contents contents
full screenprintcontentsfull screenprint6 VIDEOMAKER >>> APRIL 2019
do you expect for $1,300? The screen
looks great and, along with the built-in
shot assists tools, it gets the job done.Videomaker Lab Tests
Next, we put the Pocket Cinema Cam-
era 4K through some basic tests to see
its low light performance, moiré and
rolling shutter.
The Pocket Cinema Camera 4K has
a dual native ISO, meaning there are
two ISOs where noise is at its mini-
mum. For the Pocket Cinema 4K, you
have a native ISO of 400 and 3200.
The sensor utilizes the native 400 ISO
setting up to 1,000 ISO. At 1,250 ISO,
the camera jumps to the low noise
range of the native 3,200 ISO setting. It
doesn’t eliminate noise at higher ISOs,
but it does buy another stop or two of
usable ISO before noise is an issue in
the image. We saw noise start at ISO
400 and was acceptable all the way up
to ISO 6400. After that, the noise starts
to dramatically affect the sharpness of
the image.
To test the moiré of the camera, we
shot the DSC Labs SineZone test chart.
The Pocket Cinema Camera 4K had no
moiré issues at all. Even when panning
and tilting, fine lines looked normal.
Moving on to testing rolling shutter, we
panned the Pocket Cinema Camera 4K
back and forth to see if vertical lines
started to bend. The camera does have
a rolling shutter, so we expected to see
a bit of jello, but there wasn’t much
of any. This makes the camera a good
candidate for active shooting.
The image quality of the Pocket
Cinema Camera 4K is equal to or
better than the other cameras in its
price range. In fact, you won’t find
RAW in any other camera even close
to $1,300. With that said, we wanted
to test out the camera’s higher frame
rates to see if the image quality suf-
fered. While the sensor is cropped
even more when shooting 120 fps in
HD, it’s very sharp and the image qual-
ity is fantastic.Marketplace
With its price and feature list, the
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera
4K is unrivaled. However, that doesn’tImage Sensor Size: 18.96 x 10.
mm (4/3′′)
Sensor Type: CMOS
Shutter Type: Rolling Shutter
ISO: 100 to 25,600 (Native)
Advertised Dynamic Range: 13 Stops
Lens Mount: Micro Four Thirds
Lens Communication: Yes
Built-In ND Filter: None
Built-In Microphone: Stereo
Recording Media:- 1 x CFast 2.0 Card Slot
- 1 x SDXC UHS-II Card Slot
CinemaDNG: - 4096 x 2160 at 23.98/24/25/29.97/
0/50/59.94/60 fps (270 MB/s)
ProRes 422HQ: - 4096 x 2160 at 23.98/24/25/29.97/
0/50/59.94/60 fps (117.88 MB/s) - 3840 x 2160 at 23.98/24/25/29.97/
0/50/59.94/60 fps (110 Mb/s) - 1920 x 1080p at 23.98/24/25/29.97/
30/50/59.94/60/120 fps (27.5 MB/s)
ProRes 422: - 4096 x 2160 at 23.98/24/25/29.97/
0/50/59.94/60 fps (78.63 MB/s) - 3840 x 2160 at 23.98/24/25/29.97/
0/50/59.94/60 fps (73.6 MB/s) - 1920 x 1080p at 23.98/24/25/29.97/
30/50/59.94/60/120 fps (18.4 MB/s)
ProRes 422 LT: - 4096 x 2160p at 23.98/24/25/29.97/
30/50/59.94/60 fps (54.63 MB/s) - 3840 x 2160 at 23.98/24/25/29.97/
0/50/59.94/60 fps (51 MB/s) - 1920 x 1080p at 23.98/24/25/29.97/
30/50/59.94/60/120 fps (12.75 MB/s)
TECH SPECS
ProRes 422 Proxy:- 4096 x 2160 at 23.98/24/25/29.
7/30/50/59.94/60 fps (24.25 MB/s) - 3840 x 2160 at 23.98/24/25/29.
7/30/50/59.94/60 fps (22.4 MB/s) - 1920 x 1080p at 23.98/24/25/
9.97/30/50/59.94/60/120 fps (5.
MB/s)
Video Output: 4:2:2 10-Bit via
HDMI: 1920 x 1080p at 23.98/24/
5/29.97/30/50/59.94/60 fps
Video Connectors: HDMI
Audio Connectors: - 1 x 3-Pin Mini XLR Mic/Line Level
(+48 V Phantom Power) Input - 1 x 1/8′′ (3.5 mm) Stereo Mic/
Line Level (+48 V Phantom Power)
Input - 1 x 1/8′′ (3.5 mm) Stereo Head-
phone Output
Other I/O: - 1 x USB Type-C Video Output
- 1 x 3.5 mm Timecode Input
(Shared with 3.5 mm Mic/Line
input)
Display Type: LCD
Screen Size: 5′′
Touchscreen: Yes
Screen Resolution: 1920 x 1080
Battery Type: Canon LP-E
Accessory Mount: 1 x 1/4′′-
Female Thread
Material of Construction: Carbon
Fiber
Dimensions: 7 x 3.8 x 3.4′′ / 177.
x 96.52 x 86.36 mm
Weight: 1.5 lb / 680 g
price of Blackmagic Design cameras,
but in the meantime, how about tak-
ing a different cue from Blackmagic
Design and adopting a menu that isn’t
ugly and hard to navigate?
