A few years ago the idea of putting a cheap Blackmagic camera up against the latest RED would’ve been a joke. Now, it’s actually a very interesting test to do. The Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro and V-RAPTOR 8K VV are the ones up for comparison today and for shooters looking to see how they potentially contrast and complement one another this will interesting.
Remember, it’s not only about being “better,” sometimes it is about how effectively you can use the cameras together in real-world shoots. If you want to see how they hold up and whether you can pick out a $2,500 camera from a $25,000 one you should check out this video from filmmaker Jeremy Levy.
Trying to get two cameras like this to match up is difficult. Not only are they different sensor formats (BMPCC6K Pro being Super 35 and the V-RAPTOR being VistaVision full-frame), but they are also different brands with very different color profiles.
Jeremy set up the Blackmagic shooting Blackmagic Film color with the Sigma 40mm Art lens while the RED was set to RED Log3G10 and RED Wide Gamut with the Sigma 50mm Art lens. Not a perfect match, but it is getting close enough with lenses in the same series and a slight change in focal length to account for crop.
Image Credit: Blackmagic Design
The footage was then sent to Premiere Pro and used a Rec.709 LUT with some tweaks to contrast, saturation, and exposure to get it looking decent. It’s supposed to be a close-enough match not a perfect match right now.
There are some dead giveaways when you watch the footage. Understanding the focal length and sensor differences alone will do it. Plus, he does use autofocus on the V-RAPTOR which is super obvious in performance.
Examining the footage, we get an as expected conclusion that for the money the Blackmagic Pocket 6K Pro is an incredible camera. There are noticeable differences between it and the RED. The V-RAPTOR’s colors and contrast looked a bit better straight out of camera than the Blackmagic in my opinion. Plus, the AF worked surprisingly well.
Image Credit: RED
It’s still a fun comparison and I think if you did want to make use of both cameras for a single shoot it is definitely possible. A little more work to get the footage lined up perfectly, but perfectly doable.
What’s your take? Think the RED and similar cameras are justified at their high price points?
[source: Jeremy Levy]
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