The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro (Amazon, B&H) is quite a capable video camera.
If you add the following accessories it becomes even more powerful and useful for video and filmmaking.
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1 Atomos Ninja V
The Atomos Ninja V (Amazon, B&H) is a highly affordable monitor and external recorder.
Why would you need an external recorder? The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro (Amazon, B&H) has a fixed tiltable screen. It does not swivel out or detach. This can be a bit problematic in many professional shooting situations.
The BMPCC 6K Pro does not allow dual recording but does allow proxy recording in 1080p 10-bit via HDMI.
You can mount the Ninja V on the camera via simple ball mount (Amazon, B&H). One end goes into the cold shoe mount on the top of the camera and the ball mount allows you to swivel the monitor in any direction.
2 The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera EVF
The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro (Amazon, B&H) has a special port for the EVF that they sell separately. This will include a separate, bolt-on Pocket Cinema Camera Pro EVF (Amazon, B&H) viewfinder with a crystal-clear glass lens, adjustable diopter, and four eyecups, including a version for left-eye viewers.
You get an integrated high quality 1280 x 960 color OLED display with built in proximity sensor, 4 element glass diopter for incredible accuracy with a wide -4 to +4 focus adjustment.
You also get a built-in digital focus chart that they claim will ensure you get perfect viewfinder focus setup. You can also view critical status information such as frame guides. The viewfinder has a 70 degree swivel range and comes with 4 different types of eyecups for both left and right eyes.
This is a huge upgrade, considering not having an EVF was one of the biggest problems of BMPCC 6K, even though it had a DSLR-like form factor. You will no longer have to rely solely on the LCD screen for shooting outdoors.
3 Blackmagic design Mini XLR to XLR Adapter
Since the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro (Amazon, B&H) has two mini XLR audio inputs instead of the standard full size 3-pin XLR inputs, you’ll need an adapter like this one:
It’s a Blackmagic Design set of 2 Mini XLR to XLR Audio Cables (Amazon, B&H). There are other brands, but none from serious pro audio companies, save Blackmagic Design.
I’ve used and tested them with the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, so I know they work. However, I’m not a fan of extra adapters. They just add one more point of failure (or audio hell).
But if you’re a one-person team, you have no choice.
4 Universal Cage
I’m not a fan of custom-designed cages, so I found an affordable cage that will last you a long time:
This is a no-name cage, but goes by the name of Camvate on Amazon and B&H.
A universal camera cage is a cage that can be fitted to any sort of DSLR or mirrorless camera. Some cameras are short, while others are tall. Some cameras like the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K are wide.
You can read more in my review here.
If you can live with the pain of assembly, I think this universal cage (Amazon, B&H) is a solid investment for a small amount of money, and it will last you as long as you use cameras that fit in it – which is pretty much every DSLR or mirrorless camera out there.
5 Blackmagic Pocket Camera Battery Pro Grip
Since with the BMPCC 6K pro battery life has always been an issue and has not been upgraded much since the last time (15 mins of additional usage), it will be advisable that you resort to the Blackmagic Pocket Camera Battery Pro Grip (Amazon, B&H).
This Grips holds up to two NP-F570 batteries and Blackmagic claims it can last up to 3 hours of continuous usage.
That’s it! I hope you found my suggestions for the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro (Amazon, B&H) useful.
If you know any additional important accessories specific to video, let me know in the comments below.
Wouldn’t you suggest another monitor aside from the Atomos Ninja V, just because you can’t control camera functions from it like with other monitors ?