Industry News: Blackmagic Design Announces New Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro

jam05

R5, C70
Mar 12, 2019
916
584
I like Sonys and Panasonics approach to optional ports very much. Including a top handle with a electronic connection to the camera. In the top handle you can include bigger and more ports if needed. Thats a great option to get a versatile, but still small camera.
Panasonic got the same idea for the GH5 - a digital audio interface that can be attached like a battery grip to the bottom of the camera. I think thats the best approach. Canon could put a heatpipe AND an audio interface in the grip, so we would have better heat management and fullsize xlr ports. It would be usefull for videographers, while purely optional, so photographers can enjoy that lightweight, smaller body.
Which camera? Canon did it correctly. Heat pipe/passive cooling isn't good enough for advanced cinematography. Canon proved with the R5 that dedicated hybrid cameras have pretty much plateaud without active cooling. They shoved everything in there that's possible. Sony was forced to commit to active cooling in its new FX3. Nowhere else to go/improve in technology with a teeny weeny body. Sony has improved all it can do with the "Auto Pwr OFF Temp = High" setting. Even with advanced passive cooling they couldn't put advanced recording modes in their tiny cameras. Only limited ones. Leave the advanced recording to Cinema cameras. You want a smaller B camera, be content with it's limitations. There's no heat pipe that exist for unlimited recording of 8k 60p ALL I RAW internal video along with 4k 120 ALL I. You can have 8k 40 but not 60. Most all the variables were covered with the R5. Sony could only produce limited options. And certainly not the GH5 even with a smaller sensor. The most heat is produced to the rear of the camera (right center) in the vacinity of the processor. Reach down and disconnect your CPU fan in your PC and go with passive cooling and see what happens. Even the slimmest of laptops and Surface Pro computers have fans. Reason that tablets plateaud and only have limited applications. If one can't carry around a slim Surface Pro then they need some gym work.
 
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cayenne

CR Pro
Mar 28, 2012
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I had pre-ordered the C70 back in October and I got tired of waiting so I cancelled—I had considered the BM 6K but too many deal-breakers, but this 6K Pro has eliminated most of them!
I'd be interested in what the previous versions' deal breakers were and what was fixed that makes the new one appealing to you.

I"m eyeballing this myself possibly in the somewhat near future.....interested in hearing what you like on the newer version vs the old....

C
 
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Sep 29, 2018
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Canon proved with the R5 that dedicated hybrid cameras have pretty much plateaud without active cooling.
For now. The processor atleast which generates a lot of heat will continue draw less power and so produce less heat as the size of the circuitry continues to shrink. We are headed to sub nanometer processes in the near future. Some parts of the sensor will also benefit from that.
 
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Atlasman

EOS R6 MKII
CR Pro
May 14, 2020
91
98
I'd be interested in what the previous versions' deal breakers were and what was fixed that makes the new one appealing to you.

I"m eyeballing this myself possibly in the somewhat near future.....interested in hearing what you like on the newer version vs the old....

C
Deal breakers: short battery life, poor lcd screen with no tilt, no ND filters. Deal makers: record to SSD, ProRes, optional swivel EV, dual mini XLRs. I still may ultimately get the C70—the compelling features are the 4K 120fps, the superb auto focus and the DGO sensor—and the RF mount!
 
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telemaque

Before Sunset
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Nov 30, 2019
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Deal breakers: short battery life, poor lcd screen with no tilt, no ND filters. Deal makers: record to SSD, ProRes, optional swivel EV, dual mini XLRs. I still may ultimately get the C70—the compelling features are the 4K 120fps, the superb auto focus and the DGO sensor.
Dear two,

I had seen this video from Monkeypixels, an Austrian pro.

Here is a pure fan of Canon stuff, so his comments might not be completely independent.
However, he is making some interesting comments that might make you think about this brand new camera.

The feeling I personally have is that such a camera is perfect for a semi-pro or a pro who is going to rig it a lot.
And someone who is okay to live with huge files.


