Blackmagicdesign Blackmagic cameras Operation Manual
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Blackmagicdesign Blackmagic cameras Operation Manual

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Operation Manual
Blackmagic Cameras
Mac OS X
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Windows
™
English
June 2016

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  • Page 1 Operation Manual Blackmagic Cameras Mac OS X ™ Windows ™ English June 2016...
  • Page 2 Welcome Thank you for purchasing your Blackmagic Camera! We have worked hard to produce four cameras that have been designed from the ground up to fit any kind of workflow. Our Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera is a Super 16 digital film camera with 13 stops of dynamic range that is small enough to take anywhere.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    Contents Blackmagic Cameras Getting Started Menu Settings Dashboard Attaching a Lens Camera Settings Turning Your Camera On Audio Settings Installing Media Recording Settings Using an SD Card File Naming Convention Display Settings Using an SSD On Screen Meters Recording Adjusting Settings...
  • Page 4 Contents Blackmagic Cameras Tracking a Window Working with 3rd Party Sofware Using Final Cut Pro X Using Plugins Using Avid Media Composer Mastering your Edit Using Adobe Premiere Pro CC Camera Video Output Using Autodesk Smoke Monitoring using SDI Attaching Accessories...

  • Page 5: Getting Started

    Camera and Micro Cinema Camera have removable, rechargeable batteries, while Blackmagic Cinema Camera and Production Camera 4K have rechargeable batteries built in. All Blackmagic Cameras can be powered simply by plugging the supplied power adapter into their power input. This also recharges the battery, either built in or plugged in.
  • Page 6 Getting Started Inserting a Battery and Powering Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera Your Pocket Cinema Camera uses an EN-EL20 battery. One is included with the camera, but if you need additional batteries, they can be purchased from your Blackmagic Design reseller or from most video or photography equipment stores.

  • Page 7: Installing Media

    Installing Media Installing Media Step 2. Press and hold the power button to switch off the camera. You are now ready to insert an SSD and start recording! Using an SD Card If your camera uses an SD card for recording clips, you can insert an SDXC or SDHC card. To insert an SD card into your camera: Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera On the underside of the camera, push the battery door release towards the lens.

  • Page 8: Recording

    Step 3. Press the 'menu' button twice to exit. Your camera is now ready to record in the video format you have selected. On Blackmagic cameras on the transport control panel. with a built in LCD, the current recording format is shown on the LCD status strip.
  • Page 9 Recording Blackmagic Cameras Supported Video Formats Blackmagic Pocket Blackmagic Micro Blackmagic Blackmagic Cinema Camera Cinema Camera Cinema Camera Production Camera 4K 1080p23.98 1080p23.98 2400 x 1350 4000 x 2160 12-bit 2.5K RAW 12-bit 4K RAW 1080p24 1080p24 1080p23.98 2160p23.98 1080p25...

  • Page 10: Playback

    Playback Playback 10 10 Playing Back Clips Once you have recorded your video, you can use the transport control buttons to play back your video on the LCD. Press the play button once for instant playback and you'll see your video on the LCD and on any display connected to the HDMI or SDI output.

  • Page 11: About Ssds And Sd Cards

    About SSDs and SD Cards About SSDs and SD Cards 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 a lower sustained write speed than the manufacturer’s claimed speed, so even though a disk specification can claim an SSD is fast enough to handle video, in reality the disk may not be fast enough for real time video recording.
  • Page 12 About SSDs and SD Cards Brand SSD Name/Model Number Storage Supported Formats ProRes and 4K RAW 2.5K RAW DNxHD 530 series. SSDSC2BW180A401. 180GB 335 series. SSDSC2CT240A4K5. 240GB Kingston HyperX Savage. SHSS37A/960G. 960GB HyperX Savage. SHSS37A/480G. 480GB HyperX Savage. SHSS37A/240G. 240GB HyperX Savage.

