Blackmagic Design has issued Blackmagic Camera 6.1 Update, adding a few features, and lots of improvements and fixes for issues with company’s popular Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4k. Among the most eagerly awaited fixes in the BMPCC 4K firmware update is the one where the camera shuts down arbitrarily, with the battery around the 20% mark, or even earlier. Davinci Resolve has also been updated to 15.2.3 bringing some improvements to multicam workflows and performance. Here’s what you need to know. The BMPCC 4K has been one of Blackmagic’s most coveted cameras and has generally received very positive reviews. Among the less positive aspects of the camera was battery life and with regards to battery life one issue in particular, where the camera shut down with 20% capacity still remaining on the battery. Apparently this issue was more common with 3rd party batteries and some reviewers even reported shutdowns with higher percentages remaining – sometimes as high as 30% or more (see our own review here). This had people questioning the cameras reliability and stability in general, as particulary when recording in ProRes the file that was being recorded when the camera shut down was most commonly lost. The BMPCC 4K firmware update contained in Blackmagic Camera Setup 6.1 seems to address this rather pressing issue and many more. Another issue that was reported in Blackmagic Forums was the camera containing seemingly dead pixels. As it turns out, those pixels mostly weren’t dead (as in not able to detect light and thus black), but rather programmatically stuck to one color – a software issue. Blackmagic added Pixel remapping to solve this issue. Here’s a full list of issues that were added to the BMPCC 4K firmware update: Added support for pixel remapping in camera. Added 2:1 monitoring frame guide. Improved media formatting user interface. Improved audio monitoring latency performance. Improved auto focus performance. Improved signal to noise ratio performance of camera internal microphone. Improved power efficiency for improved battery life. Improved 3.5mm audio input selection interface. Improved AV sync performance. Fixed an issue where time and date is not updated on camera when connected to the Blackmagic Camera Setup utility. Fixed an issue where the 3.5mm audio input level is 6dB lower than expected. Fixed an auto focusing issue with Lumix 20mm f/1.7 lens. Fixed an issue where some USB-C external SSDs were not detected when connected before camera is powered up. Fixed an issue where some batteries might shut off earlier than expected. Fixed an issue where low battery indicator is not displayed appropriately. Fixed an issue with camera not being detected by host computer when connected to certain USB ports. Updated dynamic range and ISO chart in user manual. Other cameras were not updated with this release of Blackmagic Camera Update. DaVinci Resolve 15.2.3 DaVinci Resolve has had a very good year. The application, which was already the de-facto king of color grading software has made significant strides as an allround NLE, massively improving the editing interface and capabilities contained in it, as well as adding the Fairlight and Fusion tabs to its repertoire. With a update cycle that steady and heavyweight it was about time to have a release which addresses only smaller issues and focuses on improvements of stability and performance. This is what version 15.2.3 seems to be. Here’s a list of improvements: Improved UI responsiveness and playback performance on the Edit and Fairlight pages Improved playback performance on MacOS when processing using Metal Improved multicam playback performance Improved performance for ganged playback on the Edit page Improved save performance for projects with live save enabled Improved color consistency with QuickTime player on MacOS when display color profiles is enabled Improved support for H.264 and H.265 hardware acceleration on Windows laptops Added support for decoding DNxHD clips on Linux systems with AMD processors Added support for additional shortcuts when using the cinema mode viewer Multiple performance and stability improvements What do you think about the updates Blackmagic has released? Can you verify the fixes to the BMPCC 4K’s battery problems on yours? Let us know in the comments!

The DriveMount is a new Kickstarter project – an aluminum case, which allows you to attach a standard 2.5″ SSD to a 1/4″-20 screw hole (like the one on top of the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K). Depending on the pledge you choose, the bundle will come with a USB-C cable, standard 1/4″-20 threaded mount, standard Shoe Mount, 15mm Rail or even a 500GB SSD.  