BMD 6K Pocket Cinema Camera

I’m always apprehensive towards reviews from sites that don’t limit reviews to actual customers. I remember the first reviews on B&H for the BMPCC4K claimed that the fixed pattern noise made it impossible to use over ISO800. That obviously was a fake review, most likely from competition trying to spread misinformation.

I’ve been watching BMPCC6K unboxings and reviews like crazy (they’ve all been very positive btw), and only saw one instance of small insignificant scratches on the body. Yet 100% of the unverified anonymous reviews have such damaged camera bodies that they all give it 1 star.
 
scorsesefan said:
Apparently, early buyers have been getting their P6K's "pre-scuffed": https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod..._blackmagic_design_pocket_cinema.html/reviews Other similar reviews on Adorama. Great QC BM...
Click to expand...

This is shocking. I would even consider it unethical because a product with such issues like grease, chip off or with scruff marks in the monitor will never pass any quality control test. So this looks intentional. What is BMD doing?

I am looking at the BMD 6K because I want a small "touristy" looking camera to grab footage from some places. It has EF mount and all my EF lenses will work. I don't expect my corporate clients will still be ok with BMD. I don't expect it in the broadcast specs of channels as well. So this camera will be for a specific purpose of getting shots for me for my personal projects. From the links shared in this thread, I can see that this camera will be useful for some of my work.

After reading about scruff marks and grease in the BMD 6K, I would be more circumspect. I think I will atleast wait for another quarter before evaluating again and hopefully pulling the trigger. And by that time the camera landscape would be much clearer with several other companies showing their cards. We will see several 8K cameras from reputed manufacturers before NAB. Also we are likely to get a Canon RF mount camera which will be offering a high resolution video. I have no idea how much Canon will price their offering. I am always ready to pay a bit more for buying a Canon camera than what BMD charges as Canon gives me peace of mind. I have shot with Canon in pouring rain, in hail storm, in desert, in ocean and everywhere in between and haven't had issues. The heat in the desert and the overall 40+ degree centigrade temps haven't given any higher noise.

By the way, I heard the BMD 6K doesn't have a photo playback. Not sure why they forgot. I am sure some BMD fans will argue against it, they way they earlier argued against having a delete button. I want BMD to succeed. Hopefully they can come out with a firmware update.
 
Scuffs may be more related to shipping issues as the camera is pressed into a form fitting insert on the second level of the box ... but not wrapped in any
protective covering. Rough ... excessively so ... handling might loosen the camera and allow it to float between layers and be scuffed ... but not deeply as it is fairly compliant
plastic in the box.

Both my P4K and new P6K were PERFECT ... as good as my Leica M's in spite of the minimalist packing.

I am sure that any reputable dealer would exchange the camera in a heartbeat ... just notify them.

I was a bit uncertain hearing all the QC issues floating about BM but after the stellar experience with my P4K am less concerned.
But at these prices it really is a commodity ... great sensor firmware and lens mount ... which can be changed when needed. Many are
still shooting and loving the original Pocket camera so perhaps the anxiety is a bit overblown. I do think the BM needs to have a better
solution for owners of cameras that die a year or two out ... but at the prices of the Pockets it is less an issue than the Ursas.
 
"I do think the BM needs to have a better solution for owners of cameras that die a year or two out ... but at the prices of the Pockets it is less an issue than the Ursas. "
This is a thing?
 
Might be related to old QC issues ... but on the BM forum there are discussions of older models failing after 18 months to two years ...
and the board and repair in question cost more than the camera was worth ... in effect making it not worth repairing.

Probably isolated instances can be found with any product ... and with the magic of the internet we hear all of the horror stories.

My experiences with the Leica S system lens failures and sensor corrosion led me away from that system.
 
scorsesefan said:
Apparently, early buyers have been getting their P6K's "pre-scuffed" ...
Click to expand...

