Author: carlomacchiavello Page 3 of 18

Netflix Approved

On 7 July 2022

At this time the words “Approved by Netflix” bounce around for the umpteenth time as an excuse to buy the new camera or to justify one’s choice of camera.

All the fault of yet another advertising video by Netflix itself where it makes people believe that they try them out, test them thoroughly, because technical quality is important to them (it’s true of course), but their guidelines are funny… too bad people don’t understand the irony of the choices.

Let’s start with a basic absurdity, the approved cameras are the ones used during official NetFlix Original productions, so billion-dollar productions where the camera is the least of the economic problems, owning a NetFlix-approved camera does not mean you can sell them imams, work or products.

If you produce something, with cameras that are not among those approved, still it can be sold to NetFlix, as a no NetFlix Original product, so much so that in their catalog there are products made with all kinds of chambers.
In the Italian catalog there was for some time also an Italian product “Across the river” made in miniDv, acquired for the catalog because it had won several festivals.

Their requirements are related to resolution (Min 4k), dynamic range (at least 9), color sampling quality, for which masterpieces shot in Imax film are not suitable as quality, because film has a dynamic range between 6 and 9 stops. At the same time much of the products made in recent years with the best Arri cameras, not having 4k as a basic resolution (sensor in 3.5k opengate) are technically to be discarded…

I agree that minimum production limits are set to maintain very high quality standards, but at the same time there should be a practical discourse of result use, it is possible to put an exceptional camera in the hands of a neophyte and bring out horrible footage, and take a basic camera and put it in the hands of a professional bring out good quality footage.

Pocket6k G2

By carlomacchiavello

On 3 July 2022

In Techinque

Blackmagic Design surprisingly releases second set of pocket6k, is that a good thing?

And everyone talking about it … looking for flaws and reasons not to buy it, shooting it down … without having it in their hands …

Of course, I’m not going to sit on my hands and as usual, with my critical and defeatist style I’m going to list all the mistakes he made to make it a bestseller … undermining the sale of its own chambers….

Every camera manufacturer thinks about improving its products, and it is embarrassing how in Blackmagic Design they had the courage to improve their original camera by listening to user requests with :

sony battery like the pro
viewfinder compatibility
improved and bausculating monitor
New improved Os 7.9
Gyroscope recording to stabilize in post in a more modern way

Before, the battery seemed to be a problem, and now the battery is 3500 mAh, so one of the many “shortcomings” of the camera is gone.

Now instead of using external monitors you can use a very good viewfinder that is sold at a very honest price.

The bausculating monitor so one can complain that it is now not articulated….

About the new Os I talked about it the other day.

Of course many will think of it as a hybrid of the old 6k and pro, and the concept is right, they have taken the innovations of the pro, which is bulkier, and put the pluses in the box of the regular 6k, creating a scalar line of products for all needs:

pocket 4k the cheapest entry level 4k raw in the world
pocket 6k g2, 6k sensor, bauscular monitor, small footprint with many features.
pocket6k pro for those who need more audio inputs, internal ND filters, 1500 nits display.

for those who complain that they recently bought the “old pocket6k” well … the market goes on for all brands, indeed … many brands come out with a new model every year, while Blackmagic tends to bring out a new product or update every two years.

Clear dof infos

By carlomacchiavello

On 2 July 2022

In Techinque

Blackmagic Design is no stranger to surprises, and they often hide gems. Today while playing with the new firmware, I realized that not only have they rewritten the focus system making it more performant, but this information is written and inserted inside the scene metadata.

For those of you who are less technical, accustomed to certain technicalities, I point out how now those who have to manage the focus with automatic lenses, in the metadata have been given the gift of measurements…. I pressed on the focus and I get back the depth of field where to work with the subject calculated between focal length, aperture and focus distance, no small feat…

Blackmagic OS 7.9 … here we go again

By carlomacchiavello

On 1 July 2022

In Techinque

I can’t take it anymore… why don’t they stop with these updates?
You released the BMD pocket 6k G2, that’s it, you made the camera update, sell that one, don’t touch the already released cameras, don’t update them or else people are happy with the original ones and don’t buy the new ones!!!

Let’s pretend that they haven’t released it, that it’s just to support the new camera, that they just want to update the aesthetics of the system and that’s it … we didn’t realize that …

we have a revamped media management system, optimized and made much more efficient
we have rewritten the focus system much more efficient and faster by solving issues with the lenses of even a camera as old as the pocket4k released years ago
that they have received a responsiveness of the single frame shutter button making it finally usable and immediate in shooting
that they have enabled the gyroscope to record motion data in braw files for pocket4k, 6k, 6kpro to dramatically improve stabilization in post on resolve (V18beta5) reducing artifacts and problems from rolling shutter and motion recognition
that now the clip review management works like davinci tape mode and with a scroll we see all the clips on the board
that the white metering and management system be made more accurate on all cameras (including 4k).
that on 6k and 6k pro they have added support for the new bmd hardware for remote focus and zoom

We didn’t notice anything 😛
Thank you Blackmagic Design for not abandoning the cameras to their fate.

in 2022 there are not enough Genoese around…

By carlomacchiavello

On 29 June 2022

In Techinque

We’re in the middle of 2022 and I’m still reading about people complaining that they missed the photo shoot, the video because of machine X from brand Y…

Well the truth is that they are idiots… if they were Genovese they wouldn’t have had that problem… they wanted to save money the wrong way…

For foreigners : people who were born in Genoa in iItaly have a reputation for being cheap, because as good merchants they have always tried to buy at the lowest price and sell at the highest price.

Let’s start from the beginning, that is, that being a Genoese, with a capital G, I am thrifty, that is, careful about how I spend my money, this means I don’t waste it, but as my grandmother used to say (in Genoese, which would not be transcribable) when you need it, get the best and the best you can… this means that if you need it, better get the best product, because it will last longer…

Now getting back to technology, I just called idiots of people who buy 3-4000 euros of camera, and then put bottoms in front of the sensor and often (reason for data loss) media made of junk, because (quote) “I spent so much on the camera, I can’t spend more money on cards, disks, etc.”

now the money spent on the camera is useless if you choose inadequate media, consumer junk that breaks at the first breath of wind, products that overheat and change their recording capabilities, and/or cause you to lose data.

I have written more than one article related to recording media, their qualities and their eventual limitations, but I would like to remind you that quality media it is true that they cost money, but they also often have lifetime warranties.
I am using with current machines high-performance ssds bought in 2014, which after almost 10 years of honored service have never missed a beat recording even raw uncompressed video files. Instead I see people who instead of investing, prefer to get the cheapest product, it looks the same anyway, and then every three for two they have disk problems, disconnect, stop recording, have corrupted files etc etc…

do you want to be photographers or video makers? well these are the items you should not save money on : lenses, mounts, tripods, equipment containers.

do you know why? ask yourself these questions :

– what image do you think a 4000€ camera can give if the light is collected by a 100€ lens?

– if you spend a lot of money on equipment, do you want to risk losing the recording because you saved 50-80€ in support?

– do you want to risk in backing 4-5000 euro equipment on a 50 euro tripod?

– you spend thousands on your equipment, and you don’t want to protect it with an adequate bag or backpack as padding and/or protection from dust and liquids?

remember that accidents can happen, but who knows why everyone I read or hear about has violated the basic rules of smart saving…