Regardless, if you need to shoot for hours in 4K RAW, expect to shell out more for media than you did for the camera.That’s where having ProRes is handy. All you do is plug them in via USB 3.1 and you are ready to format and shoot it’s really easy. Outside of having to secure the media, external SSDs are a great lower cost option. For about $150, you can get an SSD that will capture for 15 minutes at the highest data rate. The lowest cost per gig is a larger capacity SSD.

A 512 GB Cfast 2.0 card will set you back at least $530 and will get you a little over 31 minutes of record time in RAW. Looking at the list of supported media, 4 minutes of capture will cost a minimum of $120 for an SDXC card or $155 for a Cfast 2.0 card. At that data rate, a 64GB card will capture just 4 minutes of video.

That’s some serious data creation, working out to over 16 gigabytes per minute. If you plan to shoot in RAW, the data rate can be up to 272 megabytes per second. Using slower-than-recommended media can lead to dropped frames, but on the other hand, older and more affordable media can be used at settings with lower data rates.

It begs the question: If the camera can’t capture it, why is it offered in the first place? Is this a case of future-proofing or padding the spec sheet?Īnother thing to note is that the camera will try to capture to any media you put in it. The fact that it can even be selected is a significant oversight from Blackmagic Design.

Despite this, you can still select the record mode - it just won’t work. There is no media currently available that can keep up with the data rate. The Pocket Cinema Camera 4K‘s biggest flaw, however, is its inability to actually capture the top resolution and frame rate of DCI 4K at 60fps in CinemaDNG RAW, which Blackmagic Design touts at the top of the camera’s spec sheet. Add in its abysmal battery life, and you have a camera that’s more difficult to operate that you would expect. The long list of amazing features on this camera is matched with a list of flaws that is just as mind-blowing, from the poor design of the battery door - which could leave the battery on the floor - to the port covers that are a fight to replace once uncovered.

Blackmagic camera 4k