Blackmagic Pocket Camera 6k Pro
Barb Frison
The initial version of the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera was announced in April 2013. It featured a Super 16 1080p sensor and a Micro Four Thirds mount. It was initially only capable of recording in Apple ProRes, though a later updated allowed recording of CinemaDNG Raw.[1]
In April of 2018, Blackmagic Design announced an updated model, the Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, at a launch price of US$1,295. The first in the Pocket Cinema Camera line with the ability to shoot 4K video, this model included a 4/3 image sensor and mount, and is capable of both ProRes and Blackmagic Raw.[2]
In February 2021, Blackmagic Design released the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro, an updated version of the Pocket Cinema Camera 6K, which features internal ND filters, additional EVF port, and a 5" high brightness flip-out screen.[4]
In June 2022, Blackmagic Design announced the second generation of the 6K model - the Pocket Cinema Camera 6K G2, featuring a redesigned body which now resembles the 6K Pro's and utilizes many features found on the 6K Pro, but was designed without built in ND filters.[5]
In September 2023, Blackmagic Design released the Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K, which is Blackmagic Design's first full frame cinema camera.[6] Despite no longer including "pocket" in the name, it is sold alongside the rest of the "pocket" series, and is compatible with the Pocket Cinema Camera Pro EVF.
The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Cameras come with Canon EF, MFT, or L-Mount lens mounts, depending on the model. Most of the lineup supports recording in both Apple ProRes and Blackmagic Raw (Blackmagic Design's proprietary compressed raw codec), often simultaneously - though the original Pocket Cinema Camera was only capable of ProRes recording, and the Cinema Camera 6K is only capable of Blackmagic Raw. The current lineup is designed to be comfortably hand held, and are compatible with accessories like an external battery grip and EVF. The entire line Pocket Cinema Cameras are advertised to offer up to 13 stops of dynamic range, and is capable of recording to removable flash media or external SSDs.[13][14]
I still use this setup in some cases when I want to be discrete and keep the camera in my pocket. The setup is really lightweight, the focal length is pretty universal (around 60mm on FF format equivalent) and the aperture makes it usable in nonperfect light conditions.
To fully utilize the battery solution from the previous section I bought the Cheese Plate which allowed me to mount Anker directly to the rods in the back. This makes the whole configuration solid and allows shooting for hours.
Metabones Canon EF to BMPCC Speed Booster converted the camera to almost Super 35mm sensor almost low-light monster. Almost. But the difference was huge. Now, I could utilize my existing lenses much better and the camera got 1 2/3 extra stops of light. This is a real deal especially in the camera that is technically limited to ISO 800 (native). Another benefit of using the speed-booster was that the stabilization in my EF lenses worked like a charm.
Metabones adapter paired with Sigma 18-35 f/1.8 is a wonderful combo. Crisp, sharp image and aperture of f/1.0 give lots of flexibility and make the camera perform well even in really bad lighting conditions.
The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera has a built-in microphone, but its quality is really bad. Anything external connected to the mic port will give better results than the on-board solution. Here, as an example, I plugged Rode VideoMic Pro which works pretty well as an on-camera mic.
Anything better has no point as the in-camera pre-amps will ruin the signal anyway so for a serious audio recording we have to use external recorders and use in-camera recording only as a reference to sync it in post.
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Today we really compare the David and Goliath of cameras with the Blackmagic Pocket 4K going up against the ARRI Amira to see if the Blackmagic Pocket cam could be a decent steady cam shot when on set using the Amira!
Honestly this looks very similar to the URSA Mini Pro when we did that comparison! I feel like the image looks very much the same, with the greens having the same brown hue to them, and of course the depth of field is different!
We think that mixed lighting tells you a lot in how the camera responds! So in this we have a warm key light overhead and a cool light in the background we tried to get these to match as close as possible without going crazy. They did end up pretty close!
When you go to 5 you really see how much the Pocket 4K has fallen off the cliff, although, not as much as the URSA Mini Pro G2. The G2 there is like no detail in the background. The Pocket is still holding onto some stuff.
