The new Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K has landed. It offers (up to) 6K resolution, a Super 35 sensor, and a Canon EF mount. Aside from those changes, what are the main differences (or similarities) between this one and the older Pocket Cinema 4K? In case you are already a proud owner of the 4K version, will it make sense to upgrade? In the above video and in this article I’ve tried to answer this question.  BMPCC 6K (Left) VS BMPCC 4K (Right) Blackmagic Design, the company who engraved on its flag to cater us, the filmmakers, with high quality “on the budget” tools for filming/editing and postproduction, has done it again by delivering a camera that obviously managed to stir our swamp. Personally, in all my cinema5D years, I haven’t seen such a phenomenon where people endorse a camera so fast. Probably Blackmagic Design did something right. Apparently, when it comes to “value for money”, people are more forgiving when some (important) features are missing. But for now, let’s leave usability aside as this is not the essence of this article. 8Sinn cage. Perfect fit Stay Tune – Three Parts Continues Coverage As this camera proved to be of great interest for many, we’ve decided to dedicate the extra time to review it inside out. Here in part one, I’m talking about how the new camera compares to the older BMPCC 4K. The second part, which I took the new BMPCC 6K for a short spin and shot a short documentary with it, will see the day of light early next week.  The third part is a bit more technical. Gunther, my colleague, will conduct aDynamic Range, Latitude and Rolling shutter tests during next week. Of course, we will share our results with you guys as soon as we have them ready. EF Mount VS Micro Forth Third Mount BMPCC 6K vs. BMPCC 4K – The Differences 6K Resolution: Let me start from the obvious… Unlike its 4K brother (or is it sister?), the new 6K camera can be used for filming in up to 6K resolution in different frame rates. The nice thing is, that even when filming in the highest resolution and codec, a fast SD card can still be used for convenient internal recording. (BM RAW 3:1, 6144 x 3456. We heartily recommend using Angelbird V90 cards. They are fast and reliable). Mind you that this will work when filming in 24/25p. If your wish is to film in 50/60p, CFast 2.0 cards will become your best friend. Both cards options are rather limited when it comes to capacity, so a feasible solution will be to use an external SSD. Again, I can recommend using Angelbird as I’m yet to be disappointed with their media quality or, customer service. (Wish the same could have been said about Lexar. What a horrible customer service experience. NEVER again!). By the way, speaking of resolution, mind you that recording in 6K is available in Blackmagic RAW codec only. (4K can be recorded in ProRes). I guess Blackmagic design wanting people to convert and use their DaVinci resolve platform for the purpose of editing. S35 sensor: Unlike its sister (or is it brother?), the sensor inside this camera is larger than the one found inside its 4K sibling. (Super 35 vs. Micro Four Third). In fact, it is a little bit smaller than other S35 sensors, especially those made by Canon, but who are we be too so picky… In general, the advantages of having a larger sensor are a wider field of view, easily manipulating depth of filed and, depending on the sensor pixel count (and pixels size), better lowlight capability. Active Canon EF Mount: BMPCC 4K has a Micro Four Third lens mount. The new BMPCC 6K is now equipped with an EF lens mount. It’s absolutely legit to ask if Blackmagic did the right choice here, but in all honesty, I do understand why they went this way. The good thing, it’s time to air brush some dusty EF mount lenses. I thought I’ll never use them again… The less good thing, any other modern mount could have taken this camera to a different level when it comes to lens usage flexibility (shorter flange, bigger chance for adaptivity). In a way, that’s where the older BMPCC 4K shines. The MFT mount is very adaptable. Throw a Metabones Speed Booster EF to MFT ULTRA  0.71X on it and bang, your field of view becomes wider (even more than the one found in the new camera), and on top, you gain one stop of light. As a result of using the EF mount on the new BMPCC 6K camera, NOT all cages suited to the 4K model will fit. We can confirm that 8Sin and SmallRig cages will. In regards to Tilta’s cage, “as is”, the cage WILL NOT fit. With a little adjustment that forces one to move the front nose part (“Tilta’s logo”) and the very small rubber band under it, it will fit, BUT it will also be VERY tight and can cause some scratches to the camera body itself. Photo capabilities:  Up to 21.2MP still image capture. This is an improvement over the 8MP the BMPCC 4K offered. Will test this feature when in the field. Price:  BMPCC 6K is $2,495 and the BMPCC 4K is $1,295. No doubt that both camera prices are fair, yet, it is a difference that should be mentioned. Same Inputs and Outputs BMPCC 6K vs. BMPCC 4K – The Similarities Where to start. Both cameras share so much together. Excellent OS (The best in the industry to my taste), color science, 1920 x 1080 touchscreen 5″ LCD, buttons layout, general camera body structure (but the upper EF mount and lower ventilation ribs). Inputs/outputs, power options. Even the battery life is almost the same. The advantage goes to the new 6K camera as it was running about 6 minutes longer… (Yehhh). When it comes to autofocus performance, both cameras showed inconsistency, so each did a bit better on a different round (long story short, both behaved the same). Weight-wise, the BMCC 6K is 168g heavier. I guess I can live with this… When it comes to low light, I’ll try and take a closer look, but for now, it looks as if both are performing in a similar way. Dual native ISO values are the same, the cleanest image should be obtained when using ISO 400 and ISO 3200. Last but not least, even the rolling shutter effect seems to be visually similar. As I wrote before, we will test and come up with a number soon. BMPCC 6K Conclusion: Both, the old BMPCC 4K and new BMPCC 6K are very efficient filming devices. At the end of the day, it really depends on your needs and budget. I guess if I was a BMPCC 4K owner, I wouldn’t rush to replace my camera, while if I was in the market for purchasing a new capable device, the BMPCC 6K would certainly be a candidate to capture the top of my list. Music for the above video is courtesy of MusicVine. Get 25% off your next music license with code C5D25 (valid for one use per customer). If you are an owner of the BMPCC 4K, please share with us your thoughts. Did it cross your mind to change your beloved 4K camera? If yes, did you pull the trigger? I’m genuinely interested to know why. 

