Blackmagicdesign Blackmagic Cinema Camera Installation And Operation Manual
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Blackmagicdesign Blackmagic Cinema Camera Installation And Operation Manual

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Installation and Operation Manual
Blackmagic Cinema Camera
Mac OS X
™
Windows
™
December 2012

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  • Page 1 Installation and Operation Manual Blackmagic Cinema Camera Mac OS X ™ Windows ™ December 2012...
  • Page 2 Welcome Welcome Thank you for purchasing Blackmagic Cinema Camera! We have worked hard to produce a camera that's designed from the ground up to have a very wide dynamic range and to produce files that are "flat", which means they preserve this wide dynamic range. This will...

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    Choosing the Recording Format Remote Playing Back Clips Headphones Using Remote Control Audio In Charging the Internal Battery SDI Out Blackmagic Cinema Camera Utility Thunderbolt ™ How to Set Up Thunderbolt ™ to Capture and Monitor Video Power Settings Blackmagic Cinema Camera...
  • Page 4 Contents Blackmagic Cinema Camera Attaching Accessories Sun Shield Carry Strap Blackmagic Cinema Camera Handles Working with Thunderbolt Technology What Can I Do with the Thunderbolt Port on My Camera? Using Blackmagic Media Express Using Blackmagic UltraScope Help Getting Help Blackmagic Design Online Support Pages...

  • Page 5: Getting Started

    Blackmagic Cinema Camera prior to attaching or removing a lens. To attach a lens, first remove the protective dust cap from the Blackmagic Cinema Camera and also the rear cover from your desired lens. Many lenses have a colored dot (typically blue, red or white) or other indicator, which you should align with the dot on the camera mount.

  • Page 6: Inserting A Ssd

    Step 3. Close the SSD door. When you first switch on Blackmagic Cinema Camera, or any time you insert a SSD into the SSD slot, the status strip will change from NO SSD to a moving dot while checking the SSD, and then READY. If the SSD has not been formatted correctly, or fails to work, the status strip will show NO SSD.

  • Page 7: Playing Back Clips

    Getting Started Playing Back Clips Recorded clips can be played back on the camera's touchscreen. Once you have recorded your video, you can use the transport control buttons under the touchscreen to play back your video. Press the play button once for instant playback and you'll see your video on the touchscreen and on any display connected to the SDI output.

  • Page 8: Blackmagic Cinema Camera Utility

    Getting Started Blackmagic Cinema Camera Utility Blackmagic Cinema Camera Utility is used to change settings and update the internal software in your camera. How to Update Your Cinema Camera Software on Mac OS X After downloading the Blackmagic Cinema Camera Utility software and unzipping the downloaded file, open the resulting disk image to reveal its contents.

  • Page 9: How To Set Up Thunderbolt To Capture And Monitor Video

    Getting Started How to Set Up Thunderbolt to Capture and Monitor Video This section guides you through how to set up your Blackmagic Cinema Camera with your computer for video capture and waveform monitoring. Connecting the Blackmagic Cinema Camera to your computer Step 1.

  • Page 10: Settings

    Camera ID If you're using more than one Blackmagic Cinema Camera, it can be helpful to set a camera ID which will be included with any metadata recorded with your clips. You can change the camera ID by tapping the current name and then changing or entering a new camera ID with the onscreen keyboard.

  • Page 11: White Balance

    Settings White Balance Your Blackmagic Cinema Camera includes 6 white balance presets for a variety of color temperature conditions. These are ‚ 3200K for tungsten light ‚ 4500K for fluorescent light ‚ 5000K, 5600K, 6500K and 7500K for a variety of daylight conditions such as time of day To adjust the White Balance settings, tap the arrow icons on the touchscreen.

  • Page 12: Audio Settings

    Settings Audio Settings To adjust audio input and audio monitoring settings on your Blackmagic Cinema Camera, press the MENU button and select the microphone icon to the left of the touchscreen display. Microphone Input Microphone input adjusts the built-in microphone. Drag the audio slider icon to increase or decrease levels.

