If you are looking for the battle of the Full-Frame mirrorless cameras, check out our Panasonic S1H vs Blackmagic Pocket 6k vs Sony A7R comparison and objectively look at their specifications.
Digital cameras do not just enhance user convenience, but they improve the image output quality remarkably. Whether you are a casual photographer or working as a professional cinematographer, you need a digital camera to fulfill the different photo capturing and video recording obligations.
Also Read: Best 8K Cameras
The present article emphasizes the three camera models from renowned brands –Sony, Panasonic, and Blackmagic Design. Names of the camera models in the current discussion are Panasonic S1H, Blackmagic Pocket 6k, and Sony A7R.
It may be challenging to know precisely how they differ from one another without knowing their features. So, let’s take a look at the description of each of them and a detailed comparison among them:
Panasonic S1H:
The Panasonic S1H is a digital mirrorless camera with exceptional photo capturing and video recording capabilities. It is primarily designed for film production. Subsequently, it was scaled to a hand-held design without making any compromise with the professional-level standards. To fulfill the high demands of contemporary creators, the S1H is dedicated to offering widespread recording modes and cinematic image quality.
The S1H is suitable for Vlogs or live filming when you attach it to a drone or gimbal. With advanced functionality that opens into the professional workflow, this digital camera is made ideal for active filming.
The cinematic industry performance that is upgraded by Panasonic is combined with the excellent mobility and functionality of the LUMIX mirrorless cameras. In addition to its outstanding video capabilities, the S1H also features exceptional flexibility to be compatible with professional video editing software.
The overall design is made durable to make sure there will be no adverse impacts of external weather. Due to the rugged mirrorless camera design, there will be no bad influences of dust and splash. This kind of design makes sure its body withstands harsh conditions.
In the starlight and other low-contrast scenes, this mirrorless camera delivers accurate autofocus. The same is made possible by the optimized sensor tuning and higher sensitivity.
Implementation of the advanced AI aptly identifies profiles of both human and typical animal. Therefore, this digital camera will precisely focus on people and animals to allow you to fully concentrate on composition when the camera is involved in the focusing.
In addition to the impressive imaging attributes, the S1H camera is made unique by its body design. Within its configuration, you will find a high-resolution 5.76m-dot OLED electronic viewfinder. Furthermore, the design showcases a 3.2″ 2 tilt free-angle type touchscreen LCD.
The size of this LCD screen is 1.8 inches. The mentioned LCD easily depicts the readings so that users can comprehend them easily.
There is the unique facility of the dual SD memory card slots. These slots are dedicated to offering flexible storage potentials. Regarding wireless connectivity, there is no compromise in performance. For example, the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity options are made available to facilitate remote control.
There is no depreciation in terms of wireless image transferring operation to your smartphones and tablets. Those who are cinematographers, they will relish the unlocking of the creative possibilities according to your needs.
Features:
- In the configuration of S1H, there is a 24.2-megapixel full-frame MOS sensor. This sensor provides a broad dynamic range. Furthermore, there is a sharp expression conveyed at the high sensitivity settings.
- With the assistance of the dual native ISO, the benefits of high sensitivity are offered primarily for the low-light shots.
- The noise levels are suppressed, allowing the camera unit to attain a higher sensitivity without noise degradation.
- It enables you to automatically capture eight successive images with Body I.S. (Image Stabilizer) and the Venus Engine. The mentioned Venus Engine employs high-speed processing for 96MP equivalent RAW file.
- When used in the HLG Photo mode, there is the support provided for a remarkable style of photographic pleasure on the HDR-compatible devices. The corresponding HSP file shows images with excellent dynamic range and delicate shades of dark and light.
- The super-fast sensor-lens working at 480 fps and the DFD (Depth from Defocus) technology from Panasonic conveys swift, high-precision autofocus. The corresponding precision is 0.08 seconds.
Blackmagic Pocket 6k:
The desire to capture cinematic images with exceptional quality makes the Blackmagic Pocket 6K camera a highly famous digital camera on the market. This cinema camera makes use of big EF photographic lenses. As a result, the cinematic images are created with a shallow depth of field. Therefore, artistic defocused backgrounds and stunning bokeh effects are created.
The facility of new resolution provides more possibilities for reframing when it comes to editing and color correction. It directly implies that you can shoot videos in 6K and later in the post-production zoom and re‑frame. The same will allow close-ups and wide shots to be created, without severely influencing the image quality.
Within the structure of this camera from Blackmagic Designs, you will find EF lens mount and a big 6144 x 3456 Super 35 sensor. The menu layout and familiar controls are retained from the 4K version in a more profound form. The purpose behind the same is to accommodate the EF lens mount.
In terms of physical appearance, the camera looks identical to its 4K version. Its backside contains a substantially large 5-inch touchscreen. Thought it seems excellent when used indoors, it is difficult to see the display while outdoors.
At this point, you may feel the need for the electronic viewfinder to be included, but unfortunately, it is not. Adjacent to the screen, you will find six buttons. These buttons are used for autofocus, autoexposure, focus assist, menu, HFR (high frame rate), and playback.
