BMPCC Dynamic range, strobing and skewing
Yesterday I had the opportunity to do some quick and dirty test with the BMPCC. Resources were very limited but will do many more this weekend.
Setup: BMPCC with the Scandisk extreme pro card, ProRess 422 in Log mode
Lenses: Panasonic F2.8 12-35mm and 35-100mm
To see if the sensitivity is indeed 800 ISO I shot my color charts in Daylight and Tungsten. Although the internal lightmeter was overexposing it, My normal lightmeters (spot and flat sphere) gave me a reading that was pretty accurate on the BMPCC. Both daylight and tungsten seem to be on par with the official rating.Waveform checked in Resolve.
To do a quick dynamic range test I made shot from my matte black bike from the shaded side up into the sky, straight into the sun. Serious test and great results. Every detail is still in the bike and I can get a lot of clouds too.
Bit noisy in the shades and of course clipping around the sun but still impresive and showing the need for LOG shooting.
Orginal file can be downloade here
Coming from film I always have issues with the strobing of digital camera's. Made a quick test on a wide angle (12mm) and longer lens, with and without the optical image stabilization of the Panasonic lenses.
The OIS didn't seem to make a difference but will have to analyze it a bit more.
As expected also the skewing is is there but not too strong, comparable to most prosumer camera's.
original wide angle, no OIS:http://cdn.bastiaanhoutkooper.com/archief/BPCC_Strobing_test_widelens_OIS_off.mov
original long lens, no OIS:http://cdn.bastiaanhoutkooper.com/archief/BPCC_Strobing_test_longlens_OIS_off.mov
I am not sharing all the files now to keep my bandwidth down but if someone needs it, please send me a message.
This weekend I will do some proper ones, testing keying and some exposure tests.
I am aware these test are not perfect but I know there are a lot of people hoping for some footage. Hope this is a start.
My first impression is positive, considering the price point. Lots of room for improvement in the firmware department but the images are pretty ok.
On the hardware side, it feels sturdy but I am a bit worried about this single mounting point on the bottom and combined with the very thin body it makes it a wobbly affair with a longer lens. For serious shooting I would mount it also on the top, probably within a cage like: http://www.viewfactor.net/blog/?p=386omxw
Short note on the lenses: Be aware that those Panasonic lenses, like the Nikons, turn the wrong way. Good point was that the optical stabilization works very well on the longer lenses. I was surprised how much it can help when shooting handheld.
Bastiaan Houtkooper NSC