The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K has already been on the market for a couple of months now. For more information about the BMPCC 4K, you can check out the comprehensive review that my colleague Nino did in October. The one feature of the new BMPCC 4K that is relevant for this article right now, is the ability to record to an external SSD via USB-C port. Many filmmakers were really thrilled when this feature was first announced, because SSDs are a great speed-size-price package. Why Record to SSD? The new Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K can record to either SD cards, CFast 2.0 cards or SSDs. SD cards are relatively cheap, but their write speed does not allow for highest quality (Cinema DNG RAW 270MBps) recording. CFast 2.0 cards are fast enough for whatever the BMPCC 4K sends their way, but they are quite expensive. Last but not least, SSDs are fast enough and they are significantly cheaper than CFast 2.0 memory cards. Please note that we are comparing prices-per-GB here. One question arose: “How to conveniently and securely attach SSDs to the camera?” By the time the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K has started shipping, there have already been a few cages available. Other cage manufacturers introduced their versions shortly after. Now, there are a lot of options when it comes to rigging the BMPCC 4K. We already reported about: 8Sinn LockCircle Tilta Shape, Wooden Camera, SmallRig This is not a comprehensive list, as there are probably even more options by now. Important is that some of the cage manufacturers already considered the SSD mounting option and offer solutions for that. I particularly like Tilta’s approach with their screws-secured USB-C cable. DriveMount – 2.5″ SSD Mounting Solution There is a new product on Kickstarter from SoulCow (two independent filmmakers Ethan Soule and Ben Cowper), called DriveMount and it allows mounting a standard 2.5″ SSD to any 1/4″-20 screw hole. Because the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K happens to have one 1/4″-20 mounting point on top, this is a convenient way to mount an SSD right there, without any cage. It can, of course, nicely complement any BMPCC 4K cage too, as these always have plenty of 1/4″-20 mounting points. The DriveMount is made out of black aluminum. It features sliding rails for the mounting point, so the case itself can be repositioned if necessary. The advantage I see here is using standard external 2.5″ SSDs, as they are the cheapest option given the capacity. As an example: a 500GB 2.5″ internal SSD costs around $100,- whereas 512GB CFast 2.0 cards start at more than $500,-. The enclosure of a USB-C cable raises the cost of an SSD, yet with DriveMount you won’t need to worry about any of that. The enclosed cable features the SATA connector on one end and USB-C on the other. When taking advantage of the “early backer discount”, the DriveMount case (with the cable) costs $100,- and there are still a couple of those available. When this offer (25 pieces) runs out, the price for a basic package will be $120,-. The DriveMount Shoe Bundle including a cold shoe adapter costs $130,-. The DriveMount Rail Bundle with a 15mm rods adapter costs $150,-. And finally, the DriveMount SSD Bundle with a 500GB SSD will set you back $175,-. Once again, the Kickstarter campaign can be found here. There is still time until the end of 2018 to back this project and get the DriveMount. Please remember: Kickstarter is not a shop and you don’t buy things there. You simply support the manufacturer with your money and as a benefit – if everything goes smoothly – you’ll get the final product at a discount. Links: soulcow.net | DriveMount Kickstarter campaign What do you think of the DriveMount SSD mounting solution? Do you use SSD recording with the BMPCC 4K? Let us know in the comments underneath the article.

EDIT: Based on multiple comments made by our audience suggesting that the original results of the URSA Mini Pro 4.6 Dynamic Range tests may be flawed since we did not execute camera black shading prior to the tests, we decided to rerun it. Our workflow was as follows: Let the UMP 4.6 warm up for about 15min, perform black shading in the menu with the lens cap on and then repeat the tests at 5600k WB. As can be seen from the above IMATEST screenshot, we are getting exactly the same results as before (SNR = 2): shooting ISO 800 BRAW 4.6k (scaled to UHD) gives us 12.6 stops of dynamic range at a signal to noise ratio of 2 (13.7 for a signal to noise ratio of 1 without further post processing like highlight recovery or noise reduction in DaVinci Resolve 15.2. Shooting ProRes also gave the same results as in the initial test. One thing however did change after black shading – the shadows that were a bit blueish in the original tests became black. (Thanks to doing black shading). Nevertheless, thank you all for your suggestions, keep them coming in the future as we all can learn from each other! Original Article: When Blackmagic RAW (BRAW) was announced a while ago, I was curious to get my hands on a BMD URSA Mini Pro and test it’s dynamic range with this new codec. The combination of having the full flexibility of 12bit RAW and smaller file sizes at the same time is a real innovation of BMD. How does it fare on the UMP 4.6? A while ago BMD was so kind to send us the URSA Mini Pro 4.6 but unfortunately, we were all out traveling yet there was time to install the new firmware 6.0 and test the dynamic range at ISO 800 and 3200 using our test setup described here. One note upfront: I was very surprised to see the playback performance of BRAW in DaVinci Resolve Studio 15.2. I am using an I7-4720HQ Laptop with 16GB RAM and a GTX980M graphics card, and 4.6k ProRes XQ resulted in ~7 frames / second playback (fps), 4.6k RAW DNG (lossless) resulted in ~11 fps, whereas BRAW had smooth 24 fps playback in a UHD timeline! Hence, not only smaller filesizes with BRAW but also vastly improved playback – a real winner combination. 