On Screen Meters - Blackmagicdesign Cinema Operation Manual

Menu Settings
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On screen meters and status strip on the Blackmagic Cinema
Camera. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen
to reveal the meters.
For optimum exposure, open or close your aperture until the
histogram curve sharpens to a point at the bottom edges.
A flat vertical edge on the sides of the histogram means your
blacks or whites are clipped.
For optimum audio quality, adjust your audio levels until the
peak averages at -12dB, but does not peak beyond 0dB.
typically looks for action near the points where the lines intersect, so it's helpful to frame key points
of interest in these zones. An actor's eyeline is commonly framed along the top third of the screen, so
you can use the top horizontal third to guide your framing. Thirds are also useful to maintain framing
consistency between shots.
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%.

On Screen Meters

Your Blackmagic Camera features meters such as recording time remaining, histogram and peak
audio to assist when setting optimum exposure, checking how much space is left on your media,
and to prevent your audio from clipping.
View meters by swiping up from the bottom of the touchscreen with your finger. Hide the meters
by swiping down. On the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera, press the 'up' directional button to
reveal the meters, and press the 'down' button to hide them. On screen meters can also be opened
or hidden by selecting or deselecting the 'meters' feature on the dashboard.
Histogram
The histogram display shows the distribution of the luminance in your video. Pure black is on the far left
side of the display and pure white is on the far right of the display. Keeping your video signal within these
limits prevents your shadows and highlights from being clipped and preserves detail in the tonal ranges.
Recording Time Remaining
The recording time remaining indicator shows the remaining recording time for your SSD or SD card.
The time is shown in hours and minutes and will vary according to your selected frame rate and codec.
For example, ProRes 422 HQ at 24 frames per second. The indicator will automatically recalculate if
either of these settings are changed. When there is approximately 5 minutes remaining on your SSD or
SD card, the indicator will turn red, and will blink intermittently when there is only 2 minutes remaining.
Peak Audio
The peak audio meters display audio levels for channels 1 and 2 when using the internal microphone,
or via external audio when connected. The display is calibrated to dBFS units and features peak hold
indicators which stay visible for a short time so you can clearly see the maximum levels reached.
To achieve optimum audio quality, ensure your audio levels never rise above 0 dBFS. If your audio
rises above 0 dBFS, the peak hold indicators will turn red, indicating that audio is clipped.