Pocket 6K Pro

Well, I finally did it. I decided to finally get a new camera. First one since the 4k Production camera. My work has taken me away from needing a camera in recent years and more of a producer role. All this lockdown though has made me realise how much I miss making my own films. Feels like I'm starting all over again. 6k Pro has all I need for the foreseeable future. Ordered it last week. Just waiting on it to arrive. Got a whole load of personal projects lined up.

Congratulations! I just pulled the trigger on this myself 10 minutes ago. Here we go!

Congratulations! I just pulled the trigger on this myself 10 minutes ago. Here we go!

Now the long wait. Lets see who wins the race, I'm in the UK, ordered mine on Tuesday last week from a reseller, so its coming straight from BM, and they had them in stock.

Well that’s going to be quite a change, Michael! Great you’re keeping busy and planning projects. Nice to see you pick up the camera. I’m sure you’ll like it.

Congrats, Dmitri.

The evf and tilt screen has caught my attention. I'm waiting to see how the lidar works. I know it has some limitations but my line of work (interior/exterior) mostly head shots to full shots with no zoom and some slow panning should work. If so I will sell my p4k with lenes and everything. I feel that the p4k might keep a good resale value for sometime to come. A short narrative or doc might pop up but these will be my projects. Hope it works well.

Also waiting to see what might come next year.


Ricardo Marty

Congratulations! I just pulled the trigger on this myself 10 minutes ago. Here we go!

Now the long wait. Lets see who wins the race, I'm in the UK, ordered mine on Tuesday last week from a reseller, so its coming straight from BM, and they had them in stock.

Let the race begin! Mine's on target to be here on Wednesday.

Then again, my CFAST cards won't be here until April 12, so regardless of when the cameras actually arrive, you may still get yours up and running before I do.

Here's some stills with an anamorphic setup.
Mostly shot with ND6, ND4.

letter4_1.1.2 by Adam Langdon, on Flickr

letter3_1.5.1 by Adam Langdon, on Flickr

letter2_1.6.1 by Adam Langdon, on Flickr

letter5_1.2.1 by Adam Langdon, on Flickr

My BMPCC 6K Pro just arrived today...

It looks great and a noticeable upgrade.

The LCD screen and ND filters seem perfectly fine.

With the Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 it is a little heavy on the Ronin S, so
I'm probably going to get a light wide angle prime lens for gimbal work.

My BMPCC 6K Pro just arrived today...

It looks great and a noticeable upgrade.

The LCD screen and ND filters seem perfectly fine.

With the Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 it is a little heavy on the Ronin S, so
I'm probably going to get a light wide angle prime lens for gimbal work.

How long did it take to get it from the moment you ordered?

It was in stock when I ordered it, but I ordered it just before the long weekend.

So it took 5 days to get here.

Most of the time it was just sitting at the FedEx depot...

It was frustrating waiting, knowing they were not actually shipping it.

Here's an unboxing video:

It was in stock when I ordered it, but I ordered it just before the long weekend.

So it took 5 days to get here.

Most of the time it was just sitting at the FedEx depot...

It was frustrating waiting, knowing they were not actually shipping it.

Here's an unboxing video:

Ordered mine on Wednesday last week so still waiting.

Ordered mine on Monday and got it today. So far, looking pretty sharp. No noticeable blue tint on the LCD. Really enjoy working with the EVF, feels good in handheld mode with it. It is a bit of a behemoth (my battery grip is on the way and I don’t even wanna know what that’s gonna do the the sheer mass), but I like the solid feeling of the whole rig.

Does your EVF and camera screen look identical or different?

Interesting observation Dimitri. Having some heft to it can be a good thing when working handheld as the camera will have more inertia and inherent stability.

Does your EVF and camera screen look identical or different?

It’s actually pretty close. I was expecting some real deviation and washed out blacks from what I’d heard, but so far I’m pleased.

What about false colour particularly the pink?

Ordered mine on Monday and got it today. So far, looking pretty sharp. No noticeable blue tint on the LCD. Really enjoy working with the EVF, feels good in handheld mode with it. It is a bit of a behemoth (my battery grip is on the way and I don’t even wanna know what that’s gonna do the the sheer mass), but I like the solid feeling of the whole rig.

You win. Where's mine then?

Okay, did a few more tests now that I’m settling in (a little bit limited as I can’t do recording tests since my memory cards haven’t arrived - you might still win the functional race Michael!). There IS a bit of blue tint on the monitor. Not profound, but doing A/B from EVF to the monitor definitely shows it. It’s subtle. If I didn’t have the EVF, I might have not have picked it up, especially coming from an inaccurate monitor on my old Panny AF-100. It’s not the teal nightmare other people’s units have shown, though. Hopefully this is fixable in the next firmware.

I am not showing appreciable pink in the monitor, definitely showing it in the EVF. (I saw this will be specifically fixed in the upcoming firmware update, so not too concerned.)

Great, the reseller isn't answering my calls or emails. Never a good sign. Plus all the best places are now in pre order. Wondering if there's a shortage here in the UK now. Looks like you've walked this one. Won't be getting mine anytime soon I reckon.

Great, the reseller isn't answering my calls or emails. Never a good sign. Plus all the best places are now in pre order. Wondering if there's a shortage here in the UK now. Looks like you've walked this one. Won't be getting mine anytime soon I reckon.

Ugh, I’m really sorry to hear that. I lose my mind when I have a question and don’t get anything like a prompt answer, even if it’s disappointing news.