4.6k ProRes XQ ISO 800 dynamic range results As a baseline, we started first with our standardized testing procedure analyzing the 4.6k ProRes XQ dynamic range. Here, at ISO 800 the UMP 4.6 does not disappoint and comes in with a strong 12.5 stops of dynamic range at a signal to noise ratio of 2 according to our IMATEST analysis (13.6 stops at a signal to noise ratio of 1). I also tested ISO 400, which yielded slightly lower results. This is the best result in our recent 2018 testing, coming in half a stop higher than the Sony FS7. However, quite far from the 15 stops that Blackmagic Design claim. Anyways, we are going to test BRAW subsequently, so let’s see. The noise floor looks very clean, looks like some internal noise reduction is going on here. Fig.1: Step chart waveform plot of the UMP 4.6k ProRes XQ at ISO 800: a little more than 12 stops can be discerned above the noise floor (code values scaled to 8bit). 4.6k BRAW dynamic range results Now, there is a little issue with BRAW and our standardized testing workflow, as we usually try to avoid any 3rd party software when extracting keyframes for our IMATEST analysis (other than FFmpeg) to avoid any kind of manipulation/influence of this software to the image. With BRAW this philosophy doesn’t work, as we have to use DaVinci Resolve to develop the files – the latest version 15.2 Studio in our case. ISO 800 BRAW constant bitrate 3:1 4.6k scaled to UHD Now, using ISO 800 yielded again the best results, with the dynamic range coming in at an even stronger 12.6 stops at a signal to noise ratio of 2 (13.7 stops for SNR = 1). However, this slight difference to ProRes might be also a result of scaling the 4.6k BRAW file to UHD (3840×2160) – as there is no 4.6k timeline preset in DaVinci Resolve (for exporting keyframes to IMATEST). Fig.2: Step chart waveform plot of the UMP 4.6k ISO 800 BRAW. Again, a bit more than 12 stops can be identified visually above the noise floor. NOTE: DaVinci Resolve offers a “highlight recovery” option for BRAW, which can reconstruct the RGB channels even if one channel is already clipped. Together with the noise reduction features, you can heavily post-process the BRAW files – I just tried around a little bit and was able to reach around 13 stops for SNR = 2 (14 stops for SNR = 1). However we don’t count this result as our intention is to test the untouched files straight off the camera – this is not a post-processing contest, it is about a standardized result using a standardized workflow for all the cameras we test. ISO 3200 BRAW constant bitrate 3:1 4.6k scaled to UHD For ISO 3200 we counted 11.7 stops for an SNR = 2 (12.9 stops for SNR = 1), again without post-processing. Playing around with the highlight recovery option and noise reduction, I was able to get around 12 stops for SNR = 2 (13 stops for SNR = 1). Noise kicks in, hence about one stop is lost vs ISO 800. This is still a very good result. Fig.3: Step chart waveform plot of the UMP 4.6k at ISO 3200: noise kicks in, and about one stop is lost vs. ISO 800, leading to around 12 stops of dynamic range. 4.6k RAW DNG (lossless) dynamic range results Similar to BRAW, we have to develop the RAW DNG files in DaVinci Resolve in order to export keyframes for analysis in the IMATEST software. Interestingly, the dynamic range results of the Cinema DNG files without postprocessing are lower than with ProRes and also BRAW, coming in slightly above 11 stops untouched (SNR = 2). The DNG files exhibit much more noise than BRAW and ProRes, hence leading to a lower dynamic range reading in IMATEST. This is a similar phenomenon as we observed with the BMPCC 4k. Using postprocessing like the highlight recovery feature in Resolve along with noise reduction lifts it above ProRes and BRAW (I played around and was able to get more than 13 stops at an SNR = 2, and almost 14 stops for SNR = 1). Fig. 4: dynamic range comparison of the UMP 4.6k (BRAW) ISO 800 result with other cameras. It fares very well, coming in one stop higher than the BMPCC4k. Conclusion When testing the various codecs on the UMP 4.6k there are clear signs of internal noise reduction going on in ProRes and BRAW, very similar to what we observed with the BMPCC4k (please watch particularly the end of our BMPCC4K review for an insight into our testing procedure for dynamic range). Speaking of the BMPCC4k, the UMP4.6k overall comes in one stop higher with regards to the dynamic range. Impressive. However, I cannot reproduce the 15 stops dynamic range that Blackmagic Design are claiming, even at a signal to noise ratio SNR = 1 the maximum I was able to squeeze out by heavy post-processing was about 14 stops. In contrast to this, I was able to confirm the 13 stops for the BMPCC4k at SNR = 1, thereby confirming Blackmagic’s statements. Therefore the untouched BRAW ISO 800 SNR = 2 (or 1/SNR = 0.5) dynamic range result will be the cinema5D reference for future dynamic range comparisons with other cameras. We know that many of you are waiting for an overview chart of all our dynamic range and other technical tests, and please stay tuned for a bit, we are still working on it. There’s a lot of parameters to think about, and also it’s not so easy to display elegantly on our site – however it won’t be long until we will share it with you! You can find Nino’s Ursa Mini Pro Hands-On video review by clicking here and Johnnie’s review and “real world footage” by clicking here. Did you already work with the URSA Mini Pro 4.6 in RAW recording mode? If yes, What is your impression? Please share your experience with us in the comments below.

