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CDA Tek’s LiDAR module lets you get fast autofocus on any camera – even in the dark

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It’s taken a while for this one to come to market, having first been teased in July 2019, and it’s still not quite there, but it’s close. Originally shown off as an early prototype alongside the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, the CDA-Tek AFX, as it’s now known, works with the Pocket 6K as well, communicating with either camera over Bluetooth, requiring no external cables.

But the AFX also has an extra trick up its sleeve. It now also allows you to add LiDAR autofocus support to any lens, including manual focus ones, thanks to new communication protocols added for the Tilta Nucleus-M and Nucleus-Nano focus motors. It’s being launched via Indiegogo, already having hammered its goal with 30 days left.

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Tilta’s flip-up LCD mod for the Blackmagic Pocket 4K & 6K is now available in the USA [Updated]

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Remember that flip-up LCD modification somebody made to their Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K last year? Well, Tilta showed off a similar modification for the Pocket 4K and Pocket 6K at IBC last September. At the time, there was no word on exactly when it would become available.

Now, though, it’s listed on the Tilta website for customers in the USA. It’s called the Tiltaing and it’ll cost you $279-299 for a self-install kit or $528-548 to have Tilta install it for you. Although, at the moment, the latter is the only option.

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Hilarious short film “Breaking social distancing” shows the potential consequences of breaking isolation

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I stumbled across this video by LA-based Italian filmmaker Alessandro Serra last night while browsing through social media – as one tends to do a lot more these days. It leapt out at me as I’ve seen a lot of my female friends on Facebook posting that ex-boyfriends they haven’t spoken to for several years have been randomly getting in touch with them since lockdowns have started to come into place around the world.

That’s how Alessandro’s short film, Breaking Social Distancing, begins, with a phone call from a guy to his ex-girlfriend who ultimately agrees to break the “social distancing” guidelines currently in place just about everywhere. What happens after that… Well, you’ll just have to watch.

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Here is a top cage handle that also charges your black magic pocket camera

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When it comes to custom power solutions, Indipro Tools is one of the names that’s been popping up more and more lately. They offer a range of batteries and connectors for powering a whole bunch of different devices. Something on their stand at PhotoPlus 2019 caught our eye, though, so we stopped by to have a chat.

It’s a top cage handle for the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K and 6K. Sure, top handles are nothing new, but this one contains a battery that can actually power the Pocket 4K and 6K cameras for up to five hours of use.

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Blackmagic update for the Pocket 4K adds anamorphic lens support and USB control

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Blackmagic just dropped a big update for the Pocket 4K and Pocket 6K cameras. It comes as part of the Blackmagic Camera 6.6 update, which also includes updates for Blackmagic RAW support in Avid Media Composer and Adobe Premiere Pro.

The update brings 2.4:1 4K 75fps, 2.6K 120fps and 2880×2160 up to 80fps for anamorphic lenses with 2x and 1.33x desqueeze preview options. Both cameras also receive USB PTP control support (yes, it should finally talk to your gimbal!), a built-in horizon levelling tool and an up to 8x pinch-zoom function for the touchscreen LCD.[Read More…]

The final version of Blackmagic’s free DaVinci Resolve 16.1 is now available to download

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DaVinci Resolve has come a very long way over the last few years. From its humble existing as the colour grading tool of choice, it’s grown into a full-blown editor that now easily competes with the established big boys in the non-linear editing world, like Premiere Pro, Final Cut and Avid. After several months of beta testing, Blackmagic has now announced the final release of version 16.1, including a lot of updates.

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Blackmagic Pocket 4K/6K cage comparison – SmallRig vs Nitze

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If you’ve had a go at shooting video for any length of time with any camera that has a DSLR or mirrorless-like form factor, you soon realise that you need some form of cage. You need to attach handles, lights, microphones, external batteries and all kinds of doohickies. Sure, you have a cold shoe on many cameras, but you can only attach one thing to that.

When it comes to the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, there isn’t even a cold shoe. There’s just a 1/4-20″ screw thread, and it can’t handle a lot of weight attached to it. The solution to this problem is to add a cage.

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Blackmagic Design just announced a new Super 35mm format EF-Mount Pocket Cinema Camera 6K

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When the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K was announced around 16 months ago, it was a big shock to a lot of people. A Micro Four Thirds cinema camera that shot 4K RAW video for under $1,300. It just seemed to good to be true. Well, today, Blackmagic has upped the ante, with the new Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K.

It shares much in common with its 4K sibling, including a rather low budget price of only $2,499 (£2,025 in the UK). Only this one comes with a Super 35mm sensor and a Canon EF Mount with full electronics.

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Metabones has announced a new set of Speed Boosters specifically for the Blackmagic Pocket 4K

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Metabones Speed Boosters and focal length reducing lens adapters from other brands have become very popular over the last few years as more people take to smaller sensor formats like APS-C and Micro Four Thirds for shooting both stills and video. There are a number of them out there now, although Metabones continues to be held in the highest regard. Now, Metabones has announced a new series of seven Speed Booster adapters specifically designed for using various non-Micro Four Thirds lenses with the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K.

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This is how much the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K can really cost you

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The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K sounded like something of a unicorn when it was first announced. 12-bit 4K RAW video for less than $1,300? It was truly unbelievable. But since its release last September, it’s proven to be very real a very capable camera. It pretty much has no competition at this price point if video is your focus.

But is it really just $1,300? Is that all you have to buy? Well, no. In this video, Lewis McGregor talks about all the addons you’ll likely have to buy to really make it usable, and how much all that extra stuff costs.

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