Can you vlog with a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema 6K?

We had a bit of a debate over here at GearFocus HQ… can you vlog with a BMPCC 6k? Without continuous autofocus like you get in a Sony A7SIII, or even the brand new Sony A7IV, surely it’s impossible, right? And what about battery life, memory, lack of a flip screen, etc… 

As the list grew, so did our youtube searches. Seems like James Matthews heard the same rumors and put them to the test last spring. He was even kind enough to run through all the gear needed to give the Pocket 6k a fair shot!

That list included:

• BMPCC6K
• CANON 10-18MM 4.5
• Zhiyun Weebill S Gimbal
• SD CARD (bonus laughs here for self-proclaimed “peasant” approach to creating a 256GB card)
• Mini Tripod
• Mini Ball Head

The 6 batteries James carries with him may seem like overkill to some, but we’d likely have prepped the same, and were pretty surpised to see how many he burns through. (Spolier Alert: it’s less than you’d think)

We’re curious what you think, but what we loved about this video was the nuance a cinema camera adds to the vlogging format, bear in mind, he’s only shooting in ProRes at 4k, but shots like the “Ultimate Vlogger Walk Away From The Camera Shot” have a richness to them that we wouldn’t expect to see, especially given the fact that he doesn’t do much in way of grading or editing in post. I’ll note that it doesn’t hurt that James lives on a goregous part of the planet.