Edit: Adding the Panasonic GH5s to our list. Simply left it out by mistake as I was already testing it during 2017…. Here at cinema5D we feel lucky enough to test, review and share our unbiased honest professional opinion with our filmmaking community. The reward is the trust we get from our audience. This leads me to our “Best Mirrorless Camera for 2018” list. EVERY camera in this list was tested by us inside-out and in regards to the winner, we welcome you to comment below. Rest assured that 2019 will be EVEN MORE exciting, but for now, let’s say goodbye to 2018….  2018 is slowly but surely fading out and I hope you will agree that this year was one of the best for the aspiring (independent) filmmaker when it comes to the choice of production equipment and especially high quality mirrorless cameras. During this year, almost every major camera manufacturer released shiny new toys, but for the sake of this article, we will only concentrate on large sensor mirrorless cameras ranging from micro 4/3 inch to full frame sensor sizes. We are also fully aware that at times we will be comparing “apples to oranges” as some of our final candidates were simply designed to win the hearts of different users, yet as independent (and at times “on the budget”) filmmakers we at cinema5D tend to believe that one will be investing his/her hard earned cash on only a single camera that might serve him/her best. Full Frame Category Winner – Sony a7 III It’s funny to think how February 2018 looks so far away, but that was the time when I first saw the camera and had a chance to play with it a bit. Already then it was clear that Sony had created something unique when it comes to sensor size, performance and price point. My assumption was reassured after reviewing the camera a month later. The new Sony a7 III turned out to be a camera that redefines the word “basic model” (This is how Sony referred to it), and if this is what Sony puts in a basic camera (features and quality/performance wise), then there is certainly something to look for during 2019. (cough cough, Sony a7S III)… Here is how I concluded my opinion about the camera after reviewing it: Sony a7 III Conclusion: The key element for me is the right balance between its price and specifications. Sony did a really good job in packing a lot of technology into a well-priced full frame mirrorless camera body. In my opinion, this is a great all-round shooting device with a good level of video performance and a nice stills functionality (at least this is what I heard from colleagues who have tried the camera and are shooting photos professionally). Our desires for 4K higher frame rates like 50/60p, higher bit rate,  colour depth and maybe even a built-in ND filter will have to wait for the next round of announcements. Full Frame Running Candidate – Canon EOS R: I recently reviewed the new Canon mirrorless camera and while technically it is being regarded as a full frame camera, when it comes to shooting video, the image is heavily cropped but for the sake of order let’s leave it here, in the full frame category…. All in all it performed well but I’d be curious to see what Canon has under its sleeve for 2019. The people from Canon we talked to emphasized the fact that this is a “first generation” mirrorless camera so hopefully, some of its shortcomings can be fixed on the next model to come. Missing from our list – Nikon Z6 and Z7: We simply haven’t had a chance to test those cameras yet but as good as they might be for shooting video, when looking at recent mirrorless cameras sales figures coming out of Japan and the declining shares of Nikon, I have to have my doubts if any of those new cameras will really be a turnaround for Nikon in the ever-evolving mirrorless video shooting market. APS-C Category Winner – FUJIFILM X-T3 FUJIFILM was very busy bringing nice well-budgeted filming tools for the independent filmmaker during 2018. In February they introduced the X-H1 which combined high-quality video performance and in-body stabilization system. Later in September, the X-T3 was released. While the X-H1 is a good camera, the X-T3 has managed to become one of my favorite working tools for the following reasons: Ease of handling, picture quality and autofocus performance (just to name a few). In general, this camera feels like a “Swiss Army Knife” when it comes to flexibility and choice of resolution/frame rates and such. Last but not least: the price. This camera gives competitors a run for the money when it comes to video and photo performance. FUJIFILM really managed to create and deliver an affordable high-quality working tool. What is really missing in order to make this little camera even more capable is an internal body stabilization system but even without it, with the right choice of lenses, (Especially for run&gun situations), this camera really shines! Here is how I concluded my opinion about the camera after reviewing it: FUJIFILM X-T3 Conclusion  It is no secret that FUJIFILM is heavily invested in making affordable cinema lenses for E (Sony) and X (FUJIFILM) mounts (MK and MKX series of lenses). In my opinion, this is guaranteeing us that FUJIFILM will not stop here. Furthermore, by introducing the first ever APS-C sensor size camera that can shoot 10-Bit video internally, FUJIFILM is positioning itself at the forefront and becoming a serious candidate to consider when thinking of shooting video on a mirrorless camera. It is one of those companies that have no higher video market share to protect and as such, they are free to move forward as fast as their R&D capabilities and budget allows. This particular camera should get some love and attention from the filmmaking community. For users who are heavily invested in lenses from other brands, I can only hope that some sort of a program can be established by FUJIFILM or alternatively, some other solution can be found in order to make people actually try it. We hear a lot about the love for a particular  “colour science”. This camera can easily produce “analogue looking” images and furthermore, if you take photos with it, in my opinion, it is the one that looks the least digital. APS- C Running Candidate – FUJIFILM X-H1 As I wrote above, this is a very nice camera with the advantage of having an internal body stabilisation system but other than that,  it can not compete in terms of picture quality and autofocus performance with the newer X-T3. Micro 4/3 Category Winner – Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera 4K Announced during April this year, this much anticipated new Pocket Cinema Camera has already been shipping since October and with no doubt, it managed to capture the attention of many, mostly because of its capabilities in shooting RAW and ProRes in a small package, exceptionally nice images, and a very attractive price.  