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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

New Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K

BLACKMAGIC POCKET CINEMA CAMERA 6K | FOOTAGE & INITIAL THOUGHTS (insane)


Mostly video samples at about the 1:21 minute mark

By keithcity




Hey guys!

Over the weekend I got my hands on my very own Blackmagic Pocket Cinema 6K. I went ahead and made a very quick video as I am currently working on getting another one up that will go more in depth with the specifics of the camera. In the meantime, take a look at my first impressions of the camera, as well as some sample footage I captured.

Follow me on IG & Twitter if you'd like me to make more videos like this one!

Socials:
https://instagram.com/keithcity
https://twitter.com/keithcity_

Sample footage: (feel free to download and play around with it!)
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/l5peirzcy86xrwu/AACFh2JfG1US_bIS5J4zdvzHa?dl=0

Music:
https://www.instagram.com/8kgodmusic/
 
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Misha Engel said:
I stick with Michael Cioni's point of view when it comes to 8k delivery from a bayer-pattern sensor (you need around 11k).
Click to expand...

There's that answer and the other answer he supports as well, 8K for 8K is fine and is broadly accepted as is 4K for 4K. It's more ideal to oversample, it's not "necessary" to do it. For most studios it is or is becoming mandatory to capture at or above the desired finishing resolution.

Though famously published and talked about these days via the Netflix published standards for their Original content, studio-wide well before that back when even Netscape Navigator was a thing you needed to do the same as well. The only really huge no-go was scaling up from a lower resolution source, though commonly done on 2K workflows when going back out to the laser recorder, but all that material was derived from a higher resolution source in the process. Sort of weird scan at 4K, 6K, or 8K even, downsample to working resolutions (often 2K), using a rather complicated rerez kernals outputting to the laser recorder back at 4K or if they source was at 4K or higher, at the res or downsampled to. Strangely this process made more sense when you look at the resolution loss between going from neg to print and the laser recorded intermediate stock, which was extremely low noise and fairly high resolution compared to say ASA 500 film.

There's the ideal practices, best practices, and things you should likely be avoiding in all of this. Mathematically depending on the full optical chain, sensor design, and method of demosiacing a RAW image to a usuable image data ideally you're looking at approximately 71-80%.

I'm friends with Cioni, I don't think he'd really argue against any of what I'm saying. He's said it himself publicly a bunch too. From a key marketing angle, specifically for early adoption of 8K capture, one of the main focuses is just how ideal that would be for a 4K delivery. That for a second in the world of Panavision was a tough sale until the appropriate education was put forth regarding the flexibility of the resolution and format size.


Jacek Zakowicz said:
I'm not so sure about that. It may also create a generation of lazy film makers the lack the vision and discipline to create great stories. Since everything can be reframed and fixed in post... We have already seen that with the insane amount of data generated by production due to perceived cheap storage. Many jobs don't even stop recording between takes. As shocking as it sounds ... The perceived value of production for some is reflected by the number of terrabytes they turn in. Just like it seemed few years ago that lenses were selling by pound (or kilo) and they got huge... Thankfully that silliness is over with lenses....I don't see that happening with data based on what you are saying...
Click to expand...

Agree. I still for the most part work within standard film practices when it comes to my shooting ratios. Like you describe it leads occasionally to some not-so-ideal situations in post and a real lack of efficiency on a set, though you do certainly look busier sometimes.

My personal logic/method on all of this is having the background and intentions of a film based workflow, applying the strengths of digital cinematography and surrounding technologies to the workflow, and proceeding from there.

It's a very deliberate way of working, but it leads to efficiency outside of "rolling forever" and fixing things in post that are "repairing mistakes" rather than going at it from a creative angle.

