Blackmagic ZOOM & FOCUS Demands | Everything you need to know!

[@AlexPettitt]

Hope you found this video useful! Quick poll, do you prefer A) Tutorial Videos or B) Product Videos? Reply to this comment with either A or B. It will really help me to make sure I continue creating content that helps you and others :) Thanks!

[@technik-lust]

A… and a mix of a and b

[@SamuelRossAIM]

I come here for both A & B. So I'm of no help in this poll. But keep up the good work, it's extremely valuable information.

[@njgroven]

Jup! Both!

[@pgsm15]

BOTH A & B

[@evansmosomi6892]

Both! Love the videos btw

[@flying7525R]

great job. But the zoom is almost worthless with the only available lenses not that great. Whats really needed is a 2.8 zoom with 35 to 200 equivalent

[@johnravi1683]

Hi Alex, Thanks a lot for sharing this video! A very close friend of mine was asking me about this, and I think this video will be a great help to him. I am so glad you did this. I trust your judgment and review very much, and I feel confident in sharing your videos with others. It was a great watch as well, and I gained a lot of great tips from it. I will definitely share it with my nephew and friends and I hope it helps them!

[@ChrisLaxamana]

Great video, thank you! It kills me there aren't better lenses available for this. Seriously limiting.

[@onsetxco]

Hey Alex! Could you make a quick list/video of those 50+ native MF3 lenses that work for the focus demand.

[@Gi0vann1]

Anyone know if the 100-300mm Panasonic LUMIX G II Power Zoom lens work with the zoom and focus demand at this time?

[@nerolemon]

Now that these are compatable with the pocket cinemas, do you have a zoom demand compatable lens list for EF lenses?

[@sasukesan767]

I did an update for the Blackmagic pocket cinema camera 6k pro, bmpcc 6k pro, and there is an option for the zoom and focus in the menu. Can you revisit this in a future video? Thats how I found this video in the first place. Great job btw with your setup!

[@wmmediallc]

I see this option for both on my 6K Pro as well.

[@jakehebert]

Hey Alex, Was reading some other comments about this gadget being used for MFT vs B4. I would love if you did a video about using this with a Blackmagic URSA & B4, or even more importantly for me, if you got a B4 lens adapter for a Blackmagic Studio Camera 4k and tried using the zoom/focus demands with it. Would be very interested to see if that combo would work to get a whole bunch more lenses available for use with the otherwise great camera that is the Studio Cam 4k Pro.

[@weeardguy]

Most lens communication on B4's is digital nowadays, so unless the Blackmagic camerahead can talk the right protocol (which I doubt, but I'm also not sure what the lens exactly returns in communication) it could possibly work. But considering Blackmagic usually rules out using other people's hardware, I would be surprised if this could work. And considering you get a USB-C connection on a Blackmagic demand (which I consider a joke, connectionwise), you're better off with a demand from Fujinon or Canon. As I'm making my own zoom and focus demand for my own 1/3 inch lenses (same idea as B4, just a smaller mount, B4 is 2/3 inch), I know that I'm either stuck with completely reverse-engineering the digital communication from the Fujinon Digi-power servo-units attached to the lens as it goes into the camera or the digital signals that can enter and exit via the dedicated zoom-demand connector on the bottom of the servo-unit, or just go with the flow and use an analog-to-digital solution: as the circuit diagrams are very clear about the connections one has to make and the signals to send and I got both focus and zoom working externally, I'm now thinking about extending the whole remote-idea by reading the zoom-follow and focus-follow signals (a feedback signal directly proportional to the position of zoom- and focusring on the lens) that comes back from the servo-unit and is inverted from the control signal), converting it to a digital value and being able to store this value on 1 or more buttons, I can have zoom and focus presets that I can recall by just the press of a button (and basically, the amount of buttons doesn't really matter, you can add as many inputs as your microcontroller features (or can be considered handy considering the available space on your remote) Ofcourse, the demands one can buy are great, but for me, as a hobbyist, they are way too costly... With all the pulled components from professional lenses I've got laying around and the focus-motors I bought cheaply off Ebay, I at least got to a point I got both focus and zoom working. Now I only need to make it into something nice ;)

[@fgc1850]

​@@weeardguy hey bro im trying to figure out how can i get slow zooms, i dont care if its motorized or not, i just need it to be slow and steady, any kind of information would be appreciated

[@weeardguy]

