Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K

I first bought one then bought a second, and then a third one! I am an intermediate pro videographer. I would not consider myself a Full on Pro. I do shoot a lot though. My budget and what I make in my craft limits my equipment. My wife and I have a side video business with the help of some family. We shoot different types of stage events and the occasional wedding or greek baptism. I have always used pro-sumer (Semi Pro) cameras such as Canons XL-1, to XH-A1's. Then upgraded from there to Sony HXR-NX3's. We use Sony Cinema FS-5's and FS-7's at church where I video direct and she is one of the many camera ops. So my comparison would be somewhat limited to those level of cameras. This BMPCC 6K to me blows all those away. The FS-5's and 7's basically the same sony ... MoreI first bought one then bought a second, and then a third one! I am an intermediate pro videographer. I would not consider myself a Full on Pro. I do shoot a lot though. My budget and what I make in my craft limits my equipment. My wife and I have a side video business with the help of some family. We shoot different types of stage events and the occasional wedding or greek baptism. I have always used pro-sumer (Semi Pro) cameras such as Canons XL-1, to XH-A1's. Then upgraded from there to Sony HXR-NX3's. We use Sony Cinema FS-5's and FS-7's at church where I video direct and she is one of the many camera ops. So my comparison would be somewhat limited to those level of cameras. This BMPCC 6K to me blows all those away. The FS-5's and 7's basically the same sony cameras though great I prefer the BM 6k. I'd put this camera up against those. In terms of price and quality it blows the FS cameras out of the water. Using the FS cameras weekly I must say are great but these BM 6K's are far less expensive and perform equally. I don't need all the connections. The color science in BM I really like. I have a college that will argue with me because they prefer the Sony's color science. But when you use the film mode on the BM 6k and fine tune the LUT's its awesome! That's all preference and in the end no one would complain about either brand. The general viewer would not know you used a FS7 or BM 6K. Using these for a few events now I could not be happier with my choice!I use three for multicam shooting using Blackmagic a Atem Mini Pro. The camera control is a positive!!! For just under 2 grand you get CCU on a price friendly Cinema camera! Can't do that with a FS7 or FS5! I can control focus on all our photos lenses, control the aperture, the color, Iso / gain etc. I don't have to rely on a camera op to do these spur of the minute changes I can do this for them! They can keep their hands on the handles and concentrate on the subject and I'll make the fine changes. It also gives the opportunity to get the cameras all matching by the multi-display on the Atem. These really give you the feel and look of broadcast. it's also nice when you hit record on the mini pro all cameras start recording and the file names on each camera will read the name of the project you created with the camera number you have them inputted at, how cool for file management! So to clear that each camera will name the files to match the ATEM's record file with an additional camera number.And actually from what I hear any Atem will control these cameras. Even if you convert to SDI. Blackmagic makes devices that will allow control from a SDI only Atem. It will take take two SDI's to a converter then convert to HDMI to the camera. One SDI is a return from the ATEM and the other is the Feed. The box will then send the commands from the return feed through the HDMI. I talked with BM on this. So your not limited to Atem mini's with these. Getting 4K out the HDMI I mentioned that to BM and they put that request to R&D. Who knows, they can change that with a Firmware update I'm sure at some point.I opted for the non Pro model of the 6K's because I can't see the price increase really benefiting to much. It is nice the pro has a movable monitor but not necessary when the viewing angle of these screens is 180 degrees. I don't need two XLR inputs, I once did, but not necessary. I don't need the built in ND's for stage events which is our primary filming target. So for the smaller price tag the plain 6K suits us. The sensor and color science is identical to.I opted away from the studio cameras. Mainly because I want the larger sensor of the 6K. I also needed the ability to easily use beyond the stage setting. The smaller form makes more versatility. The biggest thing was lack of battery and the smaller sensor in the studio camera. If those were 6K and EF mounts and the price was identical then I might have chose those.

This camera produces pretty stellar video quality (especially with Blackmagic RAW) and at this price point is difficult to beat. The comparisons to Sony A7s3 or other DSLR's really are not the right way to think about this camera. I think there's a marketing problem with this camera as a lot of times they sell it as if it's for YouTubers and content creators. The lack of good auto-focus alone is enough to say that's not really a good way to think about this unit. If you need a DSLR (i.e. something that's lightweight and moves quickly with the option to fire off some stills and good auto-focus) this probably isn't the right camera for you. This is a cinema camera meaning its intended use is for commercial and narrative filmmaking. It can also be useful for corporate ... MoreThis camera produces pretty stellar video quality (especially with Blackmagic RAW) and at this price point is difficult to beat. The comparisons to Sony A7s3 or other DSLR's really are not the right way to think about this camera. I think there's a marketing problem with this camera as a lot of times they sell it as if it's for YouTubers and content creators. The lack of good auto-focus alone is enough to say that's not really a good way to think about this unit. If you need a DSLR (i.e. something that's lightweight and moves quickly with the option to fire off some stills and good auto-focus) this probably isn't the right camera for you. This is a cinema camera meaning its intended use is for commercial and narrative filmmaking. It can also be useful for corporate stuff. It's not outfitted as a documentary camera but if you add on the right accessories it might be (depending on the project). That's the one thing I'd encourage any buyer to consider is that, regardless of what type of work you're doing, you'll need to accessorize this camera to make it suit your purposes. It really should be thought of as a camera brain that you can accessorize in the best way for you. Those accessories depend on what type of work you do but at the very least I would recommend getting a cage (Tilta's cage is really great) and some ND filters. I'd also recommend an external power source like V-mount or Gold Mount batteries (the LP-E6 batteries drain too quickly with this and really are there as more of a backup). I wouldn't recommend using it in a run and gun scenario but, personally, I have done that and been fine with it (I suspect most people would find it frustrating in that scenario, though). It requires a more cinematic approach (hence the cinema name). My only reason for not giving it 5 stars is because of the lens mount. There's still plenty of EF lenses on the market but it's also limiting in terms of what it can be adapted to. Would've been better if they had gone with something with a shorter flange distance like the RF mount so you could adapt it to PL. I also think the form factor is awkward and annoying (especially for gimbals).