  • Page 13: Choosing A Fast Sd Card

    About SSDs and SD Cards Brand SSD Name/Model Number Storage Supported Formats ProRes and 4K RAW 2.5K RAW DNxHD XLR8. SSD9SC480GMDA-RB. 480GB CL4100. SSD7S480GCL4. 480GB CL4100. SSD7S240GCL4. 240GB Transcend SSD370. TS1TSSD370. SSD370. TS512GSSD370. 512GB Transcend SSD370. TS256GSSD370. 256GB SSD720. TS256GSSD720. 256GB Wise Cinema CMS-0240...
  • Page 14 About SSDs and SD Cards Brand SD Card Name/Type Storage Supported Formats ProRes Extreme Pro. 95 MB/sec SDHC UHS-I 32GB Extreme Plus. 80 MB/sec SDXC UHS-I 128GB Extreme Plus. 80 MB/sec SDXC UHS-I 64GB Extreme Plus. 80 MB/sec SDHC UHS-I 32GB Extreme Plus.
  • Page 15 About SSDs and SD Cards To format your SSD or SD card using the camera settings: Step 1. Press the 'menu' button to open the dashboard, or to open the settings menu on Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera. Step 2. Select the 'format disk' or 'format card' icon by tapping on the touchscreen or using the navigation and 'ok' buttons on the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera.

  • Page 16: Checking Disk Speed

    About SSDs and SD Cards Preparing SSDs on a Windows computer The 'format' dialog box can format an SSD or SD card in the exFAT format on a Windows PC. Remember to back up anything important from your media as all data will be lost when it is formatted. Step 1.

  • Page 17: Camera Connections

    Camera Connections Camera Connections Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera LANC Remote Control The remote port on your camera is 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 using the standard LANC protocol. Headphones Monitor audio while recording or playing back clips by plugging your headphones into the 3.5mm stereo headphones jack.

  • Page 18: Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera

    Camera Connections Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera HDMI Out The HDMI output supports 10-bit 4:2:2 1080p HD video with 2 channels of embedded audio. This gives you the option to either send a clean video feed or insert overlays on the HDMI output from the camera menu.
  • Page 19 Camera Connections Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera Expansion Port and Expansion Cable There are two ways to access the expansion port’s functions. You can use the expansion cable that comes with your Micro Cinema Camera, or solder your own custom connectors. Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera has a standard DB-HD15 serial connector and can be used with the included expansion cable for the following control options: 1.

  • Page 20: Wiring Diagram For The Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera Expansion Cable

    Camera Connections Wiring Diagram for the Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera Expansion Cable When using Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera’s expansion port, you may only Use the following diagram when wiring the expansion cable included or use want to access one or two functions. For example, you may want to use the it as an example of how you can wire up the connections on you own custom composite video output feature while simultaneously controlling the zoom cable correctly.

  • Page 21: Blackmagic Cinema Camera And Production Camera 4K

    Camera Connections Blackmagic Cinema Camera and Production Camera 4K LANC Remote Control The remote port on your camera is used to remotely control record starting and stopping, plus iris and focus adjustments when using a compatible lens on Blackmagic Cinema Camera and Production Camera 4K EF models.

  • Page 22: Tally Light Indicators

    Tally Light Indicators Tally Light Indicators Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera Tally Light Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera includes a tally light feature. The tally light indicates the following camera scenarios to the camera operator: ‚ White - Power On ‚ Red - Recording ‚...

  • Page 23: Menu Settings

    Menu Settings Menu Settings Dashboard The dashboard feature is opened by pressing the 'menu' button. From the dashboard you can access the 'settings' menu and key features such as metadata, media formatting, activating meters, frame guides and focus peaking. Press 'menu' again to exit the dashboard. To view menu settings on Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera, simply connect an external monitor such as the Blackmagic Video Assist to the HDMI port or use the composite output on the expansion cable to connect to a low cost composite display.
  • Page 24 Time is set to 24 hour format on Blackmagic Cameras. To set the time, select the + and - keys to make adjustments to the time. If traveling with your Blackmagic Camera, remember to change the date and time to local time zones.
  • Page 25 Menu Settings Adjust the White Balance settings using the arrow icons in the menu. Shutter Angle Shutter angle complements the ISO setting by regulating the amount of light on the sensor. 180 degrees is the optimum shutter angle, however as lighting conditions change you may need to adjust accordingly.

