My anamorphic setup with BMPCC 4k grows as a huge monster.
So I need some tiny setup for location scouting.
And I decided to use the BMMCC.
For tiny setup, I need to find a single zoom lens which covers all focal length range of BMPCC 4K Anamorphic 2.8K mode.

BMPCC 4K Anamorphic 2.8K mode focal length range

Taking lenses

My lens set of Leica R is the following.

• 35mm Elimarit F2.8
• 50mm Summicron F2
• 90mm Elmarit F2.8
• 135mm Elmarit F2.8

BMPCC 4K Anamorphic 2.8K mode crop factor

With Full 4K mode,  the sensor width is 18.96mm for 4096 pixels.
With Anamorphic 2.8K mode, the vertical resolution is 2880 pixels.
So the sensor width is: ( 18.96 / 4096 ) x 2880 = 13.33125 mm.

So the BMPCC 4K Anamorphic 2.8K mode crop factor is: 36mm / 13.33125mm = 2.700.

And I use Metabone speedbooster 0.71x.

The final crop factor is: 2.7 x 0.71 = 1.917.

The full-frame equivalent focal length range

Multiply 0.5 for 2x Anamorphic lens.

• 35mm Elimarit F2.8
  • 1.917 x 35 = 67.095mm (Taking lens only)
  • 1.917 x 35 x 0.5 = 33.55mm (with 2x Anamorphic)
• 50mm Summicron F2
  • 1.917 x 50 = 95.85mm (Taking lens only)
  • 1.917 x 50 x 0.5 = 47.925mm (with 2x Anamorphic)
• 90mm Elmarit F2.8
  • 1.917 x 90 =  172.53mm (Taking lens only)
  • 1.917 x 90 x 0.5 = 86.265mm (with 2x Anamorphic)
• 135mm Elmarit F2.8
  • 1.917 x 135 = 258.795mm (Taking lens only)
  • 1.917 x 135 x 0.5 = 129.397mm (with 2x Anamorphic)

BMMCC focal length range

BMMCC crop factor

BMMCC sensor width is 12.48mm.

The crop factor is: 36mm / 12.48mm = 2.8846.

And I use Metabones speedbooster 0.58x.

The final crop factor is: 2.8846 x 0.58 = 1.67.

The full-frame equivalent focal length range

• For 35mm Elimarit F2.8
  • 67.095mm / 1.67 =  40.18mm (Taking lens only)
  • 33.55mm / 1.67 = 20.09mm (with 2x Anamorphic)
• For 50mm Summicron F2
  • 95.85mm / 1.67 =  57.40mm (Taking lens only)
  • 47.925mm / 1.67 = 28.69mm (with 2x Anamorphic)
• For 90mm Elmarit F2.8
  • 172.53mm / 1.67 = 103.31mm (Taking lens only)
  • 86.265mm / 1.67 = 51.66mm (with 2x Anamorphic)
• For 135mm Elmarit F2.8
  • 258.795mm / 1.67 = 154.97mm (Taking lens only)
  • 129.397mm / 1.67 = 77.48mm (with 2x Anamorphic)

These are the focal length range to be covered by one single zoom lens.

EF mount zoom lens covers all focal length range

For location scouting, I don’t want to attach the anamorphic adapter.
So required range is from 20.09mm to 77.48mm.
After some research, I found the following lens.

Canon EF-S 15 – 85mm / F3.5 – 5.6 IS USM

This lens covers all the range perfectly.

But one minor problem is there

EF-S (not EF) lenses are designed for the APS-C sensor.
So all EF-S lenses have the plastic cap on the rear element.
This plastic cap is hitting the Metabones.

But there’s a solution!

Just remove the plastic cap by a plier.

Final setup image

Light enough for location scouting.

Next

Match the exact focal length between BMPCC and BMMCC and mark it on the zoom lens.

Background

Since Blackmagic Design released BMMCC, it’s been about five years. But it is still sold as a brand new nowadays.
For me, it’s the first cinema camera, and it’s working for the location scouting or a small project.
So, as the others so, I decided to develop the controller, and it finally becomes some kind of working prototype today.

Concepts

The main concepts are the following based on my requirements.

1. Tinyness.

The tinyness is the importance because of the tinyness of the camera. If the tinyness is not important, we should buy the bigger and more reliable one sold by CINEGEARPRO.
https://www.cinegearpro.co.uk/products/cgpro-bmmcc-bmmsc-focus-zoom-record-remote-controller

2. Minimum function.

Just control the camera properties (and a few for the lens).
If the focus or the zoom must be controlled, we should use the LANC controller.
If the other function is required, we should build another external device.

3. Modularized.

Must be fit on ‘PWM(S.Bus)+LANC+DC BMMCC Angle Expansion Box Module’.
https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewtopic.php?t=56186

4. Hardware Extendability.

The 5V, GND, and two digital pins can be used through the 3.5mm 4 poles TRRS jack.

5. Software Extendability.

The mainboard is Arduino Nano. The firmware will be on Github. You can fork and write your firmware for free.

Current Issues

The current issues about cost are the following.

1. Case

3D printed cases are cheap but cheesy. CNC Aluminum cases are sturdy but expensive.

2. Compliance

Mainly RoHS and CE are required to sell worldwide, but the parts are more expensive.

Price

I wish to sell around 100 – 200 USD.

Specifications

Prerequisites:

1. Breakout box for SBus x 1

Use ‘PWM(S.Bus)+LANC+DC BMMCC Angle Expansion Box Module’.
https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewtopic.php?t=56186

2. 3.5mm 3-pole TRS Cable x 1

3. Camera Remote settings.

Set Remote settings as follows. Simply set the channels from top to bottom.

• Rec Start/Stop: SBus 1
• Iris: SBus 2
• (Focus: SBus 3. Disabled. You can enable on your forked firmware)
• Auto Focus: SBus 4
• (Zoom: SBus 5. Disabled. You can enable on your forked firmware)
• ISO: SBus 6
• Shutter Angle: SBus 7
• White Balance: SBus 8
• Audio Level: SBus 9
• Frame Rate: SBus 10
• Codec: SBus 11

Hardware and Operation Manual:

1. 0.49″ 64×32 OLED Display.

2-1. Rotary Encoder with Push-Switch 1.

Rotation: for menu navigation.

• Rotate CW: Go to the next menu.
• Rotate CCW: Go to the previous menu.
• The menu order is: FPS(Frame Rate) > SA(Shutter Angle) > A(Iris) > ISO > WB(White Balance) > MIC(Audio Levels) > CODEC.

Pushing:

• 2-Click: REC Start/Stop
• 3-Click: Trigger AutoFocus
• 4-Click: Rotate Display CW
• 5-Click: Rotate Display CCW
• x-Click: Unassigned. (You can extend your forked firmware)
• x-Clicks and Long Press: Unassigned. (You can extend your forked firmware)
• NOTE: May vary in the final version.

You can use this in any direction by Display Rotation.

2-2. Rotary Encoder with Push-Switch 2.

Rotation: for value control.

• Rotate CW: Increment value.
• Rotate CCW: Decrement value.

Pushing:

• 3-Click and Long Press: Reset all values.
• Other: Unassigned. (You can extend your forked firmware)
• NOTE: May vary in the final version.

3. 3.5mm 3-pole TRS Jack

Connect to the camera.
Tip: 5V, Ring: SBus, Sleeve: GND.

4. 3.5mm 4-pole TRRS Jack

Connect to the external devices.
Tip: 5V, Ring: D4,D5, Sleeve: GND.

5. USB Port for firmware updates.

Product Images

Use cases