@@fgc1850 Well, that depends on the connection your B4 lens has. If it's a 'standard' (Canon and Fujinon have different pinouts) 8-pin connection on the bottom of your lens and your lens is Fujinon made, you need connection A through D and connect a zoom-seesaw to these connections (how you exactly need to wire it is something that requires some measurements and experimenting, you can hardly go wrong as long as you don't short anything). The zoom-seesaw is something I usually pull from very old standard definition lenses (try to get a hold of severely damaged units as usually the lenses are scratched or suffer from fungus, the mount is worn or the servo-unit itself sustained damage, but the zoom-seesaw hardly ever fails) If you got a 12-pin Hirose connector on the bottom (fujinon digipower), you need pins 3, 4, 5 and 7. Again, connect the zoom-seesaw to these connections. The way it works is simply that the zoom-seesaw is a potentiometer with 3 voltage connections and 1 wiper-output: Common (5V), Common-2,5 Volt, Common+2,5 Volt and your control signal (wiper) connection. The zoom-seesaw outputs 5 Volt as a control signal in the center position (which means the motor is stationary), but varies this voltage to Comm-2,5 or Comm+2,5 Volt as you depress the seesaw more in wanted direction, letting the motor turn in the wanted direction. Could you do this with a potentiometer? Oh yes, but than your potentiometer-setting will become the absolute position of your zoom as well, which means that slow-zooming than requires good control over your muscles to do that smooth and steady. The downside to this is the connector: it's expensive (the 12-pin Hirose male connector starts around 18 Euro ex VAT., close to the same in Dollars I think), the 8-in Tajimi R03-R8F3 connector is close to unobtainable. I got lucky that I could pull it from a Vinten Radamec focus-drive I bought from Ebay. Basically what you want to try is to get a hold of the manual of your B4 lens. It includes all the circuit diagrams and mentions all the signals the connectors to the outside world carry. That's how I figured out mine and though I've got the remote part figured out, making it digital (with zoom and focus presets) is another story for now... If you want you could send me an e-mail and I can send you two different circuit diagrams, as I (by now) found out that the lens-manuals are hard to find on the internet...

[@fgc1850]

@@weeardguy hey thank you man, i will be looking into all of this

[@Shauny_D]

wonder if these will work on converted lenses like the canon 18-80 t4.4 servo. It works on ursas and pockets to control zoom via atem software so it would make sense that they would

[@whynoth]

We need this for the pockets!

[@ONtvChannels]

Thanks Alex, nice overview!

[@AlexPettitt]

Glad you enjoyed it :)

[@afolabioluwafemi4076]

Thanks for the video. Can it be controlled from the Atem.

[@FAB_Steve_James]

The work perfectly with the Canon CN-E 18-80mm T4.4 Compact-Servo Cinema Zoom Lens on the 6k Pro

[@FAB_Steve_James]

I spoke too soon - the extra burden on the USB bus means I can't record onto USB disk (rated to 2,000 mbs) at the higher setting when using the zoom demand and follow focus??? Just me?

[@tusBerneFussball]

Does it work with iPhone 15 and Blackmagic-App?

[@joseteran932]

Awesome video Alex! Can you hook up two zoom demands to one Blackmagic camera and use one for zoom and the other for focus?

[@weeardguy]

Most likely no, because zoom-demands have an entirely different setup compared to focus demands: focus demands usually have a grip that rotates (mechanical demands) and is basically an absolute positional device: rotating the grip rotates the lens ring via a Bowden-cable attached to the lens and the grip is thus mechanically coupled. Electronic focus demands usually have a wheel that rotates and outputs either a control voltage (older, analog style demands) and sends this to a focus-position/motor unit attached to the lens while receiving feedback (a 'follow signal' from the drive) as a PID-feedback circuit or outputs digital signals that get converted to drive-signals for the focus drive and either receives a control voltage (with potentiometer-feedback) or encoder-signals from the focus-drive (almost every lens these days) But the difference remains: even when the focus demand is as digital as can be, it's position is (basically) still coupled to the position of the lens-ring, where the zoom-demand has a seesaw/rocker that has no way of telling where the zoom-ring on the lens is: it's centered when not pushed left or right and only controls the zoom-ring when pushed to the left or right. Though I would also not be surprised if this is possible, a focus-demand just works different and when the focus puller is someone else than the camera-operator, he or she will want the classic wheel-type controller, not a seesaw-kind of control that requires far more practice in achieving the right focus position ánd lacks the possibility to mark focus-positions on the demand as professionals do when they need specific focus-points and don't have the time to pull focus but just need it to be rock-solid as soon as the operator pans/tilts or zooms to the object/subject.