For the moment my personal choice goes to C70 because I will not shoot fictions, not willing to rig a camera with tons of stuff.
Not looking to fulfill my computer with plenty of Gbytes... And glad with Good/Excellent Image Quality files at around 160 gbytes/s 4:2:2 10 bits.

For my level of expertise it is way more than enough.
In my learning curve with Resolve and Color Grading, just looking for more flexibility than 8 bits.

I am more in a search for a documentary camera, with all possible options in a light format.
Just waiting to see the C200 MkII vs C70.
I think after the launch of C200 MkII, I will choose one of the 2, unless an impressive surprise arrives.
 
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Dec 25, 2017
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Which camera? Canon did it correctly. Heat pipe/passive cooling isn't good enough for advanced cinematography. Canon proved with the R5 that dedicated hybrid cameras have pretty much plateaud without active cooling. They shoved everything in there that's possible. Sony was forced to commit to active cooling in its new FX3. Nowhere else to go/improve in technology with a teeny weeny body. Sony has improved all it can do with the "Auto Pwr OFF Temp = High" setting. Even with advanced passive cooling they couldn't put advanced recording modes in their tiny cameras. Only limited ones. Leave the advanced recording to Cinema cameras. You want a smaller B camera, be content with it's limitations. There's no heat pipe that exist for unlimited recording of 8k 60p ALL I RAW internal video along with 4k 120 ALL I. You can have 8k 40 but not 60. Most all the variables were covered with the R5. Sony could only produce limited options. And certainly not the GH5 even with a smaller sensor. The most heat is produced to the rear of the camera (right center) in the vacinity of the processor. Reach down and disconnect your CPU fan in your PC and go with passive cooling and see what happens. Even the slimmest of laptops and Surface Pro computers have fans. Reason that tablets plateaud and only have limited applications. If one can't carry around a slim Surface Pro then they need some gym work.
Hmm, sorry, but this is not completely true. Canon certainly did not do this correctly. This guy simply changed the cooling pads inside and got SIGNIFICANT longer runtime. (I dont mean the funny watercooling part, but just the replacement of the cooling pads he explains at the end).
If canon would have implemented a heatpipe into an optional battery grip (like the Canon 1D got included) than this would be a perfect and would easily run endlessly.
And canon certainly did not do this correctly. Sony managed to get practicaly unlimited recording times in 8k with the a1. And its a small body with the same size, without battery grip.
 
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Sep 20, 2020
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For the moment my personal choice goes to C70 because I will not shoot fictions, not willing to rig a camera with tons of stuff.
I prefer C70 as well but without C70 and FX3 I would probably buy a 6K Pro.
6K Pro does not need to be rigged up at all.
It has the same things built-in as C70.
 
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Sep 29, 2018
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The feeling I personally have is that such a camera is perfect for a semi-pro or a pro who is going to rig it a lot.
And someone who is okay to live with huge files.
Compressed BRaw is not a space eater. You can get good shooting results on an SD card. Is it as small as h265? No. But then no one serious wants to edit h.265.



I prefer C70 as well but without C70 and FX3 I would probably buy a 6K Pro.
6K Pro does not need to be rigged up at all.
It has the same things built-in as C70.
No matter what you are going to want to add a cage to a 6Kpro. Then do you need a top handle? It's nice that they adopted the tilty screen but do you want to get on your knees in sunlight? Are the internal mikes good enough or do you need a shotgun? Do you need to be able to pull focus? Do you need to be able to shoulder rig? Do you use long heavy lenses? If so you are going to want rails with support. When I run the Sigma 50-100 there is a lot of flex. Don't get me wrong if the pro was available when I bought my 6K I would have upgraded just for the NDs alone. But I still would have done a lot of rigging including preferring V-Mount instead of the grip.
 
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Atlasman

EOS R6 MKII
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May 14, 2020
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I prefer C70 as well but without C70 and FX3 I would probably buy a 6K Pro.
6K Pro does not need to be rigged up at all.
It has the same things built-in as C70.
There’s a lot to like about the the 6K Pro—including the flexibility of 6K in post. Then there’s the price—half of the C70. Had Blackmagic used the RF mount, it might have been the tipping point for me.
 
