GlareGuard 5.0 is a foldable plastic sunshade for Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K and 6K from Ocean Video. It attaches to the camera via magnets and a metal frame (the same one used for Kinotehnik LCDVF BM5). GlareGuard 5.0 – Sunshade for BMPCC 4K and 6K. Source: Ocean Video The 5″ screen of Blackmagic Design’s Pocket 4K and Pocket 6K cameras is fairly large, but not quite bright enough to be usable in sunny environments. On a side note, a brighter screen would drain the battery quicker and shorten the already very short battery life of the camera, so maybe this is a good compromise. There are, however, some third-party solutions to improve the screen’s usability in harsh light. Some companies, like Tilta and Smallrig, are making a sun hood that can be screwed on the camera’s cage. Others, like for example Kinotehnik (watch our video interview here), make magnetic viewfinder loupe to attach to the screen and help with precise manual focusing and usability in bright conditions. Ocean Video recently presented another solution called GlareGuard 5.0. Ocean Video was founded in 1994 by Richard Goodman and Jeb Johenning. The company specialized in an on-set all digital video record-playback systems (video assist solutions). More recently, Ocean Video created a custom sunshade for RED camera monitors (both 4.7″ and 7″ versions) called the GlareGuard. Now, the GlareGuard sunshade got adapted for the BMPCC 4K and 6K cameras. Ocean Video GlareGuard 5.0 for BMPCC 4K and 6K GlareGuard 5.0 – Sunshade for BMPCC 4K and 6K. Source: Ocean Video The GlareGuard 5.0 is a custom sunshade that can fold flat when not in use. That means users can keep it on the camera all the time if they desire. It can also act as a protection for the screen when not in use. The other sunshade solutions I am aware of (Tilta, Smallrig) are not foldable. GlareGuard sunshade has small magnets built-in and it attaches to the camera via a metal frame that needs to be stuck to the back of the camera. That is the same system as Kinotehnik uses for its LCDVF BM5 Viewfinder for BMPCC. GlareGuard uses the exact same frame. Ocean Video claims the GlareGuard 5.0 can be used on other 5″ screens as well. Namely the Atomos Ninja V or Shinobi, Blackmagic VideoAssist 5″, or other 5″ monitors. It is designed and manufactured in California, USA. GlareGuard 5.0 – Sunshade for BMPCC 4K and 6K. Source: Ocean Video   Price and Availability Ocean Video did not yet announce when the GlareGuard 5.0 will be available nor how much it will cost. For reference, their GlareGuard for RED Touch 4.7″ DSMC2 monitors costs $79. I expect the price of GlareGuard 5.0 to be similar. What do you think about GlareGuard 5.0? Do you use some kind of sunshade when working with the Pocket 4K or 6K cameras? Let us know in the comments underneath the article.

During our cinema5D Virtual Show, we had the occasion to talk with Tõnis Liivamägi, founder of Kinotehnik, about the success story of the original LCDVF for DSLR cameras ten years ago, and its latest LCDVF BM5 for the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K/6K. Let’s take a closer look at it! Kinotehnik Success Story To better understand the Kinotehnik story, we have to come back in time more than ten years ago, in 2009. At that time, the Canon EOS 5D Mark II is out for a few months, and filmmakers all over the world start to realize that this camera is the real definition of a “game-changer.” Otherwise, the LCD screen on the back of the camera is not articulated. It is hard to see what you are filming in bright daylight, and there is no built-in EVF like in every modern mirrorless camera. Also, external electronic viewfinders are something that does not exist at that time. To solve that problem, Tõnis Liivamägi, an Estonian filmmaker, had an idea: a detachable loupe to correctly see your camera screen in bright daylight, and help you with focusing. The loupe attaches directly to your camera LCD via a magnetized frame and some magnets on the loupe. After a couple of prototypes, Tõnis started to share his original idea on the cinema5D forum, and it went viral. Kinotehnik was born with its first product: the LCDVF. As Tõnis told us, the first 300 units of the LCDVF were sold to cinema5D customers in the early days of cinema5D when we still were a big forum site. At that time, he was doing everything on his own in his apartment. I think that Tõnis nailed it at an affordable price for independent filmmakers, which vastly contributed to its success. The rest of the Kinotehnik journey is pure history, and they sold more than 100.000 units of the original LCDVF all over the world. It’s great to hear the backstory of such a legendary product. I think that every filmmaker in the Canon T2i/7D/5D Mark II era had one LCDVF in their bag, next to an ND filter. We can call it the “DSLR Starter Kit” ten years ago. To this day, the LCDVF is still a must-have for DSLR camera shooters that don’t want to use an external monitor or an expensive electronic viewfinder. Image credit: Kinotehnik Kinotehnik LCDVF BM5 The Kinotehnik LCDVF BM5 was launched in October 2019, and we can say that this is an LCDVF on steroids to fit the massive 5″ display of the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K/6K. The LCDVF BM5 magnifies the LCD of the BMPCC 4K/6K by 200% and blocks all ambient light when you’re shooting outdoor. To attach the LCDVF BM5 to your camera, you need to stick a thin metal frame around your display. Then, the loupe attaches to the back of the display with some strong magnets. Also, it’s really to take it on and off if you need to adjust your camera settings on the screen. Image credit: Kinotehnik The Kinotehnik LCDVF features an AR-coated and optically corrected lens with a 50mm clear aperture. The large eyecup can be flipped 180 degrees, which allows either left or right eye usage, even with glasses. Otherwise, there is no built-in diopter, but it features a 46mm threading to attach diopter correction lenses. Image credit: Kinotehnik Price and Availability The Kinotehnik LCDVF BM5 is available now for $189.00/€159.00, and it comes with two metal mounting frames, a lanyard, and an eyecup. What do you think about this new Kinotehnik LCDVF BM5? Did you ever use the original LCDVF back in the Canon 5D Mark II days? Let us know in the comments below!

