One of the major issues filmmakers have with Blackmagic cameras thus far is that you couldn’t format media cards in-camera. As of today, with the new firmware version 1.9.7 update, you can internally format media cards in Blackmagic cameras!
Blackmagic explains that the new in-camera formatting has some advantages from formatting on a computer because the cameras can optimize and format disks for high-performance video use. The company also claims that as new disks are released in the future, new software can be released “to take advantage of unique features of disks for maximum performance when recording high data RAW 4K images.”
You’ll have the choice between ExFAT and HFS+ when formatting cards internally. HFS+ should be used if you’re working with Mac systems, but if you’re using Windows or a combination of both, you should use the ExFAT format instead.
If you haven’t updated your Blackmagic Camera yet, what are you waiting for? Firmware version 1.9.7 is available to download now! You’ll find the latest support updates right here at Blackmagic Support.
