Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Cameras aren’t for everyone, that’s for sure. They’re big, they’re plasticky and they use focusing from the Dark Ages – at least by modern mirrorless standards. They also make no concessions to stills photography, except maybe for grabbing images on set for client approval or publicity shots.
But can I just point out one huge, obvious advantage they have over even the best hybrid cameras: the interface. I’m not just talking about the physical interface but, just as importantly, the digital interface, too.
First, the screen. Look at it. It’s a five-inch HDR touchscreen in an age when you’re lucky to find a mirrorless camera that goes beyond a three-inch display. It’s big enough that perhaps you don’t need to rig your camera up with an external monitor after all, and it’s big enough that if you do need to shoot in wider ratios you’re not left with a tiny letterboxed image.
This is the screen on the Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K, but all the other Pocket Cinema Cameras have 5-inch screens – even the smaller and older Pocket Cinema 4K model. Please don’t tell me it’s not possible to fit a 5-inch screen onto a mirrorless camera. Yes, it might make the bodies bigger – but given the size of many pro zooms, a bigger body could actually be a good thing.
A 3-inch screen might be all right for stills photography, but if you’re shooting video too then it just doesn’t seem enough – especially when you’re trying to compose 16:9 video on a 3:2 ratio display.
It’s not just the screen size, but the digital interface it displays. Blackmagic OS, the operating system within the camera, displays all the video controls you need as large, tiled, touch-sensitive buttons – not tiny lines of text buried layers deep in a menu system. Video is complicated enough, so any system that simplifies the choices and makes them more easily accessible seems like a major step forward.
It does seem to me that mirrorless camera makers are locked into an old way of designing cameras and an old way of presenting on-screen controls. They’re offering plenty of choice but precious little clarification, and the continued use of tiny three-inch screens is a limitation we’ve suffered far too long - and forcing many photographers to pay extra for an on-camera monitor as an accessory.
I’m not saying you should get a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera. That’s not really the right choice for typical solo shooters and vloggers. But please, can all you camera makers just look at the size of the screen, the clarity of the interface and properly adapt your mirrorless cameras to serious videography. Power is not enough; you need proper product design, too.
You might be interested in the best Blackmagic cameras, or perhaps the best cameras for video from all brands.