  • Page 13: Recorder Settings

    The recorder settings are used to set the video format recorded to the built-in SSD recorder. To set recorder settings on your Blackmagic Cinema Camera, press the MENU button in the transport control panel and then tap the onscreen REC icon.
  • Page 14 Settings Frame Rate Your Blackmagic Cinema Camera has five different frame rate settings for shooting common film and video frame rates: 23.98 fps, 24 fps, 25 fps, 29.97 fps, 30 fps. To select the frame rate, tap the arrow icons on the touchscreen.

  • Page 15: Display Settings

    Zebra + Warning Level The Blackmagic Cinema Camera has a zebra feature which gives an indication of exposure levels. Diagonal lines will appear across any part of the video which exceeds the zebra exposure level.

  • Page 16: Adjusting Settings

    Double tap the display again to zoom out. Image Stabilizer Blackmagic Cinema Camera supports the image stabilizer (IS) feature found in many EF lenses. Simply set the Stabilizer switch to ON to use it with your camera. If your lens also features a Stabilizer Mode switch, set it to the appropriate mode for still shots or for movement.

  • Page 17: Status Strip

    Settings Status Strip Along the bottom of the touchscreen is a status strip that contains a convenient summary of the recording settings that have been chosen through the various menus. This information is displayed in the following order from left to right on the strip: Format - ProRes, DNxHD or RAW 2.5K F-Stop number Frame Rate...

  • Page 18: Entry Of Metadata

    What is the Slate? - Single Tap The large touchscreen on the Blackmagic Cinema Camera has many purposes, one of which is to allow you to easily log metadata directly into the camera. Tap the display once with your finger and a data entry window called the ‘slate’...

  • Page 19: Connections

    The BNC port provides 3 Gb/s SDI output and lets you monitor on set or send video to an SDI router. The SDI output of your Blackmagic Cinema Camera always outputs 10-bit 4:2:2 high definition 1920 x 1080 video regardless of whether you are recording RAW 2.5K, ProRes or DNxHD to your SSD.

  • Page 20: Blackmagic Cinema Camera

    Connections Blackmagic Cinema Camera LANC 2.5 mm Remote Control 3.5 mm Headphone Socket ¼” balanced jack mic and line level audio inputs 3 Gb/s SDI Output Thunderbolt Port 12-30 V DC Power Input...

  • Page 21: Software Compatibility

    Software Compatibility Accessing Clips File Naming Convention The Blackmagic Cinema Camera uses the following file naming convention when recording video. [Camera ID]_[Reel Number]_[yyyy-mm--dd]_[hhmm]_C[Clip number].mov This is an example of how this would appear on the touch screen of the camera: BMC01_1_2012-08-08_1631_C0002.mov...
  • Page 22 Software Compatibility Capturing from the Thunderbolt ™ connection The Thunderbolt port of your camera outputs uncompressed 4:2:2 10-bit HD1080 video while recording live with the camera. You can capture video from the Thunderbolt port with a variety of video software supported by your camera, including: Apple Final Cut Pro 7, Adobe Premiere Pro CS6, Avid Media Composer 6.x, Blackmagic Media Express 3 and DaVinci Resolve 9.

  • Page 23: Raw Files

    18% or another video related exposure guide, the RAW files will look over or under exposed depending on the dynamic range of the scene. RAW Wide Dynamic Range - With Blackmagic Cinema Camera, a wide dynamic range is captured with all details preserved The good news is that you have not really lost any information in your shots.

  • Page 24: Workflows

    Video or REC709 using the built in 3D LUT in Resolve 9. Just right click on the clip in Resolve's timeline in the Color page and select "Blackmagic Cinema Camera Film to Rec709" from the 3D LUT menu.

  • Page 25: About Ssds

    SSDs are generally faster. Blackmagic Disk Speed Test also tests the speed of disks connected to interfaces including Thunderbolt, USB 3.0 and eSATA docks, which can affect disk performance. Please check our web site at www.blackmagicdesign.com and click the support page to download the latest version of Blackmagic Disk Speed Test.

