Wednesday, February 17, 2021. Three exciting things about the new Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro should get your heart racing and your fingers dialing to buy one:
- Built in Clear, ND.6, ND1.2 and ND1.6 filters.
- 5″ LCD Monitor tilts up and down
- Optional (essential) 1280 x 960 color OLED viewfinder.
Unless you have the enviable close-up vision of a 12-year-old prodigy pointillist painter, squinting at a camera’s rear monitor held at arm’s length in bright daylight may not be your idea of the best way to discern framing and focus.
Every camera should have an EVF. And so the 6K Pro does.
The thoughtful Blackmagic Design team in Melbourne undoubtedly listened to user requests and followed up on the very popular Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K with features compelling enough to name it “6K Pro.”
The camera body looks deceptively like its predecessors: reminding me of a morph between a mirrorless camera and a mini Darth Vader helmet; maybe it’s the carbon fiber ribbed handgrip or the cooling fins at bottom.
But it’s not the same body. The 6K Pro is 1.04″ inches taller, 0.41 inch deeper and 0.08 inches wider. At 2.73 lb, the 6K Pro is 0.75 lb heavier, which is still amazingly light weight.
The 6K Pro costs about US$2,495, only $500 more than the Pocket Cinema Camera 6K.
For only a few dollars more—$495—the optional Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera Pro EVF is really not an option; it is an essential. Unscrew a small cover on top of the camera and this 2.82 ounce, 1280 x 960, 3.68 million dot, 24-bit OLED EVF with -4 to +4 diopter adjustment adds 1.91 inches to the overall camera height. The EVF connects with a single connector. You can tilt it up to 70 degrees. Four different eyecups offer choices and nicely do not assume you are right eyed.
The 5″ LCD touchscreen monitor at the back of the camera has been improved. It is brighter: 1500 nits. And it also tilts up and down. Your neck and back will appreciate this ergonomic touch.
The Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro uses a bigger battery for longer runtime: a Sony style NP-F570. It runs the camera for about 60 minutes when recording 6K RAW at 24 fps to a CFast 2.0 card and with the monitor at 50% brightness. (The Pocket Cinema Camera 6K uses a Canon style LP-E6 battery that runs the camera for about 45 minutes.)
The Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro has built-in 2, 4 and 6 stop ND filters. Somehow Blackmagic managed to squeeze an internal, motorized ND filter mechanism between the Canon-style EF mount and the Super35 6K sensor. This is a remarkable feat of engineering for a camera so small. Wow. The assembly includes one clear filter to maintain the 44mm flange focal depth and three IRND filters that reduce incoming light by 2, 4 and 6 stops (ND.6, ND1.2 and ND1.6).
The filters can be engaged and changed with two buttons on the upper right rear side of the 6K Pro. You can set the menu to show how you’d like to see these filter settings displayed: as ND, stop reduction or fraction.
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro Specs
- 6144 x 3456 sensor, 23.10 mm x 12.99 mm (Super35)
- 13 stops dynamic range
- Dual native ISO 400 and 3200 — up to 25,600.
- Blackmagic Generation 5 Color Science.
- EF mount with fully functional (electronically active) pogo pins for lens control and lens data from electronic EF lenses.
- Built in motorized Clear, 2, 4 and 6 stop ND filters.
- Adjustable 1500 nit 5” 1920 x 1080 LCD screen.
- Timecode clock accurate to less than 1 frame drift every 8 hours.
- Media: 1 x CFast card slot, 1 x SD UHS‑II card slot.
- Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera Pro EVF (US$ 495).
- NP-F570 battery, optional Blackmagic Pocket Camera Battery Pro Grip.
Shooting Resolutions
6144 x 3456 (6K) up to 50 fps
6144 x 2560 (6K 2.4:1) up to 60 fps
5744 x 3024 (5.7K 17:9) up to 60 fps
4096 x 2160 (4K DCI) up to 60 fps
3840 x 2160 (Ultra HD) up to 60 fps
3728 x 3104 (3.7K 6:5 anamorphic) up to 60 fps
2868 x 1512 (2.8K 17:9) up to 120 fps
1920 x 1080 (HD) up to 120 fps
Frame Rates
Project frame rates of 23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 50, 59.94 and 60 fps supported.
Off-speed frame rates up to 60 fps in 6K 2.4:1, 120 fps in 2.8K 17:9 and 1080HD.
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro is available now for US$ 2,495, excluding local duties and taxes, from Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide. Includes full DaVinci Resolve Studio.
