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



## Canon Rumors Guy (Feb 17, 2021)

> Blackmagic Design has announced their latest and greatest pocket cinema camera, capable of shooting 6K like the original but they have added a tilt-screen, 2 mini XLR inputs, a bigger battery and built-in ND $2495 USD. They have also launched an optional EVF for the new camera. With this camera and the upcoming Sony Alpha FX3, I think this is a space Canon needs to get into as soon as possible.
> Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro Features
> 
> Designed from carbon fiber polycarbonate composite.
> ...



Continue reading...


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## BroderLund (Feb 17, 2021)

I already use a few BM cameras. Love their codec! I really wish they had better auto focus, as that is kind of their Achilles heel. While I get their reasoning of this camera being part of their existing Pocket lineup, I kind of wish it had RF mount, and not EF mount. This camera is kind of their take on the C70, but without auto focus and EF mount.


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## Nigel95 (Feb 17, 2021)

Wish it had good autofocus. Canon and Sony AF is very convenient for a one man crew. Still hoping Canon will come out with a Canon R7 or C50 but with 10 bit 4k 60p


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## codynpatterson (Feb 17, 2021)

BroderLund said:


> I already use a few BM cameras. Love their codec! I really wish they had better auto focus, as that is kind of their Achilles heel. While I get their reasoning of this camera being part of their existing Pocket lineup, I kind of wish it had RF mount, and not EF mount. This camera is kind of their take on the C70, but without auto focus and EF mount.


Their 4K and 6k have great auto focus. Especially the 6k since it’s got a bigger sensor.


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## Dearl4 (Feb 17, 2021)

First BlackMagic camera I'm genuinely tempted by.
Looking forward to seeing reviews for it.
This is why I'm hoping that the C50 will be a simplified version of the C70 and not a box camera (yes, I know that's likely not going to happen).
Something like that could fill this slot.


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## landon (Feb 17, 2021)

Canon C60 like this, with RF mount, flippy screen. I'd buy in a heart beat.


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## telemaque (Feb 17, 2021)

Obviously, it is important nowadays to stay tuned...
Big news almost every day !
So let's see the image quality as soon as some footage will appear on the internet.

I noticed in the recent article of Sundance awards, that BM 4K and 6K were used a lot by fiction people just after Alexia. When C300 mkII was more a documentary camera.

I was impressed to see professionals were using a lot of BM cameras costing from 1200 to 2000$.
This means something, no?


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## Matthew1551 (Feb 18, 2021)

Well worth the price and hopefully addresses some of the issues we/I had with the previous 6K body. Better battery life to be expected, built in ND filters, flip up screen, EVF addon. Totally worth it to me having used the original 6K body extensively.


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## EOS 4 Life (Feb 18, 2021)

telemaque said:


> So let's see the image quality as soon as some footage will appear on the internet.


It is the same exact sensor and image processor.
The only difference is the color science from the URSA.


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## EOS 4 Life (Feb 18, 2021)

This might explain the FX3 leaks.
Sony likes to steal the attention away from other camera announcements.


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## landon (Feb 18, 2021)

Wish Canon C60:
RF mount, NDs, Flippy screen, BP-A30 - As per C70
5dm4 size.
Optional EVF
One mini XLR is sufficient.


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## peters (Feb 18, 2021)

landon said:


> Wish Canon C60:
> RF mount, NDs, Flippy screen, BP-A30 - As per C70
> 5dm4 size.
> Optional EVF
> One mini XLR is sufficient.


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.


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## BroderLund (Feb 18, 2021)

codynpatterson said:


> Their 4K and 6k have great auto focus. Especially the 6k since it’s got a bigger sensor.


One time contrast-based autofocus, yes. And only in the centre of the sensor. But not continuous during shooting with face tracking like Canon and Sony can do.


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## EOS 4 Life (Feb 18, 2021)

BroderLund said:


> One time contrast-based autofocus, yes. And only in the centre of the sensor. But not continuous during shooting with face tracking like Canon and Sony can do.


I would not even put Blackmagic auto-focus on the level of Panasonic, but this type of cinema camera does not really need it.


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## cayenne (Feb 18, 2021)

EOS 4 Life said:


> I would not even put Blackmagic auto-focus on the level of Panasonic, but this type of cinema camera does not really need it.


I was kinda thinking along the same lines.....this is the type camera you're more likely to be pulling manual focus on still right?
This isn't really for the vlogger type, holding the camera in front of themselves needing auto focus, etc.....at least that's what I'd assumed these cameras to be used primarily for...


