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Play, download and edit the free video RED Gemini vs Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6k side by side image comparison..

First off, why do this comparison at all? Well, for one I own both cameras and wanted to see how usable the BMPCC was as a B-cam, or even an A-cam on lower budget productions where the Red doesn't make sense to use. Second, they actually have a lot of similarities in feature sets as far as the image goes: compressed raw internal codec, super 35mm sensor, and Dual ISO. I was particularly interested in the low light capability of the BMPCC compared to a much more expensive cinema camera that is touted as a low light specialist.

This isn't meant at all to be one of those videos that erroneously tries to claim that a $2500 camera is as good as a $25,000 camera and that using a high end professional cinema camera isn't necessary... more on that later. What I did find is this: the BMPCC has very good image quality that comes really close to rivaling the Red. We're very quickly getting to a point where image quality is becoming extremely good on lower priced cameras, and it's going to be features other than IQ that are really going to make pricier cameras worth the cost.

So what specifically do I think about the IQ of these cameras?
- They both produce a beautiful image in both bright scenes as well as low light situations.
- The Red definitely has an extra stop or two of dynamic range and much nicer highlight roll off.
- Red's IPP2 color options are light years ahead of what the BMPCC gives you. I found the Rec709 transform LUTs that are built into the BMPCC are pretty terrible, and decided to just keep the raw files in log space and then do a Rec709 conversion with the default Arri Alexa Rec709 transform LUT found in Premier. This gave me a great image with minimal effort.
- The green reproduction is very different in the two cameras, the BMPCC pushes greens more towards yellow, but I also felt like I was seeing more variation in green hues in the BMPCC where the Red was pushing a lot of the green spectrum into a smaller cooler green range.
- Low light capability is extremely similar in both cameras, with the Red having a slightly cleaner noise floor.
- I'd honestly be perfectly happy using either camera on just about any production simply based on IQ.

So the IQ is great on both cameras, why spend 10x as much on the Red? Well, this is where they really start to separate themselves. The Red is a robust camera system meant for use in demanding professional environments, and the BMPCC is decidedly not that. I'm just going to list everything I don't like about the BMPCC, as these are non issues with the Red.
- Plastic body feels cheap.
- While it has a built in LCD and the Red doesn't, the LCD is basically useless in bright light and is stuck in a fixed position, so you still need an external monitor or an EVF.
- No interchangeable lens mount, and the EF mount doesn't have a locking system like the Red, which means the lens can actually shift in the mount when changing focus direction. This is very noticeable when using a wireless follow focus and the camera is locked down on a tripod, the entire image shifts up or down when focus changes. This has to be remedied with rails and a lens support even with small lenses.
- The sensor is smaller in the BMPCC, a 24mm on the 6k is around a 30mm on the Red.
- When using LP-E6 batteries you get about 20-30 minutes per battery. I personally use a v-mount battery power distributor to power the BMPCC to get around this.
- In order to rig up the BMPCC to get it to what I feel is a usable state in a professional environment the footprint grows and is actually bigger than my standard Red rig, not so "pocket" anymore.
- The form factor of the camera mimics DSLR's for some reason that I'll never understand, as it's still bigger than any DSLR I've ever used and isn't meant to be used as a stills camera. It's very wide which interferes with certain gimbals as well. I'd have much preferred a cube style body similar to the Z-Cam or the upcoming Red Komodo.

My final take aways are that I'm still very impressed by the images I can get out of the BMPCC, but it's not becoming my A-cam just yet. It's an awesome additional tool in my arsenal, and maybe in the next iteration we'll be seriously talking about the BMPCC line rivaling high end cinema cameras.

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