GEAR
BLACKMAGIC POCKET CINEMA CAMERA 6K
Where the 4K camera shoots CinemaDNG Raw, the 6K shoots Blackmagic’s own Raw format, which it uses for all full-sensor and windowed sensor formats. So that’s 6K, 5.7K in 16:9, 3.7K anamorphic and 2.8K in 19:9. For scaled formats, such as C4K, 4K or HD, you have to shoot in one of the built-in ProRes codecs. Apart from in full 6K, which tops out at 50fps, the fastest frame rate is 60fps for all other sizes. There is 120fps super slow-motion in 2.8K 17:9 Raw, or in HD ProRes scaled from 2.7K. The crop in 120fps is 3.388x, which is significant. The 4K camera also has a significant crop for its 120fps, which was one of our gripes. If you are happy at up to 60fps, then it’s not an issue – and 60fps in 4K DCI ProRes recorded internally is something pretty special, it’s got to be said. In use, what we wrote about the Pocket 4K holds true for the 6K as it has the same user interface, switches and buttons. And true to the moniker as a cinema camera, using the 4K and 6K versions feels similar to the Blackmagic Ursa Mini Pro, thanks to simple and intuitive on-screen menus. Everything is easy to see and work out, allowing you to quickly view the shooting parameters and change settings – including shutter speed or shutter angle, whichever you prefer to work in. Once set, the main info is all around the outside of the screen, so you can leave this on while filming. The biggest niggle is around the battery. The screen itself shows the battery icon but it’s quite small, and it’s also an essential bit of info as the battery gets used up very fast. You’ll need a pocketful of Canon LP-E6 batteries to get you through a shooting day, for sure (at least they are relatively cheap). We tried it with a variety of different batteries, from genuine Canon down to some older, no-name cheapo cells, and got a record time varying between 15 minutes for the dubious cells to around 35 minutes. The camera doesn’t go to sleep if you happen to carry it around while switched on,
IMAGES The rear screen is large and gives lots of clear info. Menus are well thought-out and easy to navigate with lots of real-world options
support for HDR, too. To record Raw files in the highest resolution externally, you need a seriously speedy SSD; we used an Angelbird. There are already rigs on the market to let you mount various different SSDs to the camera to avoid having them dangle on a cable. Of course, the camera uses a CFast card so you can record everything internally. CFast cards aren’t exactly cheap, but their price is dropping all the time. You will need to budget for quite a few if you’re aiming to film for many hours in the highest resolutions. And, in fact, high-quality ProRes files take up a lot more space than the Blackmagic Raw files, if you compress them. The camera allows you to select different compression levels for its Raw files from 3-12:1, which means a balancing act
and this does affect battery life quite significantly. You can power the camera via the USB-C socket but only if you’re not using it to record Raw to an external SSD. There is an AC inlet for mains power if you have access to it. Blackmagic knows power is an issue so has revealed an additional battery grip, which takes two LP-E6 cells. It costs £258/$245, and does make the camera much deeper. The left side of the camera has covers over ports that include a headphone socket and mini XLR jack. The BMPCC6K blows any mirrorless cameras out of the water for audio, as it has good-quality internal mics and preamps; the audio monitors on the screen are also easy to see, and very useful. There’s a full-size HDMI socket with a clean 10-bit output and
“Using the 4K and 6K versions feels similar to the Blackmagic UrsaMini Pro, thanks to simple and intuitive on-screenmenus”
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WINTER 2019 PRO MOVIEMAKER
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