Blackmagic Design just announced a $500 price drop for its Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K (BMPCC 6K). This Super 35 6K-capable camera with EF lens mount is now therefore available for $1,995. BMPCC6K Gets $500 Price Drop. Source: Blackmagic Design Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K was announced last year in August. With that camera, Blackmagic Design offered an alternative body for customers who liked the Pocket 4K but wanted a larger sensor with 6K video and Canon EF mount. If you want to refresh the camera’s features and specs, make sure to check our extensive coverage of the BMPCC6K: Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Announced – Super 35 Sensor and EF Mount BMPCC 6K vs. BMPCC 4K – Which one is for you? BMPCC 6K Review & Footage – Five Reasons to Like the Pocket 6K Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Lab Test – Dynamic Range, Latitude, Rolling Shutter & More Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Gets $500 Price Drop B&H buy link: Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Was: $2,495.00 Now: $1,995.00 (Savings: $500.00) CVP buy link: Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Was: €2,275.52 Now: €1,907.39 / £ 1.665.83 (Savings: €368.13) The BMPCC6K features a Super 35 sensor with 6144 x 3456 resolution (16:9 ratio). It can record up to 6K 50fps video in Blackmagic RAW. In some resolutions, there are also various flavors of ProRes available. The camera has a Canon EF lens mount and the same dual gain ISO as the Pocket 4K – ISO 400 and 3200 (maximum ISO value is 25,600). The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera features built-in CFast and SD UHS-II card recorders, and a USB-C expansion port for recording directly to an external SSD. On the back of the camera, there is a 5-inch touchscreen for monitoring and camera control. BMPCC6K Gets $500 Price Drop. Source: Blackmagic Design Only a few weeks ago, Blackmagic Design announced its new ATEM Mini Pro along with firmware update 6.9 for the BMPCC cameras. With the new firmware, Pocket 4K and 6K cameras can better function as studio cameras for live production with ATEM Mini. Video and control can be done via the HDMI connection, which is available as soon as the cameras are plugged in. The record light becomes a tally light so customers can see which camera is on air. The ATEM Software Control camera page has a camera control unit (CCU) style interface for adjusting and matching their cameras. Users can move the CCU control vertically for iris and left to right to adjust the black level. It’s the same as a broadcast CCU. There are also controls for color tint to balance camera as well as focus, gain, and shutter speed. At the same time, customers can still record Blackmagic RAW in the camera for editing later. BMPCC6K Gets $500 Price Drop. Source: Blackmagic Design Altogether, the BMPCC6K was offering a lot for its price even before the price drop. Now with the $500 off, it is a lot of camera for relatively little money in my opinion. If you are interested in buying the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K, we will be happy if you use the following links to our partner stores. With no extra cost, we get a small commission from your purchase which helps us running cinema5D. B&H buy link: Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Was: $2,495.00  Now: $1,995.00 (Savings: $500.00) CVP buy link: Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Was: €2,275.52  Now: €1,907.39 / £ 1.665.83 (Savings: €368.13) Were you planning on buying the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K? What do you think about this price drop? Let us know in the comments underneath the article.