  • Page 26: Audio Settings

    Menu Settings Audio Settings To adjust audio input and audio monitoring settings on your Blackmagic Camera, press the 'menu' button to open the dashboard, select the 'settings' icon, then select the microphone icon to the left of the settings menu. On Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera, press the 'menu' button to enter the menu settings display.
  • Page 27 Menu Settings Channel 1 Input To increase or decrease levels for channel 1, move the audio slider icon left or right. If you're using the Micro Cinema Camera, use the left and right arrow buttons on the camera. The external audio input overrides the built in microphone and is recorded to audio channel 1.

  • Page 28: Recording Settings

    'resolution' setting to select from 4K, Ultra HD, or HD video resolutions. The resolutions available will depend on your chosen codec. Dynamic Range Blackmagic Cameras have two dynamic range settings: Film The film setting shoots video using a log curve and gives you 13 stops of dynamic range, or 12 stops on Blackmagic Production Camera 4K.
  • Page 29 Menu Settings Video The video setting uses the REC709 standard for high definition video. This lets you work faster by recording directly to the compressed video formats your camera supports, which are compatible with popular post production software. Adjust the dynamic range settings using the arrow icons in the menu.

  • Page 30: File Naming Convention

    Menu Settings File Naming Convention Blackmagic cameras use 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 the file naming convention. 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.mov...
  • Page 31 Menu Settings Brightness On Blackmagic cameras with a built in display, move the slider icon left or right to adjust brightness settings for the LCD. Tally Light Brightness Changes the brightness of the Tally Light on Micro Cinema Camera. Settings include: low, medium and high.
  • Page 32 'play' button to confirm your selection. LCD Overlay On Blackmagic cameras with a built in display, you can turn the frame guides on or off for the LCD independently of the SDI/HDMI output. For example, you may want to view frame guides on the LCD, but output a clean video feed over the camera's SDI/HDMI output.

  • Page 33: On Screen Meters

    Menu Settings Guide Opacity: Aspect ratios are displayed as mattes on the top and bottom of your touch screen and fold out monitor. You can adjust the opacity of the matte by adjusting the 'guide opacity' setting. For example, if you prefer to view your guides as solid mattes, select 100%. Alternatively, if you would like to view guides at maximum transparency, set the guide opacity to 25%.

  • Page 34: Adjusting Settings

    'iris' button sets your exposure to the brightest highlight in your shot. On all Blackmagic Cameras except the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera, you can adjust your lens aperture manually by pressing the forward or reverse transport control buttons. To adjust your aperture...
  • Page 35 FOCUS When using a compatible auto focus lens with Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera or EF mount Blackmagic cameras, press the 'focus' button once to auto focus. A quick double press of the focus button activates focus peaking. When using a manual lens, press the focus button once for focus peaking.

  • Page 36: Status Strip

    Menu Settings Status Strip Your chosen settings are always displayed on a status strip, which runs the length of the LCD, HDMI or composite display, showing a convenient summary of the camera's current settings. Battery Life Indicator When the remaining charge drops below 25% capacity, the status strip will show the battery status in red to warn you that battery life is running low.

  • Page 37: Entering Metadata

    Entering Metadata What is the Slate? On Blackmagic cameras with an LCD, the slate feature allows you to easily log metadata directly into the camera. Metadata is stored in the recorded files and is easily accessed by editing software. Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera Step 1.

  • Page 38: Using Davinci Resolve

    Using DaVinci Resolve Using DaVinci Resolve Introducing DaVinci Resolve Shooting with your Blackmagic Design camera is only part of the process of creating film and television content, and just as important is the process of media backup and management as well as editing, color correction and encoding final master files.

