Torn between the Blake magic cinema and pocket cam

Ok so I've had my eye on black magic for a while now. I currently own a canon t2i and have 3 canon EF LENSES. I also have the blackmagic pocket camera on preorder but I have been thinking a lot lately now that the bmcc ef mounts are more readily available. I love the size and easy SD RECORDING of the pocket can but it'll require me to buy all new lenses and the crop factor is a bummer when trying to get wide angle, I suppose the bmcc Is not much better but at least it's bigger. I don't want to get a pocket cam for my A CAM and have to eventually upgrade again in the near future when I do more professional type of work. Which would you guys prefer for someone who does YouTube videos and personal projects but plans to make a professional career? The footage from the pocket cam looks good but a little too video-ish especially in the newest low light test on Vimeo. Will I save money just buying the bmcc or would it be cheaper to get the pocket can with a new set of lenses and leave my EF ONES for my dslr? Thanks for any help you guys can give me!
 
I'm reserving final judgement until I see some footage from the global shutter version.

The pocket cam footage I've seen looks awesome, and I kind of want one on principle. But I'm not convinced that it would make a good "for hire" A-cam. Dying to throw a PL mount on one (Hot Rod is selling them with mount as a bundle) and play with older s16 glass, and for narrative/doc work it's going to do some very great things. Especially in the doc world.

You are talking a couple of orders of magnitude price increase in getting the Cinema Cam kitted out over getting the Pocket kitted out. OTOH - there are used EF mount BMCCs popping up all over the place lately for decent prices, and if you already have an investment in good EF lenses (not just some kit level zooms) then leveraging that might be good idea. Having said that, there are ways to leverage those on a m4/3 mount, fwiw.
 
Pocket cam.

Unless you're looking to create a business hiring out lenses/camera/etc. - assuming your purchase decision is purely for your own work, definitely get a pocket cam. The 'extra' features you get for 3x the price of the BMCC are pretty much not worth it. The sensor size is almost identical, and the spatial resolution is close as well. If you were talking 4k (production cam) vs 1080, then that'd be a different story, but considering you're only shooting YT vids etc. anyway, then I don't see it as a prevalent issue.

Get an EF adapter for the pocket cam and you'll be set.

I'll probably buy a BMPocketC once they start shipping, but I have no interest in purchasing the BMCC or Production cam.

I wouldn't hire a pocket cam as an A cam, but if I had 0 budget and owned one, I'd use it as such.
 
Look at the Metabones "Speedbooster" adapter for MFT, slap that on the BMPC and your good to go with your EF glass (in theory - I haven't tried it yet) and it gets you close to Full Frame (I think you land between Canon Crop and Full Frame).
 
There's no release date for EF - m4/3 from Metabones for their speedbooster, btw.

Speed Boosterâ„¢ for m4/3 cameras is currently available for Nikon G, Leica R and Contax C/Y lenses. Support for Contarex, ALPA and Rollei QBM lenses will follow in the second half of 2013.

Canon EF lens (but not EF-S) support is planned in the future, but we do not have an estimated date yet.

The m4/3 version also reduces focal length by a 0.71x factor. So, the combined focal length multiplier of a m4/3 camera and Speed Booster is 1.4x. (2x from camera x 0.71x from Speed Booster.) The optics are optimized for the smaller sensor size.

http://www.metabones.com/speed-booster-questions

But there are other ways to get there.
 
Last edited:
Would it be worth it to get the Nikon one and invest in some Nikon glass or just stick with the m4/3 lenses? I'm trying to get a good zoom lens with a constant aperture so there is no change in brightness when zooming in and out, a good wide angle lense and a mid range lense. Any suggestions on the cheapest but all best quality for about 200-300 per lense budget. Willing to maybe go 400
 
You're not going to find constant aperture zooms in that price range.

There are supposed a nice Panasonic 12-35 and 35-100 f/2.8 "X" series or something for m4/3 - but they are ~ $1K each. Have not used them but heard good things, and it mimics the classic L zoom range that everyone carries for their Canons (24-70, 70-200).

What lenses are you trying to leverage?
 
Ok we'll since constant ap is out of picture how about some budget 200-400 zoom/wide/mid range lenses. I plan to film narritive work and things of that sort just incase some lenses don't give the right look I thought I'd throw that in there. Also ones that don't vignette if possible. Thanks guys !
 
I've posted this in a few other threads. John Brawely (the man BMD has been letting test the pocket cam) posted on another forum. When asked about the following lens, said it was his first micro 4/3 lens, and while not being a constant aperture, would be a great starter lens on the pocket cam.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/682980-REG/Panasonic_Lumix_G_Vario_14_42mm.html

I have bought the 12-35 f2.8 IS from panasonic, and using it on a GX1 camera is awesome. Can't wait to put it on my pocket cam.
 
So the pocket can ships here in 2 weeks and I have about 1000 extra to spend on new lenses and batterie ect. What would you guys get for it if you had 1000 to spend. I was thinking of the Nikon to mft speedbooster but then id have to get Nikon lenses which I assume are more expensive then getting a couple micro 4/3 lenses
 
that Pocket Cam and PL mount WITH support is a dang good deal..

From the site.. Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera and Hot Rod PL Mount and Support for only $1540.

The hot rod camera site has the pl mount and support alone retail for $1090.
 
What do I need a PL mount for? I plan to get the production or cinema cam I the future I see more a reason to get a pl mount for that instead considering I have no lenses for a 4/3 camera. I got a
1000 to spend and I'm trying to get the best range of lenses for narritive type work. Any cheap lenses that do in camera lenses flares?
 
oh, your millage may vary, I dont know your need, I was just responding to an earlier post that mentioned the package deal.. That said, the PL mount lets you use pro cinema lenses... like these

ZeissCP2SetLG.jpg
 
Back
Top