Blackmagic RAW on Panasonic S5 and Blackmagic Video Assist 7" 12G HDR - Questions Answered!

[@MrAlexTech]

So I totally forgot to come back to talking about Batteries during the video!! Even filmed a bunch of B-Roll showing that they're hot swappable so no idea how I manage to miss it ha, nevermind! I use Sony NP-F970 batteries. The VA eats batteries quickly! So I''d advise against using the 550, go for a F770 at the very least.

[@mathiaserichsen8177]

How much run time would you get with two F970 batteries @ 75Wh? And do you know if they’ll last vastly longer at half brightness - like 1250 nits?

[@SahabuddinTanrkulu]

You are the best man. Before the video, I had a lot of questions about it, but now completely clear.

[@Alexrocks1253]

For scenes with high foliage, I found 12:1 made them into large blocks and patches and Q5 fixed that with slightly higher bitrates on average without being way higher like 8:1, 5:1 and so on. For me, Q5 is the sweet spot for blackmagic stuff since it can be even more compressed than 12:1 (I think down to 20:1) when it sees a simple scene.

[@fruithoo]

10:47 appreciate! hdmi recording control is really helpful!

[@TriniWeekes]

I don't much about cameras my friend. But always here to support and like your content. Have a great day

[@MrAlexTech]

Heyy Trini!! Always great to hear from you, many thanks for stopping by 😊

[@RealBrotha32]

It Looks Really Good Alex How Do You Like The Footage Thus Far From Your Perspective 🤷🏾‍♂️🙏🏾✨ Great Video By The Way. I Don't Have This Particular DSLR Yet ☺️

[@madfinntech]

It's not DSLR. Or even SLR. it's mirrorless.

[@stoneylama]

Definitely selling my Ninja V for the 5" BlackMagic Video Asssist. I sold my BMPCC4K to get into full frame with the S5, and now added an S1 to the mix, and the things I miss from my previous kit are the BlackMagic interface and Braw. As a PC user, my options for ProRes Raw involve another step converting footage with Assimilate. That plus the file sizes have kept me from shooting Raw. This feels like the way to go. The 7" a little bulky for run and gun for me...I think.

[@dadandme]

Wow, great video! You covered a a lot of very interesting topics and details. It must have taken you a long time to prep, shoot and edit this video. Thanks 👌

[@FTE99699]

Great, informative video! The like was for the dog though :)

[@MrAlexTech]

Haha he always gets the likes 😆

[@JWS1968]

Stuff I just found out about this ""BMD Video Assist"" having just got one two days ago. It only records formats your camera supports. In all the videos I've watched about these recorders, not just the BMD Video Assist, I didn't realize that it will only record's in codecs your camera supports. For example, I have the Panasonic S5 and NONE of the DNx codecs are available. I spoke to Blackmagic support and they confirmed this. Also, the only 4K codecs available to me on the Panasonic S5 are in CROP mode with all that lovely MOIRE. Gutted that I now have a FULL FRAME camera that only shoots in 6K or 4K crop. It would have been nice to be able to shoot in 2.6K BRAW or DNx for storage reasons. For me, the file sizes would be more manageable without having to buy more storage and I'd have still had the extra wiggle room in post to punch in a smidge if needed. And 10-bit DNx would be fine for the grades I'm capable of and have the time for. LET'S TALK DYNAMIC RANGE! Many of you thought BRAW meant MORE dynamic range, be honest you did, didn't you. WRONG!!! The dynamic range in BRAW is exactly the same as 8-bit or 10-bit codec in-camera so don't think RAW translates into ""extended dynamic range"" IT DOES NOT!! In truth, you're already getting the maximum dynamic range possible out of your sensor with a LOG profile like VLOG. You already have it in 8-bit so no need for this recorder in that regard. If there is any gain it is minimal, not life-changing. I certainly couldn't see any. So what exactly are we gaining here? Well if you can grade, and let's be honest here not many of us can, you get to play with a more aggressive grade. But only at the 12-bit level NOT the 14-bit or 16-bit level so you're NOT getting cinema-quality grading here, don't kid yourself. If you're shit at white balance on set and shit at exposing correctly on set you get a second crack at it in post, but even that isn't a slam dunk. After those minor positives nothing. Save your money. The 8-Bit codec in-camera is good enough. However, if you must go this route be aware that this thing is very well built but also very heavy. It goes through batteries like there's no tomorrow and you'll need an SSD. I have a normal 128GB SD V30 Card and it works fine but, it's like 18 minutes or record time in Q0 and 73 minutes in Q5. So in short I now need a V-Lock power solution, a Gym membership to build up my muscles, and a hundred hours of grading tuition to make it worth the investment. THE SAVING GRACE! BRAW 6K however scrubs like butter on the timeline in Davinci Resolve 17.4 FREE, even with a fully loaded timeline with multiple tracks and video effects. So by by transcoding HELL and hello editing heaven. And for many of us this is a pretty big positive. Hope this helps.

