Earlier in the week, I was invited to attend the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K Launch event in London. This event was kind of a big deal for Blackmagic, who had invited filmmakers from all over Europe to the Old Billingsgate event space in Central London for some drinks, mingling and screening of some of the latest projects shot on the Pocket 4K camera.
This seems like quite an update to Blackmagic's handheld video camera. The new Pocket Cinema Camera 4K sports a vastly updated design, a new Four Thirds-size sensor, support for DCI 4K/60p video and the ability to connect and record directly to USB-C storage devices.
Blackmagic plans to ship it later in the year for $1,300 (£1,029, AU$1,815).
The changes put it in direct competition with the Panasonic GH5s announced earlier this year. Like that camera, the PCC4K has a multi-aspect-ratio, dual ISO sensor, though it has a native high sensitivity of ISO 25600; like the HD model, Blackmagic claims 13 stops of dynamic range. It also specs the the effective dimensions as the full 18.96mm by 10mm Four Thirds sensor dimensions, rather than the usual 4:3 17.3 by 13mm crop from which it gets its name.
The full sensor, though, is the same aspect ratio as DCI 4K, 17:9. (I think Panasonic starts with a slightly higher-resolution sensor and changes the crop to get the 17:9 aspect for its implementation. Blackmagic doesn't say what resolution its sensor is.) And it's bigger than the Super 16 sensor in the previous model, while making better use of the Micro Four Thirds platform.
Other notable updates include support for 10-bit ProRes and 12-bit raw recording, 3D LUTs and four built in microphones. The combination of the dual native ISO, improved capture bit depths and the LUTs should allow it to deliver HDR video.
Engadget is now part of the Oath family. We (Oath) and our partners need your consent to access your device, set cookies, and use your data, including your location, to understand your interests, provide relevant ads and measure their effectiveness. Oath will also provide relevant ads to you on our partners' products. Learn More
![Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4k Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4k](https://www.cinema5d.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/BMOC-4K-4-of-9.jpg)
How Oath and our partners bring you better ad experiences
To give you a better overall experience, we want to provide relevant ads that are more useful to you. For example, when you search for a film, we use your search information and location to show the most relevant cinemas near you. We also use this information to show you ads for similar films you may like in the future. Like Oath, our partners may also show you ads that they think match your interests.
Learn more about how Oath collects and uses data and how our partners collect and use data.
Select 'OK' to allow Oath and our partners to use your data, or 'Manage options' to review our partners and your choices. Tip: Sign In to save these choices and avoid repeating this across devices. You can always update your preferences in the Privacy Centre.