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Stock image from Blackmagic Design’s website of second generation of the Cinema 6K
I recently had the chance to get hands on with the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K G2 and I have one thing to say, “ I freakin’ love this camera.”
Full disclosure… they sent this to us (StreamSemester.com) to give us a chance to check it out and provide some thoughts. We do not get to keep it (sad face), but I can already tell this will be the fastest two weeks of my professional life.
Alright, now that the credibility requirements have been met, let’s talk about this beast.
I did an unboxing video about it, which lays out everything that came in the box, and can be viewed below. But if you like words on a page, you can just keep reading after the video.
The first thing I noticed when I took the camera out of the box is the weight. It is significantly heavier than the Pocket Cinema 4K, which is the only Pocket Cinema I had the chance to use before this. The feel is bulkier because it gives you more tools. It also takes a larger battery than the 4K leading to a longer battery life.
Upon opening the box, you are greeted by the Blackmagic Design camera strap, which feels like it is made well, but is something that I would probably never use. I was recently turned onto the Peak Design Leash Camera strap, which I have found to be very lightweight and easy to use, if you are looking for a good option. I bought it on Amazon, so do a quick search there to see what you can find.
The second thing I removed from the box was the power supply. I really like the fact that they give you a reliable way to power the camera, apart from the battery. That is a big difference from most of my experiences with DSLR or mirrorless cameras. And it is truly needed with a cinema camera, which chews through a battery in no time.
I will say that the NP-F550 battery that came with this camera is a big upgrade in life over the batteries from the 4K cameras that I have. It is also a good affordable option, so it won’t break the bank to pick up a few of these to have on your longer shoot days. It does come with a battery charger, which plugs into a USB-A port on a computer or charging brick.
Again, and I will come back to this often, this camera is much beefier than the Cinema 4Ks. I definitely understand the need for this, with the added XLR port and such, but even if this camera didn’t have a few extra features, I just like the extra weight. I don’t feel like I am working out by carrying this around, but I feel like I am actually holding something, which I think helps with stabilization when you are shooting a more run-n-gun style of video.
The articulating display is very nice. It only pulls out and then will pivot up and down to allow you to shoot from a higher or lower angle, but I think this is all it needs to do. You are not going to be using this camera for a vlog, so there is no need to pull it out and around to do a selfie-style shoot. I think this is a great decision by the folks at Blackmagic because it is only less way that the camera can break. It is a sturdy pull out and easily moves back into place when you are shutting things down.
For memory, you can use an SD card, a CFast card, or an external hard drive, which is connected via a USB-C cable. The Cfast and the hard drive have faster write speeds, but I have not had a problem with my SD cards, which are considerably cheaper. I would probably consider making the move to CFast or drives if I were doing this daily in a professional workflow, but given that my day-to-day is with high school students, I am going to stick with what I know and what is cheap.
Here is my test footage from my first shoot with the Pocket Cinema 6K G2. I just grabbed a few shots around my classroom. It was an early morning shoot, with very little light, but I am not unhappy with how it turned out.
My initial thoughts are that I already love this thing. I am looking forward to putting it through its paces and giving it an honest review, but in terms of my experience with cinema cameras in a classroom environment, I am already sold. It will be hard to beat the price point on this camera, and even more, the ease of use.
I will let you know what I think though.
Update: April 28, 2023 – Tom had a chance to talk with the folks from Blackmagic Design at NAB 2023 and he is impressed. Checkout his thoughts and be sure to give the podcast a listen.
