Blackmagic Design Announces Blackmagic Cameras 6.1 Update

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Stephanie Hueter

Member
Fremont, CA - February 4, 2019 - Blackmagic Design today announced Blackmagic Cameras 6.1 which is a new update for the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K. This update adds quieter audio recording, a new pixel remapping feature, new 2:1 monitoring frame guides, improved battery performance and much more.

Blackmagic Camera 6.1 update is available now as a free download from the Blackmagic Design website.

The new Blackmagic Cameras 6.1 significantly improves audio recording when using the built in microphones on the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K. The new processing now analyzes incoming audio from the dual microphones on each side of the camera to dramatically lower the noise floor, resulting in quieter recordings than possible before. In addition, latency has been reduced for audio monitoring, audio and video synchronization has been fine tuned, and the 3.5mm audio input selection interface is now more intuitive, making it faster to use.

Blackmagic Cameras 6.1 also improves auto focus performance. Auto focus now responds quicker and more accurately so that lens hunting is greatly reduced when the camera is locking on to the focal point. There's also a new media formatting interface that helps prevent customers from accidentally formatting media cards. Once the camera is updated, customers will need to tap and hold the media format confirmation button for 3 seconds before a card will be erased and reformatted.

This update also includes a new in-camera calibration feature which allows customers to recalibrate pixels in the camera. Over time some pixels can change in brightness and create small variations across the sensor. The new pixel calibration feature allows the camera to realign the light output of each pixel resulting in a smooth clean image under changing environmental conditions. Blackmagic Camera 6.1 update also features 2:1 monitoring frame guides, which is another creative composition tool for filmmakers to frame shots. In addition, new power savings and efficiency enhancements improve battery runtime by 10-15% and give customers a more accurate indication of remaining battery power.

“The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K is an incredible success and it’s been very exciting watching the adoption of digital film workflows by a much wider range of people,” said Grant Petty, CEO, Blackmagic Design. “This update is exciting because it adds even more great new features to the camera and it’s an exciting way for us to say thank you to all the people who have purchased a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K and who have taken the time to discuss ideas for the future with us. We can’t wait to see what customers will produce next!”

Blackmagic Cameras 6.1 Update Key Features

Adds support for pixel calibration in camera.
Improves auto focus performance.
Improves signal to noise ratio performance of the camera’s internal microphone.
Improves power efficiency for improved battery life.
Adds 2:1 monitoring frame guide.
Improves media formatting user interface.
Improves audio monitoring latency performance.
Improves 3.5mm audio input selection interface.
Improves AV sync performance.

Availability
Blackmagic Cameras 6.1 is available as a free download for all existing Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K customers from www.blackmagicdesign.com/support.

Press Photography
Product photos of Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, as well as all other Blackmagic Design products, are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images

About Blackmagic Design
Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com
 
It'll be good to hear from owners if this cures the ills the BMPCC has had since it came out. I want to like the camera and heavily considered buying it but had to pass because of the battery/reliability issues.
 
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Thanks for sharing.
Yes I agree. I love cameras that can do good imagery, but reliability is #1 for me. Doesn't matter how awesome the camera is if you can't count on it.
 
Ditto to the last 2 posts - exact same feelings. I really like BMD's approach and ethos as a company. I don't own any of their cameras for reasons stated, but they are the #1 brand that I want to become a fan of.
 
I did test it briefly. Battery indeed seems better, other user says that he got 43 minutes with old fw and 61 minutes with new fw. I will test it more tomorrow.

Added pixel calibration is HUGE! I had hot pixel couple weeks ago and I had to send it to BM, it took 2 weeks. Now I am able to remap pixels by myself.

One thing is not fixed yet and it is different audio levels on XLR an 3.5mm jack. If I plug same audio source to both channels, XLR is more sensitive (yes, both are set to mic or line).
 
On the old FW 5.2 I could record ProRes but the in camera review was garbled. It's reported to tech support and they have responded, telling me to hold on my cam and they will issue firmware fix.

So after updating firmware to 6.1 I thought my problems would be solved but now I can no longer record in ProRes at all and the camera locks up and would need a power off to recover. This is on all flavors of ProRes, all resolutions, and all 3 types of media.

Upon pressing record, the timer would stop at 1 frame and an "!"(exclamation) appears on the red rec icon.

Battery life increased. LP-E6 battery old FW: 43 min. New FW: 60 min.

Audio monitoring improved: Improved latency/delay when a mic is plugged into 3.5mm jack

Audio gain slightly improved. Old fw is too low.

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And also, no more unplugging samsung T5 ssd before boot up.
 
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I wish it had of come with braw on this version. I could only imagine what wait times for the cam would shoot up too.
 
Gweilo66 said:
"Improves AV sync performance."
What's that about?
Click to expand...

It's probably the audio monitoring i mentioned thats improved. Its when you monitor audio via headphones and there is a mic plugged into 3.5 jack and there is "considerable" delay.
I did an interview and I was also monitoring, whenever I would talk to ask questions the delay is so disorienting.
 
Ted Ramasola said:
On the old FW 5.2 I could record ProRes but the in camera review was garbled. It's reported to tech support and they have responded, telling me to hold on my cam and they will issue firmware fix.

