Blackmagic Design USA - Fremont, California

Firstname L.

After ten years of using Davinci Resolve, I still wonder why I would spend hours in Davinci when I can spend minutes in Premiere or After Effects to accomplish better results? I still end up having to do most compositing or complex editing in After Effects or Premiere because Davinci products simply cannot accomplish the tasks.

While their business model is commendable, they apparently do not hire editors to consult on their development, and as a result, their editing systems lack the most basic functionality, are overly complex for basic tasks, or require programming skills to accomplish fairly simple tasks. What takes seconds on other video editing software will always take hours in Davinci Resolve or Fusion.

For example, Davinci Fusion tracking technology is a decade behind their competition. This has always been true and will likely always be true. Tracking simply does not work unless the absolute perfect conditions are met. And the user cannot manually keyframe positions to cover the parts that the tracker chokes on, so you are left with complete trash when a single frame is dropped. A user is FORCED to use another product like Adobe to fix the problems. So, why bother wasting all that time in Fusion to begin with?

Davinci's UI is designed by programmers rather than editors, requiring the user to think like a programmer to accomplish the most basic tasks. This kind of workflow is the OPPOSITE of a creative workflow. It's a puzzle-solving workflow that always results in poor outcomes and sketchy results. They are extremely bad at UI. in fact, bad UI is the number one thing most newcomers to Davinci know about it. Most users avoid even touching their compositor (Fusion).

I really wish Davinci would just fold up shop and move on to something else. We need actual competition against the Adobe monopoly and it's clear that Blackmagic will never be that competition. Blackmagic is diluting the waters and making it nearly impossible for real developers to compete in the video editing/compositing space. They are making the editing world much harder for working editors by giving all the market advantages to Adobe. I sometimes wonder if they are being financed by Adobe just to make sure no real competition can ever enter this space.

Kevin G.

WARNING Do not buy anything from this company! Yes, they do make good products but when you need support which products like these sometimes need support, they could care less about helping you. They are very short with you and disrespectful when you finally get a chance the talk with them. They give me the feeling that since they already got my money there is no incentive to support the product. BE CAREFUL WITH THIS COMPANY

Raphael K.

Black Magic Designs Inc. has ROCK SOLID products that work incredibly well and are built to withstand almost any environment!
BUT!
Be sure to read every detail and proof every small step you take. These products do not always come with clear or transparent details and/or instructions.

One Example - The Atem M/E 2 Production switcher does not handle 30 or 60 FPS in any resolution.. If you get the HDMI to SDI converters for converting Macbook Pro HDMI out so that you can SDI into your new live switcher.. You may find that the converters from Blackmagic design only converts the signal from HDMI to SDI, they don't actually convert resolution or frame rates from one setting to another.. They list the converters as auto sensing, which they do, but only from the input source and not to the output source.

Soo.. you can't connect your MacBook Pro's HDMI out with a Heavy Duty $395.00 converter to your $3,995.00 ATEM M/E 2 4k Switcher because the Macbook Pro only outputs 30fps.. (( Wish I had thought to ask that question... Oh wait! I had called and asked tech support that exact question.. hmm. ))

Another Example - MIcro Studio Camera 4k has a mount for Micro Four Thirds Lenses. You can control that camera via the ATEM Switchers software.. But.. There are currently only four lenses on the market that actually have all the features of auto focus, aperture, and zoom integration. So.. I purchased the Olympus 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO LENS for $1400.00 and it doesn't have the zoom control I was expecting. oops.

I don't want to imply that the Black Magic Designs Inc. lied to me.. I just find it very frustrating that the website and marketing materials are, in my opinion, designed to guide a reader into making assumptions that just simply aren't true and rather skillfully avoids important details that are crucial to making things work.

For example.. The descriptions for the switcher states that "When you’re working with multiple cameras, it’s important to be able to see all of the video sources at the same time." This, in my opinion, must have been written by a really smart college grad and could easily lead the reader to assume that "These guys totally get it! How could you work with multiple cameras if couldn't see all of them at the same time?" So when you read further down the same page that you can "When working with the new Blackmagic Studio Camera, you get full control of your remote cameras right from the ATEM software!".. You might walk away with the feeling "but of course I can work with ALL of my multiple cameras through the atem switcher at the same time.. I have 20 inputs and I could therefore control 20 cameras! I already read and connected with the writer about how they understand multi camera use..." but that's actually the reader's assumption isn't it? Can you actually control 20 cameras or just just a few? Can you use the SDI Out cable that's connected to your switcher or do you need a second SDI cable for camera control? Do you know which ports on the switcher you would need to connect it to? DIN to SDI anyone?
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Silly readers think that SDI control means that you use the Camera's SDI output for control. I'm sure that it will be okay when the customer finds that his cameras sitting 150' away will need a second run of SDI cables to use that feature.. I mean really.. Don't people just have a slush fund for random $1300.00 up/down converts and 1000's of feet of extra SDI cables?
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Hmm.. Kinda makes you wonder how many other assumptions you could accidently carry from one paragraph to another. So when I put together a $30,000 system.. I found it really difficult and frustrating to have to read every manual on every product to ensure that every feature was in-fact actually attainable.

Is Black Magic Designs Inc. a good Company? Yes
Will I use their Products? Yes I LOVE their products
Am I returning the Olympus lens or any other product? No 😎

Would I recommend them to others? Yes BUT you should go slow.. make no assumptions.. and double check every detail.. and a good slush fund would be helpful!

Impression C.

These guys are amazing. I was back up and running with no hassle, and I'll continue to be a Blackmagic customer for life. Thank you, RMA Department!

Pedro P. O.

DaVinci is failing to perform, and customer service rep (Brian Neal) treats me like it's my fault.

Trevor S.

The software is the bees knees and they were kind to help me with a warranty claim on a knob.

Eric P.

Awesome product, Awesome people.

James V.

Nice place