Either I’m getting older, or it’s getting harder and harder to tell cameras apart. With so many great cameras on the market these days, and so many amazing tips, tools, and techniques to match their colors, I must confess they’re all really just starting to look the same and my pixel-peeping chops just aren’t what they used to be.
Matteo Bertoli has pitted the BMPCC 6K up against the Kinefinity TERRA 4K. Do you think you could tell the two apart without cheating?
The Pocket 6K is a tremendously popular camera all over the world, but even though Kinefinity makes some fantastic cameras too, not many camera operators have had the pleasure of shooting with a TERRA 4K. Lets see if you can tell the difference and then check back to see how you did at the end of the video.
How did you do? Were you able to figure things out, or did the absolutely terrific images from both of these cameras leave you scratching your head?
BlackMagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Key Features
- Active Canon EF/EF-S Mount
- Super 35-Sized HDR Sensor
- Record 6K 6144 x 3456 up to 50 fps
- Dual Native 400 & 3200 ISO to 25,600
- Price $1,999
Kinefinity TERRA 4K
- Native KineMOUNT Omni Mount
- Sub-S35mm Format CMOS
- Record 4K 4096×2160 up to 125 fps
- Dual Native 800 & 3200 ISO to 20480
- Price $3,499
Sensor Size
With different sensor sizes, it sounds like telling these cameras apart might be obvious but don’t let sensor sizes fool you. Yes, the Pocket 6K claims to have an S35 sensor, but S35 isn’t a set standard and in fact, the difference between the two is only about .11x from Full Frame. Depending on the shot, you might miss it.
Dynamic Range
Blackmagic advertises that their camera incorporates an HDR sensor, so now you must clearly be thinking that the camera with the better dynamic range MUST be the Pocket 6K, right?
We can clearly see the highlights are a little more washed out on Camera A and Camera B looks like the roll-off is pretty nice. Camera B has to be the Pocket 6K, right?
Maybe. I’m not going to tell you just yet. One interesting thing to note is that Blackmagic advertise the Pocket 6K with an HDR sensor, but what the heck does that mean? They claim the dynamic range is around 13 stops. But guess what, the Kinefinity TERRA 4K claims a dynamic range of 13+ stops.
Bit Depth
I’ll bet now you’re thinking you can figure out this little puzzle by comparing the colors in the image, aren’t you? After all, the colors look a little more vibrant on Camera B, and I know you know how amazing Blackmagic RAW is as a codec. It has 12-bit color depth.
The TERRA 4K also shoots in 12-bit color and has a compressed DNG codec & KineRAW 2.0 too.
The Difference
There is a subtle difference between these two cameras, but honestly, there is no clear way to tell them apart using a compressed video uploaded to YouTube.
It is absolutely astonishing how well the BMPCC6k and the TERRA 4K could pair with one another if they were matched more accurately, and I believe the only differences we’re seeing here are a result of the color grade.
Personally, I prefer the look of Camera B and was shocked to learn that Camera A is the Pocket 6K camera.
It is terrific that not only do we have so many options with cameras today, but that distinguishing between them is something that only seasoned professionals bother with worrying about. Audiences will never know what camera you used, and it will never affect how someone perceives your filmmaking.
[source: Matteo Bertoli]
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