The Blackmagic Design Cinema Camera, A Game Changer?

I got hold of the fact sheet through email from our supplier last Monday, 07 May, regarding the Blackmagic Design Cinema Camera which was launched at The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) last April. I just wished that we could already try and test the unit ourselves, but the supplier told me that it would be available by July. That is the only time where we could make the actual tests for us to better decide if we will place it in our budget for next year’s purchase.

The Blackmagic Design Cinema Camera

What struck me with the said unit are the price at PhP149,899 (body only) and the shooting resolution of 2.5K RAW at 2432 x 1366 pixels. Realistically, it is within the price range of the general HDSLR shooter particularly in the broadcasting industry where price oftentimes is the deciding factor.

Also, part of the package is the da Vinci Resolve software for color grading. Blackmagic Design’s grand plan is now unfolding as I remember when they had bought da Vinci Systems, creator of high-end color grading technology last 2009. That time, it was unimaginable for a creator of an SDI I/O card to acquire a color grading company. Well, it happened, and by eliminating the high service contract fees, the price of the da Vinci Resolve disrupted the early owners of the technology mainly in the post production industry. From the PhP1.5 million price tag, it went down to a fraction of PhP50,000 for the software only both for Mac OS and Windows platforms. I even overheard, that the Philippines become the da Vinci Resolve capital of the world after the said price drop, yet I have not seen any hard data to support such claim. True or not, it become ubiquitous to the new players in the production as well as post production industry in the Philippines. It leveled the playing field, as the cliché goes. With the da Vinci Resolve grading software that comes with a USB dongle which is part of the BMD Cinema Camera bundle, this is a real bargain that would definitely entice early adopters of the technology.

The 2.5K RAW at 2432 x 1366 pixels is the other wow factor. Yes, alright, there is the 4K resolution as what Canon has announced that it is developing the EOS C500 and EOS-1D C with price estimates at PhP1.3 Million and PhP650,000 respectively, capable of shooting up to 4096 x 2160 pixels. But for television broadcast, the 2.5K is more than enough, particularly in the color grading, where you will be provided a much larger range of alteration in the color spectrum. Sometimes, it is very frustrating to see the output of the 1080 HDs because of little room for color tweaks. The best that we could do is to grade it photoshop style, with a play in the brightness and contrast, a little amber here and there, add vignette for the overall old-fashioned look then topped with a cherry lens flare. It is from the “surface only” work without actually going deeper into every details of the shot.

Digital Video Resolutions

Comparing the BMD Cinema Camera at 2432 x 1366 pixels with the other digital video resolutions, obviously it has the edge over 2K which is only at 2048 x 1152 pixels, and other formats, i.e. the 1080 progressive at 1920 x 1080 pixels, the 720 progressive at 1280 x 720 pixels, the DVD NTSC at 720  x 480 pixels, and the VCD NTSC at 352 x 240 pixels.

According to Scott Anthony, author of The Innovator’s Guide to Growth, disruptive innovation is a particular type of innovation that occurs when an innovator brings to a market an innovation that is simple, convenient, accessible, and affordable. A game-changer. Sustaining innovations, in contrast, does not create new markets or value networks but only evolves the existing ones with better value, which is synonymous to incremental innovations.

I may say that, Blackmagic Design Cinema Camera would again disrupt the industry like what they did for the price of the color grading. Apply that to the same low cost pricing strategy for the Cinema Camera yet offering better resolution in contrast to the 1080 DSLRs, it would definitely be every producers dream of coming up high quality production in a shoestring budget.