Rick Lang
Forum Replies Created
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Thanks for the benchmark, Christian. Certainly interesting in that scenario there isn’t a good benefit to justify the expense of SSDs. I think that test appears to be using 4K transfers over TB1 which may not represent the demands of working with video as I would think longer transfers could be used and does not show the performance using TB2, however that may not be a huge improvement. That’s why I suggested the 100 Gb/s Thunderbolt may be necessary to take more advantage of the fastest external devices.
Rick Lang
iMac 27” 2.8GHz i7 16GB
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Marcus:
“I’ll probably be able to save a bit of money on the new MacPro by NOT investing in a massive internal SSD.”SSDs with conventional SATA 6G mounted externally as in a RAID connected to the host via Thunderbolt are going to become commonplace if and when prices fall and most people are working in greater than HD video.
In terms of the new Mac Pro and some other current computers, it would see that the option of having PCI-attached flash memory with even greater throughput than 6G SSDs, will be very attractive in some situations and put pressure on these computer manufactures to provide ever greater volumes. Hybrid SSD/HDD seem like a good idea now but will be a step toward completely removing internal spinning hard disks for high-end configurations shortly using PCI flash storage.
I think the trend to PCI flash will take off with the release of the Mac Pro if the machine is capable of satisfying high-end users. To do that requires a lit of third-party software and hardware vendors to work on the assumption that they will either provide software that runs very well on OpenCL/GL or provide hardware that can function well over Thunderbolt at some point. It is important for Intel and Apple to advance Thunderbolt quickly to get to 100 Gb/s to at least approach enabling PCI design specs which I understand can reach 128Gb/s at least in theory.
Edit: corrected references to Thunderbolt and PCIe GB/s to Gb/s.
Rick Lang
iMac 27” 2.8GHz i7 16GB
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Andrew:
“Human sacrifice…”Like that idea. Now that deserves its own (not too serious) thread. I’m sure we all have a few sacrifices we would gladly offer to the gods, as long as they are not self-sacrifices.
Rick Lang
iMac 27” 2.8GHz i7 16GB
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Andrew, good information and you may be right but I wonder if the new Apple under Tim Cook will show more interest given the popularity of RED and the desire to showcase the new Mac Pro. I would imaging Resolve 10 will be featured with the rollout, but there may be more pro apps they’d like to have playing in their sandbox using OpenCL.
Rick Lang
iMac 27” 2.8GHz i7 16GB
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Santiago:
“I don’t think Red have access to the new MacPro, though they can work for open CL implementation…”I think if RED asked, they may well have had lots of support from Apple. One of the strongest concerns with the Mac Pro has been the inability to support external graphics cars, specifically Red Rocket et al, that wouldn’t be able to perform adequately over a TB2 link. Can you imagine if the copy for the new Mac Pro, on the day it is released, includes “Firepro OpenCL support for 6K RED at 24fps”? Of course few here would be excited by that because it has already been established clearly the new Mac Pro isn’t for pros.
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Michael:
“Yes – when two well know DPs (Art Adams and Geoff Boyle) wanted to test a Dragon MX they were told they couldn’t because they wouldn’t do a fair comparison.”So much emotion in Jim’s farewell post. Takes a while to digest. Maybe he recognizes that it is time to pass the torch to a younger person. At least his farewell note summarized his contribution from his perspective and even if that is not identical to everyone else’s perspective, it is how he sees it.
I don’t know these DPs and they may have done a fine job testing the Dragon. But we all know there are tests that can make a sensor shine and tests that can make a sensor look ordinary. Obviously there is some history between Jim and Geoff since he felt stung by Geoff. I wish we all had very thick skin and could stand up to criticism, taking away the germ of truth that it may hold and discarding the rest. But that’s easier for some than others. Time we reflect on the big picture and not one or two bad scenes since we all share those moments in our lives and hope we are not ultimately judged solely by them.
Rick Lang
iMac 27” 2.8GHz i7 16GB
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Genlock support in the BMPC4K and the other BMD cameras is an omission that does exclude their use for many. Best of luck to you.
Rick Lang
iMac 27” 2.8GHz i7 16GB
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Even Grant Petty says the BMPCC is the camera he will keep with him. With the right lens, it truly can give the iPhone a run for its money! It seems smart phone cameras are displacing far better cameras that people own just because it is always with them and they snap a pic and post it on the web in a moment. So the BMPCC certainly is a wonderful family camera in addition to all its other possibilities.
The bulk of cameras that Canon, Sony, Panasonic, and so on sell are designed to produce a good looking image easily and they can do it well within their limitations. But there a lot of people who enjoy editing and colouring their home movies and those codecs don’t let you have much fun before they break. The BMPCC is the first truly affordable camera that puts real quality in your hands and can produce beautiful video if you want to be creative. Bessie would like that, right?
