DP: William Hellmuth
1st Camera Assistant: Micah VomSteeg
2nd Camera Assistant: April Flint
Key Grip: Robert DelTour
Grip: Mason Bell
PA: Ben Swales
“It is the simple things that make the PYXIS 6K so quick to rig”
“My neighbor has a 1950s Bel Air, that is perfect for a camera test. Given the Blackmagic PYXIS 6K is now completely mountable, I figured a bunch of gimbal, car-rig and handheld shots could be the way to go! And so I took my Tilta car mount, handle and follow-focus system, along with the Video Assist from my BMCC 6K rig across to the PYXIS 6K!
We got to the location at around 2pm. The sky had a little bit of smoke haze from recent fires, which gave us perfectly diffused sunlight! It wasn’t until after 3pm that we finished the handheld shots and could then move on to the car-rig shots. We needed to rig the car quickly before the light faded. I have never rigged a car this fast before, which is a credit to the Tilta Hydra’s electronic suction system and the form factor and balance of the PYXIS 6K. They were the perfect combo.
I also chose the Zeiss Contax lenses because they are vintage full frame and light-weight. Our PYXIS 6K has the L-mount, so I simply added an EF adapter with internal VNDs, which worked out great. My Nano follow focus system also works off an internal battery; but I didn’t need it as the PYXIS 6K has a USB-C port on the front which can be used for power. It’s simple things that make the PYXIS 6K quick to rig.
I also wanted a bunch of ‘follow the car into the sunset’ shots, but sadly we couldn’t restart the Bel Air and had to get it towed! However, I did get to test the Ronin Pro gimbal with the PYXIS 6K the day before, which I gotta say was perfectly balanced.”
“I thought this shot would be a great opportunity to test the PYXIS 6K’s latitude, especially when shooting Open Gate 3:2 at 6K. So this scene was all about checking for rolling shutter and latitude with a car-rig setup thrown in for good measure! I have seen people saying that 13 stops of dynamic range is not enough these days, but honestly when I shoot with this camera I feel all 13 stops of latitude inside the BRAW file are completely useable. Which is saying a lot.”
Camera Blackmagic PYXIS 6K (L mount)
Codec Blackmagic RAW Constant Bitrate 5:1
Sensor Open Gate 3:2 6K (6048 x 4032)
Lenses Zeiss Contax Cine modified 21mm @ T2.8
FPS 36
ISO 400
Shutter 180 degrees
White Point 6000K
Color Science Generation 5 Color Science
LUT Blackmagic Gen 5 to Film
NDs Variable mount L‑EF (2‑4 stops)
Shot on Tilta Hydra Alien car-rig
“This scene was all about using the 21mm with a full frame sensor. It’s about getting really wide and having some fun with the shot. Being able to get this perspective would usually be extremely difficult because the camera would have to be so far off the car to get this field of view. But the PYXIS 6K has a huge image circle of 43mm, which meant that all I needed to do, was hang the camera right off the nose of the car! And because this camera is so compact, it was so easy to safely rig.”
Camera Blackmagic PYXIS 6K (L mount)
Codec Blackmagic RAW Constant Bitrate 5:1
Sensor Open Gate 3:2 6K (6048 x 4032)
Lenses Zeiss Contax Cine modified 50mm @ T5.8
FPS 36
ISO 400
Shutter 180 degrees
White Point 6000K
Color Science Generation 5 Color Science
LUT Blackmagic Gen 5 to Film
NDs Variable mount L‑EF (2‑4 stops)
Shot on Tilta Hydra Alien car-rig
“When I started out in the industry, this kind of shot would have been a nightmare to try to figure out. But when you look closely at the BRAW file, the PYXIS 6K is really holding everything from the highlights on the roof to the interior of the cabin. There are no external lights here, we are just capturing whatever we have to work with. I will say it helps that the light is now falling in the same direction as I was shooting. So we were getting plenty of illumination inside the car.”
Camera Blackmagic PYXIS 6K (L mount)
Codec Blackmagic RAW Constant Bitrate 5:1
Sensor Open Gate 3:2 6K (6048 x 4032)
Lenses Zeiss Contax Cine modified 21mm @ T2.8
FPS 36
ISO 400
Shutter 180 degrees
White Point 6000K
Color Science Generation 5 Color Science
LUT Blackmagic Gen 5 to Film
NDs Variable mount L‑EF (2‑4 stops)
Shot on Tilta Hydra Alien car-rig
“This was my favorite shot out of the bunch, because we're seeing him in real life and also in the reflection. Just being able to capture both of those viewpoints with so much detail, made this scene a lot more fun. It’s the way in which I was able to draw focus on him, and still be able to have the swirly bokeh in the background. I love this sort of thing! The PYXIS 6K was awesome at accurately capturing his skin tone along with the real color of the car.”
