Audio, Gimbals & Stills - Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K - Q&A Part 2

[@NarekAvetisyan]

The mini XLR port is unmistakably the best sounding of them all, even better to me than the H6. There was hissing from the 3.5mm jack port. I could still hear the fan noise from the shotgun mic. And the internal mic sound was just atrocious, the fan noise was very prominent in that.

[@thatcherfreeman]

Narek Avetisyan I feel like the H6 should have performed better but it sounded very muted or muffled in this test than what you might expect.

[@DeanHarringtonimages]

The new Zoom 8n would be my audio recorder of choice for this test.

[@waawaaweewaa2045]

Yes but I was hearing some clipping on the mini xlr setting, hopefully he just had his levels too hot.

[@CraigGriffiths]

I'll be running a NTG3 straight in via xlr. Or as I did with the original videomic pro into camera for scratch and sync in post. 1 minute in post to get amazing audio.

[@saewms2616]

The mini XLR input and 3.5 are both more than useable with the lav. Thank you for your confirmation.

[@ProAVTV]

Absolutely, the quality with the lav seemed fine. Dan

[@matiasgoinheix366]

Man, this series is a great breakdown. Greatly presented, thorough, serious but not dull and without stupid gags. Thanks for this, helped me decide.

[@AAa-tn5rz]

can we use the BMCC or BMPCC Metabones speedboosters for 1080p windowed mode and can you test on a sigma 18-35 f1.8? what would be the crop and lens equivalent? also how do you stabilize shots without a gimbal in a run and gun mode?

[@RusstafaB]

There are bound to be issues with either the 3.5mm input or onboard mics. The signal to noise ratio will always be higher and it is incredibly difficult to design quiet electronics when you have onboard processors working away, trying to create a well designed ground plane/guard banding design to reduce the noise/lower the noise floor on a mic preamp. For the stills issue would not be at all surprised if they are going to "hook" this in to a future iteration of Resolve as either a reference still or similar within their workflows, same way you grab a still when grading in Resolve which I know a lot of colourists do. The guys at BM are incredibly clever I have met Peter Chamberlain and Rohit Gupta and know quite a few of the ex- Fairlight team before they migrated over to BM. Thanks for the review, this was a very well presented video, and you run an excellent channel.

[@DmitryChebakov]

This one is one of the most comprehensive reviews I found on youtube. Thank you!

[@alecwry]

I would love a video talking about practical power solutions. Also a comparison to the C200. For a while now I have been saving up for the C200, but the Cinema Pocket Camera is an enticing alternative. The one big thing that is keeping me from jumping on the Pocket bandwagon is ease of use. I do so much run and gun stuff, if I got the Pocket I would need to kit it out with external power and whatnot.

[@creativesymon]

Top job 👍 So looking forward to your comparison vids.

[@ProAVTV]

Glad you liked it! Dan

[@gravitymediapro]

New subscriber here. I really love your style and comprehensive reviews. Great material and beautifully presented.

[@earnieboy54]

I love cameras and filmmaking tips. But I gotta be honest. I subbed because your voice is amazing and it makes it super easy to pay attention to the content.

[@alansmithee6725]

You say you managed to balance all the gimbals, but the question is, how well? Does it hold position, with the motors off, as you angle it, move it up, down, etc.? I ask, because it looks like you'd need a counterweight, in addition to whatever the Arca plate adds on the left.

[@joicam123]

The best solution I have found for gimbals like Ronin s and Crane 2 is using a half cage (not the full cage) to offset the camera on them. Tryd everything like offset plates but the half cage were the one I ended up as my best solution.

[@europeanslivingabroad3669]

Could you please compare the Pocket 4K to the Fuji XT3 with Ninja V?

[@YaBoyZayyyy]

Yes please! I also would like to see this.

[@DeanHarringtonimages]

Thanks for answering some important questions. On the question of the BM Pocket 4k 'stills' capabilities, I would be interested in a 3-way comparison: a classic professional standard 35 mm stills shot, a digital stills camera from one of the recent cameras and the pocket 4k camera cropped in to study the light fall-off and the grain. That would tell us something interesting ... me thinks.