The highly anticipated Tilta BMPCC Display Modification Kit is now available to order, but its capabilities go well beyond just a tilting monitor. The Tilta BMPCC Display Modification Kit adds some really useful new capabilities. Image: Tilta. When Tilta first unveiled its BMPCC Display Modification Kit at NAB 2019 it raised a lot of questions. Not least because this is a mod that users would have to install themselves. However, what couldn’t be ignored was just how useful a modification like this would be. If there’s is one criticism that any owner of a BMPCC could level at the camera it’s that the screen can’t be tilted. This means it can often be difficult to use in daylight. It also limits the positions you can put the camera in and frame the shot effectively. The lack of a tilting screen meant that BMPCC owners often need to add their own monitors, such as a Video Assist or Atomos Ninja V. For a lot of users the idea of taking apart their cameras is the stuff of nightmares. But for the intrepid among you the Tilta BMPCC Display Modification Kit is now available to order. Luckily, for those in the US at least, it comes with the option of allowing Tilta to fit it for you. The Tilta BMPCC Display Modification Kit adds a new bay for SSD drives. Image: Tilta What does the Tilta BMPCC Display Modification do? The basic premise of the modification is that it adds a 180 degree tilting monitor to your BMPCC camera. While the new monitor cannot flip outwards at 90 degrees like, for instance, a Canon R, it will flip upwards at 180 degrees. The setup is currently slightly limited because it does not support image flipping, so selfie shots won’t be very practical right now. Although Tilta has said that a firmware that will add this feature is coming in the future. However there is far more to this than meets the eye. The modification has opened up several other opportunities to add extra capabilities to the camera. To begin with there’s space for an NVMe SSD to fit neatly behind the monitor. This removes the current need to mount an SSD on an external cage with a cable. The effect of this on the camera’s usability could be quite profound., It could make it much easier to use in run & gun situations without fearing if the USB-C cable will fall out or get damaged for instance. Tilta BMPCC Display Modification Kit adds a new external control port. Image: Tilta New Side Panel The new SSD bay is made possible by replacing the camera’s original side panel, which houses all the interface ports. It adds in a USB-C interface behind the monitor so that the SSD can be placed there without the need for cables. Replacing the side panel also provides other benefits. For example there’s a new external control port, which will let the camera’s record functions be controlled by Tilta’s side handles. The company has promised that it will be adding more functionality at a later date via firmware. Conclusion cinema5D will be featuring a full review of the Tilta BMPCC Display Modification Kit soon, but for now all the indications are that this will be a very useful addition to the camera indeed. The lightweight metal and carbon construction means that it doesn’t increase the weight of the camera too much, and it all looks very neat. My prediction is that it will make the camera much more usable without the need for bulky add on equipment. Tilta makes a really nice side handle that can house a Sony F series battery. The Display Modification Kit combined with a half cage, battery side handle and top handle could make for an incredibly compact run & gun option. The kit is available to order now for US $278 for the SATA version, US$299 for the NVMe variation, and for an additional US$249 Tilta will install the kit for you. But this is only available to US customers presently. I have a feeling that the company will be pretty busy in the months to come! In case you missed our popular hands-on video with the Tilta BMPCC Display Modification Mod from IBC last year, be sure to check it out here: Let us know if you’ll be buying the mod kit for your BMPCC in the comments below!

Blackmagic Design just released the new Camera V6.8 firmware update for both Pocket 4K and 6K cameras. The new firmware improves camera stratup times and USB PTP control performance, and it fixes the issue with slow mounting of media containing large number of clips. Further, it fixes the issue with EF lens stabilization for the Pocket 6K camera. Blackmagic Design Camera v6.8 for BMPCC 4K and 6K released. Image credit: cinema5D Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K and 6K both offer very nice image quality for the price. Although the cameras do have some shortcommings, which often need to be adressed by third party solutions (powering, media, etc.), they have gotten quite popular among filmmakers. To know more about these cameras, or to refresh some features and specs, make sure to check one of our older articles: Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K Hands-On Review BMPCC 6K Review & Footage – Five Reasons to Like the Pocket 6K Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Lab Test – Dynamic Range, Latitude, Rolling Shutter & More BMPCC 6K vs. BMPCC 4K – Which one is for you? Back in October 2019, Blackmagic Design has released Camera V6.6 firmware update, which brought some new recording modes, improved autofocus, and brought some more fixes. Now, they release the next update Camera V6.8. Blackmagic Design Camera V6.8 Firmware Update As Blackmagic Design published in their post today, the Camera V6.8 update is now live on their Support Center Website. Blackmagic Design Camera v6.8 for BMPCC 4K and 6K released. Image credit: BMD/cinema5D New features for Pocket Cinema Camera 4K: Improved camera startup time. Improved USB PTP control performance. Increased 4K 2.40:1 recording height from 1712 to 1720. Fixed issue with slow mounting of media containing large number of clips. New features for Pocket Cinema Camera 6K: Improved camera startup time. Improved USB PTP control performance. Fixed issue with slow mounting of media containing large number of clips. Fixed issue where EF lens stabilization cannot be turned on if camera is started with lens stablization turned off. The new Camera V6.8 firmware update is available as a free download through Blackmagic Design Support Center Website. Do you use one of the Blackmagic Pocket cameras for your video work? Did you have any of the issues listed above? Let us know in the comments underneath the article.

