USER REVI EW | BLACKMAG I C POCKET 6K
We love the Blackmagic Pocket 4K camera; but maybe we love the new Pocket 6K more! DOP Ash Connaughton was going 4K but decided to go bigger BLACKMAGIC POCKET 6K CAMERA PRICE £2430/$2495
WORDS ASH CONNAUGHTON / PICTURES BL ACKMAG IC
DIFFERENCES Now what’s different? The most obvious difference (aside from the price, £1194 vs £2430 including VAT in the UK), is the resolution with the Pocket 6K offering 6K at a resolution of 6144x3456, 16x9 aspect ratio, at up to 50fps as its full sensor readout with Blackmagic Raw, which gives a crop factor of 1.558x. Compare the Pocket 4K at 4K DCI 4096x2160 up to 60fps Braw. If you want 60 frames on the Pocket 6K you have to step down to the 5.7K Braw option which is a very very slight crop. If you only want to shoot in 4K, you are limited to Prores only, whereas the Pocket 4K can take advantage of 4K in Blackmagic Raw. In terms of higher than 60p frame rates the Pocket 6K offers up to 120fps at a 2.8K (2868x1512) windowed sensor mode in Braw; In Prores you can shoot up to 4K 60fps DCI or UHD. Or up to 120fps
IMAGES The Pocket 4K is a hugely popular camera, but the 6K offers some advantages over its brother
lackmagic Design recently released its new 6K Pocket Cinema Camera, a Super 35, 6K
camera package possible. If that is the case then be prepared to carry an abundance of LPE6 batteries! Both cameras share the large rear touchscreen. While sharp and reasonably colour accurate, even at 100% it’s not bright enough for use in direct sunlight. In the shade its fine, so I recommend a sun hood of some sort if not also an external monitor. The OS however is beautiful; it’s very simple and intuitive to navigate and use, everything is very easy to access and change. There is no change to the AF abilities of the camera over the 4K. It’s still touch to focus on lenses that support AF and does not offer any form of tracking or continuous AF.
cinema camera with 13.5 stops of dynamic range. Plus Blackmagic Raw, ProRes and Davinci Resolve thrown in for free. So how does this new offering compare to the ever popular Pocket 4K? Let’s dive into the numbers, looking at everything from frame rates and resolutions to dynamic range and sensor size! SIMILARITIES So first off what is the same? The cameras look very similar externally apart from the elongated lens mount on the Pocket 6K. Because of this, some cages don’t fit both bodies, but the Smallrig cage fits both perfectly. The Tilta cage now has a replacement top plate to make it work with the 6K. Both cameras can shoot Blackmagic Raw and Prores, both cameras have Cfast 2.0, SD card and USB type C recording capabilities, as well as a locking DC power connector, HDMI out and mini XLR connectivity. Both cameras also use the LPE6 style battery which runs the cameras from 20-45 mins depending on use. So not great! Personally I suggest you just run the camera from a V mount battery for most scenarios unless you desperately need to have the smallest
56 DEF I N I T ION | OCTOBER 20 1 9
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