How does the new full-frame Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K perform in low-light situations? US Cinematographer Vance Burberry ASC, completed some low light tests of the camera in New York City at night using L-mount Sigma Art lenses. Below you can download the BRAW and the color-graded clips for viewing and testing.

Blackmagic Full-Frame Cinema Camera 6K

In September, Blackmagic announced its next-generation cinema camera for “high-end digital film”, titled Cinema Camera 6K which is armed with a full-frame sensor. Many independent shooters have been waiting for an FF announcement from Blackmagic. So there it is. And with a great price too ($2,600) which transforms it into the most affordable full-frame camera in the market. The key features of the camera are:

• 36 x 24mm full-frame 6K 6048 x 4032 sensor. (There are indications that the sensor is the Sony  IMX410, which is implemented in the S1h, S1, S5, and S5x, MAVO LF, Ronin 4D, Sigma FP, Zcam F6, and more).
• Open gate 3:2, full height 6:5 anamorphic, and Super 35 for creating cinematic content.
• L-Mount which is compatible with a wide range of still photography and cinema lenses.
• Records full resolution up to 36 fps or 120 fps windowed.
• High-speed CFexpress card recording.
• Adjustable, HDR 1500 nit LCD screen.
• Optional Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera Pro EVF.
• Larger NP-F570 battery, optional Blackmagic Pocket Camera Battery Pro Grip

Here you can find some test footage.

Low Light Test

US Cinematographer Vance Burberry ASC, completed a low light test of the new Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K in New York City at night using L-mount Sigma Art lenses. “I wanted to share some of the decisions cinematographers make in choosing the right sort of scenes to shoot at night.” Burberry said and added: “I shot this test in NYC on an L-mount Sigma Art 24-70mm f2.8 and 135mm f1.8 prime. NYC has a myriad of color temperatures, so shooting in the subway or Times Square makes the perfect camera test. It’s all about finding interesting light you can play with! To keep my images clean of noise, I like to use only the native ISOs: 400 and 3200. And because bigger sensor cameras naturally have a shallower depth of field, I usually stop down a little to feel the middle ground in the shots. So most of the time, I was shooting at 4 stops, and added NDs to control my exposure in some shots when the light was hot. Shooting in low light is all about creating contrast using the different light sources around you. By shooting something flat and underexposing the image, then trying to lift it in the grade will immediately build noise! So low light is all about modeling, you can’t just rely on the camera. I approach exposure much the way I approached film using the old adage, ‘expose for the shadows and print for the highlights‘ Obviously this is not a rigid approach but a really good place to start”. Below you can download the BRAW and the graded shots for each test.

NYC Subway

Burberry: “I placed myself on the edge of the platform to get the perfect vanishing point for this shot. You can see all of the lines and light-converging into the darkness of the tunnel. This camera holds up really well when properly exposed. I shot a ‘fat image’ holding my blacks and mid-tones down and lifting only my highlights. If I had lifted the whole shot, that would’ve created noise in the shadows that didn’t need to be there. At ISO 400 at f4, you can see detail in all the shadows, such as the roof and the rail tracks! I also wanted motion blur of the express train passing by, so I kept my shutter angle at 180°. In other scenes, we were spinning around in Times Square and I had no rolling shutter which I found impressive. Also if there’d been a problem with LED screens and lights flickering I could easily switch to 172.8 or 144-degree shutter that would resolve the problem”.

Setup:

• Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K
• Codec Blackmagic RAW in Constant Bitrate 3:1
• Sensor 6K Open Gate 3:2 full frame 6048 x 4032
• Lens Sigma Art 24‑70mm f2.8 zoom L‑mount
• Frame Rate 23.98 fps
• ISO 400
• Shutter 180 degrees
• White Point 4300K 10% tint
• Color Science Generation 5 Color Science
• LUT Blackmagic Gen 5 Film to Extended Video
• Storage ProGrade Digital CFexpress Cobalt 1.3TB

Download Camera Original File (299 MB).

Download Graded File (1.7 MB).

Hell’s Kitchen at Night

Burberry: “This was shot right in the middle of 45th and 9th in Manhattan. What I love most about this shot is the beautiful skin tones. Particularly that little kiss of light on the left of her face. We did use a handheld LED light just to add some extra modeling light, but that was all. Looking at the overexposed headlight in the background to the blackness of her hair, and then to the fall-off on the right-hand side of the frame – really shows how much dynamic range and information is captured in this shot. I was pleased with the highlight roll-off, which is very good on this camera. This 6K full-frame sensor can easily switch from Open Gate 6K to 4K DCI. So even in the middle of busy Manhattan, I could instantly change the field of view without having to change lenses. Which was awesome! You can really see the quality of this camera, even in 4K DCI!”

Setup:

• Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K
• Codec Blackmagic RAW in Constant Bitrate 3:1
• Sensor 4K DCI 4096 x 2160 and at 4096 x 2160 (4K DCI 17:9)
• Lens Sigma Art 135mm f1.8 prime L-mount
• Frame Rate 23.98 fps
• ISO 400
• Shutter 180 degrees
• White Point 3600K 10% tint
• Color Science Generation 5 Color Science
• LUT Blackmagic Gen 5 Film to Extended Video
• Storage ProGrade Digital CFexpress Cobalt 1.3TB
• Shot on monopod

Download Camera Original File (157 MB).

Download Graded File (2.5 MB).

Unfortunately, no BTS footage was presented. These articles are not completed without a decent amount of BTSs. Anyway, let’s know your insights regarding the low light performance of the Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K.

Product List

Here are the products mentioned in the article, and the links to purchase them from authorized dealers. 

• Blackmagic Design Cinema Camera 6K
  • BUY on B&H
  • BUY on ADORAMA