LucAdapters is currently redesigning their Magicbooster for the Blackmagic URSA Mini cameras to fit the new BMPCC 6K. The optical adapter inserts directly between the EF lens mount and the sensor and it will reduce the crop factor from 1.5 to 1.1 and add 1 stop of light. That will result in (almost) full-frame look while retaining all the functionality and EF lens mount of the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K. BMPCC 6K equipped with Magicbooster. Source: LucAdapters LucAdapters is a small Italian company, which specializes in optical focal reducers – also known as speed boosters. Years ago, the company released the world’s first NX mount speed booster for the Samsung NX1 camera. Recently, LucAdapters has been designing and selling Magicboosters – optical focal reducers for Blackmagic URSA cameras. The Magicboosters only work on URSA Mini 4K and 4.6K, they don’t function on URSA Mini PRO cameras – most likely because of the built-in variable ND filter. Magicbooster is an optical element, which is inserted directly inside the EF mount in front of the sensor. The variable ND would probably stand in the way. The recently released Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K (our article is available here) actually has a lot in common with URSA Mini cameras – a Super 35 image sensor, Canon EF mount, and the lack of the internal variable ND filter. That means there is a certain unused space between the mount and the sensor, which could be utilized. This is what Magicbooster looks like – URSA Mini Version. Source: LucAdapters That’s exactly where LucAdapters come in. The company announced they are currently adapting their Magicbooster to fit the BMPCC 6K. Thanks to its optical design it will reduce the crop factor almost to the equivalent of full-frame sensors – from 1.5 to 1.1. It will also add one stop of light. There are unfortunately no MTF charts available to see the quality of Magicbooster – if and how it degrades the image quality. LucAdapters has a lot of various tests with the URSA Mini Magicbooster on their Youtube channel, so feel free to check these out and get the idea about the overall image quality. I think it is actually quite good. As I mentioned earlier, the Magicbooster is not a traditional Speedbooster which goes between the lens and the lens mount. It is more of an insert – a group of lenses that fits inside the camera. It requires a bit of an effort to install it and once it is in, you will most likely not remove it anytime soon. The Magicbooster is certainly not a good solution for frequent mounting and unmounting. The following video demonstrates the Magicbooster installing process for URSA Mini 4K and 4.6K cameras. I am also not sure if such a modification voids the warranty for the camera or not. Please note, that with the Magicbooster installed, the BMPCC 6K can only be used with full-frame EF lenses. APS-C lenses will suffer from heavy vignetting as the crop factor gets significantly reduced. It seems like LucAdapters will try to offer their Magicbooster via a Kickstarter Campaign. For now, the company launched a draft page on Kickstarter to collect feedback. We will keep you updated as soon as there are more details about the exact way of distribution. According to the Kickstarter draft page, the Magicbooster will be available for €499 plus VAT (roughly €599 with VAT) in the EU countries. For the rest of the world, the price will be €499 which is now about US $559. LucAdapters estimates to start shipping the Magicboosters in November 2019. What do you think of the Magicbooster? Would you get it for your BMPCC 6K? Let us know in the comments underneath the article.

