Installation and Operation Manual Blackmagic Cameras Mac OS X™ Windows™ July 2013
Welcome Welcome to Blackmagic Cameras Thank you for purchasing your Blackmagic Camera! We have worked hard to produce three cameras that have been designed from the ground up to fit any kind of workflow. Our new Pocket Cinema Camera is a Super 16 digital film camera with 13 stops of dynamic range that is small enough to take anywhere.
Contents Blackmagic Cameras 4 26 Getting Started Introducing Blackmagic Cameras 4 What is the Slate? Attaching a Lens 6 Turning Your Camera On 6 Inserting a SD Card 8 Waveform Monitoring using Thunderbolt 27 Inserting a SSD 8 Using Blackmagic UltraScope 28 Monitoring using SDI 30 27 Recording 9 11 14 Blackmagic Cameras Supported Video Formats 10 Playing Back Clips 10 17 31 About SSDs 26 Camera Video Output Post Production Workflow Working with Files from SSDs 31
Getting Started 4 Getting Started 1 Introducing Blackmagic Cameras 2 IRIS Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera Features FOCUS OK 1. RECORD BUTTON Press this button to record clips to your SD card. See page 9. MENU 2. TRANSPORT CONTROL Use these buttons to play, skip or shuttle clips. See page 10. 3 3. LENS MOUNT IRIS FOCUS Micro Four Thirds lens mount for a wide selection of lenses. See page 6. 4.
Getting Started Blackmagic Cinema Camera and Production Camera 4K Features 1 1. RECORD BUTTON Record clips to your SSD. See page 9. 2. IRIS BUTTON The Iris button activates electronic iris control on the EF Cinema Camera and the Production Camera 4K. Adjust the aperture of your lens by pressing the forward and reverse skip/shuttle playback buttons. See page 10. 3. TOUCHSCREEN LCD Watch the LCD monitor while recording or playing back a clip, or when using the menu. See page 26. 2 3 4 4.
Getting Started HDMI Getting started with your Blackmagic Camera is as simple as attaching a lens and turning the camera on. To remove the protective dust cap from the lens mount, hold down the locking button and rotate the cap counterclockwise until it is released. We recommended you always turn off your Blackmagic Camera prior to attaching or removing a lens. 12V 12V HDMI Attaching a Lens To attach a lens: Attaching and removing a lens on Pocket Cinema Camera Step 1.
Getting Started Cinema Camera & Production Camera 4K Cinema Camera and Production Camera 4K have internal batteries that can be charged using the supplied DC adapter. The camera can be charged and operated while connected via DC power and will switch between power sources without any interruption. You can also charge the camera via a powered USB connection, however it takes longer to charge so we recommend using the DC adapter when possible. Step 1. Press the power button below the touchscreen.
Getting Started Inserting a SD Card You can insert a SDXC or SDHC card into Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera: Step 1. On the under side of the camera, push the door release towards the lens to access the battery terminal. Step 2. With the gold contacts on the SD card facing towards the lens, insert the SD card until you feel it lock into place. Push on the SD card to release it. Step 3. Close the door to the battery terminal and slide the door release to the right to lock it. Step 4. Power on the camera.
Getting Started Recording Press the REC button on your camera to begin recording immediately. Press REC again to stop recording. Choosing the Recording Format Blackmagic cameras record to several different formats, depending on which model you are using. You may decide to experiment to see which format best suits your workflow.
Getting Started Blackmagic Cameras Supported Video Formats Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera Blackmagic Cinema Camera Blackmagic Production Camera 4K 1920 x 1080p23.98 1920 x 1080p23.98 3840 x 2160p23.98 1920 x 1080p24 1920 x 1080p24 3840x2160p24 1920 x 1080p25 1920 x 1080p25 3840 x 2160p25 1920 x 1080p29.97 1920 x 1080p29.97 3840 x 2160p29.97 1920 x 1080p30 1920 x 1080p30 3840 x 2160p30 1920 x 1080i50 output 1920 x 1080p23.98 1920 x 1080i59.
