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the 3d dual lens version
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Blackmagic Studio Camera
- Thread starter Ryan Lightbourn
- Start date
the 3d dual lens version
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Haha! Braaaaaaaaam!
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It is a tripod that self levels, replaces the steadicam and axis gimbals, as well as cranes, jibs, and dollies, plus... it can transport a small crew. Only thing is the virtual measuring tape laser is too strong, tends to vaporize the talent. Work in progress. damn these 'beta release' companies. almost perfect.
Ryan Lightbourn
Well-known member
If this camera lived in the middle ages an angry mob with torches & pitchforks would chase it out of town
roxics
Veteran
Hopefully it's filming the entire time. That would be a great scene.
Jaime Valles
Veteran
Wait... does this camera record anything internally?
EDIT: I don't believe it does: http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/blackmagicstudiocamera
EDIT: I don't believe it does: http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/blackmagicstudiocamera
adkimery
Veteran
It's a studio camera so it would be odd if it recorded internally.
Forgive my ignorance, but what does it record to? And what's the file format? RAW? MOV? AVCHD?
Just trying to wrap my head around this one. Curious, since I own quite a few m4/3 lenses.
adkimery
Veteran
The camera sends its video signal back to the control room or, if on location, the production truck via fibre (or more traditionally triax cable) and the recorded format depends on what recording equipment is being used (HDCAM SR deck, solid state recording device, etc.,).
Studio cameras like these are just camera heads as opposed to 'camcorders' which are camera heads + video recorders in one unit. It's something you would use for things like studio newscasts, live sports broadcasts or talk shows that recorded live to tape.
thedarkhorse
Member
It isn't really the intended purpose but with an external video recorder like the hyperdeck shuttle 2 attached to it you could easily use it in that manner.
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eheath
Well-known member
We have a few different ways to record, HDV deck, h264 playback, mpeg2 playback, Prores, each has their own function.
Odd little(?) beast, for sure. It's definitely intended for local/public access TV channels, event coverage, churches, schools etc. I've worked in live TV so I understand those markets, but there are plenty of concerns:
Lenses
The biggest caveat. A $2,000 studio camera, yay! ...that BM showcases with the Fujinon Cabrio zooms. It sure looks great, if you don't mind the Cabrio costing $36,000. How does that make any sense to any potential customer. I'd love the Cabrio on my GH2 (and I actually tried it out
but it ain't gonna happen.
The specs page on the BM site doesn't even work. It's unclear which sensor they put in the camera - whether it's MFT (like the Cinema camera) or ~12x7mm (like the Pocket camera).
BM tout you can use B4 ENG lenses, I suppose they refer to using models with a 2X extender to cover the image area.
I think using it with prime lenses would be insane, so the realistic choice might fall down to something like the Olympus Zuiko 35-100mm f/2.0 ED or 14-35mm f/2.0 ED (which has a glitchy iris?) for $2,500, or an entry-level HD lens like the Canon KJ20x8.2B for $7,000. Sure you can try to (re)use old SD lenses, but you might get questionable sharpness especially with an extender. Even that Canon is suspiciously cheap, given that "normal" HD END lenses cost $35k-70k.
It's just bizarre that with a camera designed so exclusively for studio use, they slapped an MFT mount on it. Now you need rods just to hold a lens support bridge because of the weak mount. That, and the non-standard (1/3", 1/2" or 2/3") sensor size just creates a host of new problems that the intended market for this equipment has never had to worry about.
Fiber
It's great that you can connect it via fiber, but the LC connection is a sad joke that shows cluelessness. BM proudly shows a picture of a happy guy with a small spool of fiber patch cable, next to a sad guy with a big heavy spool of tactical fiber. I do love that you can pick a 120ft. fiber run from monoprice for $40, but try to put optical couplers for strain relief for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd time those connectors rip apart. I'd bet $5 that the guys at Lucent who invented LC patch cables would turn a whiter shade of pale if they saw the application that BM intended for these.
If I design or specify a studio (or OB, flypack, etc.) I always try to get everything - including power - over one cable. The Studio Camera would of course require additional rigging and conversion to connect via SMPTE hybrid fiber or OpticalCon.
Monitor and Ergonomics
Great! Let's weld the monitor at a fixed angle! I operated studio configurations from the cheapest (Panasonic AG-455 SVHS prosumer cam) to an EX1 rigged for studio use, to proper EFP setups, and all of the above had tilting viewfinders/monitors. So BM managed to uninvent the wheel.
After 40+ years of cameras with great ergonomics, BM decided to unlearn some things. The ENG form factor has been proven to be incredibly useful. It's not necessary for studio pedestal use, but I've heard that sometimes people want to put cameras on their shoulders. What's a studio that wants the BM Studio Camera, but also wants 1-2 handheld cams, supposed to do? Pick an URSA for a 200% price premium (if the B4 version even matches in look and connectivity)?
