“Often when you’re filming African wildlife it will be on zooms using an S.35 camera. So when the PYXIS Full Frame 3:2 camera was released, it was something that really interested us. Because we’re always shooting large wildlife like elephants, rhinos, hippos and giraffes, having that wider field of view is a game changer, particularly when you’re able to get close to your subjects. When shooting elephants 16:9 you always find yourself wanting something that is more ‘elephant-shaped’, like the 3:2 aspect ratio paired with 6K resolution! The versatility this large format sensor gives you when shooting big animals is genuinely amazing.

“We also have a set of Zeiss CP.3 cine primes which paired with the PYXIS, gave us a whole new perspective to our documentary filmmaking. Our go-to lenses are typically Canon (24-70, 200-400, 70-200) zooms, which all look amazing on the PYXIS. But the cine primes have this wonderfully unique look to them on this camera. Being able to get super close to big animals while still being able to keep them in frame, is a whole new look for us.

“The other thing we loved about this camera is its quick rig-ability. We can have different bodies with a combination of EF and PL mounts, that can be swapped for gimbal, drone, shoulder and handheld setups. On remote shoots like this one having that sort of flexibility and reliability makes this a primary camera for our type of shooting.”

“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 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.”