The class I instructed at Gnomon featured a section on how less is more when it comes to creating and crafting motion pictures. I find it very true. I'm a format purest and rarely crop my footage or even stabilize in post for that matter, but there's different workflows for different productions and creatives. I actually like that guys like Fincher have the ability to role a fair amount when they work to unlock the vein he goes with in the edit, most of the oversampling he deploys is there for a bit of safety net, but on things like Mindhunters they are using the extra resolution to actually add distortion to the lenses to fit the period and all that. That's not lazy work, that's all pretty deliberate.

But yep, there's a whole lot of the other side of that coin out there. Even on big productions.
 
Phil Holland said:
There's that answer and the other answer he supports as well, 8K for 8K is fine and is broadly accepted as is 4K for 4K. It's more ideal to oversample, it's not "necessary" to do it. For most studios it is or is becoming mandatory to capture at or above the desired finishing resolution.
Click to expand...

"fine", "broadly accepted", "more ideal", "not necessary", "most", "desired" are words often used in opinions and there is nothing wrong with opinions, I like to stick to the facts in this case.

Here is another classic: https://tech.ebu.ch/files/live/sites/tech/files/shared/tech/tech3335_s16.pdf was presented as a fact by the EBU in 2015 and not rectified in anyway by the EBU.

Phil Holland said:
Though famously published and talked about these days via the Netflix published standards for their Original content, studio-wide well before that back when even Netscape Navigator was a thing you needed to do the same as well. The only really huge no-go was scaling up from a lower resolution source, though commonly done on 2K workflows when going back out to the laser recorder, but all that material was derived from a higher resolution source in the process. Sort of weird scan at 4K, 6K, or 8K even, downsample to working resolutions (often 2K), using a rather complicated rerez kernals outputting to the laser recorder back at 4K or if they source was at 4K or higher, at the res or downsampled to. Strangely this process made more sense when you look at the resolution loss between going from neg to print and the laser recorded intermediate stock, which was extremely low noise and fairly high resolution compared to say ASA 500 film.
Click to expand...

The Netflix published standards are a marketing tool and a standard for what they want, when they think a 4k-bayer sensor is good enough for UHD (rgb) delivery to their customers that up to them. They don't claim a perfect demosaiced 4k/UHD output (I think they have a legal team, but that's just my guess).

Phil Holland said:
There's the ideal practices, best practices, and things you should likely be avoiding in all of this. Mathematically depending on the full optical chain, sensor design, and method of demosiacing a RAW image to a usuable image data ideally you're looking at approximately 71-80%.
Click to expand...

You know the bayer sensor input resolution and you can measure the RGB output resolution, no hocus pocus whatsoever and with these values you can calculate the factor needed to come to a perfect debayer to whatever rgb output resolution.


Phil Holland said:
I'm friends with Cioni, I don't think he'd really argue against any of what I'm saying. He's said it himself publicly a bunch too. From a key marketing angle, specifically for early adoption of 8K capture, one of the main focuses is just how ideal that would be for a 4K delivery. That for a second in the world of Panavision was a tough sale until the appropriate education was put forth regarding the flexibility of the resolution and format size.
Click to expand...

Friends can have different opinions a stay friends. This is what I'm referring to
and with some comment https://www.cinema5d.com/8k-acquisition-delivery-real-innovation-or-mere-evolution/

8K capture (or 7K in our case) for 4K delivery is not only good for markting, it's also perfect to get a perfect demosaiced 4k rgb output.

Now I will send a bill to Google for selling my search history to whomever is willing to pay for it.
 
Pocket 6K vs Pocket 4K - Low Light Tests




By Tom Antos







Download the uncompressed, 6K version of this low light test on my website http://bit.ly/2H5Gtus This test is only to see how the noise looks not the brightness More INFO below

I shot this test on the Pocket 6K camera with a Rokinon 50mm lens and the Pocket 4K camera had the Metabones Speed Booster lens adapter and Canon 50mm lens. Follow the links below for info on exact gear used.

