Blackmagic 4K vs Cinema Camera 6K | Round 1

With the new Cinema Camera 6K out from Blackmagic Design, do you stick with your Pocket 4K or make the move?

I was never a fan of going to the Blackmagic Pocket 6K over the Pocket 4K cameras. However, when Blackmagic announced a FULL FRAME Cinema Camera 6K I made the purchase.

Why? Sensor size. A full frame sensor has larger photosites which in theory should deliver a better image than the Pocket 4K or the Pocket 6K.

When the camera came in, I decided to do some tests against my trusty Pocket 4K's.

In this video I walk through the main differences on a Pocket 4K vs Cinema Camera 6K. Plus we take a deep dive into various test footage I've shot since the Cinema Camera 6K came in. The footage is both inside with controlled lighting and outside at twilight and late morning in the sun.

Hope this helps clear the fog if you're on the fence!

#blackmagiccinemacamera6k
#pocket4kvscinemacamera6k
#blackmagic4kvs6k

[Bobbylopezcreative]

You miss what I consider to be the best shooting configuration with the pocket 4K and that pairing it with a metabones XL adapter. This gives you closer to full frame field of view, one extra stop of light and all the frame rates that the pocket 4K enjoys that the other cameras simply cannot touch.

[harshbidhuri]

As I was watching this video i was scrolling around your other videos and found that all of your videos resonate with me. This is rare . You have a great combination of art and technicality of filmmaking. subscribed with Bell icon.👍👍👍👍👍 Please don't make just one type of videos always have combination between storytelling and technicalities.

[GayBoucheryGonzague]

I am bit puzzled here for 3 things.

1. Oversampling IS a good thing and not Messy (08:43). Many cameras like the Z9 or S5IIx or FX30 have upscale 4K video from the 8.3K (for the Z9) and 6K for the other cameras. Which give at the end a sharper image and smaller noise (since it is coming from an oversampeled 6K image).
2. Window mode is CROP sensor = MORE NOISE / LESS SHARP than for example anything you shoot natively on the BMPCC4K. Every camera I used in Window mode (cropping the sensor) gave my inferior image (BMPCC6K, BMCC6K, Z9, Z8, SH1, S5IIX...).
3. CFexpress are cheaper than CFast. I use Angelbird cards for everything. a CFexpress SE that is capable to record in Q0 in the BMCC6K cost 129 USD in 512GB, and 529 USD in CFast for the BMPCC4K/6K.

[AndrewZeletrainStudios]

Been rocking the Pocket 4K with a metabones speedbooster for awhile. Love it and will not get rid of it. However, after the announcement of the Pyxis 6K, I think my Pocket 4K is going to have to share a camera bag with it's boxy new brother. Mostly getting for the form factor, rigging options and the resolution when doing vfx. Your video also really put me at ease a bit on the FF 4k DCI mode.

[inkusaido]

Thanks for this video! It was very informative and very well crafted. I love the BMCC6K and the image is stuning, but you can see some fixed pattern noise or maybe horizontal cmos smearing on the canddle shot at 16:08 on the 6K. Some other users have pointed this out and it's really tragic, the GH6 suffered from this aswell.

[KaarloMedia]

Excellent video and just what I was looking for! I've been using the P4K with Metabones 0.64XL speedbooster for years now and always loved the image. It's much more pleasing than e.g. the Sony A7SIII or FX3 and the Canon R5 (ok RAW is super nice, too).

I also have 10 EF lenses that switch perfectly between the boosted P4K and the Canon. I have renewed my struggle with the P4K since the Blazar Remus anamorphic lenses were released and have been thinking of going for the FF6K, but I think I'll be just fine with the old stuff.

[matt.banton]

Very insightful thank you! The fullframe is on a crazy 40% off sale new right now :)

[AllTheBeef]

Now I'd like to see a comparison with the 6k vs the 4k with a .64 xl speedbooster w/ full frame lens and observe FOV and DOF and compare the advantage (if any) to the 4k

[WhiteMidnightFilms]

This was a great video, I’ve loved the pocket 4k, loved the cost of 4/3rd lenses, but miss the “look” and flexibility of my Canon 5d mark 3. Do you feel having extensive narrative experience with the pocket 4k, moving to the L mount 6k is smooth? The pocket 4k for example with a hand held rig like the Manfrotto Fig Rig allows me to use a lens like the Lumix 12-35 and get passable IS with a handheld style. Do you see similar results with the new 6K and something like the 24-105? Or is it jitterier?

[tce]

They really are smashing apart the industry, these cameras are incredible

[robertper]

Aren't the squeeze factors on the 50mm lenses different? I thought the MFT is 1.33x and the full frame is 1.6x.

[DownriverFilmmaker]

I like how you address a variety of filmmaking topics on your channel. I did not notice any videos about finding amateur actors. Do you have any suggestions?

[JonasStuart]

20:24 resolution from your 6K at 4K is showing 4096 x 1620 compared to the 4K at 4096 x 2160. Could this account for the difference in file size?

[petermcdonald]

Very useful content. Would you still recommend the Sirui 50mm T2.9 Full Frame 1.6x Anamorphic Lens for the 6k full frame? Can you do a video on them if you haven't yet?

[LukeBroadhurstfilm]

I picked up the camera and having lots of problems with CMOs smearing and horizontal banding in low light, that my pocket 6k pro handles beautifully (can shoot under exposed and correct in post with no loss of detail, while the CC6kFF can’t be fixed as the bands are permanent).

This is a real shame. Hoping it’s just a batch defect, otherwise it looks like I’ll be having to jump ship to Sony…

[carloseduardomenjivar]

Dear friend, I am very surprised by many things in this video, one is that the 4k with so many years is still an incredible camera, I can't believe how much they are similar, secondly the siriu lenses make both cameras look like a 50k one, for Lastly, the size of the files, what an incredible video, thank you very much for all this information

[edielayland]

I'm watching this video, but I can't get your role as the outlaw out of my head. You're still the outlaw, only now you're comparing cameras. 😂

[karlInSanDiego]

Question: If festivals (and frankly all theaters, to my knowledge) project at 2k not 4k, isn't the likelihood greater that your work in 4k is most likely to be seen in 4k ONLY online or on streaming services (ie Netflix, Max)? 2nd Question: what's the actual 4 windowed sensor size in windowed 4k on the BM6K camera? It says "Clip Resolution: 4096 x 1620" cryptically, which might explain why the windowed 4k clip is smaller BRAW file. Last Question: What are the repercussions of shooting in full 6k glory (or even 4k on the BMPCC4k) and downsampling tremendously to 2k for your final submission to a festival? Seems like there should be some benefit to never downsampling in post and actually having your original footage never be mangled (pixel wise) in post, other than your coloring/exposure? We capture all this reality from careful lens/sensor treatment and then treat the digital image like every pixel captured was never sacred in the least. 🤔
I would venture to guess that someone shooting handheld in 6k, framing that shot for the inner 4k within your field of view, using gyro to image stabilize, and cropping your edit to window 4k within that gyro corrected mess would deliver the best moving shots of all combos discussed in this comparison. In that case, you'd really benefit from having bars on the display to understand your 4k window when filming. Not sure if BM6k offers that in the HDMI display or if the gyro stabilization is great in the 6k Cinema?

[AliRanjbar]

It was really useful and scientific. Thank you for taking the time to make this video

[MrCoffis]

On the file sizes I am wondering what the discrepancy between clip resolution and sensor area captured is all about.
Maybe it’s the reason the 6K creates less data? 🤔