[@DutchAussieProductions]

Thanks for the video. I am looking forward to the next one. All I need now is to get my hands on this camera.

[@palfrey411]

Thank you so much for doing these tests guys. The swis plate on the crane is a great idea and solution to balancing it, I wonder if it would work on a Crane Plus, in theory the weight of a BMCC4K and Panasonic 12-35mm is OK, just the width.

[@christophershivers6257]

No they did say they will add black magic raw to the pocket 4k. They raw in mind when they was making the pocket 4k right now it’s in beta. So it will take a couple of months. Also ProRes RAW is now supported on premiere

[@portzir]

God bless you write this command, got some heartbumps when Carl said they're just thinking of bringing it to the bmpcc 4k. I also thought that they said they are really releasing BM Raw for it. I mean this will double the value of this already overly underpriced camera. Just gotta make a double check on this statement!

[@98JamesNixon]

Yeah I have seen multiple interview videos with blackmagic reps stating they are going to bring blackmagic raw to the pocket next after the ursa.

[@portzir]

But they never say when they will right? Would be insane if they bring it this year, maybe as a christmas present or new year special :D

[@christophershivers6257]

Portzir in a couple of months, I’m guessing they tryin to see how it will do in the ursa mini pro and see if they need to add anything :)

[@omaranasr2659]

I think its all about selling as much Samsung T5 SSD's as possible, because if BM RAW is in the camera you will no longer need to record to SSD. I think its just a matter of business.

[@harlanrumjahn9992]

Hi Carl! Thank you and your team at ProAV TV. Your reviews on this BMPCC 4K are the best. I just received mine in the mail and was running some tests of my own. I was wondering if you could tell me what settings you had on the camera and Rode Videomic Pro + during your audio test. Your audio sounded much cleaner than mine! I used the Rode Videomic Pro + into the 3.5 mm port and have the settings on the camera set to mono for both the right and left side. I have the 75 dB low cut filter turned on for the microphone (no 20 dB boost or -10 dB cut). With these settings I have a very audible hiss. You don't have that on your test. Thank you for your time and the great quality of your reviews!

[@harlanrumjahn9992]

Sorry, I forgot to add that my gain on the BMPCC for the mono input is set to 92%. Thanks!

[@omaranasr2659]

can it take long exposure time laps, what is the lowest shutter speed option?

[@DeanHarringtonimages]

I've used frame grabs from descent professional video cameras in magazine articles to good effect but it seems possible that the newer digital 'stills/video' cameras might just be adding sharpening in camera to increase the quality of 'stills' shots.

[@jameshobden6770]

One of the best channels I have visited and very professional and honest, Thanks. Please compare this camera to the Fuji X-T3.

[@troyphillips1077]

Thanks and great job. Cannot wait for more tests . Especially wanting to see the comparisons of video quality to other cameras.

[@ProAVTV]

Glad you liked it! You're in luck! We have comparisons to other cameras in the works, so keep an eye out for that. Dan

[@RLinares22]

Hey ProAV. Any chance you can do a video diving into the comparisons of the metabones XL v the Ultra with looks at the standard v the Cine locks for this camera? Would be informative in helping shooters decide on which to buy based on their shooting styles and work.

[@AnthonyGreene15]

Can you split the audio inputs? For example, use a Rode VideoMic Pro with a 3.5mm input in one channel then a lav receiver with XLR in the other?

[@landerikboie7264]

Your reviews are really good! I would love a lens comparisson between diffrent Micro Four Third mount lenses like Panasonic, Olympus, Samyang (Rokinon) and maybe even Veydra. Also I'm very interested to see some battery solutions.

[@Lunchboxx3d]

A big issue ive been seeing in the bmpcc 4k is banding at low light. KZbin has a big part in the compression and causing this banding especially when comparing the raw footage that looks great. If there is a way to show compare the two somehow and offer solutions to fix this or give a reason why this issue occurs itd be a great video to watch!