[@ShutterlabCreative]

Wow, this is the best response to a video review I've read. Curious just how much farther the 12-bit will grade in comparison to the 10-bit. It's subjective, but I'd love if the push is like the 8 to 10 bit jump!

[@JWS1968]

@@ShutterlabCreative unless you really know what you're doing its negligible. If I had access to both id use but I certainly wouldn't be spending money to upgrade there. The next big jump after 10bit is probably 14bit. Then there's the file sizes to contend with and processing power you'll need. The question to ask yourself is am I ready for the huge learning curve to get good enough at grading to make the upgrade worth it. And then can you afford the upgrade in computer power you're going to need.

[@ShutterlabCreative]

@@JWS1968 I certainly would like to deep dive into grading and I want to push my images really far most definitely. I know that braw will not increase dynamic range. So the question then becomes how well does it work on the color side as far as cleaner keying and color separation over the internal 10 bit. Also, I thought playback for braw was actually better within resolve then other compressed formats? That's a pretty big plus for not needing proxies if so.

[@JWS1968]

@@ShutterlabCreative BRAW is 12 Bit so a bit more wiggle room there for you. I never used it for keying but it's probably going to be great. And like I say if you know how to grade BRAW is a great thing to have. And if you're willing to put in the hours go for it. But it won't be an easy road. Nothing worth doing was ever easy.

[@ManushJohn]

Have you noticed a increase in sharpness of the image in 5.9k vs the internal down-sampled 4k?

[@CanditoTrainingHQ]

At 6:08, Prores here is not Prores Raw. I know you hinted at that, but it's important Proes itself is just a broad codec, and raw actually came after the codec was initially introduced. It's simply Prores 422 HQ.

[@MrAlexTech]

Hey dude! You're absolutely right, my fault there. I've edited (youtube editor) the video a little to remove a bit so there's a little less ambiguity. Thanks for picking this up. Showing my inexperience with the Prores format 😄 On a personal note, cool seeing you here dude ha, I've watched a bunch of your content over the years! 🙂👍

[@CanditoTrainingHQ]

@@MrAlexTech haha that's awesome, because I actually have exactly this setup now. Panasonic S5 + Blackmagic recorder. I'm going to upload the first HDR squat on youtube next month lol. Bought Davinci Studio for that 1,000 nit + PQ rec 2020 output.

[@ralvis20]

Thanks for this review. I was watching to see if it's worth getting when the GH5s update comes out, and it looks like it'll totally be worth it! Actually really looking forward to playing around with BRAW

[@rubentorrejon5652]

Any chance you could share a link to download a few BRAW 4K and 5.9K sample clips to try them on my PC? Thanks!

[@davidmultimedia2024]

One thing that BRAW offers that very few people seem to realize is that you can trim your files and save them back to BRAW in Resolve (without any compromise or loss whatsoever), so you can minimize file size once your editing is done. It means you can easily record all day and fill up your 1 TB SSD if you need to.... then trim all the unnecessary moments and end up with only the ones that you need, and still have access to RAW data. Brilliant, and a total game changer!

[@nigerian-nightmare]

How do you do that? I shoot Braw 99% of the time. I would like to know how you trim and same.

[@davidmultimedia2024]

@@nigerian-nightmare In Resolve, just go in the Cut page, then trim your footage how you want it, then go to File/Media Management. You can look for tutorials on KZbin. In exchange for my help, I would really appreciate if you could provide some nice S5 BRAW footage to me, so i can experiment with it (testing purposes only, not sharing with anyone). I own a BMPCC 6K and a S5, but didn't bought the Video Assist 12G yet. I'd like to further test the files before buying it. Could you do that? I found some free downloads, but they aren't really good. Thanks!