Rick Lang
iMac 27” 2.8GHz i7 16GB
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Fantastic if that is ever possible. I’d think 120 fps may not be I reachable if they continue to use the full active sensor area and downscale from that (which gives you the widest angle of view of course). I think many people would be happy to get 48 fps to 60 fps but would love 120 fps if it can be done in an affordable camera. As you say, they may quietly surprise us!
Are you going to pick up the BMPC4K? I’m just waiting to see informative footage and hear from those who get the camera in the first or second wave of shipments. I think that camera will be excellent for some purposes, including green screen and effects, and produce better looking 2K and HD deliverables, but people far wiser than I seem to feel the loss of a stop in dynamic range may deter from the image quality we’ve come to love from the BMCC. I think where motion is involved, the global shutter will show an improvement in image quality and that has to count for something.
Rick Lang
iMac 27” 2.8GHz i7 16GB
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Mike, do you have an hour to read the response to your query? Seriously, I’ll be brief. Please let me start with the downside of the BMPCC.
First, you do not get the full (dongle) version of DaVinci Resolve with the pocket camera so when the $995 BMPCC is compared to the $1,995 and you add in the $995 cost of Resolve, you see that the pocket camera is costing you the same money as the BMCC.
Second, the resolution is 1920×1080. That’s it. There’s no larger active sensor area that can be used to downscale to a HD deliverable. This means that the BMPCC image may be a little softer looking than an HD image downscaled from the BMCC.
Third, the sensor is very close to Super16. Some people like that, the depth of field is greater, the lenses can be smaller, but it can be a challenge if you need a very wide angle of view. The crop factor is 2.88x compared to the Canon 5D full-frame sensor.
Fourth, although this camera looks like a real micro four thirds camera from Panasonic or Olympus, it is not. Within the camera body, there is no image stabilization and no adjustments for distortion (barrel/pincushion) when using poorly designed lenses from Panasonic or Olympus. The distortion could be corrected in post and is often not a problem unless you are shooting architecture because the sensor is smaller than a normal micro four thirds camera.
Fifth, media is not cheap. The camera currently records 10bit ProRes 4:2:2 HQ 1080p but a firmware update expected in a month or so will include 12bit raw recording. Currently there are only a few SDXC/SDHC cards approved such as the Sandisk Extreme Pro. Most of these cards are 64 GB with larger sizes coming available. So recording times are fairly short, taking you back to the days of real film spools.
Sixth, the audio is unbalanced, not balanced like the BMCC. That isn’t likely an issue if your audio devices are in close proximity to the camera. Like the BMCC, there is no phantom power supplied so you may need a pre-amp like the new Juiced Link BMC366 or external recorder like the Zoom H6 to power your microphones.
Seventh, there is no optical low-pass filter in front of the sensor. The downside can be more moiré and aliasing, and the upside is a sharper image. There are techniques to reduce the downside when you shoot (such as having your talent wear natural fibres like cotton rather than rayon if possible) and in post although that is not easy. A third-party supplier is apparently working on providing an OLPF but no guarantee. And you may not experience the problem as there are sample videos that look fine. The camera is only in limited distribution now but will ramp up later this month and in September. The BMCC and BMPC4K also do not have OLPFs and that is a conscious design feature of BMD cameras to maximize the image sharpness.
Eighth, there is no genlock support on any BMD camera.
On the positive size:
It has 13 stops of dynamic range for under $1k!It shoots 10bit ProRes HQ log or rec.709 and soon 12bit raw; not AVCHD, h.264, whatever, highly compressed 8bit grading headaches that you may have seen from a DSLR or camcorder. The raw will be using an estimated 1.5x lossless compression to reduce file sizes.
It has an active MFT mount which can accept a horde of manual and automatic lenses with some caveats such as the lack of in-camera stabilization for Olympus lenses. So you can add a PL lens if you want. Or go stealth mode with a modest pancake.
You can today add the Metabones Speed Booster for Nikon F/G adapter and pick up a full stop of speed and an effective focal length of 0.71x what the lens would look like without the MSB. The MSB can make a f/1.4 lens into f/1.0!
And a MSB for EF is coming in about a month and that will be an active adapter with the electronics to make Canon lenses work and of course will support any EF lens from other suppliers.
As you may know, many very high speed lenses are available in MFT such as the f/0.95 hyperprimes from SLR Magic and Voitländer or other mounts such as C mounts for S16.
It has a readily availble Nikon rechargeable removable battery, just buy a few to get you through your shoot.
The camera can be very small or very big if you want it to be. Many suppliers are jumping on board to provide cages and gear adapted for the BMPCC.
The media and battery are not proprietary to BMD and are available from third-party vendors. BMD tries to use standard interfaces and avoid proprietary connections or other gear.
It is very light and will work with less expensive stabilizers for handheld work and cheaper tripods/heads if desired compared to the BMCC. You can mount it anywhere except underwater.
At $995, it makes a great HD crash cam if you are so inclined.
Okay, I’ll show some mercy and let you decide!
Edit: added lack of genlock.
Rick Lang
iMac 27” 2.8GHz i7 16GB