[@Dubi00]

Would love to see how it operates recording to an external SSD and also how it operates using the 12v in with a more powerful external power source for longer recording times. Overall these videos have been very informative, cant wait for my pre order to come in.

[@benjamincorteslyon6777]

Could you show us if the SWIT batteries are a real solution to BMPCC4K? You put it on a external monitor and then to camera? How long it last?

[@storieswithaly1247]

Works with MOZA air 2. Also various cage set ups to achieve at least the stabilisation. Video and film quality better than the gh5s or equivalent Sony. Also with post processing grading with various software like da Vinci and film convert.

[@alex_foster]

speed booster?

[@xLightcrystalx]

Please do a comparison with the original pocket.

[@sandeepgillco]

Would love to see a 1080p side by side comparison with the original BMPCC. A lot of KZbinrs are mentioning the slightly more cinematic look that the original camera had.

[@WorldWideWong]

Regarding "no proxy recording" could it output signal to an external recorder while also recording to sd/cfast/ssd? Cuz if so, That'd be perfect!!!

[@RLinares22]

Thanks so much for your content! Great job! Any ideas on whether we'll be able to get 4k out of the camera? Any wireless monitoring solutions? Best!

[@steveporter3161]

Another great video, thanks. Please can you discuss other power options V lock / mini V lock etc, thanks

[@raveleando]

Thanks Carl and your team for bringing this informative Q&A, i want to ask you about a more in depth review with the zhiyun crane 2, does it works with the follow focus motor and if it balances ok, or you think the ronin s is a more natural way to go.

[@photographer-at-large9795]

Big thank you 🙏 for comparison of audio. How do you manage known 19ms delay of Sennheiser AVX? Please post a link for 3.5mm to mini-XLR adapter cable.

[@ProAVTV]

We don't normally find the delay on the AVX to be that noticeable when it is the only source. When we are mixing it with analogue sources we do shift it across on the timeline a little to compensate for it. As for a 3.5mm to mini-XLR, we are trying to find a reliable option to recommend, however most of our customers are more interested in a 3.5mm to full size XLR. What are you trying to achieve with the 3.5mm to mini XLR ? Carl

[@photographer-at-large9795]

ProAV TV Thank you Carl. I'd like to timecode into 3.5mm jack, and AVX into mini-XLR as minimally as possible.

[@hansmadula484]

@@photographer-at-large9795 Following this! I'm planning to go Tentacle on 3.5mm and wireless hop via mini XLR.

[@macmotions]

Which 3-pin Mini XLR adapter are you using? @@ProAVTV

[@robertodelatorre1464]

Thanks for your time. Can you make an acurate skin tone test with shoft and hard light compared for example, or keeping in mind the color science of the C200? and also some test about roll-off and dynamic range to see how it works with specular lights? Not need extreme examples, just to see how this camera can perform a few stops over or underexpose, or just right on the key light. Thanks

[@reyals66]

Very helpful and informative Carl, thank you! It'll be of great help if you can also cover the post production process(how GPU and CPU intensive each file format is) in your later videos.

[@perspectivestudioscaribbea5899]

Excellent job as usual Carl, so much great info, in the audio tests it seems to me like the xlr input on the camera has a stronger gain than the zoom. I would like to see a setup with the pocket as a B camera to an URSA mini and how that cuts together, because i currently collaborate with an Ursa mini pro owner

[@peterallely5417]

When you put the shutter metric into "time" rather than shutter angle, what's the slowest shutter speed you can set? For using the timelapse function it would be great to be able to set a 2sec exposure and say a 3sec interval. Is this possible?

[@LikeAGentlemanPlease]

I’m stuck between gh5s or bmpcc 4K. Can you do a comparison? It’s a major purchase and I want to get it right.

