Lenses for the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera

I am a hobbyist filmmaker and I own a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera (BMPCC). There are many good and bad things about this camera, but one great advantage is the ability of the camera to accommodate many types of lenses. In addition to the native micro four-thirds format (M4/3) the camera can also accept C-mount lenses, Canon EF lenses and Minolta MD lenses as well as many other types.

Here is my review of the lenses that I own:

1. Kowa 6mm f/1.8 (C mount)

Kowa 6mm f/1.8

• Pros
• Widest lens I am aware of that words on BMPCC (so wide that you can shoot while walking and still get pretty smooth footage without any stabilization)
• Reasonably fast
• No vignette
• No fisheye
• Extremely sharp
• Works with the BMPCC out of the box (using a C mount to M4/3 adapter available for about $10 US on eBay or Amazon)
• Focuses to infinity at a ridiculously short distance
• Functions brilliantly as a macro lens when near-focused (which allows for some very cool shots when coupled with its wide-angle ability)
• Cons
• Expensive ($400+ US)
• Some "moustache" distortion (but the image quality is still great)
• The rounded lens on the outside makes it extra vulnerable to damage and it does not come with a good lens cap (just a piece of 1mm clear plastic)

2. Computar 12.5mm f/1.3 (C mount)

Computar 12.5mm f/1.3

• Pros
• Extremely fast
• Very sharp when stopped down and there is reasonable light
• An excellent focal length for the BMPCC crop (i.e. 12.5mm with the BMPCC crop of 2.88 gives about a 36mm lens)
• Very small, portable lens (as is typical of any C mount lens) making it great for travel
• Overall the most versatile lens I have seen for the BMPCC
• Overall the highest value lens I have bought for the BMPCC, it's the lens I leave on the camera
• Cheap ($120 US)
• Cons
• You have to modify it for it to work on BMPCC although some vendors sell it pre-modified (I bought mine pre-modified and it worked perfectly out of the box)
• The aperture and focus have a bit of a "loose" feeling to them (i.e. sort of feels cheap)

3. Rokinon T2.2 16mm Cine Lens (Canon EF)

Rokinon 16mm T2.2 Cine

• Pros
• Very sharp
• Looks badass
• Produces beautiful cinema-like images
• Smooth focus and de-clicked aperture
• 16mm is a very nice focal length for the BMPCC crop
• If you buy an EF focal reducer like Metabones Speedbooster (for Canon EF) or a generic one you can get two focal lengths out of this lens (my generic 0.72x focal reducer allows me to use this lens as an 11.5mm equivalent)
• Very good build quality
• Cons
• Big and heavy
• Expensive ($400 US)

4. Fotasy 25mm f/1.4 (C mount)

Fotasy 25mm f/1.4

• Pros
• Ridiculously cheap ($20)
• Brilliant bokeh
• Weird barrel-distortion (i.e. edges are extremely soft) which can give your footage some really cool artistic effects
• No vignette
• Good focal length for BMPCC (i.e. 25mm)
• Very small lens, easily portable
• Good for travel
• Definitely the best of the Fotasy lenses for the BMPCC
• Cons
• Weird barrel-distortion (i.e. edges are extremely soft)
• Very long focus pull (e.g. you need to take your hands off the focus at least once if pulling focus from near to infinity)
• Cheap, sort of spongy feel to the aperture and focus (i.e. when you turn the focus it is initially loose for the first millimeter until it catches and you can feel resistance and actually see the focus change)
• Overall pretty soft lens

5. Minolta W. Rokkor-SG 28mm (Minotla MC) f/3.5

Minolta W. Rokkor-SG 28mm f/3.5

• Pros
• Ridiculously cheap ($25 US plus shipping directly from Japan for about $12 US)
• Cool retro look to the footage
• Looks badass (was built in the 1960s)
• Reasonably sharp
• Reasonable focal length for BMPCC
• Comes with cool carrying case
• Cons
• Very slow lens
• Some chromatic aberation