[@L.A1984]

hello to Blaskmagik Ursa Mini Pru 4.6 k you can use blackmagic zoom and focus demond because like ursa broadcast j 2 ursa 4.6 k does not have a usb port

[@ThinAirGraFx]

Have you tried the zoom Q8n along with the Atem Mini line

[@jaydendill8962]

Hey Alex, awesome job with the video. Last time I checked, the focus and zoom demands are only compatible with a few MFT lenses. I believe the MFT lens needs to be a powered MFT lens to work with the focus demand and I think their are only 4 on the market. Is that true or have I received wrong information

[@AlexPettitt]

Hey Jayden, thats for the Zoom Demand, the focus demand can work with over 50+ lenses. Alex

[@MoTheFcker]

@@AlexPettitt how to find out which 50+ lenses work with it?

[@jordan9266]

How would you rate that lumix lens? What's its pros and cons? I'm tempted to get the lens you got for the sake of remote control and using the demand but not sure if its worth getting it

[@chadsvideoservice3644]

Hi Alex. I come from the TV biz and want to know zooms. Is there a lens that would work with zoom and focus on the 6k studio that has a 20X zoom? Thanks!

[@DanYork-g9x]

I have the 6k Studio and bought the Panasonic 45-175mm Kumix G with power zoom and focus (that you used) but the micro four thirds lens doesn't fit. I guess I need am EF lens for the 6K. I'm really in a jam now, I can't afford to lose any more time on this. Can you recommend lens for the 6k with zoom and focus demand. Thank you.

[@Bryster51]

Not everything is software based for changes, Pocket cameras will need hardware to passthrough the commands to the lens for control

[@VovaVidilin]

These demands are intended for broadcast (B4) and servo cinema lenses (EF and PL kind). And for URSA cameras beginning from Broadcast G2. That’s nice they work with MFT too, but as you see there are limitations. Power zoom MFT lenses are simply… not the best of its kind. Frankly when demands were first introduced with MFT cameras that was sooooo confusing

[@AlexPettitt]

Yeah as mentioned in the video, MFT lenses definitely have their limitations when it comes to Zoom and Focus servos… especially right now, only 4 MFT lenses have both. But hopefully we’ll see more developed in the future… as it could be a nice (cheaper) alternative to B4 :)

[@Robinlarsson83]

Well, are they really intended for B4 lenses? They were introduced with an MFT camera, and will most likely not work with B4 lenses even if you adapt a B4 to the Studio Camera, unless you find an adapter that can take signals from the MFT mount and convert to the connector used on B4 lenses? Havent seen such an adapter yet? The Ursa Broadcast G2 has a connector for B4 lenses afaik, and since the Demands work with that camera as well, sure, you can say it's made for B4.

[@ChimeThinker]

Can you daisy chain to a SSD?

[@Mr.Smith_22]

Hey Alex I have question. Is the Focus Demand also compatible with the URSA Broadcast, not the G2?

[@RoyHernandezphotographer]

any news about compatibility with the pocket 4k?

[@jonodate]

I do know that you can now use the zoom and focus demand on all Blackmagic cameras now but only blackmagic cameras!!

[@protasov-by]

Hi! So this thing won't work on Ursa Pro G2? not broadcast version?

[@bcreative4825]

hi alex .while using Blackmagic Studio Camera with power zoom 45-175mm , during zoom in and out i cant get a follow focus image . why ?

[@sammymorales6838]

it would be nice if they let you use the focus demand on the pockets..

[@kirchelangenthal]

I have an aperture problem. The aperture increases even when I start at f 5.6 with my Panasonic Lumix G 12-42. I can't compensate it. Is it working with your camera and lens? With the 45-175 it works fine.

[@kirchelangenthal]

Just for information: The Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 14-42mm works just fine without any aperture problem.

[@Rabanisafi011]

We have Panasonic Lumix G Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 12-60mm F/2.8-4.0,and black magic zoom demand controller gate work togerher this lens model have super zoom

[@r3drang3r69]

hey man are you serious?? The zoom demand works on this lens???

[@theBullringLive]

Do you know what firmware version is needed to run these? Thanks

[@jontramel4003]

I believe it's 7.4.3

[@dennypilot9856]

Can they work with Canon servo zooms adapted?

[@moicarranza]

Excelente video

[@davidschuler7232]

By the way, i am confused that the URSA Studio Viewfinder G2 is more expensive than a Studio Camera 4K. Are there a lot more ways to use the demands with the Ursa G2?

[@hbp_]

Probably because only a few customers will buy it, secondly it's in line with competition, and finally the BG2 itself is extremely cheap.