About SSDs 11 About SSDs Choosing a Fast SSD When working with high data rate video it's important to carefully check the SSD you would like to use. This is because some SSDs can have up to 50% lower write speed than the manufacturer’s claimed speed, so even though the disk specifications claim an SSD is fast enough to handle video, in reality the disk is not fast enough for real time video recording. In our testing, we have found larger newer models of SSD and larger capacity SSDs are generally faster.
About SSDs Preparing SSDs for Recording SSDs used by Cinema Camera and Production Camera 4K must be formatted as either HFS+ or exFAT. These disk formats allow long clips to be recorded in single files. HFS+ is also known as Mac OS Extended. It is the recommended format as it supports "journaling". In the event of a hardware or software malfunction, data on a journaled SSD is more quickly recovered and less likely to be corrupted in the first place. HFS+ is natively supported by Mac OS X.
About SSDs Checking Disk Speed Blackmagic Disk Speed Test is a fun to use application that measures the read and write performance of storage media in video formats.
About SD Cards 14 About SD Cards Preparing SD Cards for Recording SD cards used by Pocket Cinema Camera must be formatted as HFS+ or exFAT. These disk formats allow long clips to be recorded in single files. ExFAT is supported by both Windows and Mac OS X computers. Preparing SD Cards on a Mac OS X computer The Disk Utility application included with Mac OS X can format your SD card in the HFS+ or exFAT format.
Connections 15 Connections Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera LANC Remote Control The remote port on your camera can be used to remotely control record starting and stopping, iris adjustments and manual focus adjustments when using a compatible lens. The port is a 2.5 mm stereo jack which uses the standard LANC protocol. Headphones Monitor your audio while recording or playing back clips by plugging your headphones into the 3.5mm stereo headphones jack. Audio In The 3.
Connections Blackmagic Cinema Camera and Production Camera 4K LANC Remote Control The remote port on your camera can be used to remotely control record starting and stopping, iris adjustments and manual focus adjustments when using a compatible lens. The port is a 2.5 mm stereo jack which uses the standard LANC protocol. Headphones Monitor your audio while recording or playing back clips by plugging your headphones into the 3.5mm stereo headphones jack.
Settings 17 Settings Camera Settings To configure settings on your Blackmagic camera, press the MENU button. Pocket Cinema Camera Use the up and down buttons to highlight each settings menu. Press OK to enter a settings menu. Use the left and right directional arrows to adjust values and the up and down arrows to move between settings. Press Menu again to return to selecting between main settings pages. Press Menu again to exit.
Settings ISO ISO settings are helpful when you are shooting in a variety of light conditions. The optimum ISO setting for the Pocket Cinema Camera and Cinema Camera is 800ASA. For Production Camera 4K choose the lowest ISO for the available lighting conditions. Depending on your situation, however, you may choose a lower or higher ISO setting. For example, in low light conditions 1600ASA would be suitable but may introduce some visible noise.
Settings Audio Settings To adjust audio input and audio monitoring settings on your Blackmagic Camera, press the MENU button and select the microphone icon to the left of the display. Microphone Input Microphone input adjusts the recording levels of the built in microphone. Move the audio slider left or right to increase or decrease levels. Pocket Cinema Camera has an external stereo microphone and Cinema Camera and Production Camera 4K have external mono microphones.
Settings Recorder Settings The recorder settings are used to set the video format recorded to your SD card or SSD. Press the MENU button and touch the REC icon to access the recorder settings menu. Recording Format Pocket Cinema Camera Touch the left and right arrow buttons to switch between Apple ProRes 422 (HQ) or lossless compressed CinemaDNG RAW recording formats. The Recorder Settings screen Cinema Camera Touch the arrow icons to switch between CinemaDNG RAW 2.