Watch the full review of the Pocket 6K camera here https://youtu.be/4Z8Q8rTvwZA
 
I'm not disagreeing with you Misha about the core concepts of the mathematics involved with "RGB Output", you started elsewhere. I'm trying to illuminate even though you "know the sensor input resolution" you can't simply measure the resolution based on the blind equation. You actually need to measure it. This mostly stems from the advancements of sensors and various demosaic algorithms/methods. You're now moving the needle to True RGB Output, which is fine and that is what the process of demosaicing is all about. And yes, you'll have more color resolution as well as pixel resolution the higher you go.

I'll quote and highlight Graeme's interview that you seem to either be critical of or ignoring:

From this interview:
"PB: Some would say that a Bayer sensor renders the true resolution of the camera at around 70% of the sensor’s resolution (or number of photosites). Is this an overly simplified way of looking at it?

GN: Yes, it’s more nuanced than that. First, let’s look at where that 70% figure comes from: in a Bayer pattern sensor, half the pixels are green, so if you assume they’re the only ones contributing to image resolution and that there’s no optical filtration ahead of the sensor, a monochrome sensor of the same number of pixels as there are green pixels on a Bayer sensor would have a horizontal pixel count of 1/root(2) or ~71%. To put that into solid numbers a 4K Bayer sensor has a resolution of 4096×2304 = 9,437,184 pixels. Half of those pixels are green (so 4,718,592 green pixels). A monochrome sensor of 4,718,592 total pixels would be 2896 x 1629 (4,717,584 total pixels due to rounding). The horizontal resolution ratio is therefore 2896/4096 = 0.707, our ~71% figure.

In the explanation above, I made two key assumptions (resolution only comes from green pixels, and that there’s no optical filtering), and they’re critical for understanding not just that the 70% figure is on the low side, but also that we run into other whole system problems (remembering the camera is the start of a chain that continues through post-production and broadcast/delivery) if we wish to take it higher."


I digress from that and let you go from there, but there's a lot to learn about assumptions from Under Seige 2: Dark Territory, which regrettably didn't get a nomination.


The Netflix thing isn't just marketing, they happen to publish their requirements online. And there is some wiggle room to adapt to the creative process from there.


I'll leave you on a lighter note and a riddle as I haven't published the data from this particular quandary, but it involves RGB Output resolution.

How much resolution and what format size relative to the modern ASA speed is required from the scan of a film negative for "true RGB output" for a given resolution, i.e. 4K?

That one was a fun and tragic hole to go down. And bare in mind my notes about film resolution online are focused on resolving power and are generally generous to the cause.
 
Full Moon Family Hike Silhouettes - Filmed with BMPCC6k





By Jesse Watson








This video is dedicated to my mom and all other parents who foster adventure, creativity, and leave a positive impact on their kids and planet.

Shot on August 14, 2019 in Yuma, Arizona with the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K

I utilized a mixture between Google Earth, The Photographer's Ephemeris, and a lot of Googlefoo to plan this shot. Hardest part was finding people that were up for a hike in this summer heat. Once I had the locations plotted I set up about an hour before hand to direct Sarah and her kids as well as getting my video rig set up. I positioned my tripod in between my truck doors as a wind block and a tripod bag with weights in it to limit rig movement with a telephoto lens.

As soon as the moon was in position everything moved quickly and was out of position within a few minutes. You really don't realize how quick Earth is spinning until you try to shoot something like this or an eclipse.

Big thanks to my friend Sara for bringing her family out for this shoot. They were absolute troopers as it was a scorching 115 degrees in the Arizona desert.
 
BMPCC6k Test with Sigma 18-35 art at sunset




By Jon Almas






Having just got my Black Magic Pocket 6k I took it to the beach for a sunset test. I also don't really know resolve yet but look forward to getting to know them both more and posting more content with this combined with the pocket 4k!

Video was downscaled to about 4k because it appeared to be what resolve would allow as a max due to being on 16.1 Beta and not my studio version
 
BMPCC6K Blackmagic Pocket Cinema 6K Test at the Park





By Vandelay Productions









Quick Test with some 2X crop.

