For a few weeks now I have owned and used the BMPCC/Pocket Cinema Camera for a variety of different types of videos including but not limited to: Music Video, 2 wedding videos, a Promo video, Yoga Class videos and a TV Commercial.
An example of how to make the tiny BMPCC a slightly less tiny BMPCC.
While I was initially overwhelmed by the cameras size, image quality, video file size and flat image (more on this in a sec) I am happy to say that my investment is one I consider the best I've made in a while.
This camera is a workhorse, warts and all. The image quality is amazing and holds up well... even in the current days of 4K. My choice to buy a Full HD Cinema camera instead of investing in a 4K camera like the GH4 came down to my views on 4K still in its infancy (the quality is great though!) and very little in the way of showing that 4K quality outside of a cinema. I don't shoot for the cinema screen, I shoot for the web.
Behind The Scenes - "A Couple More Miles" Music Video shoot.
When I first started using the camera I was shooting in the "Video" colour profile... basically giving me a pre-colour corrected image straight out of the camera (similar to what I'd usually get from my Panasonic GH2 and G6) that looked great. I could then tweak contrast and colour more as I pleased. But after a while I began experimenting with the "Film" profile... which gives me a very desaturated and "Flat" image straight out of the camera. Those well versed in the video world will know what this means, so I won't go into detail describing it. You can look at the images below:
Flat image - Straight out of the camera
Final grade - Utilizing a mix of "Film Convert" and "Magic Bullet Looks". View final video here.
All of a sudden my images were opened up to some serious manipulation. I've dabbled with grading quite a bit in the past, but never got anything close to the images I get now. I still have a LOT to learn about grading an image though.
The BMPCC is an odd choice of camera for a wedding videographer. Many prefer the offerings from Canon (5D Mk2-Mk3) for ease of use. I've been using my Panasonic mirrorless cameras now for two years in wedding environments and they have served me well. Now the BMPCC has thrown a spanner in the works, giving me even better video quality than I could reach previously... but complicating my workflow by adding the extra need to colour grade my image (and match that to those I get from my Panasonic cameras). As a videographers tool, I have to say the BMPCC isn't truly designed for the task (the hint is in the name, particularly the "Cinema" part) but the trick is preparing yourself with research and a little common knowledge in order to "Whip" the camera into the tool you need it to be.
For promotional video purposes this camera is hands-down the best camera you can get for the money. You will be able to shoot images perfectly capable of web distribution as well as community TV/broadcast. Maybe not at BBC level, but definitely smaller local TV stations.
Reviewing a take - 'Couple More Miles' Video Shoot
I recently used the camera to begin shooting a music video that a local musician wishes to air on a national cable music video channel. This is where the camera proves it is able to produce what it says it's capable of: Cinematic images. Of course, this doesn't just come down to the camera... it comes down to the operator. I'm not a cinematographer by any stretch, but in my opinion this tool has become an extension of myself and my skills.
A Couple More Miles - Ungraded Still
A Couple More Miles - Graded Still
A Couple More Miles - Ungraded Still
A Couple More Miles - Graded Still
To sum it up... this is probably the best camera I've owned... yet. Despite its shortcomings, such as crop factor (which do bother me, but I work around it) and form factor (it's so tiny!)... it packs some serious punch. My only real gripe comes down to how power hungry it can be... but the battery life is a well documented flaw that other reviewers have harped on. There are workarounds, such as my Sony Battery work around... that combat this issue.
I'm looking forward to using this camera for many productions in the future. I would love to see how well it works in a feature film environment!
Today I wanted to share with you my thoughts and feelings about the Panasonic Lumix LX7, and how I believe it would make a very very good beginner film making tool.
In todays world of camcorders and DSLR's, it's good to know that point and shoot/compact cameras are becoming more feature packed. Nikon have a camera that shoot 4K for about a second (not exactly usable, but hey...), GoPro's now shoot 2.5k in 30p, and the Lumix LX7 has a wide aperture lens at f1.4 for creamy bokeh'd portraits.
I purchased the Lumix LX7 a few weeks ago to replace my aging Canon HV30, as I was beginning to get tired of transferring tapes to my hard drive... and having a hard time matching the footage from it with my Panasonic GH2 and GH1. I shoot weddings a lot at the moment, and the best thing about moving away from tape... is how quickly I can drop the footage onto my hard drive and start editing. So, when I sold my HV30 for $300, I began looking for a replacement camera straight away. I knew straight off that I didn't want another DSLR, and I wanted something that at least worked like my GH1 in low light conditions. The LX7 jumped out at me when viewing a forum post over at Personal View (the Panasonic Hack community).