Settings Frame Rate Your Blackmagic Camera has five different frame rate settings for shooting common film and video frame rates: 23.98 fps, 24 fps, 25 fps, 29.97 fps, 30 fps. Adjust the frame rate setting using the arrow icons in the menu.
Settings File Naming Convention Pocket Cinema Camera Pocket Cinema Camera uses the following file naming convention when recording video. [Camera ID]_[Reel Number]_[yyyy-mm--dd]_[hhmm]_C[Clip number].mov The table below shows an example of how this would appear on the LCD: BMC01_1_2012-08-08_1631_C0002.mov QuickTime Movie Filename BMC01_1_2012-08-08_1631_C0002.mov Camera ID BMC01_1_2012-08-08_1631_C0002.mov Reel Number BMC01_1_2012-08-08_1631_C0002.
Settings Display settings To adjust the display settings for the LCD, press the MENU button and select the television icon. Dynamic Range The LCD allows you to view your video as you are recording. You can set the dynamic range of the LCD by selecting Video or Film. The dynamic range setting of the LCD is independent to the dynamic range set in the recorder settings. Some people prefer to monitor video with the LCD set to Video even when the recording format is set to Film.
Settings Adjusting Settings IRIS FOCUS OK IRIS FOCUS Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera, Cinema Camera EF and Production Camera 4K support electronic lens control, which allows you to adjust lens controls from the camera such as aperture and autofocus. Cinema Camera MFT has a passive lens mount if you want to use manual lenses without electronic control. The focus peaking feature creates a yellow edge around the sharpest parts of the image so you can easily confirm your focus.
Settings Image Stabilizer Pocket Cinema Camera, Cinema Camera EF and Production Camera 4K support the image stabilizer (IS) feature found in many active lenses. Simply set the Stabilizer switch to ON to use it with your camera. If your lens also features a Stabilizer Mode switch, set it to the appropriate mode for still shots or for movement.
Entering Metadata 26 Entering Metadata What is the Slate? The LCD on your Blackmagic camera has many purposes, one of which is to allow you to easily log metadata directly into the camera using the Slate feature. Metadata is stored in the recorded files and is easily accessed by editing software. Pocket Cinema Camera Step 1. Press OK once to make the slate appear. The Slate Select the auto-increment icon if you want the scene, shot or take number to auto-increment. Step 2.
Camera Video Output 27 Camera Video Output Waveform Monitoring using Thunderbolt When connected to a Mac OS X or Windows computer with Thunderbolt technology, your Cinema Camera or Production Camera 4K can be used as a powerful solution for waveform monitoring and color correction. Regardless of which recording format you choose on the camera, the Thunderbolt port always outputs HD1080p video in the uncompressed 10-bit format.
Camera Video Output Using Blackmagic UltraScope What is Blackmagic UltraScope? Blackmagic UltraScope software provides waveform monitoring of the video output from your Cinema Camera or Production Camera 4K.
Camera Video Output Understanding Blackmagic UltraScope Views Blackmagic UltraScope has two different views available depending on your workflow needs and screen resolution. You have the choice of viewing six displays in “Full Screen” view, or for more compact viewing, choose any 2 displays in “2-up” view. The display view can be selected from the View menu. Choose Full Screen to enter Full Screen view. If this option is unchecked, 2-up view will be displayed.
Camera Video Output Monitoring using SDI Blackmagic Cinema Camera supports 3G-SDI so it can be used to output uncompressed 10-bit 4:2:2 video to routers, monitors, SDI capture devices, broadcast switchers and other SDI devices. Production Camera 4K supports 6G-SDI, so it can be used to connect to any SDI monitor as well as 4K switchers such as ATEM Production Studio 4K. Connecting to Video Switchers The SDI output allows you to use your camera as a television production camera.