Not too long ago, you couldn't get yourself an HD multicam live switching setup for less than a million bucks, literally. I welcome any solutions that has helped lower that cost by orders of magnitude, and BM gets a ton of credit in that department. But in the camera department, I'd suggest that you at least take a look at the JVC GY-HM790U first.
Lenses
The biggest caveat. A $2,000 studio camera, yay! ...that BM showcases with the Fujinon Cabrio zooms. It sure looks great, if you don't mind the Cabrio costing $36,000. How does that make any sense to any potential customer. I'd love the Cabrio on my GH2 (and I actually tried it out
but it ain't gonna happen.The specs page on the BM site doesn't even work. It's unclear which sensor they put in the camera - whether it's MFT (like the Cinema camera) or ~12x7mm (like the Pocket camera).
BM tout you can use B4 ENG lenses, I suppose they refer to using models with a 2X extender to cover the image area.
I think using it with prime lenses would be insane, so the realistic choice might fall down to something like the Olympus Zuiko 35-100mm f/2.0 ED or 14-35mm f/2.0 ED (which has a glitchy iris?) for $2,500, or an entry-level HD lens like the Canon KJ20x8.2B for $7,000. Sure you can try to (re)use old SD lenses, but you might get questionable sharpness especially with an extender. Even that Canon is suspiciously cheap, given that "normal" HD END lenses cost $35k-70k.
It's just bizarre that with a camera designed so exclusively for studio use, they slapped an MFT mount on it. Now you need rods just to hold a lens support bridge because of the weak mount. That, and the non-standard (1/3", 1/2" or 2/3") sensor size just creates a host of new problems that the intended market for this equipment has never had to worry about.
Fiber
It's great that you can connect it via fiber, but the LC connection is a sad joke that shows cluelessness. BM proudly shows a picture of a happy guy with a small spool of fiber patch cable, next to a sad guy with a big heavy spool of tactical fiber. I do love that you can pick a 120ft. fiber run from monoprice for $40, but try to put optical couplers for strain relief for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd time those connectors rip apart. I'd bet $5 that the guys at Lucent who invented LC patch cables would turn a whiter shade of pale if they saw the application that BM intended for these.
If I design or specify a studio (or OB, flypack, etc.) I always try to get everything - including power - over one cable. The Studio Camera would of course require additional rigging and conversion to connect via SMPTE hybrid fiber or OpticalCon.
Monitor and Ergonomics
Great! Let's weld the monitor at a fixed angle! I operated studio configurations from the cheapest (Panasonic AG-455 SVHS prosumer cam) to an EX1 rigged for studio use, to proper EFP setups, and all of the above had tilting viewfinders/monitors. So BM managed to uninvent the wheel.
After 40+ years of cameras with great ergonomics, BM decided to unlearn some things. The ENG form factor has been proven to be incredibly useful. It's not necessary for studio pedestal use, but I've heard that sometimes people want to put cameras on their shoulders. What's a studio that wants the BM Studio Camera, but also wants 1-2 handheld cams, supposed to do? Pick an URSA for a 200% price premium (if the B4 version even matches in look and connectivity)?
Not too long ago, you couldn't get yourself an HD multicam live switching setup for less than a million bucks, literally. I welcome any solutions that has helped lower that cost by orders of magnitude, and BM gets a ton of credit in that department. But in the camera department, I'd suggest that you at least take a look at the JVC GY-HM790U first.
combatentropy
Veteran
Great points, binba, about lenses, fiber, and ergonomics.
Blackmagic's head, Grant Petty, is a fantastic gadgeteer but clearly doesn't know shooting. I've shot for a couple of decades every sort: narrative, commercial, live event. I think Blackmagic should throw out all their camera designs and focus on just one.
The basis of this design is older than this forum. Funny thing, a camera this shape and size has still yet to go on sale. The AF100 and FS700 are fat mutant wannabes. RED is mired in modularity. The Ikonoskop was ingenious but eccentric. Digital Bolex got closer but was too enamored with its ancestor. The Canon Cx00 series probably comes closest but swerves away at points. It's as if they're in a stupor.
Blackmagic's head, Grant Petty, is a fantastic gadgeteer but clearly doesn't know shooting. I've shot for a couple of decades every sort: narrative, commercial, live event. I think Blackmagic should throw out all their camera designs and focus on just one.
The basis of this design is older than this forum. Funny thing, a camera this shape and size has still yet to go on sale. The AF100 and FS700 are fat mutant wannabes. RED is mired in modularity. The Ikonoskop was ingenious but eccentric. Digital Bolex got closer but was too enamored with its ancestor. The Canon Cx00 series probably comes closest but swerves away at points. It's as if they're in a stupor.
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Camera Expert
Well-known member
Going over the studio camera.
First half of the video.
Here's a photo of the retail boxes that I just found.
https://www.facebook.com/2575858410...7585841004512/586816434748116/?type=1&theater
Here's a photo of the retail boxes that I just found.
https://www.facebook.com/2575858410...7585841004512/586816434748116/?type=1&theater