When I mentioned “comparing apples to oranges”, I was referring to this camera. Some of its shortcomings like the absence of an in-body stabilization system and the absence of a continuous autofocus function are regarded by some as “not needed” as the word “Cinema” should already indicate to what target users Blackmagic design aimed when designing the camera. This might be true, but when looking at a saturated competitive market, I think it will be wise to look beyond the “Cinema” badge and evaluate the camera and what it can do opposed the other alternatives out there. I’m fully aware that the last sentence alone might cause some people to respond and question if the BMPCC 4K and the FUJIFILM X-T3 (for example) can be even compared. Again, as I see most of the people spending their money and buying ONE production tool, my clear answer is YES! Here is how Nino concluded his opinion about the camera after reviewing it: BMPCC 4K Conclusion There are many more things to say about the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, but please do watch the video if you haven’t seen it yet, as many things are covered there in more detail. Blackmagic really did their homework with this one and listened to as many customers as possible when designing the successor to their original Pocket Camera. The image out of it is beautiful and “cinematic”, the dynamic range is better than the one of similar cameras in the market right now, and it’s just very enjoyable shooting with it. It’s not a perfect camera of course, but it has a lot to offer. Micro 4/3 Running Candidate – Panasonic GH5s Amazing how time is flying. I tested the GH5s at the end of 2017 and published our review at the beginning of January 2018….All in all, it is a very solid camera with a much enhanced lowlight performance over the original GH5. The questionable autofocus system was greatly improved later this year when the latest firmware was introduced. Another thing that bothered some users was the absence of IBIS. As the GH5 has it, many were hoping to see this feature being implemented in this camera also but for different reasons that never happened. Here is how I concluded my opinion about the camera after reviewing it: In my opinion, the new Panasonic GH5S is a very capable camera and a more versatile shooting tool than the original GH5 – unless you are a photographer. The lacking IBIS is a let-down. FUJIFILM X-T3 is our winner for best large sensor mirrorless camera for 2018 Best Mirrorless Camera for 2018 – FUJIFILM X-T3 is the Overall Winner! All the mentioned cameras above are extremely capable filming devices so coming to a final conclusion was not an easy thing to do, BUT, when combining our actual shooting experience, general performance and price point, then the FUJIFILM X-T3 comes up as the best large sensor mirrorless camera for 2018. On a personal note: Since its introduction, I’ve shot several projects with it around the world and was not let down even once. I LOVE its small size, I love having an EVF and I love its versatility. It allows me, as an independent freelance filmmaker, to fulfill (almost) any request coming from a producer/director, be it concerning a resolution/frame rate/color depth and such. Sure it is not perfect but for the cost it is doing a great job for what it is. Last but not least: This article is all about different shooting tools. One should not forget that at the end of the day it is the storytelling that will win over an audience. Happy shooting and a happy new year (almost!) from the cinema5D team What is your favorite large sensor mirrorless camera for 2018? Please share with us your thoughts in the comment section below.

At this year’s Inter Bee show in Tokyo, our own Johnnie Behiri met with Blackmagic Design in order to discuss their latest updates for both DaVinci Resolve 15.2 and firmware version 6.0 for URSA Mini Pro cameras. We already reported about the updates to DaVinci Resolve 15.2 and Camera 6.0 in detail here. Here’s a round-up including the interview with Blackmagic Design. With version 15 of their popular editing/grading/audio mastering/delivery suite Blackmagic Design added a new tab to their one-app-for-all approach: Fusion FX. Now, just a few months later, Resolve 15.2 hits the streets and it comes with a lot of improvements to almost every aspect of this software. One part of Resolve to which special attention has been paid is the Edit tab. DaVinci Resolve 15.2 Improvements Blackmagic Design really pushes hard in order to get the editing part of their software right. In Resolve 15.2 the editing timeline renders much faster, resulting in a smoother look and feel. Also, a lot of animations within the UI have been improved. As a general improvement the part of DaVinci you are currently working in is being highlighted which makes it easier to keep track of what’s going on. Speaking of visual feedback: You now can easy track down bits of the timeline which contain duplicate frames (pieces of footage you actually have used before within the same timeline). Furthermore clips in the media pool show a visual indication if (and which parts) are being used in the current timeline. You now can load a second timeline or compound clip into the source viewer and send clips straight to the active timeline. This should increase the speed of your workflow! Two bins now can be viewed and accessed at the same time as well. Another nice improvement is the freshly implemented keyboard shortcut manager which is now a visual tool just like in Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro X. You even can emulate keyboard settings to the aforementioned NLE’s. Furthermore you now can assign items from contextual popup menus to keyboard shortcuts. New FX Plugins & Audio Tools Additionally DaVinci Resolve 15.2 features new FX plugins such as Beauty (Studio version