Exposing with the BMPC 4K

[ragercker1212]

Hey guys. So I'm DPing a very independent short in a couple weeks and the director wants to shoot on the BMPC 4K. While I own the BMCC, I have never shot with the BMPC before. I know the sensor is pretty different but how different is exposing for this guy? Should I still ETTR? How much does that 1 stop loss of DR effect the image? Any tips/tricks to help eposing/working with this sensor would be appreciated. Thanks!

Jesse

[violenthistory]

ETTR is a good start. Most of the DR is in the high end on bmpc. Turn Zebras on 95-100, then expose just under zebra peaking. The camera loves Light!
Been shooting 4 years with the 4k. Love it.

[Michael Bergstrom]

Yep. Etter. I set my zebras at 95-100 (usually 95 to give me some wiggle) and expose to just under. Rate the camera at 400 and not 800 like the bmcc.

[JuMo]

if you can get your hands on the camera sooner rather than later, you should make sure it is running the latest firmware and then test out how it operates running at 800 ISO for a couple of hours and monitor the FPN.

The firmware updates seem to give a leg up with FPN, but each BMPC 4K is vastly different and some of them do NOT do well with 800 ISO in low light.

I normally shoot at the native 400 ISO on mine for the best quality (and recommend the same), but if I need the extra DR in the shadows on a bright day (or very well lit scene), bumping up to 800 ISO is safe when the sensor is not light starved. But in dark scenes I actually shoot at 200 ISO and supplement with lights.

It's kind of hard to describe, but when used correctly, the camera produces such a lovely and... I don't know, hearty? Beefy?.... it's a tasty image stew, plus the global shutter really adds a solid feeling of presence that I love more and more as the years go on. I love the camera so much I bought a UM4K too so I could have two the same sensor and goodness with all the better form factor and software upgrades.