First Look: BlackMagic Cinema Camera
Blog Exclusive!
Note: This "First Look" series of posts will focus on different parts of the media industry that I deem important. In the first batch of posts I'll be talking about video cameras. I'll do my best to clarify any technical terms that are brought up along the way.
So without further ado...
We earthlings better beware because BlackMagic Design, a creative video technology company has pulled a revolutionary camera out of a hat. Literally, the company must've consulted shamans, the spirits of fallen indie filmmakers and, of course, little green men, in order to produce the spectacular BlackMagic Cinema Camera.
The best way to get readers like you acquainted with this beauty is by listing it's insane specs and by showing you images of this bad boy. The specs are as follows: Unibody enclosure, HD-SDI out, iPhone-esque capacitive touch screen & viewfinder, 2.5K RAW image capture, Micro Four Thirds sensor, EF/ZE lens mount, Dual balanced mic inputs, Solid State Drive (SSD) Recorder and a Thunderbolt port!!!
In theory, no other camera available today, will be able to keep up with the Cinema Camera's read, write and transfer speed. In fact BlackMagic Design claims to be the first company to add an integrated SSD Recorder and Thunderbolt port to a camera. Therefore it's doubtful a faster camera will surface in the near future (especially since camera companies rarely innovate). But enough technical talk -- quite possibly the best part of this camera is its sub-$3,000 price tag.
Hopefully, the user-friendly touchscreen and obsessive Apple-esque simplictity don't dumb down the camera too much. After all the video footage this camera captures is not for the faint of heart. For example: the 2.5K resolution images recorded by the Cinema Camera wouldn't even be able to be displayed in maximum quality on the best 1080p HDTV out today.
Problems do arise starting with the sound capture. The onboard audio options leave a lot to be desired even though the included audio ports are balanced (thus enabling long cables to be run from the camera to a far away mixer without interference). The ports aren't secured like professional XLR connections would be. This leaves open the possibility that someone may accidentally rip a sound cable out of either port thus ruining an otherwise perfect shot. Even more unfortunate is the prospect of the camera shutting down mid shoot because the paltry 2 hour battery drained. And the battery cannot be swapped out for a fresh one either. On the bright side the camera does charge in roughly 2 hours and can be powered via an outlet. Other limitations and problem area's regarding the Cinema Camera will be discussed at length in another post.
Despite it's faults its very hard to believe that the Cinema Camera is BlackMagic's first ever camera. By giving their very first camera such a robust feature set BlackMagic seems set on immediately becoming a major player in the crowded video camera market. At NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) 2012 a BlackMagic Design employee stressed that this camera was a natural progression for the company since they already make popular video acquisition and post-production tools. Indeed, adding a camera to their product line that supposedly integrates seamlessly with their other tools makes good business sense.
With a nearly perfect integrated feature set and a killer price I can see this camera making a name for itself when it comes out this July.
Please feel free to visit the sites below for more information on the camera:
© 2012 Matthew R. Reis, All rights reserved.
Note: This "First Look" series of posts will focus on different parts of the media industry that I deem important. In the first batch of posts I'll be talking about video cameras. I'll do my best to clarify any technical terms that are brought up along the way.
So without further ado...
We earthlings better beware because BlackMagic Design, a creative video technology company has pulled a revolutionary camera out of a hat. Literally, the company must've consulted shamans, the spirits of fallen indie filmmakers and, of course, little green men, in order to produce the spectacular BlackMagic Cinema Camera.
The best way to get readers like you acquainted with this beauty is by listing it's insane specs and by showing you images of this bad boy. The specs are as follows: Unibody enclosure, HD-SDI out, iPhone-esque capacitive touch screen & viewfinder, 2.5K RAW image capture, Micro Four Thirds sensor, EF/ZE lens mount, Dual balanced mic inputs, Solid State Drive (SSD) Recorder and a Thunderbolt port!!!
In theory, no other camera available today, will be able to keep up with the Cinema Camera's read, write and transfer speed. In fact BlackMagic Design claims to be the first company to add an integrated SSD Recorder and Thunderbolt port to a camera. Therefore it's doubtful a faster camera will surface in the near future (especially since camera companies rarely innovate). But enough technical talk -- quite possibly the best part of this camera is its sub-$3,000 price tag.
BlackMagic's Cinema Camera with SSD slot and 3rd party lens shown
Hopefully, the user-friendly touchscreen and obsessive Apple-esque simplictity don't dumb down the camera too much. After all the video footage this camera captures is not for the faint of heart. For example: the 2.5K resolution images recorded by the Cinema Camera wouldn't even be able to be displayed in maximum quality on the best 1080p HDTV out today.
Problems do arise starting with the sound capture. The onboard audio options leave a lot to be desired even though the included audio ports are balanced (thus enabling long cables to be run from the camera to a far away mixer without interference). The ports aren't secured like professional XLR connections would be. This leaves open the possibility that someone may accidentally rip a sound cable out of either port thus ruining an otherwise perfect shot. Even more unfortunate is the prospect of the camera shutting down mid shoot because the paltry 2 hour battery drained. And the battery cannot be swapped out for a fresh one either. On the bright side the camera does charge in roughly 2 hours and can be powered via an outlet. Other limitations and problem area's regarding the Cinema Camera will be discussed at length in another post.
Despite it's faults its very hard to believe that the Cinema Camera is BlackMagic's first ever camera. By giving their very first camera such a robust feature set BlackMagic seems set on immediately becoming a major player in the crowded video camera market. At NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) 2012 a BlackMagic Design employee stressed that this camera was a natural progression for the company since they already make popular video acquisition and post-production tools. Indeed, adding a camera to their product line that supposedly integrates seamlessly with their other tools makes good business sense.
With a nearly perfect integrated feature set and a killer price I can see this camera making a name for itself when it comes out this July.
Take a peek at the camera on display at the NAB trade show below:
Please feel free to visit the sites below for more information on the camera:
BlackMagic Cinema Camera main page: http://tinyurl.com/bnktem3
No Film Schools report on the camera: http://tinyurl.com/7g3gr2
CNET's take on all this: http://tinyurl.com/7u7mb3a
As always thanks for reading!
© 2012 Matthew R. Reis, All rights reserved.
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