[@madfinntech]

I didn't know that. Now I want BRAW even more!

[@Nocturnal_Mind]

Does the Video Assist come with Davinci Resolve Studio? I bought one today for my S5 but I thought it came with Davinci Studio but I can't find an activation code in my box.

[@DaveSale-DKSALE]

Thank you for this great tutorial! Just bought the same setup. s5 VA .

[@mogyesz225]

Finally a well assembled review of this much awaited setup, thank you so much Alex! Do you have any info about lag in 4K60 mode? This is probably the only thing holding me against changing..

[@pep98]

Hello, thanks for the great video! I have the S5 II X and shoot in 5.8 K prores. Does that work with this monitor?

[@i24p71]

Thank you for the video. Can you record BRAW externally to blackmagic assist in 24p with panasonic S5? And another question is it possible record all formats which camera allows internally to blackmagic video assist?

[@cinemaipswich4636]

The audio on the Video Assist is studio quality with -126 db sound floor, 24 bit at 192 kHz.

[@jkdrake1]

Quick question if you please. For the Mini XLR cables on the BMVA, how do they work in coordination with an XLR adapter i.e. Panasonic's DMW-XLR1. Does the BMVA take precedence? For example if I am running the BMVA and a XLR adapter simultaneously would they both record audio to separate cards effectively providing a back up, or does one work instead of the other? Bit of a tricky one.

[@RyanMacMcC]

you can record up to 16 channels of audio in the VA internally, and the VA's XLR inputs can be assigned to any of those channels, meaning you can record audio coming from the camera (i.e., the XLR1) *and* audio from the VA. Only thing to keep in mind is that the max bit-rate for audio on the S5 is 16-bit. 24-bit on the GH5 (and various flavors therein)

[@jkdrake1]

@@RyanMacMcC very helpful, thank you!

[@EwenBell]

Another great video, thanks Alex. I'm using 5.9K on the S1H a lot for flexibility of editing, being able to punch in and dynamic zoom in post. I'm mostly happy with internal recording and vlog does the heavy lifting for me. Trouble is internal recording on the S1H is limited to 420 chroma at 5.9K. How much better is the colour sampling with BRAW versus internal recording, is it something closer to 4:4:4 essentially?

[@jayclas4023]

Hmmm so you can’t change the ISO with the Pocket Assist data from the S5🤔

[@lucasdguerra]

Hello! Can you enable false color in the video assist? Thanks!

[@MrDschaen]

I have a little "nichey" question. If I use HDMI into the 12G Videoassist to record BRAW externally, can I actually give out a 2160p signal over the SDI or HDMI out from the videoassist? I know that the 12Gs have good cross/downconvert capabilities so I am wondering if this works as well? Background is I would like to have a BRAW recording for editing later and simultaneously livestream in 4K/2160p (this is a planned new multicam setup and a way to include BRAW and skip individual Hyperdecks for ISO recording). Thanks for the great video!

[@cdubbs44]

Does audio need to be recorded through the monitor or can it be recorded in camera?

[@VadjiT]

Hello, can you please tell me what you used to record with the video assist, because mine does not work with SSD or SD.

[@leofreitas.video_]

Hello friend, congratulations on your work, keep helping the community. I'm curious to test a raw file on this machine would you have any to make available?

[@Arkitek]

thank you for your video! I just received the S5, and I'm disappointed because I can't change the ISO value in DaVinci, do you know why ?

[@uncleanAlibertine1]

Iso settings should be universal but in reality it isn’t! As every manufacturer uses it own interpretation. So you’re basically the same if you are using exposure slider instead. Hope this helps!

[@charlesn]

@@uncleanAlibertine1 If the file is a BRAW file through the BM Video Assist, then go to Color Page > Decode Using (to Clip) > Color Space (select Blackmagic Design) > Color Gamma (select Blackmagic Design Film)

[@dwightlarks2525]

Hi, I can't seem to get my Lumix s5iix connected to my Black Magic video assist to provide me with focus peaking on the black magic video assist. What am I doing wrong? Do I also need to turn on focus peaking inside of the Lumix s5iix?

[@andersistbesser]

I know this video is old but if i may ask, can you tell me how you get rid of the lense distortion in raw files? I downloaded blackmagic sample footage from their page and all the footage is terrible distorted because build in lense correction does not work with raw. i cant get it to look like the edited footage looks on their website.

