Blackmagic’s Reasonably priced Pyxis 6K Full-Body Digital camera Shines in Take a look at Footage
Cinematographer Patrick O’Sullivan put the upcoming Blackmagic Pyxis 6K digital camera by way of the paces for a business shoot, displaying that the digital camera, which Blackmagic Design calls “the world’s most riggable full body digital movie digital camera,” is able to outstanding cinema-grade footage. The Blackmagic Pyxis 6K, introduced in April at NAB 2024, is designed to be a flexible resolution for filmmakers and small manufacturing groups on comparatively tight budgets. The Pyxis 6K cinema field digital camera is priced at simply $2,995 for its Canon EF and Leica L variations, making it one of many extra inexpensive full-frame 6K cinema cameras in the marketplace. The Arri PL model prices $200 extra, by the way in which. A giant motive why the Pyxis 6K is so competitively priced is that the digital camera is basically only a field, able to be rigged and expanded upon relying on a consumer’s wants and restrictions. With a number of mounting factors and accent facet plates, it’s easy for cinematographers to configure the digital camera nonetheless they need, whether or not utilizing gimbals, cranes, handles, microphones, exterior energy and storage, and even mounting the digital camera to a drone. Blackmagic Pyxis 6K O’Sullivan is an particularly attention-grabbing selection for Blackmagic’s check shoot challenge, as he says he has spent the final 4 years capturing on an Arri Alexa Mini LF — not a Blackmagic digital camera. The Mini LF is comparable in form and performance to the Pyxis 6K, albeit with a price ticket eclipsing $70,000 for simply the digital camera physique and a 4.5K large-format sensor (which is principally full-frame). In a breakdown on his YouTube channel, Wandering DP, O’Sullivan says he wished to check the Blackmagic Pyxis 6K in as many alternative conditions as attainable and to push the full-frame picture sensor to its limits.
As O’Sullivan’s footage reveals, the Pyxis 6K dealt with the challenges properly, demonstrating spectacular dynamic vary. Nonetheless, as some have identified on Reddit’s Cinematography neighborhood, the footage additionally reveals a little bit of rolling shutter. O’Sullivan remarks that he didn’t have to alter his workflow when utilizing the Pyxis 6K in comparison with his Mini LF, a setup that he thinks value him round $150,000. “It’s positively cheaper,” he says of the Pyxis 6K, laughing. The truth that O’Sullivan might swap the Pyxis 6K in for the Mini LF in his workflow with out struggling any points with workflow or dynamic vary says rather a lot about Blackmagic’s new digital camera. His breakdown video can also be attention-grabbing for cinematography fanatics, as he discusses particular person scenes with particulars on lens choice and lighting. With an admitted lack of curiosity in cameras and check charts, O’Sullivan demonstrates how a lot of excellent video comes right down to the operator’s understanding of sunshine, lens choice, composition, and colour grading. Nonetheless, his work additionally reveals {that a} Pyxis 6K, which prices a fraction of what high-end cinema cameras do, is able to high-end outcomes, an enormous win for cinematographers with out six figures to spend on gear.