  • Page 39: Editing Your Clips

    Using DaVinci Resolve If your clip folder doesn’t appear in the library, you’ll need to add it. This is easily done by clicking on preferences in the DaVinci Resolve title bar and clicking on the ‘plus’ icon in the ‘media storage’ tab, browse to and select a drive or folder path, click 'save', restart DaVinci Resolve and reopen ‘untitled project’...

  • Page 40: Trimming Clips

    Using DaVinci Resolve Trimming Clips When editing clips you’ll want to trim them to include only the specific actions you want in each shot. There are various ways, but the easiest is to adjust the clips’ in and out points on the timeline: Step 1.

  • Page 41: Adding Transitions

    Using DaVinci Resolve Adding Transitions A transition is a visual effect used to bridge one clip to another in a pleasing way, for example dissolves, wipes, dips to color, and more. These can add a layer of excitement to your edit. Transitions don’t always have to be joining two clips, for example you can apply a dissolve transition to the end of one clip to create a quick and easy fade to black.

  • Page 42: Adding Audio Tracks

    Using DaVinci Resolve You can choose from a variety of fonts and adjust the appearance of your title by changing settings such as color, size, alignment, position, and more. Transitions can be added to titles, just like they can for clips. Adding Audio Tracks If you want to mix a large sound edit with lots of sound effects and music, you can easily add more audio tracks when you need them.

  • Page 43: Using Scopes

    Using DaVinci Resolve Using Scopes Most colorists make creative color choices by focusing on the emotion and the look they want their program to have and then simply work using the monitor to achieve that look. You can look at everyday objects and how different types of light interact with them to generate ideas on what you can do with your images and a little practice.

  • Page 44: Secondary Color Correction

    Using DaVinci Resolve You can also use the curves palette to make primary color corrections. Simply click to create control points on the diagonal line inside the curve graph, and drag them up or down to adjust the master RGB contrast at different areas of image tonality. The optimum points to adjust are the bottom third, mid, and top third of the curve line.

  • Page 45: Adding A Power Window

    Using DaVinci Resolve Sometimes your selection can spill into areas of the shot you don’t want to affect. You can easily mask out the unwanted areas using a power window. Simply create a new window and shape it to select only the area of color you want.

  • Page 46: Using Plugins

    Using DaVinci Resolve Step 3. Open the ‘tracker’ palette. Select the pan, tilt, zoom, rotate, and perspective 3D settings appropriate for the movement in your clip by checking or unchecking the relevant ‘analyse’ checkboxes. Step 4. Click on the ‘forward’ arrow to the left of the checkboxes. DaVinci Resolve will now apply a cluster of tracking points on your clip and then step through the frames to analyze the movement.
  • Page 47 Using DaVinci Resolve Step 3. In the ‘file’ settings, select ‘use custom filename’. Name your export, then choose your destination by clicking the ‘browse’ button and selecting a folder location. Click ‘ok’. Step 4. You’ll see the 'deliver timeline' stretched across the bottom of the page. Select 'all clips' to select the entire program for rendering.

  • Page 48: Camera Video Output

    Camera Video Output 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. Blackmagic 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.

  • Page 49: Waveform Monitoring Using Thunderbolt

    Blackmagic UltraScope allows you to monitor almost every aspect of the video you record with your Cinema Camera or Production Camera 4K. Blackmagic UltraScope software is available to download from the Blackmagic Design support center at www.blackmagicdesign.com/support. Connect to your computer via the Thunderbolt port of your Blackmagic Cinema Camera or Production Camera 4K.