only) or Blanking Fill. More advanced plugins for the color page include ACES transform and Gamut Limiter. Edits and transitions applied to audio clips on the Edit page now can be further tweaked on the Fairlight tab of Resolve 15.2. Furthermore you now can edit multiple audio clip at the same time. A cool new feature is called Stereo Fixer. It helps you map your audio to the appropriate channels in order to avoid bad audio mixing. Common mappings such as stereo, reverse-stereo, mono and others are built right in. There are really a whole bunch of new features and a lot has already been covered by Nino in this article. If you want to dive deeper in all the new features make sure to watch the following intro video by Blackmagic: It’s Still Free Although Blackmagic tries hard to convince users to buy the Studio version by limiting certain features such as noise reduction or the new Beauty FX plugin, you must not forget that DaVinci Resolve 15.2 is still free to download. This is actually pretty incredible. You get a full-fledged piece of post-production software which gets frequent updates for no money at all. If Blackmagic maintain their current development speed, this suite of tools might get pretty dangerous for a lot of other (paid) NLE’s out there pretty soon. While it might not be the first choice for serious editing work right now, let’s wait and see how Resolve 15.2 will impact the market. I’m really curious what future versions of Resolve will bring. How about you? URSA Mini Firmware 6.0 This new firmware adds two important new features to the URSA Mini Pro camera: Blackmagic RAW and ISO 3200. Read all about this new RAW format in our initial coverage here. The new ISO doubles the current limit of ISO 1600 and should be a useful tool when shooting in difficult lighting conditions. When does the new Blackmagic RAW codec hit the popular Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K (BMPCC4K) you ask? The answer is: It will but it’s not yet certain when. That’s not exactly what we wanted to hear but at least it’s coming! Need a refresher on this new RAW format? Watch Blackmagic Design CEO Grant Petty’s introduction here: CinemaDNG might be cool but you’ll end up with lots of GB worth of data and it really demands for a mighty powerful computer to cope with it so Blackmagic RAW might be the better choice offering a very good balance between quality and size. Plus it offers a much more modern approach to metadata handling. Links: Blackmagicdesign.com (DaVinci) | URSA Mini Pro | Blackmagic RAW Are you digging the all-in-one approach of Resolve? Or do you prefer Adobe’s take of individual software tool working together? What do you think about v6.0 for URSA Mini Pro? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Blackmagic Design just announced the new Blackmagic eGPU Pro for Apple computers with Thunderbolt 3. It incorporates AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 graphics processor with 8GB RAM and adds one DisplayPort connector with support for up to 5K monitors. Available in November, it is supposed to offer almost twice the performance of the original Blackmagic eGPU. The new Blackmagic eGPU Pro. Source: Blackmagic Design The idea of an eGPU unit is to enhance graphic performance and eventually also connectivity of a computer. A couple of months ago we informed you about the release of the first Blackmagic eGPU for Apple computers (link to our news article). It featured multiple USB and Thunderbolt 3 connectors as well as enhanced graphic performance thanks to its built-in AMD Radeon Pro 580 graphics card with 8GB RAM. Now (only 4 months later) Blackmagic Design introduces an additional more powerful version – the Blackmagic eGPU Pro. Blackmagic eGPU Pro – What is New? Biggest improvement from the original Blackmagic eGPU is the better GPU they’re using, obviously. Heart of the new Blackmagic eGPU Pro is the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 graphics processor with 8GB of HBM2 RAM. It has 2048-bit memory interface with 410GBps bandwidth and 56 discreet compute units for up to 10.5 teraflops of processing power. The RX Vega 56 can fill 94 billion textured pixels per second. Source: Blackmagic Design In addition, the Blackmagic eGPU Pro supports Metal graphics technology from Apple, which provides near-direct access to the GPU for maximizing graphics and compute performance. Blackmagic Design claims that the new Blackmagic eGPU Pro delivers nearly twice the performance of the original Blackmagic eGPU model and up to 22x faster performance than the built-in graphics on a 13-inch MacBook Pro (applies for GPU-intensive operations, such as noise reduction in DaVinci Resolve). In terms of connectivity, the original Blackmagic eGPU featured two USB-C (40Gbps Thunderbolt 3) ports, one HDMI 2.0, four USB 3.1 connectors and 85W power charging connector. New Blackmagic eGPU Pro has all of those ports plus it adds one DisplayPort connector for connecting displays with up to 5K resolution. The connected device needs to have Thunderbolt 3 connector. The Blackmagic eGPU Pro has a built-in power supply that powers the GPU while also providing 85W of downstream power via Thunderbolt 3 for charging laptop computers and powering peripherals. The power supply works from 100V to 240V and features a standard IEC power connector so it can be used anywhere in the world. Same design as the original eGPU. Only an extra DisplayPort added. Source: Blackmagic Design. Design of the new Blackmagic eGPU Pro remained exactly the same as the original eGPU. The only minor difference is the extra DisplayPort connector. The chassis with its textured finish is extruded from a single piece of aluminum. What might have changed is the internal thermal cooling system. Blackmagic Design claims it has been designed to balance the airflow and dissipate heat more efficiently while maintaining quiet operation. Availability and Price The Blackmagic eGPU Pro will be available in November for $1,199.00 USD from Apple directly. For comparison, the original Blackmagic eGPU is currently selling for $699.00 USD. Do you have experience with the original Blackmagic eGPU? Is eGPU a good solution for MacBook editing and does the performance boost justify the price? What do you think of the new eGPU Pro? Let us know in the comments underneath the article.