That review has 10 upvotes and 61 downvotes. On an allegation such as this, photographic evidence should be required.

My feeling after watching a bunch of P6K clips and reviews is that the "scuff marks" is a hoax. So far, I have not seen a single mention of it.
 
There were plenty (including mine) BMPCC4k which also came in the box with marks and niks. It doesn't help that the camera isn't wrapped in a soft cloth (like the Lumix's for example) and that the plastic tray in the box isn't holding the camera very securely.
 
Thanks Doc',
Hard to get a read on prevalence..but interesting reading about consumer protection laws in other countries.
Especially "Ps.in Finland at least the sellers responsibility does not end to the warranty period. If the product has worn faster than normal or it has fault that is because of the design etc. the seller is still responsible. "
 
This is extremely bad policy, as I just posted to their forum. They NEED to be able to fix things, and do it reasonably cheaply. How much is a main board for a Panasonic GH5? No you probably can't replace this yourself, but I bet it comes in at less than half the price of a new camera. I bet the IO connector board is only a couople hundred to have replaced.
 
Most camera components are inexpensive (sensors begin to climb up in price with size) and, from the teardown videos, the time involved in the repair process is not terribly long. The worst case scenario would be for a company like BMD is to offer a huge trade-in for the choice replacement - with the mileage on a damaged camera being a major variable - while reselling the older unit as "refurbished".

PS. But I still don't believe in scuff marks without any evidence offered.
 
DLD said:
... But I still don't believe in scuff marks without any evidence offered.
Click to expand...
Soooo, apparently, there's plenty of evidence now. A YouTube video + a bunch of photos on a Facebook group page. It's real. The cameras are new but scuff marks are aplenty.

There's no information at the moment whether it was a shipping/packaging or production problem. Cameras otherwise seem to work fine, with the exception of the RF contamination where the colors shift far too much with some ND filters.
 
Blackmagic have responded to this on their forum. To quote Kristian Lam:

"We've looked into this and it looks like the shipping couriers have been tossing the boxes and as a result, some cameras got dislodged within the packaging.

We're now wrapping the cameras in foam before shipping from the factory now so it should not be happening and also redesigning the internal packaging to deal with overzealous posties."

This is the thread:
https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=97129
 
Teddy_Dem said:
Blackmagic have responded to this on their forum. To quote Kristian Lam:

"We've looked into this and it looks like the shipping couriers have been tossing the boxes and as a result, some cameras got dislodged within the packaging.

We're now wrapping the cameras in foam before shipping from the factory now so it should not be happening and also redesigning the internal packaging to deal with overzealous posties."

This is the thread:
https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=97129
Click to expand...

Greg_E said:
Have they never shipped anything before?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lM3SRG7D21Y

That said, I have had mixed results with package services myself, lately stuff has been in better shape, but I know stuff still gets bashed around in the warehouse.
Click to expand...

I have shot at one of the big two US based shipping companies main facilities. It is absolutely amazing when you look at the scale of the operations and the amount of packages that go in and out of these places every single day and in the relatively short time they are turned around. With that being said, we were allowed to go into one of the let’s call it a largely automated sorting and distribution area. We were not allowed to shoot inside this area, but could watch. It is amazing that we don’t receive more damaged stuff than we do. I lost count of smaller boxes having larger boxes fall on them coming down ramps and breaking them open with the contents of some actually coming out. After seeing a big part of the shipping process first-hand, it scares you, makes you pack stuff you ship better and understand why certain things are triple boxed from my dealer.

Re: the scuffed cameras. What are they going to do about the ones that were damaged in shipping already? They may be functional, but you didn’t pay for it to arrive already cosmetically deficient. When I bought a Microforce years ago, it arrived with a chip out of the paint. I made them replace it. I didn’t pay thousands of dollars for a new item to arrive in “used condition” before I ever touched it. Preston was pissed at me, but I didn’t care. It was that or lose the sale.
 
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