  • Page 26: Supported Disk Format

    Supported Disk Format SSDs used by Blackmagic Cinema Camera must be formatted as either HFS+ or exFAT. These disk formats allow long clips to be recorded in a single file per clip. Simply connect the SSD to your computer with an external dock or cable adapter and format it as you would a regular disk.

  • Page 27: Recommended Ssds For Raw Recording

    Step 6. Choose "Automatically create an HFS+ volume" and click "Initialize Disk". Step 7. Once the format has been completed, your SSD is ready for use with Blackmagic Cinema Camera. The Format dialog box can format a drive in the exFAT format on a Windows PC.

  • Page 28: Attaching Accessories

    Do not pull the sun shield out one side at a time, as you may damage the locking tabs. Carry Strap Your Blackmagic Cinema Camera comes with a carry strap for convenient carrying of the camera when on the move from location to location.

  • Page 29: Blackmagic Cinema Camera Handles

    Attaching Accessories Blackmagic Cinema Camera Handles The Blackmagic Cinema Camera has optional handles for 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 30: Working With Thunderbolt Technology

    What Can I Do With the Thunderbolt Port on My Camera? When connected to a Mac OS X computer with Thunderbolt technology, your Blackmagic Cinema Camera can be used as a powerful solution for video capture, waveform monitoring and color correction. Regardless of which recording format you choose on the camera, the Thunderbolt port always outputs HD1080p video in the uncompressed 10-bit format which is compatible with a wide range of popular video software.

  • Page 31: Using Blackmagic Media Express

    Using Blackmagic Media Express What is Media Express? Blackmagic Media Express 3 software is included with every Blackmagic Cinema Camera to perform video and audio capture to files. Blackmagic Media Express 3 is a great tool when you don’t need the complexity of NLE software, but simply want to capture the live video output of your camera's Thunderbolt port.
  • Page 32 "Continue playback when in the background." The final options are not used by Blackmagic Cinema Camera as they relate to tape decks with RS-422 deck control.
  • Page 33 Using Blackmagic Media Express Media List Timecode List, Thumbnail and Favorites view Search Field VTR / deck timecode Video Preview Project name, video format Clip Bins Mark In / Grab Still Logging Capture Transport Audio channel Audio Meters Remote and frame rate Mark Out Frame Information...
  • Page 34 Using Blackmagic Media Express Capture Capturing video is easy, all you need to do is connect your Blackmagic Cinema Camera via a Thunderbolt cable, set the Media Express preferences and press the Capture button. Open Media Express and set its preferences to the desired project video format.
  • Page 35 Using Blackmagic Media Express Media List Timecode List, Thumbnail and Favorites view Search Field VTR / deck timecode Video Preview Project name, video format Clip Bins Mark In / Clip Grab Still Favorites Transport Audio channel Audio Meters Remote and frame rate Mark Out Information Frame...
  • Page 36 Using Blackmagic Media Express Playing Back Video and Audio Files Importing Clips You can play back your video and audio files after capturing video or importing media into Media Express in any of the following ways: • Double-click an empty area of the Media List. •...
  • Page 37 Using Blackmagic Media Express Browsing Media In the Media List, you can view your clips in Thumbnail view or Timecode List view by clicking on the desired view button at the top-right of the Media List. In the Media List, choose to view your clips in Timecode List view Thumbnail View or Thumbnail view.
  • Page 38 Using Blackmagic Media Express Deleting Clips and Bins To delete clips, select the unwanted clips and press the forward delete button on your keyboard. This will only delete the clips from the Media List and they will safely remain on your disk storage. To delete bins, right-click within a bin and choose “Delete Bin”.

