I have been immersed in a massive indie solo documentary that I am preparing for film festivals in 2020 so all my time is spent editing, editing and then editing. As you can imagine it is a labor of love and I remain focused.
So what has changed or developed in the past few months has truly shocked me and the market. Everything from Red being outed by Jinni Tech with several videos on
Youtube unveiling the tech and the off the shelf origins to BlackMagic Design releasing their BMPCC6k. The times are surely changing but is it innovative progress?
The v1 introduction of the BMPCC4k was truly ground shaking and revolutionary with the dual iso, lowlight performance, 4k, form factor, dynamic range, color science and powerhouse codecs CDNG and Prores. We must not forget the insanely low and unreal price of $1,295! I have tested it against Red Gemini 5k which the DP purchased for $19,500 for the brain alone and aside color science the performance to price ratio was insane! The v1 BMPCC4k with CDNG stood its ground.
But then came the infamous letter from lawyers claiming BMD was infringing on Red ‘s patent for CDNG and boom the next firmware update introduced a new codec called BRAW which was BMD’s attempt to provide a replacement for CDNG. But after testing and discovering aliasing/moire, chromatic aberrations and softer image I deemed it a failure. To add insult to injury for those who purchased the camera with CDNG clearly advertised and now having it forcefully removed because of firmware updates was a bad move on BMD’s part. OK, I’ll stop ranting about that for now LOL.
Those hoping for another great technological leap forward with the BMPCC6k have clearly been let down with the fact that the camera cannot record 4k in BRAW. With the latest update BMD continues to add features such as anamorphic and level guides.
The marketing hype is clearly the “K-Race” but other manufacturers are going large format. Take a look at Kinefinity and ARRI, with the later name truly the giant and holy grail for true cinema. Hell, even Z Cam is going to Full Frame format.
As the market, we can clearly change where manufacturers are going and what they are creating by simple economics. Innovative products will continue to be used after more advancements have been made and a good examples is the original BMPCC which is still used by indie folks to create amazing content. Recently it was tested side by side with the BMPCC4k and many people fell in love with the little true pocket camera! How can a 1080 camera look more cinematic and appealing than a 4k? It may be subjective but the point is innovation is timeless and advancements have a shelf life.
If BMD and others want to continue to advance cameras that is their prerogative and business model but I would encourage them to innovate and create true magic.