Brand:
Olympus M Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm f/2.8
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The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera shoots beautiful RAW video clips and images with minimized noise. To save you time going through the massive lens selection for this camera, I'm giving you several options on the best lens for BMPCC, including all their features and benefits.
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With staggering image resolution, you need an equally top-rated lens for the BMPCC, and you can find that in the Olympus M Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm Lens.
Since there are several options available, I also included other lenses that would help you make the most out of the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera.
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Brand:
Olympus M Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm f/2.8
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Brand:
Sigma 56mm f/1.4 DC DN
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Brand:
Rokinon Cine CV85M-MFT 85mm
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Compatible Mountings:
Micro Four Thirds
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Compatible Mountings:
Sigma SA
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Compatible Mountings:
Micro Four Thirds
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Lens Type:
Standard
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Lens Type:
Standard
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Lens Type:
Standard
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4.5
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4.8
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4.7
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The BMPCC is perfect for controlled settings, especially if you're shooting with art direction, stabilization, and blocking. Hence, it would be best to pair it with an equally creative lens like the Olympus M Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8.
The BMPCC is perfect for photographers who want classic yet cinematic shots. It already boasts fantastic image quality for both video clips and photos. However, you can still boost it with the built-in image stabilization of the Olympus Zuiko 12-40mm lens.
Whether you need to take video clips at night or blur image background, the lens has a constant aperture of 2.8, ensuring the exposure won't falter even if you need to change focal lengths. There's no need to stop down much, even when you need a backup in the resolution.
On the downside, the BMPCC has weak autofocus. The good thing is that the lens contains an AF linear motor mechanism, which gives accurate yet quiet autofocus for video clips and pictures.
While the resolution is a bit weaker at 40mm, the BMPCC supports that with the sensor capturing enough light to even out exposure across the whole frame.
The BMPCC brags a high-resolution sensor, boosting the exposure for low-light shooting. A great partner for such shooting conditions is the Sigma 56mm f/1.4 DC lens, which also has excellent light-capturing abilities because of its open-wide aperture.
What makes the Sigma 56mm stand apart is that it features eye-and-face recognition, which aids the BMPCC's autofocus in tracking subjects.
Even when the sun is glaring down on your setup, the optical design of the lens is resistant to strong flaring and ghosting. Whether you're shooting full-blown commercial videos or quick social media content, you can make sure you're getting high-contrast shots in backlit conditions.
Aside from that, this Sigma lens has a longer focal length than the Olympus lens, which can sometimes help produce more background blur when you want to increase subject separation.
However, unlike the Olympus lens, the Sigma 56mm lacks splash protection, so this may be risky to use when you have environmental elements involved in a shoot.
If you prefer an affordable yet dedicated lens for the BMPCC, the Rokinon Cine CV85M-MFT 85mm offers smooth transitions for video clips and majestic bokeh for still shots.
One of the advantages of using the BMPCC is that you can shoot up to 6K with 12-bit colors. However, this would still depend on how efficiently you can use the attached lens.
The BMPCC craves light, yet there are times when you won't be able to bump up your ISO to the highest values. However, with a fast maximum aperture of 1.5, you can consistently use low ISO values and avoid grainy shots.
As opposed to the Olympus and Sigma lenses, this Rokinon lens has de-clicked apertures, which means there are no hard clicks when changing apertures. Therefore, the additional quietness makes the lens ideal for video shooting.
While the Rokinon 85mm has a beautiful depth of field, you may see a slight fog in your still shots. It can be quite challenging to find the best focal point when shooting from a distance.
The BMPCC is a good digital camera for real estate
The BMPCC does well in producing vibrant colors, although it falls behind in including shadows. It can be pretty easy to blow out image highlights when you're not careful with the camera settings, so you need to stop down on the aperture of the lens.
Like the Rokinon 85mm, the Meike 12mm is a dedicated Cine lens for the BMPCC. Even when shooting wide, the sweet spot of f/2.8 to f/5.6 supports the camera with its follow-focus systems, providing a smooth transition as you change focus.
