Blackmagic Design has released a new smartphone app for Android. Blackmagic Camera, as it is called, is intended to bring the functions of a digital film camera for filming in feature film quality to Android smartphones. However, only a few devices are currently supported.
Blackmagic Camera app launches on Android
Blackmagic wants to appeal to content creators in particular with the new Android app. They should be able to use it to create professional videos in a way that – according to the manufacturer – would otherwise only be possible with professional cameras. The free app comes without any in-app purchases and is now available to download from the Google Play Store.
The catch is that only a few smartphone models are currently supported. These include the Samsung Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23 and S23 Ultra, the Galaxy S23 FE, the Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Ultra, as well as the Pixel 7 and Pixel 8 series from Google.
The app’s interface is reminiscent of the video cameras from Blackmagic Design. Important settings such as frame rate, shutter angle, white balance and ISO can be adjusted with just one tap.
Videos can be recorded directly to the Blackmagic Cloud in up to 8K resolution. The videos can then be edited in DaVinci Resolve in cloud storage by editors around the world. There is even a chat area in the app so that you can write directly to the editors who are working on the videos for you.
According to the manufacturer, the app does away with cumbersome menus and is designed to enable intuitive operation even for non-experts. The display directly shows status and recording parameters, a histogram, focus peaking, levels, image border markings and more. Shooting is possible in 16:9 format as well as vertically.
In the Android app, Blackmagic Camera only records in h.264 and h-265 format. ProRes, which is available in the iPhone app, is unfortunately not available. Further details can be found on the official Blackmagic Design website.
Features of Blackmagic Camera for Android
- Compatible with Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel smartphones
- Filming in 16:9 or vertical aspect ratios
- Stealth mode for filming in 16:9 with the phone held upright
- Recording in H.264 and H.265 with automatic proxy creation
- Camera controls for frame rate, shutter speed, exposure, white balance, tint and color space
- Focus assist, zebra, image border markings, histogram
- Timecode recording by time or runtime
- VU or PPM audio level meter
- Thumbnail view of all recorded clips in the “Media” tab
- Clip preview with display of scrub position, timecode and file name display
- Full integration with Blackmagic Cloud and DaVinci Resolve
- Recording to smartphone, selection of recorded clips for sharing via Blackmagic Cloud or for automatic synchronization