[@wesgreene9908]

I've done similar audio tests and found the 3.5mm port very noisy with a lot of hiss noise. I was hoping for interviews that I could run a shotgun powered by camera through the mini XLR and then run a wireless lapel through the 3.5mm port - however the quality I get with the lapel through the 3.5mm is very poor. Any tips on how you got a clean result with wireless lapel through the 3.5mm port?? What cable did you use from receiver to port?

[@benjamincorteslyon6777]

Great video... could you test the performance of 1080p, please? It is windowed? Does it have this same extreme cropping as found in 120 fps, or not when you are shooting in 1080/24p in ProRES?

[@ApostolosNikolaidis1]

Great great job you've done there! Could we see the difference between the Metabones adapter and how it works crop wise with the camera? Thanks!

[@Danny_Ambarita]

Was the timelapse video 1080 or 4k ?

[@js_filming7701]

What about star time-lapse? How can you change the shutter to maybe 30sec?

[@heavypencilled8128]

Please do a test for the following. BMDPCC4k x2 for 3D Vr ........ the Micro Studio is good for 3d VR however lacks features of raw. Does the BMDPCC4k have genlock, or is it able to sync with 2x BMDPCC4k? How far away are the middle of the sensors away from each other sensor. BMD fusion supports 3d vr, so i find it odd if this cant achieve stereoscopic, the forum for BMD has alot of talk about 3D work with BMD so I would find this to be a very good test.

[@karimrateb8837]

Hello. Thanks for your video. QUESTION: can you adjust audio levels whilst recording?

[@tompetroff]

Nice video. I notice that when using the bmpcc4k on the ronin s using the riser plate that there seems to be a small gap that makes the camera sit at an angle rather than flush. Have you noticed it and if so were you able to overcome it?

[@mpouliot55]

any chance we could get a video of you stabilizing the camera with the gimbals? especially the ronin?

[@MattGrover]

Is the XLR a mono input? And if so presumably you can only choose between the xlr and 3.5? Only having one audio input channel is a tad limiting

[@hamada921]

I going to by this amazing camera , but I'm still confused with witch mount should I buy with , all my liens that I have is EF canon liens like ( 70- 200 , 85 , 50 , 16-35 ) , I found three option but I didn't know witch one it the more computable with my liens this Metabones EF to MFT T Speed Booster ULTRA 0.71x (Black Matt) or this Metabones EF to MFT T Speed Booster XL 0.64x (Black Matt), 0.64x or this Metabones Canon EF Lens to Micro Four Thirds T Smart Adapter thank you :)

[@Mintyseden]

Great video. I’m curious about the green / yellow tint I’ve seen in a lot of the bmpcc 4K samples. Is that from added luts, or is it the color straight out of the chip? I’m used to very “true” colors that canon has in the 5d’s and the 1dx.

[@pawanthapa4940]

I have seen so many reviews but where to buy it in US? Adorama/BH told me they have no idea when it will be shipped. Any comments?

[@arbbell]

Hey, quick question - what are the dimensions of the mounting area of the ronin? Is it the same width as the Ronin M?

[@analienundercover8207]

do you think by buying bmpc4k i can connect my sennheiser phantom power to it and i'm good to go? or you think i'm gonna need a zoom h6 or h5 to run that mic noiseless??please answer i need help to save a bit money

[@welcometoopa]

Hei, great video man! I have the Ronins S and I'm considering buying this camera. Will the focusing dile from the Ronin S work on this camera?

[@rramasamy1472]

Is there any way to use the rode videomic pro but avoid the internal camera noise?

[@TonyMacina]

Another sterling Q&A (yes, that was a reference to the great football match last night) but this is an incredible camera. I'd been considering the GH5s as it can shoot quality on par with Prores 422 or 422LT, but can go all the way down to 8bit 4:2:0 for quick turnaround. But then I saw this, and the price! For that I can get the BMPCC4k and a G9 or E-M1ii to completely replace my current set up for less than the GH5s and the audio adapter!

[@peterallely5417]

I saw one interview with a BMD rep and he said BRAW would definitely come to the Pocket 4K, hope he wasn't mispeaking

[@bianca88064]

Thank you for the information, i have a problem with my stills, i can take stills, but i can not see it, i tried using premiere pro and Photoshop.., please let me know if theres something that i can do...

