Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K hands-on: Powerful, but not for everyone

[Music] black Magic's Cinema cameras are a beast because they're designed for professionals but carry relatively low prices that's especially true for the company's latest model the cinema camera 6K a full-frame camera with a like amount that cost just $2,600 that's cheaper than Sony's fx3 and a fraction of an Airy or other professional camera so what's the catch the main feature backing compared to the Sony model is continuous autofocus along with stabilization in other ways it's Superior though with better audio features monitoring tools raw compressed video a brighter screen and more I had a chance to test the BMCC 6K and see what it has to offer for filmmakers Content creators and others who should consider buying one and who shouldn't let's dive in and find [Music] out this the cinema camera 6K strongly resembles the previous bmpcc 6K Pro it looks more like a mirrorless than a film camera and has a lightwe carbon fiber body that's supposed to be tough and scratch resistant but does feel a bit cheap what's new is the full-frame sensor that accepts L Mount lenses from Leica Panasonic Sigma and others this Choice makes sense because it's an open lens mount Alliance while Canon for one keeps the RF Mount system closed though it has a bigger sensor than the 6K Pro the camera itself is thinner there are 14 buttons a dial and an onoff switch that allow for full manual control though everything can also be controlled by the well-designed touchscreen menu the 5-in screen hits up to 1500 nits so it's bright enough for sunny day shooting it also tilts up and down but not out for vlogging the optional $495 electronic viewfinder has a decent 3.68 million dots of resolution one thing sorely missed from the 6K Pro is built-in ND filters that's likely because the mirrorless Mount leaves less room than the Pro Models DSLR amount so you'll need to rely on external ND filters there's a full-sized HDMI but no prevel SDI Port as on other Blackmagic cameras it has four audio inputs with two mini BNC ports and a 3.5 mm mic Port plus a headphone jack it has a single CF Express type B card slot but no SD card option as on the BM PCC 6 Pro CF Express media is expensive but you can also capture to an SSD drive via USBC the ladder is generally cheaper but it does require some rigging it comes with multiple Mount points so it's easy to install a cage and accessories it uses an NP battery but the optional battery grip adapter adds two more to Triple battery [Music] life it's easier to use than most Cinema cameras but more complicated than mirrorless models there's only one choice of codec unfortunately which is black Magic's BW format prores isn't available like in past models that means you must use black Magic's Da Vinci resolve editing app to get the most out of the raw format or else convert the footage to use in Premier Pro or another app a timec consuming pain you can select the resolution and level of B compression though options include 6K 3x2 open gate at up to 36 frames per second that uses every pixel on the sensor 6x5 4K 36p anamorphic 6K 48p DCI and others down to 1080p at 120 frames per second 6K resolution allows fullframe capture but any resolution below that is cropped it supports a b with either constant bit rate for consistent performance or constant quality from 3x1 to 12x1 compression you can also grab full HD proxies for cloud-based editing this is largely a manual focus camera and exposure is also best left in manual mode luckily there's a suite of on-screen tools to help you get the shot right including a focus assist zebra false color histogram frame guides for different aspect ratios and more it does have a OneTouch contrast detect autofocus to help you get focus in the ballpark you can also set it for Iris or shutter Auto exposure though it's inadvisable and variable light as you'll notice distinct shifts in brightness the BMCC 6K can capture any of its formats indefinitely without any noticeable overheating except on hot days thanks to the built-in Vents and fans the battery lasts up to 45 minutes which is less than mirrorless cameras but better than the 6K Pro with the optional battery grip that rises to 135 minutes not bad for a full-frame cinema camera and the MP batteries are cheap so you can load up without breaking the bank without any built-in stabilization you'll need either a stabilized lens for minor smoothing or a gimbal as with past models the BMCC 6K gyro data also helps stabilize footage it does a good job but you'll need to use a higher shutter speeds or motion blur will be a problem the big draw of this camera is the full-frame sensor and lens mount that supports a wide range of lenses along with a high quality Allowed by raw video if you already own Canon EF lenses you can use those via an adapter the BMCC 6K has black Magic's latest generation 5 color signs that yields accurate colors and nice skin tones with 12 bits of color depth eliminating banding and offering plenty of latitude to adjust Hues and of course the full-frame sensor allows for very shallow depth of field like high-end Airy cameras the BMCC 6K has an optical low pass filter sacrificing some sharpness for Less aliasing it also has the benefit of making video look more more organic and less digital shot at the lowest 3:1 compression B video is sharp and artifact free the file sizes are huge though with just 5 minutes per 100 GB even at the maximum 12:1 compression ratio videos look clean and the files are more manageable the camera has a full-frame sensor and dual native 400 and 3200 ISO so video looks best at those settings low light shooting is much improved over past models and on par with similar cameras like Panasonic's s52 noise is well controlled up to about ISO 6400 but noticeable beyond that keep in mind that there's no built-in noise reduction though so you'll need to do that in post production rolling shutter is significant when using the full width of the sensor so you'll need to avoid whipping the camera around or shooting fast moving subjects however the aforementioned gyro data impressively allows you to remove most of the Rolling shutter but only from Da Vinci resolve to answer my earlier question this camera isn't for everyone it has specific tools designed for filmmakers rather than content creators the latter will likely find it too difficult to use due to the lack of autofocus stabilization and other niceties expected on mirrorless cameras still they're ideal for novice filmmakers and Film School students allowing an easy transition to higher end gear in fact the BMCC 6 K is a shockingly good cinema camera with Pro features and a good quality built-in display a competent cinematographer could deliver footage that would look nearly as good as anything on Sony air or other cameras for a fraction of the price just keep in mind that you'll need to spend money on CF Express cards extra batteries accessories and all the usual gear required for a film shoot the lack of prores recording is the biggest weak point because it requires extra steps for some editors still if you're dreaming of shooting your own feature film The BMCC 6K is more than enough camera for the job thanks for watching and if you enjoyed this video please hit like And subscribe and for more on technology check out and gadget.com [Music]

Channel: Engadget

Views: 26,925

Keywords: engadget, technology, consumer tech, gadgets, science, gear, tech, handson, blackmagic, cinema, camera, video camera, 6k, filmmaking, cinema camera 6k, full frame

Id: vmU0jIDZ4v8

Length: 8min 26sec (506 seconds)

Published: Wed Jan 03 2024