Pocket Cinema Camera vs Cinema Camera

[Richard Martz]

Well…a lot of questions. I own the BlackMagic Cinema Camea but I have some friends who own the Pocket Camera. Both give excellent results but you can save a few bucks initially on the Pocket Camera.

But in my opinion if you buy a pocket camera you will just end up spending it all over again on a viewfinder. With my friend’s pocket camera there is really no way to be sure you are getting things in focus in bright sunlight. And I can barely do it indoors. But maybe I’m just a moron.

The Blackmagic Cinema Camera was my choice because i had a lot more lens options with that camera. I’ve been using mostly EF lenses. They are readily available in just about any length I can imagine using – primes and zooms. And the viewfinder is large enough so that I don’t always require a monitor to be sure I’m in focus. With the cinema camera i can usually get everything in focus using the viewfinder but occasionally I find I need a monitor to keep things in focus.

I also just got a B4 Lens and an EF adaptor that i can use for run and gun situations.

BATTERIES
The Cinema Camera has a built-in battery that lasts from 60-90 minutes. So you will probably want an external battery system with at least 5 Amp hour capacity. https://www.ebay.com/itm/221399060449?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

The cinema camera has no accessories except a power supply so you will need a few extras – like a rail system, and a camera cage and probably a handle if it isn’t included in the camera cage you select. Rails give you a place to mount things like batteries, monitors, follow focus, matte box, monitor and other desirable accessories. So that woudl be the first thing that i would purchase.

AUDIO – I tried a lot of different approaches. I usually record separate system sound. But sometimes I just need the audio tracks recorded on the video for a variety of Post reasons. I’ve settled on an unlikely approach that is working well for us and it is super cheap. We bought a used Zoom H4N recorder for around $200 to experiment with. One of the H6N Zoom recorders would work just as well. It has worked so well that I’m now using it on almost everything we shoot. The preamps are surprisingly clean and pristine. We re coming out of the stereo line out and going into the 1/4 TRS connectors on the Cinema Camera. We purchased some cables from MARKERTEK for this purpose. It works great. you can also get a cable from your local Radio Shack as well that will do the same thing.

If money is no object then one of the Sound Design Mixers would be a great choice as well. But that will probably cost more than the camera.

Sincerely,
Richard Martz

MagicMartz Media
Atlanta, GA

FCP 7
FCP X
Blackmagic Cinema Camera
ADOBE CREATIVE SUITE CC
Premiere Pro
DaVinci Resolve 9.0
MAC 8 core
After Effects
PhotoShop
Illustrator
Sony HD Cameras
24′ Camera Crane with Motorhead
8′ jib arm
20K watts of lighting
Multitrack audio
Teleprompters
Grip Truck/trailer
Location video monitoring
Door and hood mounts
Lots of other Fun Stuff!

[David Mathis]

Thank you very much for the information. I did not even consider thinking about the viewfinder, thanks for the heads up on that one. I am looking at a Tascam recorder for $200 on the B & H Photo website, not sure if this would work but looks like it might. I have never had experience with a double system before so guess it will be time to do a little research on that. I am guessing that Resolve will handle this task well as people use it to process dailies. Once that is all done I will edit in Final Cut Pro X and once Resolve 11 comes out, hope to do most of the post-production work there.

Again, thank you for all the information. I found it extremely valuable.

Current system:

Final Cut Pro X for editing and some finishing
Motion for basic motion graphics and custom effects
Resolve 10.1.4
Old school Mac Pro