I took some time making the decision between the 4k and 6k models of the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Cameras.One one side, you have a relatively inexpensive 4K at $1200 and on the other a 6K just at $2000. My decision came down to two factors: The first had to do with the collection of EF L Canon lenses I had laying around and the other with the larger 6K capabilities the camera offers.Despite being a 20-year video veteran, I admit I was fairly ignorant of Cinema Cameras and have come a long way in a short time in understanding the differences between these and the ENG broadcast cameras I am used to working with.Having used the BMPCC 6K in a short amount of time I can give you my first impressions, which are that the camera has some issues I wish I had known ... MoreI took some time making the decision between the 4k and 6k models of the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Cameras.One one side, you have a relatively inexpensive 4K at $1200 and on the other a 6K just at $2000. My decision came down to two factors: The first had to do with the collection of EF L Canon lenses I had laying around and the other with the larger 6K capabilities the camera offers.Despite being a 20-year video veteran, I admit I was fairly ignorant of Cinema Cameras and have come a long way in a short time in understanding the differences between these and the ENG broadcast cameras I am used to working with.Having used the BMPCC 6K in a short amount of time I can give you my first impressions, which are that the camera has some issues I wish I had known about before buying. Nothing that constitutes a deal breaker but would have helped me budget the whole purchase better.Beyond the initial purchase of the camera, you will have to secure a proper power source, as the included Canon E-6 battery barely holds a 40-minute charge on normal continued use. The other turn off was the need to purchase a seemingly endless bit of accessories to make this into something manageable in the field. Many professionals know that buying a camera is only the first step in the spending process.Not withstanding the normal lights, microphones and lenses, the camera benefits enourmously with a cage that allows you to better attach necessary items like those mentioned and some I have not, like the SSD drive you will no doubt want to consider, some cable attachments that improve the convinience and position of your cables and some fixtures that allow you to securly mount monitors, field recorders and other necessary gear.However, notwithstanding these annoyances, the camera is utterly brilliant in how easy it is to learn and operate. Within minutes, because of its familiar form factor, I was able to get set up and shooting with an SD card and the included battery. The experience was short, mind you, but very gratifying right out of the box.Most of the literature you will find on this camera does little to point out that the storage for this camera at 6K has to be considered carefully. The most expensive thing after the camera and lenses will most definitely be an SSD hard drive. Buyer beware! NOT ALL SSD's will work with this camera and only a select few will allow you to take full advantage of all the resolutions this camera offers.Depending on your needs a Samsung T-5 1 or 2TB drive will work for most settings BUT NOT at 6K 12:1 ratio. I learned this the hard and uncomfortable way. There is a couple of drives you can buy that are twice the price of the T-5 and if you can stomach the cost, then you should take advantage of that so you can access the 6K resolution. I have discovered that some of my SD cards work at this ratio well, but are limited to 128GB which only give me about 12 minutes of footage. For some projects that may be all you need though. So, perspective.The EF lens mount was very convenient for me as I had a number of Canon L grade glass laying around I had not used since I put my DSLR down a few years ago. I was glad to be able to dust those off and put thm to work on this camera, especially the f1.4 50mm and some of the f2.8 lenses I have.Overall, I am very satisfied with the quality of the image this camera offers, allowing you to customize your color grading in Post with little effort and with outstanding color fidelity.I could not detect any flaws in the operation of this camera and I have not fully explored all that it has to offer yet.It does connect to the ATEM mini and Studio HD, that I can confirm. I wish Blackmagic would consider updating the ATEM studio hd to take full advantage of the camera control features - this only works in the new line of ATEM mini's for now.Connecting an external audio device will require you buy a couple of specialized cables. Depending on your need and if you decide that a cage and rods are necessary, you can be prepared to jump down a pricey rabbit hole of seemingly endless and overpriced accessories. My experience has been though that the camera does quite fine on its own and can be very functional as a b-roll cam, where sound engineering is not a requirement.I am rating this camera a 4 out of five based on price. At $2000 many may think it a bargain in the Cinema Camera realm, and they would be correct. However, I believe that in comparison to its little brother, the 4K version, this camera has little offer beyond the EF mount and slightly larger, hard to access 6K feature.If you are starting out with Cinema camera like I am, you can't go wrong with the BMPCC. It is a solid little camera and at the fraction of what these cameras can cost, it's a great place to start!Of course, B&H has staff to answer all your questions before buying, saving hassle and time in getting your purchase to your door.