Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K Review: Finally Full Frame

Table Of Content

• Hands-on: Multi-cam home studio – powered by a MacBook Pro and Thunderbolt
• NAB 2024: Amaran offers lighting solutions made for creators
• NAD 2024: DJI delivers on drones
• NAB 2024: Blackmagic Design updates the production playbook
• The Full-Frame Sensor Experience
• NAB 2024: A celebration of brilliance and innovation

It connects to a Mac over USB-C or Bluetooth, and for mobile work you can just slot an iPad Pro into the panel. Blackmagic Design today announced DaVinci Resolve Micro Color Panel, a new more affordable color panel for DaVinci Resolve software. DaVinci Resolve also packs a powerful new(ish) tool called Relight that uses artificial intelligence—the nongenerative kind—to alter the lighting conditions in a shot after the fact. Like with most effects, the more data you have to work with, the better the tool works. BlackMagic has long offered powerful hardware add-ons for video editors, but the four-figure pricing has been a barrier to many, with even the Micro Panel coming in at $895.

Hands-on: Multi-cam home studio – powered by a MacBook Pro and Thunderbolt

I spent far too much time at DJI’s booth ogling all the incredible new creator tools it unveiled. From the mind-blowing Avata 2 FPV drone to the rock-solid RS 4 gimbal, everything they showed off screams next-level content creation. DaVinci Resolve 19, Blackmagic Design’s professional-grade video production software, boasted a massive update, packed with features that will have creators jumping for joy. Powered by the DaVinci Neural Engine, the update includes groundbreaking AI tools like the IntelliTrack AI point tracker for flawless stabilization and object tracking. Colorists will love the new ColorSlice grading palette for precise six-vector corrections, while the Film Look Creator helps achieve that coveted cinematic look. I swung by the Insta360 booth at NAB 2024 and got to play around with its brand-new flagship camera, the X4.

NAB 2024: Amaran offers lighting solutions made for creators

Its newly unveiled Atlas software-defined storage platform and business model won the NAB 2024 Show Award for Product of the Year in the Connect Category - Cloud Computing and Storage. Atlas offers a revolutionary composable storage model, priced based on capabilities rather than capacity, giving creators advanced options. As an individual content creator, imagine being given back half of your time to focus on new projects or spend more time with clients or loved ones. I can't wait to test Strada out on my weekly productions as it will help free up my time for things like saying no to my kids for my own entertainment (just kidding... mostly). Plus, it has voice and gesture controls for hands-free shooting and super easy AI-powered editing to help you create stunning videos.

NAD 2024: DJI delivers on drones

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"Hey, your review helped me choose my laptop!" That kind of feedback makes all the work we do feel extra valuable. Seeing how everyday tech translates into the media we consume daily was mind-blowing. They're the workhorses behind massive data sets, epic movie scenes, and everything in between. Having spent endless hours sitting in editing bays, I can’t stress enough the potential Strada shows for cutting that time in half. Time savings like this are crucial for production teams, especially while adhering to the pressure cooker schedules the industry is known for. I watched Strada CEO and founder of Strada, Michael Cioni, demonstrate the software’s revolutionary toolset.

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If you're looking to up your content game, DJI is definitely the place to look. For those not in the know, the NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) Show is an annual showcase of the tech that elevates creators across the entire content spectrum. Having just returned from NAB 2024, I can attest to what a whirlwind of inspiration and cutting-edge technology this year’s show was.

A true industry veteran with over 20 years of experience, David's demeanor is as laid-back as his T-shirt and jeans. Despite his impressive background–which includes serving as Director of Engineering at Adobe Systems and working with some of the most prominent production houses–he's one of the coolest people you'll ever meet. All knobs, dials and buttons are high quality and have been custom designed to produce the perfect amount of resistance, so customers can accurately fine tune any parameter. The full-frame camera can capture considerably more light and get more vivid colors without having to crank the ISO level up.

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The Full-Frame Sensor Experience

If you're looking for a powerful and versatile 360° camera, the Insta360 X4 is a good option to look at. During my time on the show floor, I was surrounded by brilliant minds pushing the boundaries of content creation–from Hollywood studios to passionate home creators dreaming of becoming the next industry giants. While many Mac owners use Final Cut Pro as their primary editor, DaVinci Resolve is commonly used for color grading due to its more powerful tools.

The new more portable model features a mounting slot for an Apple iPad Pro, an internal battery and connects via Bluetooth or USB-C. The DaVinci Resolve Micro Color Panel is available in May from Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide for US$495. What sets the L-mount apart is its flange focal distance—that is, the distance from the outermost edge of the mount to the surface of the sensor. This matters because, when it comes to using adapters to put a lens designed for one mounting system on another, the mount you’re adapting a lens to can’t be larger than the mount it was originally designed for.

NAB 2024: A celebration of brilliance and innovation

Led by VP of Marketing Aaron Tsai, Amaran prioritizes user-friendliness and mobile-friendly solutions, seamlessly integrating with Aputure's established quality. Blackmagic’s start-to-finish color grading system is still second to none. The camera records in up to 12-bit Blackmagic RAW, and the company’s DaVinci Resolve software has some of the most robust color grading tools in the industry. In my testing, the full-frame camera gave me better results with the same conditions and workflow, rarely requiring as much tweaking in the Color tab to get the same image as I got from the PCC6K Pro.

It shoots incredible 8K 360° videos, which allows you to pick any angle you want after filming. It's like having a time machine for your shots–letting you point the camera wherever you want, whenever you want, after the fact. Even after you reframe everything, the footage stays crisp and clear thanks to the super high resolution. For example, Canon’s popular EF mount—and the mount used on previous Blackmagic cameras—had a flange focal distance of 44 mm.

Pro video hardware is always expensive, and one compromise often seen in more affordable versions is more plasticky controls, with poorer feel. But BlackMagic says that this Micro Color still has weighted trackballs and precision knobs. It’s a similar story for other popular mounting systems like the Nikon F-mount (46.5 mm) or the Arri PL-mount (52 mm). The only major lens mount that’s too short to be adapted here is the Micro Four Thirds system, which happens to be the mount used on Blackmagic’s older Pocket Cinema Camera 4K. If you have lenses from an MFT camera, you might want to think carefully about upgrading. As a reviewer who connects with manufacturers and helps readers find the perfect laptop, hearing from creators–pros and hobbyists alike–is the ultimate validation.

DaVinci Resolve 19 is a game-changer, and it's clear Blackmagic Design is staying put at the forefront of content creation. It lacks the built-in neutral density filters I liked in the PCC6K Pro, but the new features are worth the trade-off. Few camera manufacturers have managed to stand out the way Blackmagic has when it comes to capturing high-quality video on a mirrorless camera. The Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro (dubbed PCC6K Pro) impressed me when I reviewed it a few years ago, but somehow the company's new Cinema Camera 6K has managed to top it. With a full-frame sensor, the new L mount, and a similar $2,600 price, it’s turning my head again. I was fortunate enough to snag some minutes with Maxon's CEO, David McGavran.