Description
The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera is the world’s smallest digital film camera. Lightweight and highly portable, it is designed specifically for shooting cinematic quality video in difficult environments, confined spaces and the harsh, remote locations synonymous with documentaries, independent films and photo journalism. Designed entirely in Australia and costing less than $1000, it is another revolutionary step in Blackmagic’s effort to democratise high-end filmmaking technology.
Key Features
and/or Benefits
While the Blackmagic Cinema Camera did much to challenge industry perceptions, some still felt there were practical limitations to the design. It was evident that many users required something even less conspicuous, especially when shooting crowds and volatile situations. Something lighter and more compact, to be picked up in a heartbeat to capture fleeting moments, or concealed in a small space for that unique viewpoint. These insights presented an opportunity to further disrupt the notion of cinema cameras as heavy, complex and unwieldy by developing a miniaturised version of the Blackmagic Cinema Camera that could truly be taken anywhere.
The Pocket Cinema Camera adopts a compact stills camera configuration. Despite being relatively common outside of the industry, it is a revolutionary format in cinematography, providing optimal ergonomics and the greatest opportunity for miniaturisation. The generous grip houses a large, removable lithium ion battery, critical for extended on-location shooting. It features an Active Micro Four-thirds lens mount, engineered for precise optical calibration and allowing full electronic lens control. It is ideal for adapting a large range of lenses, from inexpensive consumer optics through to high-end cinematic lenses. This flexibility represents expansive creative freedom for both amateur and professional filmmakers alike.
Every component on the Pocket Cinema Camera was meticulously detailed to achieve the smallest possible footprint. Through careful consideration of manufacturing processes and mechanical assembly techniques, significant reductions in size, weight and build cost have been achieved. While miniaturisation clearly enhances portability, it more importantly delivers vast creative potential for the filmmaker. At one tenth the size of a typical cinema camera, it gains access to previously inaccessible locations and confined viewpoints. It encourages spontaneous, ‘on-the-fly’ shooting and discrete filming of sensitive or even dangerous news gathering situations.
Cutting edge high pressure die casting was employed to create the lightweight and exceptionally strong magnesium alloy chassis that thrives in harsh, hostile environments. Every other sub-assembly fixes directly to this part, ensuring excellent assembly fitment and a high perception of quality. The minimalist form is elegant yet practical; soft surface transitions allow the camera to slip in and out of a pocket or backpack with ease, while the silicone grip offers secure, comfortable handling over long shooting sessions.
Regular video cameras clip video and compress files, degrading quality and producing footage with lost detail in highlights and shadows. This presents problems downstream during post-production when such detail cannot be recovered. The Pocket Cinema Camera possesses an exceptionally wide 13 stops of dynamic range, producing stunning footage with a compelling cinematic ‘film look’. For a camera of this size, it captures unprecedented depths of detail in high contrast and low-light environments. The high quality lossless CinemaDNG RAW files it records at 1080HD resolution mean that virtually all sensor data is preserved, ensuring maximum creative flexibility in the post-production process.
