18 TVBEurope News & Analysis
Magic by Design: Compact camera catalyst for change
Blackmagic Design’s entry into the camera market was probably the most talked about news at NAB. But should broadcasters be as excited about it as independent filmmakers are? David Foxreports
BLACKMAGIC’S DIGITAL Cinema Camera recently started shipping, having been delayed a month or so for Apple’s final certification of its Thunderbolt port. But, it was assured of a good reception, as “thousands of the cameras were pre- ordered,” reveals Blackmagic Design’s Director EMEA, Stuart Ashton. “We were really surprised at the take up.” Having been mainly a post
production company, the move into camera manufacture was unexpected. “We obviously have created a stir,” he says, but feels it fits well with its other products. “Resolve has been a big
catalyst for us. We’ve been able to see what creates good images and what doesn’t. We wanted something that interacted well with colour correction and nonlinear editing, looking at the whole workflow.” Now Blackmagic “is committed to the camera market,” he says. “We’ve invested a lot of time and money in it.” Given the camera’s price ($2,995), the HD DSLR market is a key target, but Ashton insists that the flexibility of its connections, all-encompassing codecs and other features allow it to cater for a wide range of users. “The affordability of the camera means it’s for everybody,” he insists. It comes with UltraScope and DaVinci Resolve (more than £1,500 worth of software). “There is more flexibility on this camera than there would be on a
DSLR.” They didn’t want to “freak people out with something too radical,” simply reacting to where the market was moving with DSLRs. “One of the great benefits of this camera is that there is a large software element to it,” which will allow Blackmagic to add or adapt features, most likely through free upgrades. The user interface is not what
camcorder users have been used to, with very few buttons. Most features are accessed through the large
touchscreen on the rear, but he says that “people are finding their way around the camera very well.”
Thunder struck The camera is the first with a Thunderbolt port. This very fast connection can deliver up to two channels of 10Gbps, in each direction, at once. Developed by Intel and Apple, it is now on all Mac laptops and iMacs and is finding its way into Windows PCs. Besides offering much faster
transfers, users can plug the camera into a laptop running Blackmagic’s Media Express capture software (included) to record on the computer or use UltraScope to view up to six vectorscope and waveform monitors, including audio level and phase monitoring. Blackmagic has also fitted
Stuart Ashton: “The affordability of the camera means it’s for everybody”
www.tvbeurope.com September 2012
“We obviously have created a stir”
way to do two white balances and shift between them at the touch of a button as you go through a door. The trade off is very easy
metadata entry on the five-inch screen, using an interface familiar to iPhone users, which should make it simpler for new users — even if the limited number of dedicated buttons might cause some frustration later. However, more comprehensive remote control capabilities, such as via an iPhone, may be something it develops in future, if there is a demand for it — features like ramping or timelapse could also be added. “We’ve positioned the camera as a cinema camera, so made it familiar to people doing that type of work. It has not been designed for a run-and-gun ENG-style of working,” he says.
The unique 2.5k sensor offers
Magic lantern: The camera’s user interface and display screen is good
for adding metadata
Thunderbolt to many of its products, such as the HyperDeck Studio Pro, so is obviously committed to the interface. “At the moment Thunderbolt is seen as a capture and playback solution, but we don’t know what will happen regarding monitors or hard drive capture devices in the future,” says Ashton. The camera’s solid-state drive
can record Adobe’s CameraDNG 12-bit raw format, Apple’s ProRes or Avid’s DNxHD, making it the most open file- format camera available. There has been criticism online
about the built-in battery, with people saying it wouldn’t last long and would be difficult to change when the camera is in a rig. “When we put the internal battery in, we always thought that would
be a positive rather than a negative. There isn’t a camera on the market with a built-in battery. We saw it as being a backup,” explains Ashton. It will still typically need an
external battery, but doesn’t have a conventional battery mount built in. However, it should be easy enough to add one. Hawk-Woods, for example, has a low-cost adapter with 12v connection and battery dock to be used with Sony batteries, and Blackmagic is working with the likes of IDX to add their batteries. Arri, Beebob and Vocas have also announced accessories, and he expects more at IBC. Another possible criticism is that
the only viewer and main controls are on or around the touchscreen, which won’t be easily viewable if the camera is in a shoulder-mount rig, but users will be able to plug in an electronic viewfinder and a LANC controller. However, in a common scenario where a user is moving between exterior and interior shots, there doesn’t seem to be an easy
extra resolution above HD, which can rescale or be cropped for HD or 2k. If 4k takes off they will consider it then for a new camera: besides “2.5k works beautifully with Resolve.” The camera is currently limited to a maximum of 30 frames per second, but that is due to the limitations of the SSD at 2.5k, and as SSDs get faster, the frame rate will rise. The CMOS sensor is refrigerated,
with carefully designed air vents and copper tubing to avoid the problem where DSLRs overheat while recording video. “We spent a lot of time ensuring you could shoot for a long time with the LCD so near [to the sensor].” It also offers high dynamic
range: 13 stops. At ISO 800, there are five stops of highlights above and eight stops below. That proportion should remain throughout the ISO range.
Ed note: Video shows a test shoot with DoP John Brawley and Director Ben Phelps using the Blackmagic Cinema Camera and Zeiss Compact Primes lenses. Colour grading was completed within DaVinci Resolve 9 software, which is included free with the camera.
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