Post Production Workflow 31 Post Production Workflow Working with Files from SSDs To import your clips from a SSD: Step 1. Remove the SSD from your Cinema Camera or Production Camera 4K. Step 2. You can mount the SSD to your Mac OS X or Windows computer using either an eSATA or Thunderbolt dock. You can also use an eSATA to USB adapter cable to plug the SSD straight into a USB port on your computer. However, USB 2.
Post Production Workflow Editing your Clips To edit your clips using your favorite editing software, you can copy your clips to an internal/external drive or RAID and then import your clips into the software. Or import your clips directly from your SD card, or from your SSD using an external SATA adaptor, SSD Dock or docking cable. VIDEO DATA RAW FILM DATA Using RAW Files with DaVinci Resolve CinemaDNG RAW clips may appear washed out or over exposed due to the high levels of information within them.
Post Production Workflow At the very minimum do a quick check of the timeline for shots with excessive exposure or color issues. When you're satisfied with the appearance of the clips in the timeline, you’re ready to export your clips to ProRes. To export your clips: Step 1. Click on the Deliver tab, go to the Easy Setup menu and select Export to Final Cut Pro. By default this preset will render Apple ProRes 422 (HQ). Step 2. Set Render Timeline As: to Individual Source Clips. Step 3.
Post Production Workflow Using Avid Media Composer To edit your DNxHD clips using Avid Media Composer 7, create a new project matching the clip’s video format and frame rate. For this example, clips are set using DNxHD 1080i59.94 camera settings. Step 1: Launch Media Composer and the Select Project window will appear. Click the New Project button. Step 2: In the New Project window name your project. Step 3: Go to the Format dropdown menu and select 1080i/59.94.
Post Production Workflow Using Autodesk Smoke 2013 To edit your clips using Autodesk Smoke 2013, create a new project matching the clips’ video format, bit depth, frame type and frame rate. For this example, clips were shot using ProRes 422 (HQ) 1080p25 camera settings. Step 1. Launch Smoke and the Project and User Settings window will appear. Click on the New button under the project heading. Step 2. The Create New Project window will open. Name your project. Step 3.
Blackmagic Camera Utility 36 Blackmagic Camera Utility How to Update Your Camera Software on Mac OS X After downloading the Blackmagic Camera Utility software and unzipping the downloaded file, open the resulting disk image to reveal its contents. Launch the Blackmagic Camera Installer and follow the onscreen instructions.
Attaching Accessories 37 Attaching Accessories Wrist Strap Pocket Cinema Camera comes with a wrist strap for convenient carrying of the camera when on the move from location to location. To fasten, loop the string on the end of the strap through the ring on the camera, located to the bottom right of the LCD. Loop the rope end of the wrist strap back through the string, making a secure knot. Pocket Cinema Camera wrist strap. Option 1.
Attaching Accessories Camera Handles Optional handles for Cinema Camera and Production Camera 4K allow shooting in locations where you need to move around quickly with your camera. The handles let you steady your shot and keep up with the action! On the underside of the camera, locate the ¼” screw thread and insert the guide pin, locking the handles to the camera.
Help 39 Help Getting Help The fastest way to obtain help is to go to the Blackmagic Design online support pages and check the latest support material available for your camera. Blackmagic Design Online Support Pages The latest manual, software and support notes can be found at the Blackmagic Support Center at www.blackmagicdesign.com/support.
Help Replacing the Fan FAN Cinema Camera and Production Camera 4K each contain a fan, which is necessary for cooling. If you detect that the fan is not working, or that it is making a strange noise, switch off the camera and order a replacement fan by contacting Blackmagic Design Support. You should use an anti-static strap to avoid damaging the camera while opened. To replace the fan: Step 1. Switch off the camera and remove any external cables. Step 2.
Warranty 41 Warranty 12 Month Limited Warranty Blackmagic Design warrants that this product will be free from defects in materials and workmanship for a period of 12 months from the date of purchase. If a product proves to be defective during this warranty period, Blackmagic Design, at its option, either will repair the defective product without charge for parts and labor, or will provide a replacement in exchange for the defective product.