Filmed with:
Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema 6K camera
12:1 Compression 6K Raw in 'film' colorspace
PocketLUTS Alexa LUT
Shot on Canon 24-105 L f4 with Breakthrough Photography ND
and Hoya IR Cut Filter.
 
BMPCC 6K HDR265




By ประวิช รังษีเสริมสุข



 
BMPCC 6k VS. BMPCC 4k Colors │ Clips Only





By Chris Cavalier









What do you think of the colors?

This video is a side by side comparison of the BMPCC 6k vs. BMPCC 4k colors. This was a test I did in my house with some studio lights. I will be doing a more natural light comparison later on.

If you like what you saw, consider subscribing for more videos like it!

Social Media:
Insta: https://instagram.com/chriscavalier27...

Imdb: https://m.imdb.com/name/nm6649835/?re...
 
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6k Sample Footage - Streets of Princeton





By kushagra K




Hey everyone,

Sharing some test shots from BMPCC6k in iso range between 400- 3200.

Also shot on BMPCC6k in 6k in 8:1 compression ratio of BRAW, edited and graded in Resolve.
 
Phil Holland said:
I'm not disagreeing with you Misha about the core concepts of the mathematics involved with "RGB Output", you started elsewhere. I'm trying to illuminate even though you "know the sensor input resolution" you can't simply measure the resolution based on the blind equation. You actually need to measure it. This mostly stems from the advancements of sensors and various demosaic algorithms/methods. You're now moving the needle to True RGB Output, which is fine and that is what the process of demosaicing is all about. And yes, you'll have more color resolution as well as pixel resolution the higher you go.

I'll quote and highlight Graeme's interview that you seem to either be critical of or ignoring:

From this interview:
"PB: Some would say that a Bayer sensor renders the true resolution of the camera at around 70% of the sensor’s resolution (or number of photosites). Is this an overly simplified way of looking at it?

GN: Yes, it’s more nuanced than that. First, let’s look at where that 70% figure comes from: in a Bayer pattern sensor, half the pixels are green, so if you assume they’re the only ones contributing to image resolution and that there’s no optical filtration ahead of the sensor, a monochrome sensor of the same number of pixels as there are green pixels on a Bayer sensor would have a horizontal pixel count of 1/root(2) or ~71%. To put that into solid numbers a 4K Bayer sensor has a resolution of 4096×2304 = 9,437,184 pixels. Half of those pixels are green (so 4,718,592 green pixels). A monochrome sensor of 4,718,592 total pixels would be 2896 x 1629 (4,717,584 total pixels due to rounding). The horizontal resolution ratio is therefore 2896/4096 = 0.707, our ~71% figure.

In the explanation above, I made two key assumptions (resolution only comes from green pixels, and that there’s no optical filtering), and they’re critical for understanding not just that the 70% figure is on the low side, but also that we run into other whole system problems (remembering the camera is the start of a chain that continues through post-production and broadcast/delivery) if we wish to take it higher."


I digress from that and let you go from there, but there's a lot to learn about assumptions from Under Seige 2: Dark Territory, which regrettably didn't get a nomination.
Click to expand...

Same answer as above:

"You know the bayer sensor input resolution and you can measure the RGB output resolution, no hocus pocus whatsoever and with these values you can calculate the factor needed to come to a perfect debayer to whatever rgb output resolution."

As an example:
Bayer input 5568x3132 > perfect demosaiced RGB output 3400x1900 , the factor is 5568/3400 or 3132/1900 ~ 1.64

or

perfect demosaiced RGB output 3400x1900 < Bayer input 5568x3132, the factor is 3400/5568 or 1900/3132 ~ 0.61

You can use what suits you best.

Phil Holland said:
IThe Netflix thing isn't just marketing, they happen to publish their requirements online. And there is some wiggle room to adapt to the creative process from there.