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## CarlMillerPhoto (Feb 18, 2021)

I'm blown away each time I cut pocket cam log prores 422 footage. Cuts like butter in Premiere, the IQ/DR is fantastic, and it's very easy to match colors with my R5 and C200. This 6k Pro seems to fix all the reasons I didn't grab one previously, and at a mind-blowing price. I've wanted a C70 but I'm thinking twice now that I can get one of these for half the price. In this day and age of inflation I never would've thought a S35 6k Proress cam with built in 3-stage NDs and a 5" 1500 nit tilting screen for $2500 was possible. $2500?!?!?! I do wonder if Black Magic is making terrible margins on everything or if they're just small enough to not have the overhead of the larger Sony/Canon/Panasonic giants. Whatever their strategy I hope they stick with it.


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## EOS 4 Life (Feb 18, 2021)

cayenne said:


> I was kinda thinking along the same lines.....this is the type camera you're more likely to be pulling manual focus on still right?
> This isn't really for the vlogger type, holding the camera in front of themselves needing auto focus, etc.....at least that's what I'd assumed these cameras to be used primarily for...


They even put a tilt screen instead of a side flip-out screen to leave no illusions of a vlog camera.


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## Atlasman (Feb 18, 2021)

CarlMillerPhoto said:


> I'm blown away each time I cut pocket cam log prores 422 footage. Cuts like butter in Premiere, the IQ/DR is fantastic, and it's very easy to match colors with my R5 and C200. This 6k Pro seems to fix all the reasons I didn't grab one previously, and at a mind-blowing price. I've wanted a C70 but I'm thinking twice now that I can get one of these for half the price. In this day and age of inflation I never would've thought a S35 6k Proress cam with built in 3-stage NDs and a 5" 1500 nit tilting screen for $2500 was possible. $2500?!?!?! I do wonder if Black Magic is making terrible margins on everything or if they're just small enough to not have the overhead of the larger Sony/Canon/Panasonic giants. Whatever their strategy I hope they stick with it.


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!


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## jvillain (Feb 19, 2021)

cayenne said:


> I was kinda thinking along the same lines.....this is the type camera you're more likely to be pulling manual focus on still right?
> This isn't really for the vlogger type, holding the camera in front of themselves needing auto focus, etc.....at least that's what I'd assumed these cameras to be used primarily for...


Pffffff!!! Josh Yo showed how over blown the focus issues when vlogging with the BMPCC are long ago.  






OK, maybe it's not the first choice as a vlogging camera. If your new to video and not following Josh your really missing out on some one very creative.

BTW the built in NDs aren't just ND they are IRND curing the IR issues the original BMPCCs have. There is a 2 & 4 stop that can be combined as a 6 stop. I just wish they had narrowed it so it worked on a gimbal better.


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## DBounce (Feb 19, 2021)

telemaque said:


> Obviously, it is important nowadays to stay tuned...
> Big news almost every day !
> So let's see the image quality as soon as some footage will appear on the internet.
> 
> ...


It’s the exact same sensor from the current 6K, so I wouldn’t expect it to look any different.


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## jam05 (Feb 19, 2021)

peters said:


> 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 (Feb 19, 2021)

Atlasman said:


> 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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## jvillain (Feb 19, 2021)

jam05 said:


> 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 (Feb 19, 2021)

cayenne said:


> 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 (Feb 19, 2021)

Atlasman said:


> 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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## telemaque (Feb 19, 2021)

The movie Monkeypixels did with a BPMCC 6K (mark I)


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## landon (Feb 19, 2021)

C70 and Pocket6kpro is tempting, but I've curbed my GAS and waiting for C200ii and C90 announcement. Don't want to regret buy. Got too many unnecessary gear already.


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## peters (Feb 19, 2021)

jam05 said:


> 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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## EOS 4 Life (Feb 20, 2021)

telemaque said:


> 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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## jvillain (Feb 20, 2021)

telemaque said:


> 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.





EOS 4 Life said:


> 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 (Feb 20, 2021)

EOS 4 Life said:


> 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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## EOS 4 Life (Feb 21, 2021)

jvillain said:


> do you need a top handle?


Most of the people I see use C70 without a top-handle.
The form factors are very similar


jvillain said:


> 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.


jvillain said:


> 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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## gibbygoo (Feb 21, 2021)

If it had usable AF, especially for interviews, it would take the market. Sooooooo close to what I would want, but for a one-man band specializing in talking-head interviews, it's a non-starter. Bummer!


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## telemaque (Feb 23, 2021)

peters said:


> 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).
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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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## telemaque (Feb 23, 2021)

jvillain said:


> 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.



OKAY, I thought it was a space eater. I will check the exact mbytes/s. 
Thanks for the feedback.


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## peters (Feb 24, 2021)

telemaque said:


> 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.
> ...


hahaha =D Thats awesome! How did they respond? =D =D =D


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## telemaque (Feb 24, 2021)

peters said:


> 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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## peters (Feb 25, 2021)

telemaque said:


> 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.
> ...


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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