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do you need a top handle?
Most of the people I see use C70 without a top-handle.
The form factors are very similar
Do you need to be able to shoulder rig?
There is no practical advantage to using 6K Pro on the shoulder over the regular 6K.
Yes, it would have to be rigged up for that but so would C70, FX6, and Komodo.
It is not really intended for that use.
URSA Mini is their shoulder camera.
Do you use long heavy lenses?
This is an issue with small cameras of every sort.
It should be fine for regular EF lenses as they were meant for DSLRs or compact cinema cameras.
When it comes to super-zooms, if I am going to spend that much money on a lens then I will attach it to a proper camera.
If I am renting one then I will rent a camera to go with it.

6K Pro, C70, and FX3 are run and gun cinema cameras to me.
If I wanted a camera to rig up then for the same price I would get the ZCAM E2-S6.
They are very different cameras in a lot of ways but they basically share the same Sony sensor.
 
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telemaque

Before Sunset
CR Pro
Nov 30, 2019
121
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Hmm, sorry, but this is not completely true. Canon certainly did not do this correctly. This guy simply changed the cooling pads inside and got SIGNIFICANT longer runtime. (I dont mean the funny watercooling part, but just the replacement of the cooling pads he explains at the end).
If canon would have implemented a heatpipe into an optional battery grip (like the Canon 1D got included) than this would be a perfect and would easily run endlessly.
And canon certainly did not do this correctly. Sony managed to get practicaly unlimited recording times in 8k with the a1. And its a small body with the same size, without battery grip.
Funny enough, this exact video you have shown where the guy had fixed the overheating issue in such a simple way, I have sent this video in a message to Canon France and told them they should follow this example and produce an improved R6...

I had been very unhappy to discover the R6 had this overheating issue when filming. Without this issue, I would have already bought this body.
On the stills side everybody says it is a wonderful body. On the video side many serious youtubers (serious not people making a whole story from nothing) admitted this could be an issue if you go for a documentary the whole day... or a wedding.

Meanwhile, I agreed with myself the budget I had in mind was not good enough in order to buy what I really want...
So C70 is for the moment the choice until C200 ii arrives. And then final decision will be made.
 
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Dec 25, 2017
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Funny enough, this exact video you have shown where the guy had fixed the overheating issue in such a simple way, I have sent this video in a message to Canon France and told them they should follow this example and produce an improved R6...

I had been very unhappy to discover the R6 had this overheating issue when filming. Without this issue, I would have already bought this body.
On the stills side everybody says it is a wonderful body. On the video side many serious youtubers (serious not people making a whole story from nothing) admitted this could be an issue if you go for a documentary the whole day... or a wedding.

Meanwhile, I agreed with myself the budget I had in mind was not good enough in order to buy what I really want...
So C70 is for the moment the choice until C200 ii arrives. And then final decision will be made.
hahaha =D Thats awesome! How did they respond? =D =D =D
 
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telemaque

Before Sunset
CR Pro
Nov 30, 2019
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hahaha =D Thats awesome! How did they respond? =D =D =D
Well they responded, but it was the usual blabla...
Very polite answer, also very corporate "we are carefully listening our customer needs" bla bla.

However, they were polite enough to respond and I appreciated their effort. :)

I just hope at the coffee break they looked at my message and had some laughing session and agreed it was a bit sad to see the problem fixed by an unknown person when Canon experts did not... Obviously, this laughing session can not be officially expressed.
 
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Dec 25, 2017
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Well they responded, but it was the usual blabla...
Very polite answer, also very corporate "we are carefully listening our customer needs" bla bla.

However, they were polite enough to respond and I appreciated their effort. :)

I just hope at the coffee break they looked at my message and had some laughing session and agreed it was a bit sad to see the problem fixed by an unknown person when Canon experts did not... Obviously, this laughing session can not be officially expressed.
Ha :-D

Jeah, I guess thats about what happened ^^
With companies THAT big I always doubt that they actualy listen to single customers, even when we do come up with excellent ideas...
 
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