Blackmagic Pyxis = Meh. Oh yeah and Red/Nikon too - NAB recap!

[@evanthecameraman]

I preordered the Cine 12K. It has genuinely everything I am after in my line of work. $15K + the EVF cost is a lot for me on any camera but it's a long term investment which hopefully will help me accelerate what I'm trying to create.

[@loudandclearmedia]

That's awesome! I mean, R.I.P. to whatever computer you're going to task with chewing through that, but awesome. 😊

[@adebowaleadesuyi1347]

I was all in until I looked up the weight of the pyxis. Im a single shooter and own a kinemini which weighs exactly the same (3.3lb) but a little bigger and its a drag bringing out. I'm gonna go with the pocket full frame.

[@loudandclearmedia]

I understand what you're saying, but to me, all of these things are pretty small and light these days. I remember flying a DSMC2 RED on a Movi Pro several years ago, and needing to set it down often so my shoulders wouldn't go...lol. We all have perspectives.

[@andynonimuss6298]

Same sensor, but a better thermal design in the Pyxis. Rolling shutter can be fixed in DaVinci Resolve within the Stabilization section -> Camera Gyro -> Stabilize. The Pyxis has a Focus button on the side. Built-in NDs would had added cost, changed the body design, and pushed the time to market out much farther. I prefer the ND flexibility of using screw-ons, matte box, or drop-in lens blades. Blackmagic said the Pyxis is targeted toward independent film makers.

[@lesterlauritzen]

The form factor of the pyxis is way too large for basically being a BMPCC 6k. They could have made it way smaller. The screen must have bloated the entire design. They should have ditched the built in monitor and shipped it with a stripped down video assist that could navigate the menus when connected. Would have been way more useful. I too am wondering who will choose this over the plethora of other box cameras now available.

[@loudandclearmedia]

Totally. Every other box camera is either smaller, or more featured, or both. Pyxis is affordable though, and I have yet to meet anybody who doesn't like Blackmagic images, so there's that.

[@qvisionmedia7195]

They confirmed it is the same sensor and it does fine in low light. This coming from a BMCC 6K owner.

[@loudandclearmedia]

IMO it all depends on your use case. As a pair of corporate interview cams they'd rock...well, better if they had AF, but still. For shooting real estate like I do a lot of, very nice, I'm sure. However, it's difficult to see a Pyxis being an overall more useful tool than most of its competitors, pricing aside, for all the reasons I stated. You know what though, it makes me excited for the NEXT Pyxis!

[@Mr.Zen_73]

If you work out a good way to mount the r5c on your dashboard let me know I'm trying to figure that out too

[@loudandclearmedia]

I need a lighter lens to begin with. Looking at maybe the RF 24 1.8.

[@pslaathaug]

Still waiting for the R1 and R5 mk2. I ended up buying the R5 and using the r3 as a b cam for the elcipse. Worked out really well. working on the video still I've been sick since I got back. Great videos.

[@loudandclearmedia]

Hope you feel better, man. Summer colds are the worst!...somehow. It's like they are out of place, kind of like the Blackmagic Pyxis (see what I did there).

[@kingkrukgaming]

Time to go live again like yesteryears… favorite thing was obvs Nikon&RED, core magnet batteries, small rig 212 batt, and I found intriguing the DZO cine lenses that haven’t been announced but were shown there…

[@loudandclearmedia]

You know, I was kind of bummed about the lack of releases from the big manufacturers. Blackmagic aside, most of the other NAB releases were pretty minor. Agree about the core magnet batteries though. If I didn’t already have v mounts coming out the ears I’d probably buy some of them.

[@waveland]

As always BM took their own path in developing a “box” camera, and as is almost always the case they have polarized the pundits as to whether the camera has any merit. I personally see the Pyxis as a way to downsize away from an Ursa Broadcast I own and end up with a lighter, more flexible shoulder rig, which also has CFExpress B slots instead of me dongling an SSD off the back. And in the process I don’t lose SDI if I want to run a transmitter, and I don’t lose a dedicated timecode port, plus I can still have a bolted-on PL mount for stability, not to mention access to an excellent EVF and whatever other display tech BM and/or third parties come up with for that USB-C port, and for shoulder work the screen and buttons are in the perfect spot with nothing to gain by adding a flip-out screen. Would I have preferred a faster sensor? Of course, but this sensor is fine for most of the work I do, and if there’s a need on a particular project for global shutter then it’s not a big deal to rent. One other note: Though the Pyxis has external dimensions fairly similar to the FX6 (Pyxis is a little narrower but length and height are very close), the mounts are quite different. If I’m doing the math right then the L-mount opening takes up an additional 4.3 sq cm compared with the e-mount and the outside dimension takes up even more space. So where Sony can shift the mount up on the body and make extra room for the ND system, the Pyxis has much less latitude. It’s this geometry which will keep the Pyxis from ever having an internal ND system I suspect. It will be the next generation “Ursa” designs which will have the room to move NDs around. And it will be interesting to see if BM chooses to offer an L-mount version at that size and price point.

[@loudandclearmedia]

All great points. I suspect the L mount flange distance keeps the ND from becoming a reality, for now anyway. Sony and Canon found ND solutions for their short mirrorless mounts, so I suspect it's only a matter of time for the L mount as well. As far as the PL and EF mount versions go though, I'd imagine there's plenty of space with either of those to do it now. It'll come, either way.

[@joshuairwin2016]

People have been going Bananas over the Pyxis. And I get it, they've been asking for a box camera for years. But when all the "I'm selling my Red Komodo" nonsense started I was like, Calm down guys, we don't have a single user review in action yet. Not only that, but it's also a bleeding edge generation 1 product. Wait for them to work out the kinks. A year or two from now they'll have a version with a flip out screen and other possible bugs worked out.

[@loudandclearmedia]

lol. Totally. In fairness though, I'm not so sure it's as "bleeding edge" as you think. Rather I think it's a BMCC 6K in a different case, which is an improvement, sure, but other than that it's pretty darn similar. And yeah, the "I'm going to sell my Komodo" is just silly. Komodo still walks all over this thing for lots of reasons.

[@joshuairwin2016]

@@loudandclearmedia Indeed. I suppose by bleeding edge I meant a first generation release. It's bound to have all kinds of issues to work out.

[@DonBevy]

Everyone hating on the camera is wild to me Blackmagic isn’t Apple their not putting out shit products every 6months

[@loudandclearmedia]

I certainly don't hate it...just don't quite understand the mission of it. Like I said, I'll probably get one, but don't have any expectation of it replacing the KX, C70, or R5C in my lineup, for the reasons I stated.