Blackmagic Design today announced the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K, a new handheld camera with a Super 35 sized 6K HDR image sensor, 13 stops of dynamic range, an EF lens mount and dual native ISO up to 25,600. BMPCC 6K is supposed to be available immediately and the price has been set to US $2,495 (including DaVinci Resolve license). Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Blackmagic Design shared some exciting news today. They announced new Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K, DaVinci Resolve 16.1 public beta, and a new performance measurement tool – Blackmagic RAW Speed Test. This article only covers the new BMPCC 6K camera. For the other news, please check our second article. The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K (BMPCC 4K) was announced at NAB 2018 – nearly one and a half years ago. Since then it got fairly popular among filmmakers. Mostly because of the high quality video codecs, great dynamic range, dual ISO, and overall great selection of resolutions and framerates. On the other hand, the camera’s build quality and power management are not that great. And, unlike its predecessor, it’s not pocket-sized anymore. For more information about the BMPCC 4K, please check Nino’s hands-on review of the camera. Today Blackmagic announces the new Pocket 6K. The company states that the BMPCC 6K is very different from the Pocket 4K in specifications and price, being a higher resolution EF lens based solution. The Pocket 6K sits between the Pocket 4K and URSA Mini Pro G2, complimenting the range, rather than replacing the Pocket 4K. What are the new Pocket 6K specs? Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K First and foremost, BMPCC 6K features a larger Super 35 sensor with a resolution of 6144 x 3456 (16:9 ratio). Just like the URSA Mini line of cameras, the Pocket 6K utilizes the Canon EF lens mount. The new camera will shoot in the following resolutions: up to 50 fps at 6144 x 3456 16:9 up to 60 fps at 6144 x 2560 2.4:1 up to 60 fps at 5744 x 3024 17:9 up to 120 fps at 2.8K 2868 x 1512 17:9 (windowed mode with higher crop) true anamorphic 6:5 mode in 3.7K 60 fps at 3728 x 3104 The new Pocket 6K features same dual gain ISO as the 4K version – ISO 400 and 3200 (maximum ISO value is 25,600). Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Recording works in 10-bit Apple ProRes files in all formats up to 4K or 12-bit Blackmagic RAW in all formats up to 6K. The camera features built-in CFast and SD UHS-II card slots, and a USB-C expansion port for recording directly to an external SSD. Media cards and disks can be formatted in HFS+ for Mac and ExFAT for Windows. In terms of dynamic range, Blackmagic Design claims the new camera will have 13 stops (just like the BMPCC 4K). Just a reminder – in our hands-on review with the BMPCC 4K during cinema5D lab test we measured 11.6 stops of dynamic range for a signal to noise ratio of 2 (12.7 stops for a signal to noise ratio of 1) at ISO 400 (10.5 and 11.8 stops for ISO 3200) in ProRes 4K DCI 25p. BMPCC 6K body is made from lightweight carbon fiber polycarbonate composite. The camera features a multifunction handgrip with all controls for recording, ISO, WB, and shutter angle reachable by one hand. Just like the BMPCC 4K, it has the large 5 inch touchscreen LCD in the back to help with precise manual focus at high resolutions. The camera supports “touch to focus” controls. Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K We said this many times already and I will say it again – Blackmagic camera menu is one of the best and most straightforward solutions for cameramen and all Japanese manufacturers with complicated menus could take an example from Blackmagic. The BMPCC 6K menu interface stays the same as with other Blackmagic cameras, which is good. The Blackmagic OS interface uses simple tap and swipe gestures to adjust settings, add metadata and view recording status. On screen overlays show status, a histogram, focus and peaking indicators, levels, frame guides, playback controls and more. The new Pocket 6K features the same Generation 4 Color Science as the high-end URSA Mini Pro G2 for accurate skin tones and pleasing colors. The camera works with industry standard 17 and 33 point 3D LUT files, or users can work with the built-in LUTs such as Extended Video, Film to Video, Film to Rec.2020 and more. Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K The camera includes a full size HDMI connector for monitoring with support for HDR and clean 10-bit output. There’s also a mini XLR connection with 48 volt phantom power for attaching professional microphones, a 3.5 mm video camera style microphone input, and headphone connection. When it comes to power, Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K uses standard removable LP-E6 type batteries and also features a locking DC power connector. The included AC plug pack can power the camera and charge the battery at the same time. The USB-C expansion port can also be used to charge the battery from portable battery packs, mobile phone chargers or a laptop computer. The new BMPCC 6K is also compatible with the Blackmagic Pocket Battery Grip. The BMPCC 6K also includes built-in timecode generator to keep multiple cameras synced. After plugging in an external timecode generator such as Tentacle Sync into the 3.5 mm audio jack, the camera will automatically detect timecode and lock the internal generator. The new DaVinci Resolve 16.1 will automatically find and sync the shots from all cameras. The camera also supports still frame capture up to 21.2 megapixel and remote camera control via Bluetooth. Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K compared with the 4K version Price and Availability Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K is available now for US $2,495. Just like BMPCC 4K, the 6K version also includes a full version of DaVinci Resolve Studio. The price is incredible given the camera’s specs and I really hope Blackmagic will be able to accommodate the demand quickly enough this time. Blackmagic Design also thinks on their customers who are currently waiting for their ordered BMPCC 4K. The company will support any customers who wish to transition a Pocket 4K back order to the new Pocket 6K. They advise that customer wishing to do so should speak with their authorized reseller. What do you think about the new Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K? Are you going to include it in your kit? Let us know in the comments underneath the article.