Still, the fast aperture is perfect for shooting in difficult lighting conditions. It gives better control over the depth of field, ensuring the camera would minimize distortion.
Unlike mirrorless cameras, video cameras like the BMPCC take a few more seconds in hunting the focal point, even more, when there's not enough light entering the sensor. For changing perspectives and exposures, the Panasonic LUMIX Vario 12-35mm is a suitable accessory for this dilemma.
If you're dealing with real estate
Like the Meike 12mm, you may notice a falling out on the corner sharpness due to the wide focal length of this Panasonic lens. However, you would see gradual improvement when you stop down to f/4 or f/5.6.
An upgrade from the previous Panasonic lenses, the Panasonic LUMIX 12-35mm contains a new aperture control mechanism. This feature provides the lens and camera smoother zooming and panning, even as the exposure changes.
The Blackmagic pocket cinema camera features a micro-four-thirds sensor that makes it compact and lightweight. If you are using this camera to take videos in 4K resolution, the following features can help you choose a good performance lens to pair it with. Also, you can use the table below to understand the key features you should look out for.
| Lenses | Aperture | Weight (Pounds) | Diaphragm Blades |
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| Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 | f/2.8 | 0.8 | 7 |
| Sigma 56mm f/1.4 | f/1.4 | 0.6 | 9 |
| Rokinon 85mm | T1.5 | 1 | 8 |
| Meike 12mm T2.2 | T2.2 | 1.72 | 8 |
| Panasonic LUMIX 12-35mm | f/2.8 | 0.675 | 7 |
One of the main reasons you might want to get a Blackmagic pocket cinema camera is its compact and lightweight design. This allows you to carry the camera around as you move from property to property, shooting interior and exterior photos.
However, this will be different if you get a heavier lens for this camera. Since you can't use the camera without a lens, a bulky lens means you need to carry it around. Generally, this contradicts the main reason you got the camera: portability.
Instead, you can enhance the portability of the camera by pairing it with a compact and lightweight lens such as the Sigma 56mm f/1.4. Since this is a prime lens with a relatively short barrel, it's compact and lightweight.
The zoom capability of a lens depends on whether the focal length is variable or not. In the same way, the zoom range of the lens depends on how variable the focal length is. In simpler terms, you can consider the zoom range to be the difference between the longest and shortest focal length in a zoom lens.
The bigger the difference, the more versatile the zoom. A zoom lens works by broadening the field of view when using the shortest focal length and cropping out the background to create a magnification effect when using longer focal lengths.
This is more important when shooting videos from a tripod setup, as moving the tripod can make the video shaky. With a zoom lens such as the Olympus M Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm f/2.8, you can vary the angle of view and make the videos aesthetically pleasing without moving the tripod.
If you are shooting close-ups of portraits, you might want to draw the eyes of the viewer to the main subject by blurring the rest of the elements in the photo. This effect is known as the bokeh effect. You can achieve this effect by applying selective focus techniques.
However, for the background and foreground to be effectively blurred, the lens needs to have a wide maximum aperture, such as the Sigma 56mm f/1.4. For the best results, use around two to three f-stops from the maximum aperture, as using the widest aperture can affect the image's sharpness.
If you are using a 4K Blackmagic Pocket camera, you won’t find the autofocus feature as it is featured in the new and improved 6K camera or recent models. Generally, the autofocus automatically adjusts the sharpness of the main subject.
Yes, the Blackmagic Pocket camera is a professional cinema camera with excellent performance, especially when shooting videos. The camera is designed using a carbon fiber body which makes it lighter compared to some other cinema-specific cameras. However, the battery life is relatively short.
Yes, you can use the Blackmagic Pocket camera to capture images. Normally, the camera comes with a built-in micro-four-thirds sensor with an autofocus system, just like the other cameras with micro-four-third sensors.
Despite the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera mainly used for videography, this camera is also ideal for shooting stills. To get the right lens for your BMPCC, make sure to compare the options I have above and consider their features and differences.
