Blackmagic Pocket 6K
A 6K camera that shoots raw video… at this price?
High-resolution video capture
The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema 6K came out of nowhere, carrying forward everything that made the Pocket Cinema 4K excellent. Both are no larger than a mirrorless camera but feature full filmmaking tools.
The new 6K model comes with a larger Super 35mm sensor capable of 6K raw capture. The lens mount has been swapped from MFT to Canon EF, so the Pocket Cinema 6K will take your Canon lenses.
If you’re looking to get into professional video and don’t need a camera that can handle regular stills photography too, the Pocket Cinema 6K could be the perfect choice – but it’s not a camera for vloggers or photographers who want an all-in-one bit of kit.
The Pocket 6K is made with premium video capture firmly in mind, from its 16:9 aspect ratio screen, versus the traditional 3:2 aspect ratio display found on multifunctional photography cameras, through to the enormous file sizes that videos shot on it climb to.
The Pocket Cinema Camera 6K shoots raw video out of the box, giving filmmakers and enthusiasts much more control over their productions in the editing phase. When combined with Blackmagic’s Davinci Resolve software (free with the camera), editors have scope to go a step beyond raw photo capture, even changing the ISOs of clips after they are captured.
With 13 stops of dynamic range and dual native ISOs, it’s also tuned to handling noise and retaining tonal detail in situations notoriously hard for video. This also means it’s also set up to capture HDR content.
Blackmagic has also created an extended video mode, sitting somewhere between raw and compressed, which delivers a broader tonal range ready for colour grading.
6K is never going to be a cinema or broadcast standard – so why is Blackmagic making a 6K camera? The simple answer: versatility and quality. Shooting at a higher resolution gives you more scope to play about with your footage, crop in a bit, or apply digital stabilisation if needed, for example.
The benefit in image quality is a no-brainer. 4K footage downsampled to Full HD looks richer than native Full HD footage, and the principle stands with 6K capture downsampled to 4K footage. Naturally, with 8K on the horizon and several TVs sporting the resolution expected in the near future, 6K capture will also look better than 4K capture when it’s scaled up, so there’s an element of future-proofing involved.
One point worth noting is that there’s no in-body stabilisation on the Pocket Cinema Camera 6K, so if you plan on shooting handheld, be sure to use a gimbal or a stabilised lens.
Build and handling
Sporting a virtually identical design to that of its predecessor, everything about the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema 6K is familiar if you’re coming from the 4K model – for better or worse. It’s got the same excellent array of ports, but with a retro look and plastic build.
Its bulbous body features a combination of textures, with a ribbed grip for a secure hold, which extends around the back by way of the card slot. The rest is a matte plastic – and the Pocket Cinema 6K does rather feel like a toy until you put a giant lens on it.
The camera has buttons on the top for recording and 6K stills capture (RAW) as well as ISO, shutter angle (shutter speed) and white balance controls. Three handy customisable function buttons are also in easy reach, along with the power switch.
While many might complain about the lack of an articulating screen, the Full HD capacitive touchscreen on the back of the Pocket Cinema 6K is sensational compared with the smaller displays on much of the competition. It measures in at five inches, is highly responsive and showcases Blackmagic OS, the company’s proprietary interface.
While audio can be fed in via the 3.5mm microphone input – ideal for run-and-gun Røde mic scenarios – the mini XLR port is the pro port of choice, complete with Phantom Power support. This is the type of connector that plays nicely with everything from wireless mics through to concert hall audio rigs, adding a considerable amount of audio clout to the Pocket Cinema 6K.
Performance
Blackmagic hasn’t included continuous autofocus in either of its Pocket Cinema cameras. The lack of an built-in ND filter also means if you need to swap between shooting indoors and outdoors at a moment’s notice regularly, you’ll have to fit an ND filter to the lens.
It’s also worth noting that when shooting in Blackmagic RAW, the footage has to be ingested by Davinci Resolve. At the time of going to press, Final Cut does not support Blackmagic RAW, and while the AutoKroma Braw Studio plugin will allow you to import and edit your .braw footage directly and natively in Premiere Pro, that’s only for the Windows version. Otherwise, you will need to shoot ProRes, which caps out at 4K.
That said, the Pocket Cinema 6K captures fantastic-quality video that looks sensationally cinematic and flat. Skin tones look rich and nuanced, and the dynamic range the 6K can capture is stellar for the price.