BMPCC 6K Pro freezing up

I've had my Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro since 2021. Most of my work with it has been documentary, short interviews and narrative shorts. I've filmed long days outdoors in 35°C temperature all without issues. This month I've started filming events and started having several issues with the camera freezing up and refusing to shutdown without the battery being removed. Before, the camera would record for a couple hours before freezing up, now, it records for 15 - 30 minutes before freezing up. Sometimes the screen turns a dark grey colour when the camera freezes.

I've had my Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro since 2021. Most of my work with it has been documentary, short interviews and narrative shorts. I've filmed long days outdoors in 35°C temperature all without issues. This month I've started filming events and started having several issues with the camera freezing up and refusing to shutdown without the battery being removed. Before, the camera would record for a couple hours before freezing up, now, it records for 15 - 30 minutes before freezing up. Sometimes the screen turns a dark grey colour when the camera freezes.

Reset camera with reset procedure and refresh firmware

Switch the power button on the camera to OFF and unplug the power adaptor


- Connect the camera to the computer using a USB-C data cable.


- Start Camera Setup software on your computer.


- Connect the power cable to the camera (DO NOT power ON).


- Press and hold the Auto focus button on the camera and switch the power switch to ON, and wait until you see the Camera Setup on the computer detecting your camera, prompting Software update available.


- Click on "Update Now" to start the firmware update again.


* Ensure camera is not connected via USB.

* Hold down focus button while powering on camera. It will start up with a black screen.

* Connect camera to computer via USB.

* Run the Blackmagic Camera Setup again

To put the camera into recovery mode. To do this:

i. Disconnect all power sources and remove the battery to ensure that the camera is totally powered down.

ii. Connect power to the camera and power it up while holding down the focus button.

iii. Camera will power up with a blank screen and the fan should be running.


2. Once the camera is powered up in recovery mode, launch Blackmagic Camera Setup and connect the camera to the computer via USB. This should now allow the camera to be detected by the computer. Click on the ‘Update’ button and allow the process to complete.


3. Once the update is completed, power cycle the camera. Then install Camera

This procedure (sequence thanks from Robert or Rick, I don’t remember who is the Good Samaritan who wrote it on forum) reset camera and clean up many things.
I past solve a lots of strange behavior.
If cam continue to work in the wrong way, contact Blackmagic Design assistance by support page, here you can find phone number and email to be directly in contact with them.


Inviato dal mio iPad utilizzando Tapatalk

Thank you for taking the time to reply @carlomacchiavello I am going to try this and will post the results when I conduct further testing.

Thank you for taking the time to reply @carlomacchiavello I am going to try this and will post the results when I conduct further testing.

i cross the fingers for you

I've tried the steps multiple times but the problem with the freezing persists. To be clear, I'm on the latest firmware which is 8.1 as of this post. I have tried downgrading to an older version because I heard there were issues after 7.9 but I still got the issue. I upgraded back to 8.1 and tried resetting the camera multiple times. I have tried different brands of SD cards: Sony, Lexar and SanDisk.

I reached out to Blackmagic support for help. Unfortunately they haven't been helpful. I live and work in the Caribbean and the process of sending the camera back is impossibly complicated. I purchased the camera sealed in a box from someone who didn't want it back in 2021. The warranty has probably expired by now. This is a real nightmare as I'm a small one-man operation and this camera represents a huge investment for me.

Hi VIncent,
have you tried with Usb disk or Cfast? may be that there is something on sd card holder that give you problem, like problems on contact.
May be that humidity give you some oxidation on contact of Sd card holder.
i try to suggest all that i can think to help you.

Vincent, from your original post, it does seem to be related to long term use in a hot and humid climate which initially was tolerated but now results in shorter and shorter run times.

To see if that’s the source of your problem, can you cool (and reduce the internal humidity of) the camera kit and media in your refrigerator for a few hours? Then see how long it will run before freezing?