than Micro Four-Thirds) and EF mount mean that the same lens used on a Canon DSLR will have a magnification factor of around 2.3X on the BCC. That means that you need much wider lenses in order to get the same framing using the BCC, and it puts more emphasis on the quality of the lens. In addition to being small, the BCC's sensor is comparatively slow--its maximum ISO rating is only 800 1600, but its maximum usable ISO is 800. That means that in low light situations, other cameras are likely to provide images with much less noise.

Laforet also noted that the BCC's form-factor makes it useless as a handheld camera--the optional handle offered by Blackmagic is more for show than for utility. To use the BCC, you'll need rails and a tripod or some sort of mounting rig. He wrote that the BCC could have been a great handheld camera with slightly different ergonomics and a built-in ND filter.

Laforet's findings were confirmed by Glencairn's test. He did a side-by-side test of the BCC with a Sony FS100 at ISO 800, and he found that the BCC's image was more "filmic" than the Sony. He much preferred the BCC's image, but wrote that the FS100 wins hands down at faster ISO speeds. Output from the BCC in Cinema DNG RAW mode was superb--sharp, with plenty of contrast. However, Glencairn's tests show that regardless of whether the BCC is used in ProRes 422 or RAW mode, its output HAS to be graded in order to be usable. That in part explains why Blackmagic provides a free copy of DaVinci Resolve with every BCC. Going back to Laforet, he makes the same point, and notes that the BCC's grading pipeline is not for the squeamish. RED users will be very familiar with the process, but BCC users don't have the equivalent of a RED Rocket card to speed up the conversion process.

Update, September 9th, 2012: Yesterday, cinematographer Philip Bloom posted an extensive video review of the BCC. Most of his conclusions echo those of the other two reviewers, but he added some additional points, including the following:

• After in-house and field tests, he found that the BCC's battery life is less than two hours, even when the camera is on standby. That wouldn't be a problem, except that the BCC's battery is non-removable. Therefore, you have to use an external battery--but there's no easy way to mount an external battery, unless you use a rig.
• In addition to having phono plugs instead of XLR connectors for its audio inputs, the BCC has no way to provide phantom power, which limits the microphones that can be used with the camera.
• The LCD screen is much too reflective to be useful as a viewfinder, especially outside.
• He believes that the new version of the camera with a Micro Four-Thirds mount is a much better choice, even with the limitation that lenses have to be used in fully manual mode. The new version allows a far wider range of lenses to be used (with adaptors), and dramatically decreases the cropping problem caused by the small size of the BCC's sensor.

So, according to these two three cinematographers, the BCC is a great camera for the money, but it requires a couple thousand dollars' worth of add-ons in order to be usable, as well as high-quality (read: expensive) lenses in order to get the best possible images. It's got a wide exposure range but a limited ISO range. It outputs great images in RAW mode, but the output has to be color-corrected in order to be usable.

The BCC is most definitely not a "run & gun" camera--it doesn't have the necessary ergonomics. It's not really a "beginner's" cinema camera, since grading is essential in order to get the best quality output. It's not the camera that you want to use if you don't know what kind of lighting you'll have to work with. It's not even as inexpensive as it first appears, because of the external gear necessary to make it useful (rig, external battery, external viewfinder/monitor and ND filter.)

If you can live with the BCC's limitations, it's still a great camera for the money--but it's not the camera that's going to "democratize" cinema production.

Blackmagic Design crashes the cinema camera party

Last year at NAB, when I spoke with Blackmagic Design's CEO Grant Perry and Director of Marketing Americas Terry Frechette about the company's new video production switchers, I noted that they sold just about everything for video except cameras. This year, they corrected that oversight. The new Blackmagic Cinema Camera shown at NAB was a huge surprise--to my knowledge, there were no rumors that Blackmagic was working on a cinema camera, especially one as "out of the box" as this design. It looks like a simplified, trapezoidal DSLR with mounting points on both the top and the bottom of the case. It should work with a variety of cages and mounting systems from companies such as Redrock Micro and Zacuto.

The Blackmagic Cinema Camera has a 2.5K sensor (2432 x 1366) with an active area of 15.6 x 8.8 mm—bigger than Super 16mm but smaller than Micro Four Thirds. The company claims 13 stops of dynamic range. It supports Canon's EF-format lenses, including Canon's autofocus lenses, as well as Zeiss's EF-compatible ZE mount lenses. The camera can output RAW using Adobe's 12-bit open-source Cinema DNG format at full 2432 x 1366 resolution, as well as compressed video in Apple's ProRes and Avid's DNxHD formats, at 1080p/23.98, 24, 25, 29.97 and 30 fps. It saves onto a SSD using a built-in recorder and outputs through both 3Gbps HD-SDI and Thunderbolt interfaces. (A 256GB SSD can store 30 minutes of RAW footage or more than two hours of video in ProRes or DNxHD format.)

Virtually all interaction with the camera is through a built-in 5" 800 x 480 touchscreen display that comes with a snap-on hood--there's no separate viewfinder. A handful of buttons are used for recording (buttons on both the front and back of the camera), automatic iris, focus, transport control, bringing up the menu and power. Audio in is via standard stereo mic/line inputs. The camera can run on 12V to 30V DC and has a built-in battery. And, I forgot one important thing: Its list price is $2,995 (U.S.). That's not a misprint--it's priced less than $3,000. The Cinema Camera is scheduled to ship in July.

According to Blackmagic's representatives, the company learned from customer feedback that, while cinematographers love the price and video capabilities of today's DSLRs, they're tired of working with cameras that were designed for still photography first. That includes small LCDs designed more for changing menu settings than for accurately judging image framing and quality, limited recording time, no built-in support for industry-standard video recording formats and HDMI outputs that are useless for live recording.

The Cinema Camera fixes all these problems, drops all the still photography-oriented features, and sells for $2,995. It also comes with a full copy of DaVinci Resolve software for color correction on Windows and OS X PCs, and Ultrascope for monitoring output--the software alone costs $995 when purchased by itself. Of course, the camera's not perfect--it's not 4K, the imager is small, the compressed output is 10-bit 4:2:2, there's no 60p mode, slow motion or ND filters--but it's $2,995, which covers a bunch of complaints.

As I always say when new cameras are released, you'd be smart to hold off on placing an order until good third-party reviews of the Cinema Camera are released, along with sample footage. (Australian John Brawley was the first cinematographer to get his hands on a prototype camera for in-field testing. He's posted footage on Vimeo.) However, I suspect that there are lots of people who aren't going to wait--they want to be among the first to get their hands on it.