  • Page 50: Using Blackmagic Ultrascope

    1280 x 800 pixels to view two scopes simultaneously. Blackmagic Design recommends viewing all 6 scopes simultaneously by using a computer display resolution of 1920 x 1200 or 1920 x 1080 pixels. Please see the support pages at www.blackmagicdesign.com/support for a comprehensive list of the latest minimum system requirements for Blackmagic UltraScope.
  • Page 51 Camera Video Output Screen Resolution Requirements for Display Views ‚ Full screen view: 1920 x 1200 pixels or 1920 x 1080 pixels. If your monitor doesn’t support these resolutions, then full screen view will not be available. ‚ 2-up view: minimum resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. Blackmagic UltraScope Displays Blackmagic UltraScope software is a great tool for maintaining accurate video and audio levels from your Blackmagic camera so you can make the most of your digital footage in post-production.
  • Page 52 Camera Video Output Vectorscope Display Vectorscope is useful for monitoring the color balance and saturation of your Blackmagic camera’s video signal. If your signal has a dominant green color cast then the majority of image information will be located towards the green area of the vectorscope. In comparison, an image with a neutral color balance will have information evenly distributed around the center.

  • Page 53: Blackmagic Camera Setup Software

    Blackmagic Camera Setup Software Blackmagic Camera Setup Software How to Update Your Camera Software on Mac OS X After downloading the ‘Blackmagic Camera Setup’ software, unzip the downloaded file and double click on the .dmg disk image file. Launch the 'Blackmagic Camera Setup' installer and follow the onscreen instructions.

  • Page 54: Post Production Workflow

    Post Production Workflow Post Production Workflow Working with Files from SSDs To import your clips from a SSD: Step 1. Remove the SSD from your Blackmagic 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, for example Blackmagic MultiDock.

  • Page 55: Working With 3Rd Party Sofware

    Post Production Workflow Working with 3rd Party Sofware If you have your own favourite editing software you’d like to use, you can easily copy your clips to an internal/external drive or RAID and then import your clips into the software. If you want to, you can even edit your clips directly from the SD card or SSD using a card reader, external SATA adaptor or SSD Dock.

  • Page 56: Using Adobe Premiere Pro Cc

    Post Production Workflow Step 5. Go to the 'raster dimension' dropdown menu and select 1920x1080. Click 'ok'. Step 6. Select 'tools>background services' and click the 'start' button if background services are not already running and then click 'ok'. Step 7. Select the media bin where you wish to import your files.
  • Page 57 Post Production Workflow Step 4. Make sure bit depth is set to 10-bit and frame type is progressive. Step 5. From the config template dropdown menu select 1920x1080@25000p.cfg. Step 6. Leave the 'preferred format' set to ProRes 422 HQ and click 'create'. Step 7.

  • Page 58: Attaching Accessories

    Attaching Accessories Attaching Accessories Wrist Strap Blackmagic 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.
  • Page 59 Attaching Accessories Camera Handles Optional handles for Blackmagic 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”...

  • Page 60: Shimming The Pl Mount

    Shimming the PL Mount Shimming the PL Mount Shimming your PL mount lens Blackmagic Shims are thin disks of varying thickness that let you make fine adjustments to the distance between a PL lens and a PL model Blackmagic camera's sensor. This distance is commonly known as the flange focal distance, or back focus, and can change slightly due to variables such as lens age and the environmental conditions of your shoot.
  • Page 61 Shimming the PL Mount Removing and replacing the PL Mount Step 4. Step 5. Step 6. Note the alignment of the existing 0.50mm shim Remove the existing 0.50mm shim and replace Place the lens mount onto the camera body with the alignment pin at the 11 o'clock position. with the appropriate shim thickness needed to ensuring the alignment hole is aligned with the bring your lens focus marks into alignment with the...

  • Page 62: Replacing The Fan

    Replacing the Fan Replacing the Fan Replacing the Fan Blackmagic Cinema Camera and Production Camera 4K each contain a fan, which is necessary for cooling. If you detect the fan is not working, or is making a strange noise, switch off the camera and order a replacement fan by contacting Blackmagic Design Support.

  • Page 63: Help

    After checking the version of Blackmagic Camera Setup software installed on your computer, please visit the Blackmagic Design support center at www.blackmagicdesign.com/support to check for the latest updates. While it is usually a good idea to run the latest updates, it is wise to avoid updating any software if you are in the middle of an important project.

  • Page 64: Warranty

    Warranty 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.

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