Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K adds EF mount
Blackmagic Design has a new version of its affordable camera, with the Pocket Cinema Camera 6K keeping the compact dimensions of its 4K predecessor but adding EF mount support. Launched in 2018, the Pocket Cinema Camera 4K is described by the company as the smallest digital cinema camera on the market, and offers the most affordable route into Blackmagic's software and hardware ecosystem.
The biggest feature request, Blackmagic says, has been when it comes to the lens support. The original Pocket Cinema Camera uses a Micro Four Thirds mount, but enthusiasts were asking for an EF mount instead. Now, Blackmagic is delivering just that.
The original camera stays as the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, and it's being joined by the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema 6K. The 6K version looks very similar, but the big changes are the EF mount and a bigger sensor too. As the name suggests, that supports 6K 6144 x 3456 resolution, with a shallower depth of field than the 4K model.
It should give videographers and photographers a huge amount of new flexibility for their shoots. The EF mount is the standard lens format for the Canon EOS, of course, but there are plenty of third-party lens options, too. This new 6K camera will be able to tap into that extensive catalog.
Otherwise, the specifications are pretty much in line with what we've seen before. That means ISO up to 25,600, along with 13 stops. There's 3D LUTS support and professional audio too with four microphones. On the back, there's a 5-inch display as before, and the camera saves in Blackmagic RAW format.
Importantly, you get the same copy of DaVinci Resolve Studio included with the camera. That's getting some updates today, too, with features to make building out a final edit far more straightforward. If you're already a Pocket Cinema Camera 4K owner, for example, you can easily timesync both that and this new 6K version to quickly mix together different shots of the same scene.
For both the 4K and the 6K versions, meanwhile, there's a new version of the software incoming. Blackmagic OS 6.6 will support multiple languages, together with a level that can show if the cameras are correctly oriented. It'll be possible to calibrate to a specific angle, if you want to come back to a certain orientation. There'll be gimbal support, allowing you to start/stop recording and control focus from the gimbal's controls, while the 4K camera will get new formats like a Super 16 crop.
The existing camera stays on sale, with the 4K model priced at $1,295, and the company says that it's still working through the backlog of orders, blaming component bottlenecks for the slowdown there. As for the Pocket Cinema Camera 6K, Blackmagic Design says that's shipping from today, priced at $2,495. OS 6.6 will follow on in 1-2 few months time as a free update.