So after updating firmware to 6.1 I thought my problems would be solved but now I can no longer record in ProRes at all and the camera locks up and would need a power off to recover. This is on all flavors of ProRes, all resolutions, and all 3 types of media.

Upon pressing record, the timer would stop at 1 frame and an "!"(exclamation) appears on the red rec icon.

Battery life increased. LP-E6 battery old FW: 43 min. New FW: 60 min.

Audio monitoring improved: Improved latency/delay when a mic is plugged into 3.5mm jack

Audio gain slightly improved. Old fw is too low.

edit:

And also, no more unplugging samsung T5 ssd before boot up.
Click to expand...

Oh man, I'm sorry. I think this is why I don't know of a single working camera op or DP in LA who owns one.
The image quality and features are good enough for some pro work but those niggling reliability issues relegate
it to a hobbyist/fun time camera, not a tool to be relied on on client projects where time and rep are on the line.
 
If you can't launch a bulletproof camera, then we can't use it. I can't tell the producer that the camera has ****** up. I was looking at this camera to buy. Reliability is way more important than some of these camera companies think.
 
Thats strange can you roll back the firmware or reinstall the firmware update? I just did the update on mine everything seems to be working fine, the only issue I had with 5.2 was the ssd not being recognized and audio levels were low.
 
puredrifting said:
Oh man, I'm sorry. I think this is why I don't know of a single working camera op or DP in LA who owns one.
The image quality and features are good enough for some pro work but those niggling reliability issues relegate
it to a hobbyist/fun time camera, not a tool to be relied on on client projects where time and rep are on the line.
Click to expand...

Right you are. It's why, even though I used to be heavily into the BMD ecosystem because of the image and internal RAW recording, I jumped ship as soon as Canon offered an equivalent in the C200. I'd totally buy one of the lower priced BMD cams and still have my OG pocket, because they do punch above their weight when they work, but I won't be investing several thousand dollars in their cameras until I know the reliability issues and customer service issues that I personally experienced are a thing of the past.
 
I love the pocket 4K. No issues. Some people do just like any camera. For the price of a c200 u could buy 6 pocket 4ks . And it’s not like the canons are free of issues, a quick search shows. It’s just that fewer people have the c200 as opposed to cheaper cams so u hear about the issues more. And Blackmagic has been on top of it all with updates.
 
Zero issues for me with my Pocket - new firmware is working great. I was one of the first to receive from B&H. About 10 projects where I have used the P4K for B-roll.

puredrifting said:
Oh man, I'm sorry. I think this is why I don't know of a single working camera op or DP in LA who owns one.
The image quality and features are good enough for some pro work but those niggling reliability issues relegate
it to a hobbyist/fun time camera, not a tool to be relied on on client projects where time and rep are on the line.
Click to expand...
 
I've been shooting interviews for clients on the Pocket 4K for months now - never had an issue. Fantastic camera for the money.
 
It's no secret Blackmagic cameras may and do have issues (like any other camera), but the worldwide misconception is that ALL OF THEM have issues (like every single unit ever made), which is mostly passed on and on by people who never used the cameras, or those who have had really unlucky experiences.
 
mico said:
I love the pocket 4K. No issues. Some people do just like any camera. For the price of a c200 u could buy 6 pocket 4ks . And it’s not like the canons are free of issues, a quick search shows. It’s just that fewer people have the c200 as opposed to cheaper cams so u hear about the issues more. And Blackmagic has been on top of it all with updates.
Click to expand...

This is all conjecture, but I've heard of a lot more issues with the very new pocket than the C200 or any other Canon camera, and I wouldn't be so sure there are more P4ks out there than C200's; I'd actually bet the other way. I've also owned 3x BMD cameras, and the build quality, features and customer service from Canon are a cut above the BMD experience, and they should be given the price difference. Honestly I think BMD is selling purely on the undeniably great image quality/recording modes, because they're beat in every other category IMO.

-QC/reliability
-Overall build quality
-Customer service
-Industry/client perception
-Quality of Life features

But to me the most important point is that yes, you can have a trouble-free experience going with BMD (I did with my old BMCC), but after having to have both my OG pocket and an Ursa 4.6k swapped out because of QC issues, and having a bad time with customer support on the biggest investment I'd made, I feel like there's inherently less risk buying from Canon or Panasonic or Sony, who I've owned far more models from and had far less issues.

Even if this is all somehow just perception, BMD will have to be seen as relatively trouble-free for a few years before that perception will change in the industry.

I'm actually rooting for them. If you look at my post history here and at BMCUser, you'll see that I was a big fan and advocate of their cameras for a long while. I believe that these issues they're having are probably normal for a company that, compared to Canon, are downright newborn babies when it comes to making cameras. I also credit them as much as Canon for my C200 existing; If BMD had not made internal RAW a thing you could get for $1k-$3k, I doubt Canon would have added that feature to their mid-range pro camera.
 
There’s also certain people who do not know how to use the camera and post they have an issue when there’s no issue. Like I’ve lost my screen menu can’t get it back what’s wrong with my camera? they don’t know they can just swipe the screen to get it back. How come my image looks flat, how to choose which recording media the camera recognizes first, Luts, raw shooting, the numerous powering options. All these little things add up to a lot of panic posts.
 
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