The New Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K Is Here

Blackmagic introduced the Pocket Cinema Camera back in 2013 and after its release I had several opportunities to use it on short film shoots. You can find my initial impressions here (Bear in mind that some of the issues I had with the camera were addressed with later firmware updates).

Now, five years later, Blackmagic has announced the new Pocket Cinema Camera 4K. I've been browsing through Twitter and industry blogs to learn more and, on paper, there's a lot to like.

• Price Point - At only $1,295 Blackmagic aims to undercut cameras like the Panasonic GH5

• Battery - Short battery life was one of my biggest complaints about the original Pocket Cinema Camera, but the new 4K version will use the Canon LP-E6N batteries. So, I'm hopeful that the new camera won't drain battery power nearly as fast.

• Full HDMI port - No more using adapters to attach external monitors to the camera

• Multi-function grip - This should make it easier to shoot hand held than its predecessor.

• Monitoring LUTs - Unless you had an external monitor with a built-in 3D LUT paired with the original Pocket Cinema Camera, you had to look at a gray, flat image if you chose to shoot in Film Mode.

Here are two first-look videos from the NAB Show floor:

What are your thoughts? Do you think you will be adding this camera to your kit?