6. Fotasy 35mm f/1.7 (C mount)

Fotasy 35mm f/1.7

• Pros
• Ridiculously cheap (about $30 US)
• Weird barrel-distortion (i.e. edges are extremely soft) which can give your footage some really cool artistic effects
• Awesome bokeh
• No vignette
• Very small lens, easily portable
• Good for travel
• Cons
• Less useful focal length than the Fotasy 25mm f/1.4
• Much slower than the Fotasy 25mm f/1.4
• Weird barrel-distortion (i.e. edges are extremely soft)

7. Fotasy 50mm f/1.4 (C mount)

Fotasy 50mm f/1.4

• Pros
• Ridiculously cheap (about $30 US)
• Weird barrel-distortion (i.e. edges are extremely soft) which can give your footage some really cool artistic effects
• Awesome bokeh
• No vignette
• Good for travel
• Very small lens, reasonably portable
• Reasonably fast but at a focal length of 50mm you can't really use it at night
• Cons
• Much less useful focal length than the Fotasy 25mm f/1.4 or Fotasy 35mm f/1.7
• Weird barrel-distortion (i.e. edges are extremely soft)

8. Canon 50mm f/1.8 ii (Canon EF)

Canon 50mm f/1.8 ii

• Pros
• Reasonably priced (around $150 US)
• Razor sharp (in fact, it's probably the sharpest lens I own)
• Good for portraits and close-ups
• Cons
• Not very fast
• Focal lengths of 50mm is not great for the BMPCC crop
• You need to buy a Canon EF adapter with a built-in aperture since this lens is auto-focus and auto-aperture (but if you get the adapter with a built-in aperture and you set the lens to manual focus mode, it works great)

9. Minolta Rokkor-PF 58mm f/1.4

Minolta Rokkor-PF 58mm f/1.4

• Pros
• Looks badass (was built in the 1960s)
• Reasonably priced (can be found for about $75 US)
• Very fast
• Quite sharp
• Cool retro look to the footage (e.g. the footage has a distinctly different feel when compared to the Canon 50mm f/1.8 ii despite being an otherwise similar lens)
• Comes with a cool carrying case
• Cons
• 58mm focal length is really not ideal for the BMPCC crop
• Not a lot of situations where this lens is ideal for use with the BMPCC
• Some chromatic aberration

10. Vivitar 70-210mm f4.5-5.6 Zoom Lens

• Pros
• Extremely cheap (can be found for under $40 US)
• Surprisingly quite sharp
• Has a bit of a retro look similar to the Minolta lenses
• Basically turns the BMPCC into a telescope!
• Cons
• Very slow lens
• Big and awkward
• When zoomed in it throws the balance of the camera off
• Shakiness
• At focal lengths such as this in conjunction with the BMPCC crop, even the slightest shake completely distorts the image and therefore the lens may only be used with a tripod
• The shakiness is worsened by even slight winds due to surface area that this lens adds to the camera
• The shakiness is so bad that one cannot even pan the lens when zoomed in with a tripod or the footage will look like Jello

C Mount Lenses

C Mount Lenses

There are some distinct advantages of the C mount lenses when using the BMPCC. If you consider that the BMPCC is marketed as a "pocket" cinema camera, then if you put some big heavy glass on it you definitely lose the ability to function as a "pocket".

Consider that a few C mount lenses can be carried in one jacket pocket while the Blackmagic Pocket camera resides in the other. This enables you to shoot at night or as you walk around without having to carry a big camera bag with you. In practice I have found that this enables me to use the camera in many more situations that I otherwise would. It also enables one to be less conspicuous which does count for something. Seriously, I have noticed that people seem to be freaked out by using bigger more professional looking lenses (e.g. Rokinon 16mm) whereas the tiny C mount lenses

The form factor is also a huge advantage while traveling. If I took the above lenses with me while traveling I would have a 6mm, 12.5mm, 25mm, 35mm and 50mm.

One disadvantage of C mount lenses could be that they potentially have less resale value in the future when compared to Canon lenses, for example. Consider that the Kowa 6mm is an expensive specialty lens that may not necessarily be compatible with future digital cinema cameras.