In this first-look hands-on review with the long-awaited Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, we took a close look at all aspects of the camera: Apart from the quality of the footage itself, we judged ergonomics, handling, design as well as low-light and dynamic range performance. Watch above and read below to learn more! The Unicorn Is Here Ever since its announcement at NAB in April this year, the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K has become the most-anticipated camera release of the year. We shot an exclusive interview with Blackmagic Design founder Grant Petty in Las Vegas, where he answered all of our questions about the newly announced device. Blackmagic promised to start shipping the camera in September – and for once, they somewhat managed to keep that promise. Very small numbers of the BMPCC 4K started being shipped out at the end of September, however they are still nowhere close to meeting demand. It seems like production has been somewhat slow, but at least by having had a press loaner for about two weeks we can confirm that it works, and it works really well. Size, Monitor, Handling What’s most striking about the new Pocket 4K is the fact that you need very big pockets. Just like Blackmagic’s URSA Mini was never “mini”, the Pocket 4K doesn’t fit in a pocket. Compared to its predecessor, the very popular Blackmagic Pocket Camera camera, the BMPCC 4K is very large. However, that is thanks to a gorgeous 5 inch multitouch display at the back of the camera. It’s 1080p and brilliant in every way, particularly for a camera that costs so little. It’s super easy to judge focus and the controls are very responsive. What’s missing is a viewfinder, which means loupe adapters like Zacuto’s Z-Finder might have a renaissance. However, as you are required to use the screen with your hands, such a loupe might prove impractical because you will have to take it off constantly in order to be able to control the menus and change most settings. So that only leaves you with adding an external viewfinder to this camera when working out in sunshine (where you really can’t read the screen well). While the screen is really nice and very responsive to any input, it’s unfortunate that Blackmagic decided against a floppy screen or even just a tilt screen – especially because there is no viewfinder as an alternative whatsoever. Very often you find yourself bent over backwards with this camera when you are shooting with it alone without assistants. The BMPCC 4K feels good in the hand when you have large hands like me, but I know that some other people will have a problem with the hefty grip of the camera. There are two microphones left and right of the lens mount which should in theory bring nice stereo sound, however you find yourself touching these microphones all the time when holding the camera, because they are not ideally placed. However if you are aware of it, it’s of course much easier to avoid doing when filming. In terms of menu design, Blackmagic Design is still my personal champion … the menu is so straightforward and easy-to-use that you really never need to touch a manual or anything like that. When you see camera menus like this, you start wondering why all the other (mostly Japanese) camera manufacturers never managed to make straightforward menus where you can actually find stuff more easily. Battery Life The BMPCC 4K uses Canon LP-E6 type batteries. The same standard as the 5D Mark II and III, and many many other popular Canon cameras. This is a nice move since it means that you can continue using your old batteries. However, the power management of the camera seems to be quite poor. At random times below 20% charge, the camera actually simply shuts off without warning. Also, a battery also typically only lasts 35-45 minutes, which isn’t long at all. We recommend using an external power solution like for example the Core SWX Powerbase EDGE with a dummy battery, which can last you many hours, if not a full day! It makes your footprint with the camera bit bigger, but also more powerful and reliable. Core SWX Powerbase EDGE Battery for Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera 4K Sensor and Sensitivity The BMPCC 4K comes with a MFT sensor that is supposed to be quite light sensitive, with a dual ISO of 400 and 3200. In my video test I could verify that these two ISO values were indeed the two with the least amount of noise in the picture. If you are aiming for high quality images, I would not shoot beyond ISO 6400, however I think it’s totally acceptable to do so for documentary or other reality content. The noise of the sensor is quite pleasant and should be fairly easy to get rid of using de-noise in DaVince Resolve (which, by the way, comes for free with the camera in its Studio version – the normal version is free anyhow). This camera is miles better than the original Pocket camera when it comes to low light, and it’s a lot better than many others in the market. During the shoot of the intro of this review, we were losing light rapidly as all of this was shot after sunset in the woods. With a 25mm MFT f/1.2 lens from Olympus, I was able to get exposure by increasing the ISO progressively, with the lens always wide open. As you can see above, even the ISO 16,000 shots are tolerable, albeit noisy. Codecs, Resolutions and Frame Rates What sets Blackmagic cameras apart is the fact that they record RAW and various flavours of ProRes, as opposed to highly compressed proprietary codecs like most other manufacturers. That means 12-bit RAW recorded internally in a camera, and that is a big deal – especially at this price point. The Pocket 4K cannot record in Blackmagic RAW yet (we have reported about it in an interview with Blackmagic here), but it records RAW in DNG sequences (which is of course data intense!) However, the RAW images end up being 12bit, while ProRes HQ is only 10-bit (which is still much better than what 90% of professional cameras in the market can do). What’s impressive is the capability to record up to 60fps in full quality in 4K. Only when you want to go even higher with your frame rates, you have to switch to 1080p and activate a dedicated “sensor crop” button. Under that sensor crop, you are then able to record 120 frames per second. Dynamic Range Tests and Questions … Our technical expert Gunther Machu ran a couple of cinema5D Lab Tests with the BMPCC 4K before it had to go back to the manufacturer. Before you read on, in case you haven’t read it yet, please look at our recent article explaining the methodology of our lab tests – here’s the link. The result: 11.6 stops of dynamic range for a signal to noise ratio of 2 (12.7 