I bought the Lumix LX7 on a whim, impressed with the low light
performance and the quality of the footage I'd seen on the web. 24-90mm (35mm equiv) f1.4-2.3 lens, 1080 - 50/60p AVCHD, With a
promise also of 120fps in 720p (MP4) as icing on the cake. I got the camera in
the mail a week later and began playing with it. Here's a few things I
shot within a week of owning it:
And I fell in love. This camera, while nowhere near the image quality I can get out of my hacked GH2... completely CRAPS all over my Canon HV30. The slow motion feature ('Lock N Load' was shot in 100fps/720p) wasn't great, but it was certainly useable in some environments.
So, the point here is to sell to you, the beginner film maker looking at this blog post, the reasons why this camera will help you achieve better looking videos.
The first thing that comes to mind, is the manual control in video mode. Once you flip the camera in to creative movie mode, select the big red "M" symbol... you suddenly have the ability to control your aperture (using the ring on the lens, which is really nice), your ISO, and your shutter speed. These are the three components you need to worry about. Beginner photographers need to grasp how all these work together, and in a way... so do serious film makers.
Once you look past the manual settings, you look at the wide aperture lens. f1.4 is almost unheard of in a compact camera. This is a portrait lens on steroids, making your head and shoulders dialog shots a lot more "filmic". The built in ND filter (often unheard of in compacts, let alone many cameras in general) comes in handy when you're outdoors, and want that f1.4 aperture and don't want to mess with your shutter speed too much. The ND filter will cut light sensitivity down by about 3-4 stops (at a guess).
A raw sceenshot from footage shot on the LX7. Click to see larger image.
In the right situations, you can use this wide aperture to isolate your subject from the background, and give a nice creamy bokeh to your "background blur".
Although there is a lack of '24p', in reference to the framerate one would usually use in a film making situation (a throwback from the days of film, where they shot 24 film frames a second), it isn't that hard to manipulate the 50/60p video stream into a 24p timeline. I've done this with the "Lumix LX7 Various Clips" video above, and never lost quality. This 50/60p video stream can also be manipulated into slow motion clips, without a loss in resolution (in the past, you were only able to shoot 50/60p in 1280x720, half the resolution of Full HD)... therefor keeping the detail and sharpness. The hidden 128x720 - 120/100p mode isn't as useful, but if you have a want/need for extreme slow motion.. it's there. The clip above "Lock N Load" was shot using this setting, and as you can see... the quality just "isn't there" when compared to the other clips.
Wide apertures and framerates aside, the film maker can use any tool to make a movie. Webcams, Mum's handycam, your iPhone/Samsung Galaxy (which is pretty common actually), DSLR's and full blown prosumer camcorders. Not to mention 8,16 and 35mm film cameras, RED, Arri, Panavision. But the camera is a simple tool. There are films out there, that have had a wide cinematic release.. that were filmed on much less feature packed cameras such as the LX7. I highly doubt those of you reading this article are looking for a cinema-quality camera, and just want a decent tool for making Blu-ray and web-release movie making. In which case, the LX7 is more than capable.
Obviously, your limits with the LX7 will be obvious. No mic input or headphone output. These things aren't useable on most consumer products anyway, due to AGC (Automatic Gain control) and crappy preamps. A dedicated sound recorder (The inexpensive Zoom H1 for instance) and a decent microphone are the ideal capture method. You can sync these feeds by ear in post production, with the help of a clapboard.. or simply clapping your hands once at the beginning of each scene (after rolling camera and audio recorder, obivously).
Feed the camera as much light as you can in dark situations. Although it isn't too shabby in 'low light', in complete darkness... you will find pushing the camera beyond 400 ISO tends to introduce chunks of grain the size of your fist. This should be expected of a $300 compact. Feed the camera light, then stop down to get the effect you want.
To prove this point, my next short film will be shot primarily on the LX7. There are some things I wish to do that will require my GH2... but only small pieces of the entire film.
The LX7 will most likely be the best money you ever spend as a young/beginner film maker. You will find yourself learning to work around the limits of this camera, using it with ease... and being very happy with the images you come back with. If you mix this with a cheap shoulder rig, leave image stabilization on (it's pretty damn good!).. you have an excellent little rig. Turn off the stabilization if you stick it on a tripod though.
So, in closing, this is a VERY good camera. I'm not a camera nut, I haven't owned 20 cameras in my life... and I'm certainly a stickler for video quality. I own three cameras besides the LX7, but the LX7 has quickly become my favourite. It won't replace the GH2 as my primary cam in most situations... but it will certainly compliment it! If you don't own a camera, and you're looking for a good starter camera... the LX7 is hard to beat for out of the box use.