The demand for everything in this ecosystem must be enormous, depending on where you are. I got the camera and EVF fairly easily, but the battery grip and BMD batteries I wanted are crazy backordered and probably won’t get them for weeks.

Great, the reseller isn't answering my calls or emails. Never a good sign. Plus all the best places are now in pre order. Wondering if there's a shortage here in the UK now. Looks like you've walked this one. Won't be getting mine anytime soon I reckon.

Ugh, I’m really sorry to hear that. I lose my mind when I have a question and don’t get anything like a prompt answer, even if it’s disappointing news.

The demand for everything in this ecosystem must be enormous, depending on where you are. I got the camera and EVF fairly easily, but the battery grip and BMD batteries I wanted are crazy backordered and probably won’t get them for weeks.

I'm ok to wait for things. I just want to know I'm waiting. Not hoping for a delivery each day.

Mine arrived today after ordering it 5-6 weeks ago. Everything is working on first look. Love having an evf. I’m waiting on two more batteries for the grip. LCD screen looks ok to my eye, I don’t have anything to compare it with..
All in all I’m very happy with my purchase and can’t wait to start using it on some personal projects.

Not sure if this is the right location to share my opinion regarding the Pocket 6K Pro form factor.

Having mainly used and experience with RED cameras, I also shared the similar opinion concerning the form factor not being a cube like design with the Pocket 6K Pro camera.
I understand the issue with the modular possibilities and rigging having a cubical design.

On a recent shot we had the RED Komodo camera which I really dig. But you know what, after using the Komodo for the few days. I realise why Blackmagic went with the “DSLR” design.

With the battery pack it’s actually easier and comfortable to handle; usable right out of the box and is much lighter.
Giving it some time I can imagine we will see more rigging solutions (shoulder mount). Still you can grab the camera out of bag and rock n roll.

The only gripe I have is that EVF is not articulated. But that has less to with the form factor. Also I wish Blackmagic would have a left side handle as they did in the past.

Other then that I think I would prefer the Pocket 6K Pro over the Komodo when run and gun.
Only if the Pocket had global shutter.

... after using the Komodo for the few days. I realise why Blackmagic went with the “DSLR” design...
Only if the Pocket had global shutter.

Great feedback, Tim. Appreciate the BMPCC6K Pro is becoming a popular flexible camera suitable for handheld use. Maybe one day, global shutter will return.

My BMPCC4K is fully rigged though and having a full-featured update to the current Micro cube would still be a welcome addition to their camera stable.

... after using the Komodo for the few days. I realise why Blackmagic went with the “DSLR” design...
Only if the Pocket had global shutter.

Great feedback, Tim. Appreciate the BMPCC6K Pro is becoming a popular flexible camera suitable for handheld use. Maybe one day, global shutter will return.

My BMPCC4K is fully rigged though and having a full-featured update to the current Micro cube would still be a welcome addition to their camera stable.

Global Shutter return?


They do have the Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera.

My experience with the 6KPro is probably similar.

I “rigged” it up with an anamorphic setup and it was great on a tripod and slider.

Then I went handheld, with just a simple zoom lens and I could blend in with everyone else and get some low-profile shots in public.

As far as screen color goes, I can’t even tell there’s a blue tint once I apply a LUT.

At present the EVF share its screen information with the camera screen but with everying being smaller on the EVF I find viewing experience is somwhat different. I like to see the EVF having its own settings such as screen brightness, contrast, saturation, etc, also additional level of focus peaking. A option for black screeen with white focus peaking for better clarity.

"Giving it some time I can imagine we will see more rigging solutions (shoulder mount). Still you can grab the camera out of bag and rock n roll."

I too have come from a cube/ red background. I have two bmpcc 4k cams and it is very possible to rig them in a traditional fashion. The first camera is for shoulder mounted and tripod work based around an arri 19mm baseplate and dovetail system. The 19mm baseplate gives much better stability for shoulder mounted work than 15mm. A cage and rods provides all the mounting points you need for a traditional set up including evf, shot gun mic, v lock battery and so on. It balances nicely on the shoulder and is probably the lightest set up I have ever used. V lock battery it runs all day. I really have made this camera work as a run and gun documentary camera.

Well apparently my camera has been shipped so we'll see if I get it soon. I have been able to reconfigure a lot of my old BMCC 2.5K rig gear ready for it until I get the new small rig cage.

2. Even though Blackmagic aggressively and impressively markets the livestreaming capability of ATEM switchers integrated fully with BMPCCs, in which case live streams quickly require visual confirmation of accurate white balancing from each camera location often distant from the control console, just color grade later (after it's "live"?) and gamble by balancing to a card that (in one specific tiny location) might represent the entire room's lighting color bias.

I'm trying to understand this one. How will multiple operators, each looking at a separate camera LCD in different parts of a set, all somehow arrive at the same white balance? Even if each one had a reference grade monitor on front of them, it seems highly unlikely in the uncontrolled lighting of a location shoot that they would all arrive at the same white balance.

Jamie, they don’t. You can not get two or more cameras color balanced to give the same results in a live broadcast (streaming) situation if the camera operators are trying to individually set the balance on their cameras. In Broacast applications, the cameras white balance and color settings are controlled from one person (using CCUs connected to each camera) or via the switcher in the case of the ATEMs, using a fairly accurate studio monitor. This way, the single [i]Vision[i] operator can match the various cameras.

Traditionally, studio cameras were equipped with monochrome monitors (even after color cameras were in use) for the camera operator to frame and focus the shot, which was their only task, not setting the camera color balance, exposure, etc., this was done in the control room by one person.
Cheers