The much anticipated update 1.9 for the Blackmagic Design’s Pocket and Cinema cameras has finally been released, it’s ready to be downloaded and installed right now. You can download the update here.
BM haven’t made much of a show and dance about the final release of the update, with just a small blog post from Kristian Lam stating:
“Hi guys,
We’ve just released Camera v1.9.3 and it is now available to download from our website.
This release adds the the following:
1) Histogram, audio meters and media time remaining indicators to the Pocket Cinema Camera and Blackmagic Cinema Camera.
You can reveal the display by swiping up from the bottom of the screen and dismiss it by swiping down on the Blackmagic Cinema Camera just like on the Production Camera 4K. If you’re using a manual lens, the IRIS button will also toggle the display on or off.
On the Pocket Cinema Camera, we have remapped the Up and Down button to reveal or hide the meters respectively. The Left and Right button will control the aperture if you’re using an active lens. Similarly, if you’re using a manual lens, the IRIS button will also call up or dismiss the display.
2) We have also increased the number of WB and Shutter Angle options.
3) Fixed in-camera playback bug when previewing ProRes clips.”
Far more was said when the update came through for BM’s Production camera, which we wrote about here. Even BM’s CEO Grant Petty put a word in, at the time saying:
“Having this new heads up display with on screen scopes will enable filmmakers to shoot the most amazing images with confidence that they will get incredible results in post production!”
Having the ‘heads up’ display on all cameras is a smart idea for BM and helps the company’s inexpensive cameras feel as polished as their pricier brothers.
Looking at the press release from the 1.9 update for the BM 4K Production camera, will give us a clue as to what can be expected in the expanded release.
(image from OneRiver Media)
Back in July, we said:
“The update also features a histogram scope which shows the the distribution of luminance in their images and if highlights or shadows are being clipped. Images with clipped highlights or shadows make it much harder to colour grade the shots in post production, so having the histogram feature helps DOP’s shoot the correct exposure in every frame. The scope is in real time so highlights and shadows can be adjusted interactively with the lens setting, ensuring maximum detail in tonal ranges is preserved, for your colourist.
There’s also a new audio metering with peak hold feature to allow setting audio levels for Channels 1 and 2 when using the built in microphone as well as externally connected audio sources. The audio meters make it fast to view audio levels and adjust camera audio gain so that audio is not clipped or distorted.
In addition, a recording time remaining indicator that shows remaining space on the recording disk. BM tell us the time remaining indicator is automatically re-calibrated to ensure an accurate time remaining value if the either the frame rate or codec are changed, and displays red when the disk is getting full.”
So we imagine, this will contain much of the same features.
Enough from us, it’s time to get downloading! Here’s that link again: http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/support