[@FACCTNC]

Question can the zoom demand and focus demand be used with Speed boosters?

[@AlexPettitt]

Unfortunately I didn’t have access to a speed booster to test this personally, so I can’t say

[@mediazonestudios]

"The focus demand with a long USB C cable would be a great follow focus alternative for PCC's, just saying" +1

[@AlexPettitt]

Haha glad you agree :)

[@Jameswilliams848]

Totally agreed!!

[@sjulian12]

Any reason why the Lumix 45-175 wouldn't be responding with Zoom Demand at all on my BMD Studio 4K Plus? Even trying to manually zoom or focus, it wont respond. (I've mounted the lens on my BMPCC4K and it works) 🤷‍♂

[@AlexPettitt]

This is very strange! If it work on the BMPCC4K, it leads me to think you may have some damage to the contact points on the MFT mount of the camera maybe.

[@giannistsakonas6102]

Can anyone confirm that ''Metabones Canon EF to Micro Four Thirds T CINE Speed Booster ULTRA 0.71x'' will work for Bmpcc 4k to the 18-35mm lens? Thanks!

[@AHTproductions]

It’s not working for me

[@liamdanielmcevoy6622]

I also own both demands and my thoughts are the same. Terrific devices let down be extremely poor lenses.

[@AlexPettitt]

Yeah I'm really hoping that these types of devices spur lens manufactures to really develop more lenses with this capability. It would be great to have a wider range!

[@glennrankin4976]

@@AlexPettitt Especially if they have a constant aperture over the zoom range and allow the focus demand to work while zooming :)

[@rumorscameras]

they work now on the pocket

[@AlexPettitt]

Yeah the do!! Love this new update!

[@renejacobi1220]

@@AlexPettitt @RumorsCAMERAS but the Zoom Demand is only working on the Pocket 6K, right? Or also on the Pocket 4k?

[@maizesoft]

And MFT lens is not par focal, on the way you zoom you will lose focus...

[@lkptlst3256]

also not constant aperture, you lose light too

[@roqueprime4077]

Not working in my cam

[@retlwiz]

These demands are so limited in what they can be used on they are virtually useless, in my opinion. I really don't want to use variable f-stop mft lenses in conference work, but a generic demand that worked with a range of cameras and lenses would be great. I happen to have an Ursa G1 with a B4 mount and a Fujinon 20-200mm tv-style lens. What's the point of enabling the G1 to take a B4 mount but then not producing any accessories that can go with it? Just because the camera is 4 years + old, why is it redundant now?

[@weeardguy]

Most likely, getting a B4 mount to work on such a camera comprises reverse-engineering of software that Fujinon and Canon aren't willing to give details about, and if they do, one still has to implement it. That's the sole reason the demand probably doesn't work: don't forget that B4 lenses aren't made to work that way at all. They feature dedicated connectors for zoom-demands and (usually, not always) feature external drives to get a focus-demand going. Some lenses do have full servo-drives already installed inside the servo-unit, but my experience is that especially older lenses usually lack a focus-servo (they do have the feedback-potentiometer already installed, just not the motor to drive the ring). B4 lenses only get controlled remotely from the camera when there's a need to, but then the whole camera gets connected via a dedicated connection that controls everything (zoom, focus, iris, ND, extender (if any), white-balance and all other things that control the image. Then, the lens is controlled via a serial connection over the same connection that usually only connects to the camera for power, feedback of iris, focus and zoom settings. If the original manufacturer does not want to give information on the communication used, you're just out of luck and basic support is what you get at most.

[@lkptlst3256]

Its good idea but just right now its unusable. that 3 lens list which works with zoom piece is just funny and deal breaker INSTANTLY.

[@AlexPettitt]

I know exactly what you mean! Fingers crossed more lenses with this functionality will be announced in the near future :)

[@seaker97]

DO NOT BUY THIS!!! These products only work with four sub standard lenses. Directly from Black Magic Support Panasonic Lumix G X Vario PZ 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Power O.I.S. Lens Panasonic Lumix G X Vario PZ 45-175mm f/4.0-5.6 Zoom OIS Lens Olympus 12-50mm f/3.5-6.3 ED M.Zuiko EZ Micro 4/3 Lens Olympus 14-42mm M.Zuiko f/3.5-5.6 Digital ED EZ Lens We purchased the best one out of this list and we still had to bring our production value down to test it. Not worth it if you have any type of above average production.

[@OBC_Studio]

A

[@matthewlang7364]

first

[@AlexPettitt]

🥇

[@matthewlang7364]

first