2019 was the busiest year in cinema5D’s history yet – we published a mind-boggling 725 articles. Out of these 725 articles, these are 10 that attracted the most interest among our audience. Let’s take a closer look back what moved you in 2019! 1. SIGMA fp – A Full Frame, yet Pocket-Sized Camera with Cine Mode & SIGMA fp Review – First Impression, Sample Footage and Lab Test Results In July, SIGMA surprisingly announced the SIGMA fp camera – a tiny, modular full-frame mirrorless camera that aspires to be the perfect photo and filmmaking package in an increasingly crowded market. We had early access to the camera and shot the first video about it. This became the most popular post we published in 2019, and the follow-up review post which included some of the first footage shot with the camera, made it into our top posts too. Here’s the initial footage from the camera that we captured. 2. Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Announced – Super 35 Sensor and EF Mount Another surprise camera announcement, this time in August, was the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K. Nobody expected Blackmagic to announce another version of their Pocket Cinema Camera only a year after the first one – when many preorders of the Pocket 4K version weren’t fulfilled yet. We can confirm that the Pocket 6K became hugely popular, both by the interest in anything we reported about it (including our renowned Lab Test, Pocket 6K Footage and a side-by-side comparison between the Pocket 4K and 6K). Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K 3. DJI Osmo Action Versus GoPro HERO7 – The King of Action Cams Dethroned? Many have expected DJI to enter the action camera market for a long time already, and May 2019 was the time it happened: The DJI Osmo Action is aiming to dethrone GoPro from their throne as the market leader in action cameras. DJI gave us early access to the Osmo Action and we put it side-by-side with the HERO7 (which at the time was still GoPro’s top model, and it has since been replaced with the HERO8). Watch the results below if you have missed it. 4. SIRUI 50mm f/1.8 1.33x Lens Announced – Affordable APS-C Anamorphic Lens Affordable anamorphic lenses are a rarity still – which essentially means if a company announces one, people go crazy about it. That was the case with Chinese manufacturer SIRUI. I overheard a conversation about this lens at IBC and we rushed to their booth, and we loved what we saw – a 50mm f/1.8 1.33x anamorphic lens which is available for $699 (regular price). Beautiful flares on the prototype, nice oval bokeh, anything you would expect from an anamorphic lens. Recently, we also reviewed the lens on the FUJIFILM X-T3, read what Johnnie has to say about it and watch the video below in case you missed it. 5. Panasonic LUMIX S1 – Closer Look and Sample Footage – A New Lowlight King? Panasonic was definitely late to the full-frame mirrorless game, but they gave their best – and ended up releasing a truly impressive line-up of cameras that offer a lot of (video) features that their competitors are still missing. The Panasonic S1 ended up being a particularly intriguing product especially after receiving a firmware update to support V-Log, and not least because of its relatively low price we only recently selected it to be  our mirrorless camera of the year. 6. What’s Inside a RED Mini-Mag? The Controversy & Jarred Land’s Statement There has been considerable conundrum around RED this past year – for one, RED’s attempt at a holographic phone failed spectacularly with the discontinuation of the HYDROGEN project and Jim Jannard’s retirement. For another, a guy named Bruce Royce from Jinni Tech, a company building cheaper Mini-Mags for RED cameras, started posting YouTube videos dissecting RED’s original Mini-Mags, claiming that he found only inexpensive off-the-shelf-components rather than the expected (and promised) high-performance hardware. We reached out to RED CEO Jarred Land and he replied with a lengthy statement which we published in this post. The post made waves