Today we really compare the David and Goliath of cameras with the Blackmagic Pocket 4K going up against the ARRI Amira to see if the Blackmagic Pocket cam could be a decent steady cam shot when on set using the Amira!
Though these are drastically different cameras, when you’re on set with the Amira and someone asks for a steadycam shot, it’s practically impossible without $1,100! So we want to know if the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera can compare to the Amira, and potentially cut with the Amira when you need a quick steadycam shot on set!
Image Quality Test
Honestly this looks very similar to the URSA Mini Pro when we did that comparison! I feel like the image looks very much the same, with the greens having the same brown hue to them, and of course the depth of field is different!
So could this be a B camera for the Amira? We think so! It already looks similar enough and the skin color could be corrected to match. But you probably wont ever get as rich colors as in the Amira!
Mixed Lighting Test
We think that mixed lighting tells you a lot in how the camera responds! So in this we have a warm key light overhead and a cool light in the background we tried to get these to match as close as possible without going crazy. They did end up pretty close!
Quality wise, if you blow this up, how do they compare? It seems like they have the same amount of noise! The image quality is looking pretty nice on both of these!
Dynamic Range Test
We wanted to do a dynamic range test where we over and under expose the footage and then we correct it.
0 EV
This is properly exposed according to the meter. They look really similar and seem to be holding the same dynamic range. The shadows are a little darker behind her on the pocket camera.
+1 EV
The Amira really likes to be overexposed, so it’s not going to have a lot of trouble with this kind of stuff. The pocket also seems to be doing kinda the same as it did before at proper exposure.
+2 EV
The Amira should have no problem with this but the Pocket cam is still also doing really well!
+3 EV
The concrete is clipping on the Amira and it’s starting to clip on the pocket camera too, but honestly, it looks kinda the same. The Pocket Camera is starting to have less color information and the grass on the right is almost gone. We feel like the Pocket Camera is almost doing better than the Amira in this one.
+4 EV
The Amira looks fabulous still, except for the clipping in the pavement, but when we’ve been at +4 on some other cameras they’re just falling apart. We’re just shocked at how well the pocket camera is still doing.
+5 EV
When you go to 5 you really see how much the Pocket 4K has fallen off the cliff, although, not as much as the URSA Mini Pro G2. The G2 there is like no detail in the background. The Pocket is still holding onto some stuff.
Moving to the underexposure test, we are guessing that it’s not going to like being underexposed.
-1 EV
Right away we feel like underexposed is not as nice. The wall on the left you can see noise, and the black on the left. Her face is also going all blotchy. The Amira of course looks beautiful!
-2 EV
The Amira is still holding okay, even though there’s a lot of shadow. The Pocket is really having a hard time!
-3 EV
The Amira doesn’t like the -3 stops but the Pocket really doesn’t like it!
-4 EV
This one is laughably bad! The Amira is not looking great, but the Pocket is just terrible.
ISO Test
400 ISO
Obviously super clean because we are below the native ISO.
800 ISO
You do start to see a little bit of grain, looking at the purple on the Amira and the dark blue on the Pocket.
1600 ISO
Moving to 1600 ISO, you start to see it break up and we don’t like shooting the Amira above 1600. Right now the pocket camera looks at least as good.
3200 ISO
All of the shadowy parts are now showing some issues with grain. You can especially see the grain for Amira in the indigo chip.
6400 ISO & 12800 ISO
Final Thoughts
There you have it! The David and Goliath of cameras! Really this test was about seeing if the Pocket Cam could be a good B camera for the Amira. This is definitely not a situation where were needing to decide which one is better and which one to buy. The pocket camera is a really slimmed down cinema camera that a person in college or on a small production could use. The underexposure test it failed miserably, but it did so well in all the other categories. So this could absolutely be a decent B camera to have on set for those extra shots.
Keep on clickin!
GEAR USED:
ARRI Amira
B&H: https://bhpho.to/2M5q5OD
Amazon: https://amzn.to/32Dy6yH
Blackmagic Pocket Cam 4K
B&H: https://bhpho.to/2A1S2jm
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2N7Z4uv
Vanguard Tripods
B&H: https://bhpho.to/2FLd3Dv
Amazon: https://amzn.to/307Q9uY
Datacolor Color Checkr
B&H: https://bhpho.to/2JgfPCz
Amazon: https://amzn.to/32Dy6yH