Pro Moviemaker Winter 2018

BLACKMAGIC POCKET CINEMA CAMERA 4K TEST

update. This will probably include recording at all sizes and speeds to external SSDs. You can select which media to record to via the touchscreen, which is fast but not too sensitive. The screen is bright but totally fixed – a shame, as a bit of tilt is always welcome for low or high shots, or to get rid of glare. When viewing your footage or during shooting, the screen is an essential tool that can be customised to take into account which LUTs you are using. You can also load your own LUTs via the SD card (the camera is supplied with four LUTs for the more filmic look). There is Filmmode, Pocket 4K Film to Extended Video, Pocket 4K Film to Rec 2020 Hybrid Log Gamma, and Pocket 4K Film to Rec 2020 PQ Gamma. The LUTs can be used to normalise the image on the screen while shooting Log, or you can bake the LUT into the recording. The camera might have lots of different shooting options, including 4K 60p, but one of the slight letdowns is in super slow-motion where it can be

frame rate recording, a focus assist to zoom in to a larger area, the main menus, and the playback button. So there are not too many buttons to confuse you, and the most-used functions are all there. It’s simple, obvious and easy to get to grips with. The left side of the camera has solid rubber covers over ports that include a headphone socket, and a mini XLR jack so you can use serious, pro-quality mics. This, plus decent-quality internal mics and preamps, means the audio is world’s apart from any other mirrorless camera. There are also a full-size HDMI socket, an AC inlet for mains power and a USB-C port. This can be used to trickle charge the internal battery while in use – and the camera uses Canon-size LP- E6 batteries that last for roughly an hour (or you can mount an external hard drive to record to). To record full-size Raw files, you need something quick. We used a robust and very small Angelbird SSD, which worked flawlessly. If you want to record to something

like this regularly, you would need some way of mounting the SSD rather than just having it dangling from the cable. Several rig and camera cage makers already have these in the pipeline. It is possible to record lossless Raw at 30fps onto a very fast SD card, but for faster speeds you need to use a CFast card or SSD. But even USB-C is not fast enough for DCI lossless Raw at 60fps. At the recent IBC show, Blackmagic announced its own new Raw codec, which is likely to be added to the camera in a forthcoming firmware

ABOVE The Blackmagic’s mount is great for using MFT lenses like Panasonic. Colours are natural.

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WINTER 2018 PRO MOVIEMAKER

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