on the Internet by being quoted by large YouTubers like Linus Tech Tips. After a second post on the matter (RED reduced the price on their Mini-Mags and Jinni Tech released another video), we decided to let the topic go. 480GB SSD inside 512GB RED Mini Mag. Source: RED Filmmaker (c5D knows the identity) 7. Sony a7 III and a7R III Firmware 3.0 Update Brings Timelapse and Better Autofocus Two of Sony’s top-of the line mirrorless cameras received firmware updates earlier this year, and not so much ofter that, the a7R III was succeeded with the a7R IV. The major updates reflect what Sony has been working on hard on all their cameras (including the professional line, see FX9 below): Incredibly reliable autofocus for video, in this particular case also for animals. Animal-eye-AF – one of the new features of the firmware 3.0. Source: Sony 8. Panasonic LUMIX S1H – Full Specs & Details, First Look at the 6K Full-Frame Mirrorless Panasonic pushed really hard with their mirrorless camera offerings this year, and after announcing the S1 and S1R, they also released a filmmaking-focused Panasonic S1H. That camera in particular puts many competing offers in the corner when it comes to video feature functionality, low light performance and resolution. This was our first look at the 6K full-frame beast at a press event in Hamburg. Here’s our full review, and here’s our lab test. 9. RED KOMODO Teasers: Compact 6K Camera with Canon RF Mount RED has been teasing a new “entry-level” RED camera, the RED KOMODO, during 2019. It’s supposedly going to be a small, 6K-shooting camera with a Canon RF mount, and the rest is mostly “what we don’t know” at this point, in typical RED-fashion. That new RED KOMODO teasers came a day after the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K was announced comes at no surprise, RED is under pressure with more and more compact cameras offering RAW output or even internal recording (like Blackmagic cameras utilizing the still-new Blackmagic RAW codec). Image credit: Jarred Land 10. Sony FX9 Announced – Full-Frame, Fast Hybrid Autofocus, Dual ISO Camera Last but not least in our top 10 posts of 2019 (based on audience traffic), we have the announcement of the Sony FX9, Sony’s new full-frame professional E-Mount camera, featuring the first major sensor upgrade (to the backlit full-frame EXMOR R sensor) in their professional E-Mount camcorder lineup since 2012. Believe it or not, but the preceding EXMOR Super35mm sensor has been in use since the Sony FS100 was released. The FX9 is the de-facto FS7 successor (even if Sony says that isn’t the case), but it’s upgraded in every single way, probably most notably the impressive autofocus and super-light-sensitive full-frame sensor. You might already hear my excitement, I decided to buy one (the FS7 has been my main camera for my professional work for the past 5+ years), so expect the usual rigorous testing and reviewing about the FX9 that you’re used to from cinema5D in early 2020.  Big Changes Coming in 2020 for cinema5D To round off our look back on 2019, it’s time to give you a teaser of 2020 and what’s in store for our site. It’s been in existence for 11 years now and it is truly no exaggeration to announce that 2020 is going to show the biggest changes to the site since its inception. It’s going to be fully relaunched within the first months of 2020 (exact timing tba), with new look, new logo and new …. well, you will see. We are also committed to making this site even more useful for all filmmakers in many ways, adding lots of educational resources over time. We can’t say more yet but it’s safe to say that 2020 is going to be our most exciting year so far. Onwards and upwards! We thank you all for your continued support over all those years. We are listening to your requests and we’re looking forward to creating the filmmaking tech site you always wanted. Thanks for the amazing ride so far and good luck and much health in 2020 wishes you the entire cinema5D team from around the globe. Let us know YOUR highlights of 2019! Please comment below. 