[@thatcherfreeman]

Looks like you can't make the exposure on a frame in the timelapse to be longer than 1/24th of a second right?

[@waynechanhaoran]

Will be good to see what IR pollution is like on the sensor? My understanding is that the previous blackmagic sensors had terrible ir pollution

[@JamesJacksonFilmz]

As someone who has one. I havent come across IR pollution. This camera has a sony sensor like the GH5s not one that has been built from the ground up like previous blackmagic cameras.

[@ProAVTV]

We did some quick IR tests in our previous video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bGbVkp-dhsR0pbc Dan

[@koalsn]

is it somehow possible to import the blackmagic dng files into after effects or premiere? thanks for help!

[@noahtotten]

A video on speedboosters would be great. Do the old metabones bmpcc speedboosters work? If not, is the .64 the best option?

[@HHShido]

A side by side image quality test between 1080p and 4k downscaled to 1080 would be much appreciated!

[@bengordon9589]

Great 2nd review, excellent work!

[@ProAVTV]

Thanks, glad it helped Carl

[@earnieboy54]

How do you feel about testing/reviewing speedboosters with the bmpcc 4K? Specifically metabones 0.71 and the viltrox ef m2 0.71?

[@fullofhiills9208]

Thanks for the reviews and q&a. I'd really like to know whether the Canon lens image stabilisation (IS) works with the Metabones Speedboosters? I've read somewhere one user saying that it didn't for him - at the moment, but then elsewhere someone saying that with a Viltrox adaptor they got their Canon IS to work with the BMPC 4K - but using a 'trick'. I'd really like to know as I'm planning on using it with Canon glass. Thanks for any help

[@ProAVTV]

Thanks for watching! I've just had a quick test of this using the metabones 0.71x Ultra and a Canon 100mm f2.8 Macro, and the IS was clearly working. We haven't tested with every lens, and there is the possibility that the IS on some lenses won't work when being used with a third party adapter. Dan

[@dkmorphey]

What about weather conditions? I live in the north pole where the temp drops all the way to -40°C, so can it even stand -20°C?

[@unrenderedmedia]

Fun fact: when using time lapse and in need of streaky lights, set camera to high frame rate recording but set to 5fps and also mess with your shutter. ;)

[@welcometoopa]

Hi! Can I rely on the auto focus on this camera when filming my travel videoes like I do with my Canon 80D?

[@MichaelWeizenfeld]

Why was it just not to adjust the balance of the screw on the roll axis?

[@alejandrocontent6694]

Thanks for posting this . very informative!! Thumbs up!

[@raksh9]

Captions: Hi, Carl here from Pervy TV, and this is the Black Magic Phuket Four Kay.

[@adam_the_kiwi]

What is the handle connected to the shape cage? Thanks

[@amanieux]

how does it compares in term of effective resolution/details with cameras such as a6500,xt3,a7III that downsample 4k from 24 mpixels without pixel binning ? thanks

[@MelanderMusic]

Great review! One thing you didn't mention with the gimbals was if you can control the camera with any of those gimbals or not.

[@ProAVTV]

Glad you liked it! Good point! As of right now, we don't believe you can control the camera through any of the gimbals in this video. This can always change however, and I would hope that it will be supported through firmware updates in the future. Dan

[@landerikboie7264]

You can find that info on the gimbal webpages, I don't think they do.

[@DZLM]

You're the first person i've seen take actual stills with this camera. Most reviewers just skip over that feature.

[@brmoogma]

AVX into mini XLR sounds very nice...

[@Lupo2punto0]

important question: adapters/speedboosters? Metabones smart T? Aputure DEC? do they work? Does the camera read the adapetr properly? past that, amazing videos, you got a new subscriber and soon a new customer :)

[@daylight5500]

please give info on left side handle

[@NathanKatash]

can you compare the uncompressed raw+ speedbooster 0.71 and the c200 raw lite??