stops for a signal to noise ratio of 1) at ISO 400 (10.5 and 11.8 stops for ISO3200), in ProRes 4K DCI 25p. Interestingly, when we tested the same DCI 4K 25p RAW (1:1) we found that the dynamic range reading was lower (by about a half stop). Only when we selected the “highlight recovery” option in DaVinci Resolve and then exported frame grabs into IMATEST we got similar results to ProRes. This is a bit strange, because we tested also the old Pocket Cinema Camera and it had the same dynamic range reading in ProRes and RAW – and when we enabled the “highlight recovery” option in Resolve, we actually got about 0.6 stops higher DR in RAW that with ProRes. How come that the DR of the new Pocket 4K is lower in RAW, and only matched ProRes when “highlight recovery” is selected in Resolve? Is ProRes doing this HL recovery automatically? We reached out to Blackmagic Design, and received a reply very promptly: Reply from Andy Buckland, Blackmagic Design (after a call with Gunther Machu): The Pocket Cinema Camera 4K uses our new demosaic algorithm developed with Blackmagic RAW, before encoding to ProRes. This new algorithm helps to reduce noise and improve the dynamic range in ProRes capture. With Cinema DNG RAW, the demosaic is still performed in DaVinci Resolve. That enables full control and manipulation over debayer settings, noise reduction, and highlight recovery to increase the dynamic range measurement beyond that of ProRes.   By applying minimal temporal noise reduction to the Cinema DNG RAW files in DaVinci Resolve – the lower steps on the waveform can be cleaned up nicely, bringing the available dynamic range of RAW in line with those seen in your ProRes tests. Then by enabling highlight recovery, the available dynamic range in Cinema DNG RAW increases beyond that of ProRes.   ProRes users benefit from the new debayer algorithm in terms of dynamic range and reduced noise at capture, resulting in a faster turnaround. RAW users benefit from the full control and manipulation of the image, to decide which parameters they would like to tweak and finesse. Conclusion There are many more things to say about the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, but please do watch the video if you haven’t seen it yet, as many things are covered there in more detail. Blackmagic really did their homework with this one and listened to as many customers as possible when designing the successor to their original Pocket Camera. The image out of it is beautiful and “cinematic”, the dynamic range is better than the one of similar cameras in the market right now, and it’s just very enjoyable shooting with it. It’s not a perfect camera of course, but it has a lot to offer. I can’t wait to took a much closer look at the camera soon. What do you think about the BMPCC 4K? Did you pre-order one, and are you still waiting for it? Please let us know in the comments below. 

Blackmagic Design announced its participation in Netflix’ recently started Post Technology Alliance, a new partnership program between camera manufacturers as well as software vendors and Netflix, that replaces and amends the delivery specifications that were previously in place. It is aimed at making technical support for creatives and manufacturers simpler and better, thus improving workflow, but also quality of content.  The Post Technology Alliance has been announced by Netflix in September in a Medium post detailing the points of the new program. Whereas the earlier delivery specifications already contained ample information on cameras and codecs that were recommended by Netflix, the Post Technology Alliance goes further than that. Camera manufacturers and software vendors can be chosen in four categories: cameras, editorial, color grading and IMF encoding. While Netflix doesn’t expect every tool used in production to be covered by this, they are planning to expand those categories to include other important disciplines like sound production. Lenses for example won’t be covered. Furthermore Netflix made sure to stress that this is not a prescription for usage, but every filmmaker should chose her tools for creative reasons primarily. The four initial categories of the Netflix Post Technology Alliance Blackmagic Design Included in All Categories The URSA Mini 4.6k and the URSA Mini Pro 4.6k had previously already been included in the delivery specifications for Netflix. However as of this moment, Blackmagic Design is the only company to be included in all of the four categories the program currently consists of, with the URSA Mini 4.6k and URSA Mini Pro being included in the camera category and DaVinci Resolve Studio 15 (that is the paid version of Resolve) in the other three (Premiere Pro was included in Editorial, while Final Cut Pro X was omitted completely). This of course makes the cameras produced by Blackmagic Design even more appealing, as both of the cameras mentioned here come with the Studio version of Resolve included. Grant Petty, CEO of Blackmagic Design said: “Professionals creating films and episodic shows for Netflix have to focus on creativity, quality and being able to launch globally in multiple formats. So having a post process that is efficient, easy to use and always improving is essential. We are honored Netflix sees that DaVinci Resolve brings that in each of the software categories of the Post Technology Alliance” A Push Forward That Has Paid Off DaVinci Resolve 15 in edit view Blackmagic Design seems to be on a roll recently. The introduction of the URSA Mini Pro was able to rectify some of the earlier problems the company had with quality control, shipping cameras on time, as well as form factors that were less than appealing to shooters. Then DaVinci Resolve Studio got a huge boost, with version 14 expanding the previously rather basic editing features to a professional level, while also incorporating Fairlight, a full-on audio mixing suit into the software. Version 15 saw the inclusion of Fusion, Blackmagic’s professional grade VFX solution into Resolve itself, making it possible to incorporate VFX work into edits, without even leaving the application. And of course there are the big ones, the introduction of the very popular Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4k and Blackmagic RAW, their proprietary highly efficient compressed Raw codec. It will be interesting to see what the company comes up with next. You can find out more about the Netflix Post Technology Alliance program here. What do you think about the Post Technology Alliance by Netflix and Blackmagic’s participation in it? Are you shooting Blackmagic cameras, or will this make you more likely to consider them? Let us know in the comments!