Slowly but surely, the year 2019 is fading out, and there is no better time to conclude and see if there is a camera we can declare as the clear winner of this year. Blackmagic Design, Panasonic, Leica, SIGMA, FUJIFILM and Sony – all those respected manufacturers worked hard to satisfy our (production) video needs. Did any of them do exceptionally well, catching our attention?  Let’s dive in and see.  Large sensor photo cameras that can shoot high quality video? Touchy subject… Remember all those who predicted that VDSLRs or mirrorless cameras will be abandoned by users  the moment “true” large sensor video cameras will appear? Well, the truth is quite the opposite. We’ve never seen such a wide selection of offerings fuelled by massive competition between camera manufacturers – in our hearts, as well as pockets. As active content creators who value the “tools”, of course we should be happy. Technical progress is being made year after year, picture quality is getting better, functionality is being enhanced and prices, in general, are becoming comfortable. But is there a good reason for joy? The Future – Will Mobile Phones Eat Everybody’s Lunch? I’m actually choosing to continue my article with a melancholic perspective. It is no secret that the traditional camera market is rapidly shrinking and sales are dropping sharply. Is there any single reason to take the blame? Is the giant quantum leap that mobile phone manufacturers have made, when it comes to capturing images, the reason? – Maybe. Reading the market, respected traditional camera manufacturers find themselves having to look for alternative sources of income. Even the ones who have never believed that video in stills cameras is valuable had to go along with the trend. But, is this move enough to survive in this market? Is there a way to “combat” the increasing dominance of mobile phones for anyone but professional photographers and video shooters? In my opinion, these are relevant questions – especially as smartphones have reached a level of functionality and speed where average users are content with the phone they have, the manufacturers’ way to show progress is by enhancing the photo and video capabilities of their devices. The amount of money being poured into the development of smartphone cameras can’t be matched by the investment of any traditional camera manufacturer! Now, if you’ve been asking yourself why am I drilling your brain instead of getting to the point (this article is about the best camera of the year, after all), it is because this may be the last year where our list consists of traditional cameras. I bet that 2020 or 2021 will look completely different, unless we as users will show responsibility and try to support those companies who are doing so much for us by planning, developing, manufacturing and selling their cameras. (And for complete transparency, we at cinema5D will cover, report and test upcoming mobile phone cameras too, yet at the same time, of course, without compromising the attention we give to more “traditional” filmmaking tools, too). OK, now that this is off my chest (not really, but as Elsa from Frozen said “let it go”), let’s be reminded of what we’ve covered this year and believe me, it was an extremely busy one! Instead of going the “usual way” and divide entries by sensor sizes, I’ve decided on two strengths. Picture Quality and Technical Achievements are the sub categories I chose to go with. If you guys feels like I’ve missed or neglected anything, please don’t hesitate to jump in. Please join the conversation and add your comment in the section down below. Camera of the Year 2019 – Technical Achievements Hope you guys will agree with me. There are NO bad cameras anymore. Some filming devices which do the job better than others, but all in all, we could have just dreamed about such performance and quality (especially for the price) a few years back. In fact, the best camera of the year 2018, the FUJIFILM X-T3 is still serving me very well. At times, I even wonder if any of the 2019 offerings really surpasses it, to the point where it’s worth considering exchanging… Anyways. For me personally, three cameras stood out of the crowd when it comes to technical achievements. FUJIFILM with their GFX 100, SIGMA with their fp camera, and Panasonic with their S1H. Each one for very different reasons. The forth candidate is Sony with their advanced autofocus system that can be found in the new a6600 and a7R IV. (Animal lovers can surly appreciate the new Animal AF technology). FUJIFILM GFX 100 – Defining Large Sensor Video Recording ($9,999) During this year, I was lucky enough to document the birth of FUJIFILM’s GFX 100 (please watch our BTS videos below and witness how magic happens). What really caught my attention during filming, was seeing how dedicated and committed the people behind the project are! For us the filmmaker crowd, 100 million pixels might prove to be not so relevant, but the large stabilized sensor size is of course revolutionary. Never before was it possible or so easy to pick up such a camera and shoot handheld video, with such clarity and quality. True, the price is not for everyone, but now that FUJIFILM have declared the medium format sensor format to be their “full frame device”, I wish they will consider going the same path for a fully video orientated camera at a more affordable price. FUJIFILM GFX 100 Main Advantages: Large format sensor 4K (DCI), All Intra, 10-bit, up to 400 Mbps internal recording Excellent Internal Body Stabilisation System Eterna Picture Profile built in Good built-in audio I also want to encourage you guys to take a look at Philip Bloom’s full length documentary,“Charmolipi: joy making sorrow”. It was shot with the GFX 100 and is a great example of deploying it in the field! Below: Our 2 part documentary. How the FUJIFILM GFX 100 is being made: SIGMA fp – When Small Form Factor becomes Beautiful and