

However, HDMI is common to both models so that's what I'll be using today.

The Pro model I’m reviewing here has SDI in and out, out as well as XLR audio that the Plus does not ( Figures 2 and 3, below). There are two new Studio Cameras-the 4K Plus, and the 4K Pro. Let’s do a quick walk around this camera. These are ALL features you need in a “Studio” lens. And they have a multi-speed, electronic, servo zoom control for smoothly zooming in or out while the shot is on the air. They are constant aperture, meaning it’s a 2.8 lens through the entire 17x zoom range. They are parfocal, meaning they hold their focus through the entire zoom range. These ENG lenses have long zooms of 12x, 15x, 17x, 21x. So many of them are currently sitting unused on ENG cameras that aren't being used any more. Why do I keep talking about B4 lenses? Using an ENG camera lens that has a B4 mount means you can use thousands upon thousands of lenses that are out there. We’ll get to that a little bit more in a moment. Then convert zoom and focus controls out to the lens. Give the camera a lens port so that it can power and remotely control the iris and other features of the lens. But the B4 mount has not been added to their Studio cameras as of yet.Ī couple years ago, Blackmagic showed a B4 lens with an intermediary translation box connected to a Micro Studio Camera, but the translation box never appeared so that, too, was unrealized. Interestingly, Blackmagic was the very first camera maker to develop a large-sensor, on-shoulder camera with a native B4 mount-their URSA Broadcast. I have long said, if you’re going to make a studio camera, it would be nice to be able to use studio ENG lenses with a B4 lens mount. On the front of this camera, I’ve got a Canon lens with a Metabones optical and electronic converter to the Micro Four Thirds (MFT) mount. BMD calls these “demands.” They’re controls you attach at the end of your tripod handles that offer direct zoom and focus control of the lens, as well as start and stop recording, enable viewing of return video, and more. Now we have the Studio Camera 4K Pro, and they are really packing a lot of capability in here, especially now that we have the zoom controller and the focus controller. This camera is the third iteration, after the original 10" screen model, and then the Micro Studio Camera models. The Blackmagic Design Studio Camera 4K Pro Blackmagic loaned me this camera, as well as their new USB-C zoom and focus controllers, so I to try it out for myself and see how well it integrates within the BMD live production ecosystem.įigure 1. In this review I’m going to take a look at the Blackmagic Design Studio Camera 4K Pro ( Figure 1, below).