Camera Blackmagic PYXIS 6K (L mount)
Codec Blackmagic RAW Constant Bitrate 5:1
Sensor Open Gate 3:2 6K (6048 x 4032)
Lenses Zeiss Contax Cine modified 21mm @ T2.8
FPS 36
ISO 400
Shutter 180 degrees
White Point 6000K
Color Science Generation 5 Color Science
LUT Blackmagic Gen 5 to Film
NDs Variable mount L‑EF (2‑4 stops)
Shot on Tilta Hydra Alien car-rig
DP: Patrick O’Sullivan
Camera Assistant: Arthur Bienkowski
Lighting: Grant Wilson
Best Boy: Chris Martin
Grip: Greg Stirling
Location and Production: Josie Amato
Lens Hire: Raz Rentals
“I am always pushing the sensor and I never got into a situation where there was not enough latitude on this camera”
“I shoot a lot of commercials, so having a small box cinema camera is essential. With this shoot, I wanted to test the camera using the main setups I do with my commercial work. I wanted to mount the Blackmagic PYXIS 6K on an XM2 drone, a dolly, EasyRig, a Ronin 2 with a motorized head and bunch of jib arm setups. All using wireless follow focus and some SDI monitoring. The sort of stuff we use all of the time! I have never shot a commercial with a Blackmagic camera before. And so when they sent me the Blackmagic PYXIS 6K I was only able to do the most basic of tests, so I was a little bit concerned. My shooting style can be challenging for a camera sensor, because of the way I push my lighting. And never having shot with Blackmagic before, I wasn’t too sure what I would get.
The first scene was Timber Cottage, which was meant to be challenging because I like to push a lot of level through the windows. As soon as I saw the images on the Flanders monitor, I was really surprised by the highlight roll-off and color science. With the Blackwing7 lenses, the PYXIS 6K was producing phenomenal images. The rest of the scenes were outdoors in terrible weather. I mean, we had four seasons in a day, which again, was a terrific test for this sensor. The PYXIS 6K has a large 43mm image circle, so I really couldn’t tell the difference between this camera and the full frame box camera I usually shoot on, that is more than thirty times the price! I didn't change my approach at all. Straight out of the box, this thing was shooting amazing images.”
“With this setup we got to play with the Atlas Mercury 72mm (FF) and the Blackwing7 47mm (FF) spherical lenses. What I was trying to achieve was something that seemed natural, but still looks otherworldly! The immediate effect of this approach is to make your shots look better than real-life.”
Camera Blackmagic PYXIS 6K PL
Codec Blackmagic RAW in Constant Quality Q1
Sensor Anamorphic 6.5 (4832 x 4032), Open Gate 3:2 6K (6048 x 4032)
Lenses FF Atlas Mercury 72mm @ T2.0, FF Tribe7 Blackwing7 T tuned Spherical Lens 47mm @ T1.9
FPS 36
ISO 400
Shutter 172.8
White Point 6500
Tint 12
LUT Blackmagic Gen 5 Film to Extended Video
NDs External ND
Storage Dual ProGrade Digital CFexpress Gold 1TB
Color Science Generation 5 Color Science
Setup Easyrig + ARRI Wireless Follow Focus
“The challenge with this setup is to light everything from the outside, and then just expose for the windows. This can be incredibly demanding on a sensor trying to hold detail in the windows while still having enough latitude to hold tonal range in the shadows.”
Camera Blackmagic PYXIS 6K PL
Codec Blackmagic RAW in Constant Quality Q1
Sensor Open Gate 3:2 6K (6048 x 4032)
Lens FF Tribe7 Blackwing7 T tuned Spherical Lens 77mm, 47mm, 37mm @ T1.9
FPS 24
ISO 400
Shutter 172.8
White Point 5600
Tint 10
LUT Blackmagic Gen 5 Film to Extended Video
NDs External ND
Storage Dual ProGrade Digital CFexpress Gold 1TB
Color Science Generation 5 Color Science
Setup Ronin 2, ARRI Wireless Follow Focus, Master Wheels, Dolly
“This scene was all about testing the latitude of this camera by shooting inside a eucalyptus forest. I am originally from California, and although we have the same trees, the light here in Australia is incredibly intense.”
Camera Blackmagic PYXIS 6K PL
Codec Blackmagic RAW in Constant Quality Q1
Sensor Open Gate 3:2 6K (6048 x 4032)
Lens FF Tribe7 Blackwing7 T tuned Spherical Lens 137mm, 77mm, 47mm @ T1.9
FPS 36
ISO 400
Shutter 172.8
White Point 6500
Tint 10
LUT Blackmagic Gen 5 Film to Extended Video
NDs External ND
Storage Dual ProGrade Digital CFexpress Gold 1TB
Color Science Generation 5 Color Science
Setup Ronin 2, ARRI Wireless Follow Focus, Master Wheels
“This scene was really an after thought, as we were about to break for lunch when we decided to do this ‘classic’ car shot. At midday, the sun here is a real problem so I wanted to test the sensor by focusing on the ocean and then pulling back through the interior of the car.”
Camera Blackmagic PYXIS 6K PL
Codec Blackmagic RAW in Constant Quality Q1
Sensor Open Gate 3:2 6K (6048 x 4032)
Lens FF Tribe7 Blackwing7 T tuned Spherical Lens 137mm, 77mm, 47mm @ T1.9
FPS 36
ISO 400
Shutter 180
White Point 5600
Tint 10
LUT Blackmagic Gen 5 Film to Extended Video
NDs External ND
Storage Dual ProGrade Digital CFexpress Gold 1TB
Color Science Generation 5 Color Science
Setup Dolly, Jib arm + ARRI Wireless Follow Focus