Capable ($1,899) SIGMA have caught the filmmaking community by surprise. No one really expected the successful lens manufacturer to come up with a revolutionary filmmaking device. We were lucky enough to witness and document the process of manufacturing the camera and also given the opportunity to test and review one of the first units before it was commercially available. As an advocate of compact and capable filming cameras, I think that SIGMA brought some playful fresh wind into our traditional (ageing?) industry. Backed by its own supporting accessories, this “joyful to use” fp camera has the true potential to shake things up and pave its way to glory. It is the smallest full frame camera out there that supports internal and external Cinema DNG RAW recording, (external compressed RAW recording via HDMI will be available soon too). Of course, there are some shortcomings (no camera is perfect), and I would have loved seeing better autofocus and an internal body stabilisation system included, for example, but in this particular “Best Camera of the Year ” article, seeing the full half of the cup is shading the empty part. SIGMA fp Main Advantages: Full frame TRUE pocket camera Uncompressed RAW recording (internal up to 8 bit and externally up to 12 bit) Lots of technology is packed into this little marvel, but what I like best is the support SIGMA is offering with their own custom made accessories. Additional SIGMA fp information – including our lab test – can be obtained by clicking here. Panasonic S1H – Feature-Packed and Ready for (Netflix) Show Time ($3,999) Waiting for the Sony a7S III? Well, the wait is over. The Panasonic S1H is here. (My humour has to be taken lightly…) This very capable, packed-with-features camera was introduced in segments, just a little at a time. Panasonic managed to equip the camera with an endless list of resolutions, bit and frame rates to choose from, all the way up to 6K. While the video quality this camera can produce is nice, I’ll repeat mentioning its Achilles heel. The internal noise reduction being implemented within is simply too strong, up to the point of the image becoming too clean. Panasonic S1H Main Advantages: Internal high quality recording Very flexible camera. Choosing the desired recording mode/frame rate/resolution/bit rate is a breeze Excellent In Body Stabilisation System Excellent EVF Very good lowlight capability 3:2 sensor. A good match to anamorphic lenses Dual ISO sensor Additional Panasonic S1H information – including our lab test – can be obtained by clicking here. Sony – Taking Autofocus to the Next Possible Level Sony was very active this year by offering a variety of 1”, APS-C and full frame mirrorless cameras but at the end of the day, the video functionality of all those cameras is rather equal. (Limited to 100 Mbps data rate, Long GOP encoding, up to 30 fps and more). The only noticeable field where Sony has shown advanced operation with their current offerings is the autofocus functionality. All of their newer cameras can autofocus nicely, but as a “proof of concept”, I chose to include the following a6400 video: What’s noteworthy about the current top-model of their APS-C cameras, the Sony a6600, it now has image stabilization built in, and uses the larger, MUCH better batteries now. In fact, I was so impressed with the autofocus performance of the a6400 when I tested it that I publicly (half-jokingly) asked our audience if the “End of manual focus lenses is near“. This is yet to be seen, but for now, as we are under the Technical Achievements section, I feel this is where Sony should be placed. Camera of the Year 2019 – Picture Quality The more I review stuff, I think its fair to say, the more subjective I see and define things – and “picture quality” is indeed one of those things where subjectivity is important to remember. Having said that, with so many cameras going in an out of our hands, I think we have developed a certain sense for it. Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera 6K – Mojo, High Quality Internal Recording, APS-C sensor ($2,495) Let me start with sharing a small “behind the scenes” detail. It is no secret that we are proud to be affiliated with B&H and CVP. The affiliate income helps us move our boat forward (at no additional cost for you guys if you buy through any of our links). It also allows us to see what sells well, almost in real-time, and let me tell you, never in our cinema5D history, have we seen so many cameras being sold right after the official announcement. Obviously, from the filmmaking community’s perspective, Blackmagic did something right! We can debate on which camera is more functional and attractive to buy, the BMPCC 4K or BMPCC 6K, but with no doubt, this family of cameras can produce amazing, high-quality footage “out of the box”. In this regard, “mojo” (or texture of image) is very appealing, simply because it is very organic. BMPCC 6K Main Advantages: Small camera Excellent picture quality (very organic look) Robust recording codecs, including compressed RAW recording (BMRAW) and ProRes Dual ISO sensor Choice of recording media Additional Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K information – including our lab test – can be obtained by clicking here. For the full camera review, please click here. Leica SL2 – Such an Appeal, If Only I had the Funds, Then…($5,995) As always, I’ll be completely open and transparent with you guy and say that the Leica SL2 is the camera that excites me most (Alongside to the FUJIFILM GFX 100), when it comes to video footage aesthetics. True, I had a very short encounter with it and also true that if you look carefully, you will notice how the ugly head of Moiré is rising, BUT, a few things to remember: The original SL has already shown a very interesting organic look. In addition, Leica was kind enough to shed some light on and explain why the Moiré is happening. As a result of