[@BicinViaggio]

Awesome video, very informative, many thanks!

[@jackcklam]

Does the Video Assist 12G provide SDI output feed while standing by and recording BRAW? The lack of output signal in ProRes RAW mode with Atomos Ninja V is a real dealbreaker that keep it sitting in my closet. Without an output feed, director's won't be happy.

[@ShutterlabCreative]

Do you have (or is there) a comparison of the internal Panasonic 10-bit to the vlog with external BRAW for grading and composting?

[@vasilisman78]

Great video! PLease could you tell me wich adaptor do you use to plug in the ssd above the monitor ?

[@MyJeanf]

Hi Mr Alex just wanted to ask a quick question. When recording with S5 &video assist in BRAW Will the output be the same as the BRAW from my BMPCC4K, given the the S5 will be using Panasonic and vlog colour science. any advice is appreciated. Thanks for you excellent videos

[@bradleyc79]

Thanks from Chicago

[@hughburden]

Hi - thank you for the video. How are you dealing with audio ?

[@JeremiahBostwick]

Briefly mentioned it, but is the fan bothersome? I noticed you also had a screenshot of your rig outdoors, and it had a mic near the assist, did it pick up any of that fan noise?

[@zsoltdirectorofphotography9598]

Hello, you know now what ssd works with BM Video assist 12G in 2024?

[@JamieLaundon]

Looks a great setup. What are you using to mount both side by side above your monitor?

[@MrAlexTech]

Hey cheers Jamie. I'm using these: amzn.to/384v5Mg I've actually got three of them now; camera, VA and led in background. They're very very handy 🙂👍

[@MrWaightyboy]

Any cable recommendations? Can't get mine to work in RAW. Cheers.

[@ristanadwicahya]

I thought HLG in lumix S5 is better than V-log, i didn't understand why they locked the picture profile to V-log only

[@tongxuhan1329]

are you able to power the monitor externally via a single NPF battery with 12v output? is it a must to put both the batteries on?

[@sanasoureshjani6715]

How do u shoot Prores on the s5iic with the monitor?

[@jensrappholdt1717]

How did you add the SSD on the monitor? What did you use?

[@calilifestyle]

Damn that BM Video Assist is 800+ man

[@davidmultimedia2024]

Thanks for your excellent review Alex! What is the battery life of the S5 when your recording externally? Internal recording is supposed to give more or less 2h of continuous recording. I guess it's considerably longer when recording externally? Thanks! :)

[@quiztasiarocks]

Hey Alex, is this the same braw as you get out of the Bmpcc 4K and 6K, or will it be a little different because it’s using a different sensor on the S5?

[@BerndKistenmacher]

Hi Alex, great video so far. i didn't understand one thing: if you use a SD to record from the monitor do you connect the drive to the monitor via USB-C or do you connect it to your camera? That was a little bit too fast for me in the video ;-) Thank you

[@GamingForTheRecentlyDeceased]

Hey mate I'm making a video ending with the Burn out video transition but how do I make it so instead of starting on the entire video how do I isolate the transition to a single item. im making a KZbin like button and dont want the flames around the rest of the video just around a hand jpg

[@FDFchannel1]

Is there latency please

[@SimonStec]

Did the latency issues improve when recording to Braw? Thinking about building this set up but with the 5 inch assist

[@pierredenicola9478]

Great !! Thank you very much !!

[@EvanFotis]

Any chance to upload sample S5 5.9k braw files for test grading?

[@chicobraz4335]

Would s1 ,s5 and s1h have same color and dr when recorded to BRAW since they have same sensor ??

[@midyanshani]

Can you control Raw settings in preimere pro ??

[@ridhomuhammad17]

before new firmware update prores can use in s5 but after update no code support ... sad ...

[@mattprince2007]

Can you use this to record just prores? Does it still crop for 4k 24 if so?

[@raredreamfootage]

Is 1080p Prores oversampled?

[@TheAETHER22]

Can you use the video assist while the s5iix is on a gimbal? Do you need to plug an external ssd to the video assist?

[@LucasCreativeTech]

youd have to plug it in separately. there is a smallrig arm for gimbal that can take a monitor on the side. yea you hook up Ssd to VA

[@BerndKistenmacher]

Unfortunately the Sony A7S III is no supported camera. So I had to take the Ninja V, which causes other unexpected problems.

