Blackmagic Production Camera 4K with new on-screen menus

A few days ago Blackmagic Design released the camera software 1.9, which includes new heads up display (HUD) with different indicators on the screen of the Blackmagic Production Camera 4K.

Additional menus appear by swiping up from the bottom of the screen or, if we have a hand lens mounted, by pressing the iris button. Thus, you can see a histogram, audio meters and the remaining recording time.

The additional screens allow users to quickly check several important settings. For example, thanks to the histogram you can see if the image values are within the legal range, or if there is going to be clipping (clipping) in highlights or lowlights, thus losing the detail of the highlights.

The audio meter comes with the “peak hold” function, with which we can adjust the audio levels for channels 1 and 2 whether we are using a built-in microphone or external audio sources.

In addition, we have the indicator of the remaining recording time on the disc, which is automatically updated to ensure an accurate value even when the frame rate or codec is changed. When the disc is getting full this indicator turns red.

According to the Blackmagic forums, camera sensor calibration has also been improved, with several reports indicating improved noise reduction patterns.

With this release, the company has lived up to its promise to release updates more often; and not only that, but it has also promised that in the coming weeks we will see these “heads up displays” on other camera models.

Software version 1.9 is completely free and can be downloaded via this link. Then you only have to install it from Mac or Windows using a USB connection.