  • Page 39: Using Blackmagic Ultrascope

    Using Blackmagic UltraScope What is Blackmagic UltraScope? Now with Blackmagic Cinema Camera you get the incredible features of Blackmagic UltraScope which you can even use with compatible iMac and MacBook Pro notebook computers with Thunderbolt technology! Blackmagic UltraScope software is installed by the Blackmagic Cinema Camera Installer.
  • Page 40 Using Blackmagic UltraScope Blackmagic UltraScope Interface 1. Parade Display 2. Waveform Display 3. Vectorscope Display 4. Histogram Display 6. Audio Metering Display 7. Picture Display 5. Error Logging...
  • Page 41 Using Blackmagic UltraScope Understanding Blackmagic UltraScope Views Blackmagic UltraScope has two different views available depending on your workflow needs and screen resolution. You have the choice of viewing six displays in “Full Screen” view, or for more compact viewing, choose any 2 displays in “2-up” view. The display view can be selected from the menu.

  • Page 42: Zoom Function

    Using Blackmagic UltraScope Zoom Function Blackmagic UltraScope allows you to zoom in on various displays for a more detailed analysis. This helpful function will also pan and zoom the graticules for each display in high resolution. The zoom function is available in the Parade, Waveform, Vectorscope and Picture displays. To zoom in, simply click on the bottom right of each respective display.

  • Page 43: Parade Display

    Using Blackmagic UltraScope Blackmagic UltraScope is included for use with your Blackmagic Cinema Camera so you can always use it on set whenever your computer is connected to the camera's Thunderbolt port. The following pages explain how each waveform display is used for tasks such as editing and color correction, as well as with your camera, so you get a deeper understanding of how each type of waveform display can help you.

  • Page 44: Waveform Display

    Using Blackmagic UltraScope 2. Waveform Display The Waveform Display is similar to traditional composite waveform monitors seen in many broadcast studios. On Mac OS X, B/W is always selected to show the luminance view, which provides a digitally encoded waveform similar to traditional luminance waveform monitors. The luminance view is very useful when adjusting luma (brightness) levels in an image.

  • Page 45: Vectorscope Display

    Using Blackmagic UltraScope 3. Vectorscope Display The Vectorscope Display uses a vector view to show the colors in a video signal. You can see color bar video levels by using the color boxes in the graticule. All you need to do is select 75% or 100% color bars, depending on the standard of color bar test signals used in your facility! Some people think you can use a vectorscope to check for illegal levels.

  • Page 46: Histogram Display

    Using Blackmagic UltraScope 4. Histogram Display Histogram Display is most familiar to graphic designers and camera operators. Histogram Display shows the distribution of white to black information and lets you monitor how close the detail is to being clipped off in the whites or blacks of the video. Histogram Display also lets you see the effects of gamma changes in the video.
  • Page 47 Using Blackmagic UltraScope 5. Error Logging Display Error Logging records errors in video and audio and is indispensable when reviewing video and for unattended operation. Errors may be logged for color, brightness or audio threshold levels as well as loss of video signal, change of video format or audio silence.
  • Page 48 Using Blackmagic UltraScope How to Customize Error Logging To customize error logging, go to the Error Logging menu and choose Profiles to open the Error Logging Profiles window. Saved profiles appear in the profile list at the left and the current, active profile appears in bold above the list.

  • Page 49: Audio Metering Display

    Audio Metering Display shows you the audio levels in the embedded audio of the camera's video signal. The 2 channels of embedded audio from your Blackmagic Cinema Camera are de-embedded and then displayed in either dBFS or VU format. The VU button switches between dBFS and VU audio metering standards.

  • Page 50: Picture Display

    Using Blackmagic UltraScope 7. Picture Display The Picture Display is a handy confidence monitor so you can see the video that is being received by Blackmagic UltraScope. The Picture Display has three settings: COLOR, B/W (black & white) and BLUE (Blue Only).

  • Page 51: Help

    Blackmagic Cinema Camera Utility from the application menu to reveal the version number. • On Windows 7, open Blackmagic Cinema Camera Utility from your Start menu. Click on the Help menu and select About Blackmagic Cinema Camera Utility to reveal the version number.

  • Page 52: Replacing The Fan

    Help Replacing the Fan Your camera contains a fan, which is necessary for cooling. If you detect that the fan is not working, or that it is making a strange noise, switch off the camera and order a replacement fan by contacting Blackmagic Design Support.

  • Page 53: Warranty Information

    Warranty Information 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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