I'll leave you on a lighter note and a riddle as I haven't published the data from this particular quandary, but it involves RGB Output resolution.

How much resolution and what format size relative to the modern ASA speed is required from the scan of a film negative for "true RGB output" for a given resolution, i.e. 4K?

That one was a fun and tragic hole to go down. And bare in mind my notes about film resolution online are focused on resolving power and are generally generous to the cause.
Click to expand...

Same answer as above:

The Netflix published standards are a marketing tool and a standard for what they want, when they think a 4k-bayer sensor is good enough for UHD (rgb) delivery to their customers that's up to them. They don't claim a perfect demosaiced 4k/UHD output (I think they have a legal team, but that's just my guess).
 
Pocket 6K vs Arri Alexa / RED Raven / URSA Mini Pro




By Tom Antos





Which camera do you think looks the best? Let me know if you can spot the Blackmagic Pocket 6K camera or the Arri Alexa Mini or Red Raven or the URSA Mini Pro. More INFO below

Special thanks to AbelCine for making this test possible! https://www.abelcine.com/


Download RAW files from the Pocket 6K here: https://wp.me/p8IV72-50g

( At the bottom of the page linked above and before the photos of the ABCD cameras)
 
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Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Footage BTS on Set



By Sam and Dan






More footage from the new Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K. This footage is essentially just behind the scenes footage of what a day on set can be like for me. Hope you enjoy!

This was shot entirely in BlackMagic Raw 8:1 compression. Sigma Art 18-35mm f/1.8 lens.

Graded with standard Film to Extended Video Lut from Davinci Resolve.

About me:
My name is Sam Fiorentino and I am a cinematographer and camera team member located in Orlando, Florida.
Follow me on instagram: @sam_fiorentino
 
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K in 4K HDR



By Sittipong Kongtong







I just got the new camera a BMPCC 6K to test. It was so incredible in over all performance. I shot these clips in full 6K 16x9 and composed for 2.39 : 1 in final release,
All shot was hand held.

Technical
Camera : Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K
Lens : Sigma 17-70 F2.8-4
ND : KANI Variable ND
Project Frame Rate : 25P
Shooting Frame Rate : 25p and Off speed at 50fps in 6K
Shooting File Format : BRAW Q5
Media : CFast 2.0
Sound : Internal Microphone (in camera microphone)
Editing $ Color : DaVinci Resolve Studio 16.1 beta 1
 
BMPCC 6k VS. BMPCC 4k low light ISO test│ Clips Only




By Chris Cavalier




What do you think of the ISO differences?

This video is a side by side comparison of the BMPCC 6k vs. BMPCC 4k low light capability. This was a test I did in my house with a dim light. I will be doing a more natural light comparison later on.

If you like what you saw, consider subscribing for more videos like it!

Social Media:
Insta: https://instagram.com/chriscavalier27...

Imdb: https://m.imdb.com/name/nm6649835/?re...
 
You have seen a lot of footage and other video's by now, what is you opinion on this BMPCC 6k camera, considering everything you find important?
 
Misha,



I don't like how the footage blows out the highlights in some instances. However, from the comparisons against the 4K version, I think it does a better job of retaining more highlight detail. The "highlight recovery" function in the Blackmagic Raw tab in Resolve, IMHO, seems to be not that useful. The skin tones and some lighting scenarios seem to push more toward green but can be as easily corrected as the greenish bias in the red Helium, Monstro or Gemini. Also, I like the Raw controls for Blackmagic Raw(.Braw) and their effectiveness on the .Braw files.


The colors seem okay for coming from a 12-bit Raw file but I think the 'Komodo" will hopefully have atleast some form of 16-bit or maybe a 14-bit Redcode Raw capabilities.



Still playing around with some sample footage , so still just examining things.



PS

I really like developing the .Braw files with "Color Space"="Blackmagic Design" and "Gamma"= "Blackmagic Design". I don't like using the "Blackmagic Design" Transform Luts.
 
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