Another week and another camera comparison. This time it is putting the little guy against one of the industry powerhouses: Blackmagic vs ARRI.
Blackmagic is still a smaller contender with their very affordable Pocket series of cameras while ARRI continues to focus on the ultimate professional cinema camera. Today we get to see those two go head to head.
Filmmaker Blake Ridder took out the Pocket 6K Pro along with an ALEXA Mini to see just how easy (or hard) it is to tell the difference between the footage.
It’s always interesting to see just how far modern cameras have come and how affordable some of the options are. Do you think you’ll be able to tell which is which?
We have to start out by saying that objecting the ALEXA Mini is a better camera than the Pocket 6K Pro.
It has a design that is tried and true for professional productions along with image quality and codecs that are class-leading. No hate on Blackmagic, but ARRI just takes all the premium components you would want and puts them all in one (expensive) package.
Blackmagic is delivering a much different overall package with a cheaper, smaller body and a lower-spec sensor. The Pocket 6K Pro does have an advantage in resolution since it is 6K compared to the ARRI’s 4K, but the ALEXA wins on rated dynamic range.
Image Credit: ARRI
The ARRI is going to find itself on professional high-end film productions while the Blackmagic is a good choice for independent filmmakers and videographers.
Even with the spec and production differences can your average user actually tell which camera is “better”? Blake puts the cameras through some real-world tests to show that it isn’t only about the specs.
In the intro to the video he actually cut between the two cameras. Both cameras were using cinema lenses with Blackmagic featuring the Zeiss CP.3 lenses while the ARRI was equipped with some Master Primes.
The Blackmagic used Blackmagic RAW and ARRI recorded to ProRes.
Image Credit: Blackmagic Design
Running through all the shots and which camera was used for each it is near impossible to tell in real-world conditions.
After going through an edit with some grading all of these clips can be cut together. It’s part of the reason why some of these cheaper cameras are finding their way onto bigger film sets and B and C cameras.
Most of your filmmaking look is going to come from the lighting and lens. If you do look closely you can see that some of the main difference in the raw footage is the color science.
The cameras handle color differently and this can impact your editing process.
The main difference is usability. The Pocket 6K Pro is designed for single users and smaller sets while the ARRI almost demands having a full crew on hand.
What did you think? Could you tell the difference?
[source: Blake Ridder]
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