[@billybugatti5779]

I think over all it's an amazing camera, maybe not for a beginner... or just a small hobby. but if you shoot for a living, it's a great tool to have in the arsenal, especially for for that price. Can you show us some of the 4K 60fps in slow motion 23.97? something out doors maybe rolling car shot, some one running :) Thanks for the reviews!

[@videolane]

I agree this camera is great if we shoot for a living. I wonder if anyone else have paying clients that judge you by the size of video camera you use, coz my corporate clients tend to do so.

[@oscarbirkhellenes9724]

The client pays you mainly for making videos. But in my mind, they are also paying for a unique experience. This experience is enhanced if your gear and crew looks professional. When you show up with the same camera the customer bought his son for birthday, its taking away the wow factor. It's all a show and we are all playing our parts in it.

[@videolane]

@@oscarbirkhellenes9724 I like your answer. It makes sense.

[@JustlifeTomSandraYordi]

Some hobby shooters ar more pro as a pro 😁

[@billybugatti5779]

Plus any kid that would get this for his bday lol must have some sort of knowledge in post production this isn't just a regular camera. ppl buying this are trying to get quality and take advantage of that price :)

[@dubstepzsi]

does this camera fit on a Zhyun crane version 2?

[@dandrescher4098]

My EW G2 requires a gain up to around 80 to read around -12. Is this gain decreasing our actual audio quality?

[@oscarmoreno7774]

Proxy is more than likely possible if you're recording to external SSD. Probably in a future update.

[@yashjaiswal7535]

What are the different crop factors at differnt modes i.e 4k dci Uhd Hd And at different frame rates ???

[@jb_]

@proavtv Any idea of battery time using the more powerful Hähnel HLX-E6N batteries? How do they compare to Canon branded ones?

[@florianlerch55]

Is fokusing with the Lumix 12-35 easy, because fokus by wire?

[@noumanjavaid7929]

Great video again What about which cards to use to record 60 fps lossless raw n over all what cards to use with it

[@elgreco3000]

Can this camera be balanced on a RONIN M the same way it was balanced on the original Ronin in this video? (I don't know if this has been asked I couldn't find it in the flood of comments)

[@thebestdrinkever]

Very comprehensive, thanks for all the info.

[@ProAVTV]

Thanks for watching! Dan

[@GabeOfca]

What about that record button on the front and the placement of the auto iris/focus. Can you hold the camera facing your face and rely on the auto for a laid back vlog?

[@JamesJacksonFilmz]

No. It's not continuous so the autofocus doesnt change unless you physically touch the lcd screen on the back and it hunts when you do that.

[@GabeOfca]

Thank you. Yes I do know that, I'm just thinking that it would be useful for vlogs because you set it to the depth of your face as you're holding it. You'd just have to trust that it finds you.

[@JamesJacksonFilmz]

@@GabeOfca I still wouldn't really use this camera for vlogs. This camera is cinema camera first and foremost. The camera is ment for those behind the camera. There's just to many things missing for this to be used as a vlogging camera.

[@honey__flower]

Love love LOVE your comprehensive reviews. Subbed. I'd love to see a well done GH5s comparison. I've scoured yt for this and haven't found it, and I feel like this is a very relevant comparison.

[@ProAVTV]

Glad you like the videos! We're currently working on our comparisons, and the GH5s is in there, so keep an eye out for that! Dan

[@iceprofilms]

Hi bro how are u ? I have a question, will the adapter Metabones Canon EF to MicroFourThirds T CINE Speed Booster XL 0.64x work with the new Blackmagic pocket cinema camera 4k ?

[@Whatsup_Abroad]

its a m43 mount. Why are people in the comments asking if you can use a speedbooster or not. You can use anything that fits on a m43 mount.

[@BrianMarcWhittaker]

Other cameras use Apple ProRes, so that is an example of other companies using a proprietary format. I can see others using Blackmagic RAW or ProRes RAW.

[@SemihSuda]

Can it be charge while recording?