There you have it! The David and Goliath of cameras! Really this test was about seeing if the Pocket Cam could be a good B camera for the Amira. This is definitely not a situation where were needing to decide which one is better and which one to buy. The pocket camera is a really slimmed down cinema camera that a person in college or on a small production could use. The underexposure test it failed miserably, but it did so well in all the other categories. So this could absolutely be a decent B camera to have on set for those extra shots.
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The most common complaint of the Pocket 4K is the mediocre battery life. The screen, processing and heat dispersion all need lots of juice, and those tiny LP-E6 batteries can hardly keep up. In my testing, I went through a battery every 30-40 minutes! Although firmware updates have slightly improved the reliability of the batteries, performance is still mediocre at best.
To make matters worse: the battery indicator on the BMPCC4K isn't all that reliable, with the camera sometimes shutting off when the indicator still shows there's enough juice left. The most reliable way of gaging battery power is to switch the indicator from percentages to volts (by tapping on it), and swap the battery when the level goes below 7.4 volts...
The simplest battery solution right now is to just buy a lot of Canon LP-E6 batteries. This keeps the camera small and light, and keeps the amount of wires dangling from the side of your camera to a minimum. Ironically, the battery that came with the BMPCC4K isn't all that good, and I also had some issues with the 'Jupio' branded ones. I found Wasabi batteries and genuine Canon LP-E6 batteries to be the most reliable. The newer, LP-E6n batteries also provide slightly longer run times.
If you already use an external monitor like the SmallHD Focus, the Swit CM 55C, or Feelworld F6, you can get an dummy LP-E6 battery, which allows you to power the camera from the monitor's bigger battery, while keeping your rig lightweight. Some monitors (like the SmallHD Focus) even allow you to hot-swap the batteries. Gimbals like the Moza Air 2 can also power the camera through the 2-pin power plug on the side of the Pocket 4K.
I would recommend an external monitor with at least 500 nits of brightness (the same brightness as the Pocket 4K's screen). If you shoot outside in direct sunlight a lot, take a look at a brighter monitor like the SmallHD Focus (800 nits) or the Atomos Shinobi/Ninja V (1000 nits). Even though the Pocket 4K already comes with lots of excellent focus- and exposure tools built-in (peaking, tap-to-zoom, histogram, zebras, false color), it doesn't have waveforms or a vectorscope, so that's another benefit of going with an external monitor.
If you're feeling adventurous, Tilta now makes a BMPCC4K/6K display modification kit that allows you to turn the BMPCC4K/6K's screen into a flip-up screen. It must have inspired Blackmagic, because the tilt-screen on the Pocket 6K Pro looks a lot like this design ;-)
The gimbal that probably works with the least amount of tweaking is the Moza Air 2. This gimbal was created after the Pocket 4K was announced, and has a wider profile to account for the shape of the pocket. Another benefit of the Moza Air is that you can power the camera from the gimbal (using the Blackmagic Cable Pack). The gimbal has battery power to spare, and extra batteries are pretty cheap.
Although Blackmagic is known for its cinematic colors, getting the footage to look right can be quite a challenge. The dreadful magenta shift, oversaturated reds and inaccurate white balance readings are all known issues that plague Blackmagic's cameras and can make it difficult to even reach a natural-looking base-grade. To help with this issue, I've created a natural Rec709 LUT Pack that makes it a lot easier to get your Blackmagic footage to look right. To get the best results, set your white balance a little to the cool side.
The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K is priced ridiculously low for what it offers, but you will need some extra accessories to get it fully working. Depending on your workflow, the cheapest option would be to get more batteries, a bright monitor and a stabilized MFT lens. Or get a gimbal that supports powering the camera, and save on batteries and stabilized lenses!
Both cameras have a rolling shutter sensor. The URSA Mini Pro has a Super 35 sensor and can shoot in 4.6K up to 60fps whereas the Pocket 4K has a smaller 4/3 sensor and can shoot Ultra HD up to 60fps. The URSA Mini Pro has 15 stops of dynamic range versus 13 stops for the Pocket 4K.
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