The 5-inch touchscreen has a great
viewing angle, and that’s a good thingbecause the monitor does not move. It
has no articulation at all. Because the
screen is larger, no movement isn’t as
bad as it could be, but it’s still lame
when you want to shoot low or high
angles or in situations where there is
loads of glare on the screen. But, whatBlackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K
REVIEW383 R02 BMD Pocket Cinema Camera 4K.indd 6 2/19/19 2:36 PMVIDEOMAKER >>> APRIL 2019 7
You can comment on this article by going on-
line: http://www.videomaker.com/?p=do you expect for $1,300? The screen
looks great and, along with the built-in
shot assists tools, it gets the job done.Videomaker Lab Tests
Next, we put the Pocket Cinema Cam-
era 4K through some basic tests to see
its low light performance, moiré and
rolling shutter.
The Pocket Cinema Camera 4K has
a dual native ISO, meaning there are
two ISOs where noise is at its mini-
mum. For the Pocket Cinema 4K, you
have a native ISO of 400 and 3200.
The sensor utilizes the native 400 ISO
setting up to 1,000 ISO. At 1,250 ISO,
the camera jumps to the low noise
range of the native 3,200 ISO setting. It
doesn’t eliminate noise at higher ISOs,
but it does buy another stop or two of
usable ISO before noise is an issue in
the image. We saw noise start at ISO
400 and was acceptable all the way up
to ISO 6400. After that, the noise starts
to dramatically affect the sharpness of
the image.
To test the moiré of the camera, we
shot the DSC Labs SineZone test chart.
The Pocket Cinema Camera 4K had no
moiré issues at all. Even when panning
and tilting, fine lines looked normal.
Moving on to testing rolling shutter, we
panned the Pocket Cinema Camera 4K
back and forth to see if vertical lines
started to bend. The camera does have
a rolling shutter, so we expected to see
a bit of jello, but there wasn’t much
of any. This makes the camera a good
candidate for active shooting.
The image quality of the Pocket
Cinema Camera 4K is equal to or
better than the other cameras in its
price range. In fact, you won’t find
RAW in any other camera even close
to $1,300. With that said, we wanted
to test out the camera’s higher frame
rates to see if the image quality suf-
fered. While the sensor is cropped
even more when shooting 120 fps in
HD, it’s very sharp and the image qual-
ity is fantastic.Marketplace
With its price and feature list, the
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera
4K is unrivaled. However, that doesn’tREVIEWChris Monlux is Videomaker ’s Multimedia Editor.mean everyone should buy one. Its
many flaws leave plenty of room for
competition. To makes things more
fair, we only compared cameras ca-
pable of producing 10-bit video. The
first camera is the Panasonic GH5 for
$2000. It has a Micro Four Thrids MOS
sensor and can capture internal 4:2:
10-Bit 4K video at 30 fps. The GH5 has
a fully articulating touchscreen, but it
measures in at only 3.2 inches. It also
features in-body image stabilization,
an OLED viewfinder and V-Log L.
Next up is the full frame Nikon Z
for $2000. Although it can’t capture
10-bit internally, it can output it to an
external recorder. Adding a recorder
would increase the cost of the camera
by about $1000. The Z6 also has log
shooting, an EVF and a tilting touch-
screen LCD, along with IBIS.
Lastly is the Canon EOS R at $2,300.
It also requires an external recorder to
capture 10-bit video. It has a fully ar-
ticulating touchscreen and EVF. Lastly,
it has C-Log capture and the industry-
leading dual pixel AF.
Something else to consider as you
shop: Blackmagic Design includes
DaVinci Resolve Studio with every
camera they sell. This robust post-pro-
duction software now integrates Fair-
light for audio editing and Fusion for
visual effects and motion graphics, in
addition to Resolve’s editing and color
grading tools. Buying DaVinci Resolve
15 Studio on its own will set you back
$300, so it’s a nice added value for the
Pocket Cinema Camera 4K.Final thoughts
The Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema
Camera 4K gets it done for $1,300. It
has a long list of flaws, but with a price
tag like that, they might not outpace its
value. We liked the camera, but issues
like battery life, poor external design
and expensive media cause us to hesi-
tate in giving a whole-hearted recom-
mendation. In the end, what do you
expect for $1,300?THUNDERBOLT NAS WITH 10GbE FOR
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