their explanation, I’m very eager to conduct a full camera review and see how the camera behaves while filming in full frame again, but this time together with less sharp lenses, or, in APS-C mode where the camera is supposed to deliver even cleaner video images. Seeing how closely Leica and Panasonic cooperate, even more so with the Leica SL2 (Panasonic S1R, anybody?), it is truly fascinating to witness the differences between those two cameras – especially when it comes to processing the video image. As mentioned before, while Panasonic is trying to keep it “super clean”, the Leica SL2 is quite the opposite. No noise reduction is applied to the images and the result is very pleasing! Leica SL2 Main Advantages: Very organic filmic images Excellent IBIS (In Body Stabilisation System) Excellent EVF Minimalistic button layout yet easy to operate Well controlled rolling shutter effect For our first impression review, please click here. Mirrorless Camera of the Year 2019 – Panasonic S1 ($2,498) OK, time to reveal our choice and yes, this is correct, no mistake in writing was made here (just in case you thought we meant “S1H”). This year, it was not easy AT ALL to choose a winner. There are A LOT of good cameras out there, yet none that really shine in a way of completely shadowing others. Saying that, after lots of sleepless nights and miles and miles of walking up and down inside the office, we have made the decision of nominating the Panasonic S1 as our winner! (Congratulations, Panasonic.) At the end of the day, the included camera features backed by a relatively affordable price led us to the conclusion above. It can be that Panasonic took the S1 a bit too far, offering a set of video features that makes their own S1H camera a questionable buy for a lot more money. For us, this is the case. All in all the two cameras (S1H and S1) do share a lot, and depending on your usage, the S1 offers the better price/performance ratio. If you are serious about video making, pay the extra and get yourself the S1 upgrade that unlocks V-Log. Greater Dynamic Range, flexibility when coloring (As you can shoot in V-Log), 10-bit internal and external recoding, and even manual control when shooting high frame rate when downloading the latest firmware, all there! Panasonic S1 Main Advantages: Shares many of the video capabilities of its higher spec and more expensive sibling, the S1H Full frame camera Excellent In Body Stabilisation System Great EVF Flexibility of choosing from a wide range of recording codecs, frame and data rates Great lowlight capability Additional Panasonic S1 information – including our Rolling Shutter test – can be obtained by clicking here. For our complete Panasonic S1 review, please click here. That’s it guys, here you go. We would love to hear your opinion on our decision. Now, we are looking forward to what 2020 will bring, and there is a lot to look forward to. All I can say is, the Tokyo Olympic games are happening in Japan next year and there is no better opportunity for Japanese manufacturers to show leadership and dominance. Stay tuned! 

PortKeys, a company specialized in HDMI and SDI field monitors, has just announced a new Bluetooth Module for their PortKeys BM5 field monitors. This add-on accessory screws directly to the back of the BM5 and allows you to control your BMPCC 4K/6K cameras wirelessly. Let’s take a closer look at it! PortKeys BM5 and BM5 II Earlier this year, PortKeys introduced the BM5 field monitor, an impressive little display that can control your camera. If you never heard of the PortKeys BM5 before, it is a 5-inch 1080P WLED touchscreen display that features an HDMI and SDI input, and an SDI output with cross-conversion. It is powered via a single Sony NP-F style battery, and you can use the power output of the BM5 to feed your camera via a dummy battery. Also, you can power it with an external battery by using the Lemo port on the monitor. The PortKeys BM5 is daylight-viewable with a maximum brightness of 2000nit – the newest BM5 II monitor is 2200nit – and it is entirely made out of aluminum for a total weight of 350 grams. The list of built-in monitoring tools is quite impressive and includes 3D LUT monitoring, waveform/false color/zebra, peaking and zooming, HDR support, and framing guides/grids/aspects. But, the real advantage of the BM5 over its competitors – other than the incredible $499 price – is the control port at the back of the monitor. By connecting the monitor to your camera, you can control various functions like start/stop the recording, change your ISO settings, adjust the focus settings… etc. It is already compatible with the Z Cam E2, Sony/Canon/Panasonic cameras. But, PortKeys just introduced a new Bluetooth Module that pushes the capabilities of the BM5 a little further. Image credit: PortKeys PortKeys Bluetooth Module for BM5 Monitors The new PortKeys Bluetooth Module for BM5/BM5 II monitors screws directly to the back of the monitor. This update is especially exciting for BMPCC 4K/6K users. First, you will have access to the daylight/tiltable screen of the BM5. Second, you will be able to control your camera via the monitor wirelessly. The number of settings you can adjust via the BM5 is imposing; please see the full list below. Image credit: PortKeys Also, the PortKeys Bluetooth Module adds support for Sony a7II/a7III/a7RIV/a9 cameras, and Tilta Nucleus-N/M follow focuses. Unfortunately, you will have to plug a cable from the monitor to your camera/follow focus to have access to these functions. Image credit: PortKeys Pricing and Availability The PortKeys Bluetooth Module for BM5 monitors retails for $119/99€, and you can pre-order it directly on PortKeys’ website. It should ship from the 30th of November. What do you think of the PortKeys Bluetooth Module? Do you think it is useful for the BMPCC 4K/6K cameras? Do you already have the PortKeys BM5 monitor? Let us know in the comments!