[@joshdiditt]

So you cant change the ISO with the BRAW coming from the S5?

[@uncleanAlibertine1]

Use exposure

[@apocryphal_man]

Thanks for the video. BTW I have a very similar run-and-gun-setup, but my Smallrig Micro-HDMI to HMDI (the same you have) broke after about 2 weeks, thankfully not taking the micro-HMDI on the camera with it. Still looking for a better solution for that.

[@professionalpotato4764]

It's always best to clamp down the microHDMI connected to the camera port. I don't use the micro to full adapters, I just clamp down really tight on my Fuji rig, it's still doing well.

[@neoterixx3440]

@@professionalpotato4764 how come its better? I'm not sure what to get.

[@professionalpotato4764]

@@neoterixx3440 Adding an adapter just adds another point of failure. Might as well just use a proper micro HDMI cable, clamp it properly, and bring cable backups.

[@neoterixx3440]

@@professionalpotato4764 I understand now. I just placed an order for a clamp.

[@midyanshani]

Can any Hdmi 2.0 work ? Or does it have to be short ?

[@midyanshani]

Is the 12:1 smaller file size than prores raw ?

[@julyanrawlings290]

When you imported into DaVinci resolve you should have used BRAW settings . You have imported as Vlog which completely negates the point of shooting in BRAW in the first place.None of the raw controls are there losing all of the advantage of making adjustments to the RAW data and the superior quality that this makes possible.

[@seasideshutterworx]

Failed to mention as you simply glossed over the fact that you don't have full control over the Braw footage in the Raw Tab

[@markusgeislermedia5638]

Great - THX!

[@DarrenSteward]

Hey Alex, is it possible to record to an SSD direct to the S5 without recorder, like the Assist? For the life of me I can't seem to find any documentation, so trying to figure out why'd they'd include USB-C without that functionality.

[@chhil]

The USB on the S5 is for charging and/or operating the camera with a power bank. I don't think any external monitor other than the Black Magic Video assist allows you to record on a SD card or via a USB - C SSD.

[@timothykieper]

I was hoping for some of the examples of WHY or WHEN to use this setup? Seems like overkill to make a KZbin video?

[@MrAlexTech]

These guys do a pretty good job of explaining the benefits of BRAW: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eqnQe2SaqJ2Lb9U Explaining the benefits was never the intention of this video, it was to answer the questions I received previously.

[@midyanshani]

Can any ssd work ?

[@thebossnocompetition8757]

Still the video is in SDR Why not shoot in HDR?

[@pedrocarzolio]

Have you ever used it for anamorphic content? There is a weird problem only when using the ANAMOR crop mode and the footage presents sveral lines as if it were interlaced footage or something. You need to zoom to notice but is unacceptable. The stranhe thing is that this do not happens when using both full frame or aps-c modes... the airtfacts appears only when using the Anamorphic crop. This is something big... and both Panasonic and Bkackmagic needs to solve it quickly as this mode is a strong benefit that they promote.. And really, the result of the image with this "bug" is not udable in a professional work. This is when uou shoot Braw only, of course, and record in the video assist. If you use internal recording or normal output to record Prores or DNX the footage is ok.

[@steveperrin555]

I'm here but have absolutely no idea what the subject is! DaVinci for idiots is too advanced for me! (Hope u know I'm joking Alex....love your stuff even if I don't understand it!)

[@MrAlexTech]

Haha I appreciate you stopping by Steve 😊👍

[@mattprince2007]

Shame you can’t use 4k 24/25fps braw without crop as you can internally (4k 24/25 vlog for example)

[@MrAlexTech]

Yeaaah it is strange. I'd like to see a 4k no crop 24/25 option as well.

[@enmanueljq5]

That's because the internal codecs are oversampled from the full sensor read (around 6k resolution), and since RAW images are supposed to be a pixel by pixel readout (no oversampling, no line skipping, no pixel binning) the camera has to crop to get that 4K image. Happens the same with the Blackmagic Cinema Pocket Camera 6K. Q5 and 12:1 BRAW compressions are so efficient that I wouldn't really worry about that! It's crazy the amount of 5.9K RAW footage you can get with a 100 US 500GB SSD!

[@GaryCunninghamyouareenough]

🤟