In addition to the main features, there are some pro features included. They are the lens metadata support and 3D LUT application for both recording and monitoring. This camera unit allows you to capture up to 21.2MP still images.
Even after several hours of use, your hands will not feel much fatigued because a multi-function grip is included. This grip allows for single-handed operation.
It is possible to sync multiple cameras for an event, concert, or for capturing multi-cam shoots. This can be done by linking an external timecode generator to the internal timecode generator of BMPCC 6K. The time can be saved by making use of Resolve 16.1. There are specific professional audio supports contained within this 6K digital camera.
They include four built-in mics and a compact XLR input with phantom +48V power. If you want to shoot wildlife, indie film, etc., the small form of this digital camera you’re shooting an indie film, wildlife, or fashion, the BMPCC 6K’s compact form seems more convenient than larger cameras.
The designing of the unit is done from carbon fiber polycarbonate composite, which is lightweight yet durable. Though it does not contain an SD card or any cables, it does provide a 30W power supply. Furthermore, the box includes an LP-E6 Battery, international adapters, and a DaVinci Resolve Studio Activation Key.
Overall, the footage appears crisp and beautiful. Moreover, the menu system is made simple to use, keeping in mind the flawless user interface. For any filmmaker, this digital camera is a preferred choice.
One of the most significant plus points of this 6K digital camera is it is made compatible with a broad range of the Canon EF-mount lenses. When compared to other cinema cameras, this one is affordably priced.
Features:
- The Blackmagic Pocket 6K camera makes use of a Super 35 sensor along with 13 stops of dynamic range. These, along with a dual native ISO up to 25,600, allow you to capture images at the maximum resolutions of up to 6144 x 3456 at 50 fps.
- The resolution of its LCD touchscreen is 1920 x 1080.
- It allows you to split one frame into two by cropping a second shot from a single frame. This cropping feature will be useful to upscale to 8K, or to capture detailed footage with your EF-mount lens.
- Implemented internal color processing simplifies the process to intercut BMPCC 6K with BMPCC 4K footage. R
- The video recording can be done through the built-in internal CFast 2.0 and the SD/UHS-II card slots.
- The output from this camera unit is provided through the USB-C port to capture lengthy clips to an external drive.
- With the help of the Raw format with the metadata of the sensor, the process of editing is simplified. Therefore, any editing project becomes more straightforward with DaVinci Resolve.
Sony A7R:
Sony started the trend of Full Frame mirrorless cameras with the A7R and it still continues to be the industry leader.
What makes the Sony A7R camera unique is the efficient image processing and outstanding video recording abilities. This electronic device is a full-frame, interchangeable-lens camera. There are very few such cameras on the market that are so lightweight and portable. You will relish the 36MP of rich details in the image output.
In the corresponding compact size, you will perceive the full-frame performance capable to change your perspective completely. The tasks of image capturing and video recording are made efficient through the 2.4 million dot OLED viewfinder.
Sony meticulously optimized the positioning and design of every on-chip lens (OCL). This optimization assists to cover each pixel to improve light-gathering efficiency considerably. There is a unique gapless on-chip lens design.
This exclusive design removes the gaps present amongst the micro-lenses; therefore, more light will be collected. Furthermore, every on-chip lens is perfectly positioned based on its location. As a result, the sharp light angle penetrating the periphery is appropriately accommodated.
In its working, the Exmor® image sensor from Sony makes the most of the full-frame format. However, this benefit is perceived in body dimension less than half the weight and size of traditional full-frame DSLRs. The innovatively developed 36.3MP 35mm full-frame CMOS sensor conveys incredibly high resolution. This resolution is combined with extremely low noise and high sensitivity.
To explore the full potential of the sensor and lens, Sony has discarded the optical low-pass filter. Therefore, this Sony digital camera is capable of achieving an improved sense of clarity with realistic details to the extreme edges of your captured photos.
In some cheap quality digital cameras, the concerns of flare may be found. However, with the inclusion of an AR coating, there will be a considerable reduction in flare and ghosting.
The swift image processing engine, the improved algorithms, and the optimized image sensor read-out speed allow A7R to attain ultra-high-speed AF. In spite of the utilization of a full-frame sensor, the noticeable improvement in AF’s speed is found due to all these mentioned aspects.
To make the most of the lightweight body, this compact digital camera is made compatible with the E-mount lens system of Sony. In addition to that, it works well with the expanded line of E-mount lightweight and compact full-frame lenses from Carl Zeiss and premier G-series from Sony. With the implementation of NFC functionality, one-touch remote and one-touch sharing is possible.
Features:
- With the assistance of the advanced Multi-Interface Shoe, it will considerably extend the compatibility with the Sony digital imaging accessories. Therefore, the potential for photo capturing and movie shooting will be boosted.
- Implementation of the advanced features facilitates the conversion and management of RAW images in full-resolution.
- It allows you to fine-tune exposure, tonal curves, white balance, contrast, hue, saturation, and sharpness. Also, you will be able to apply DRO and vignetting compensation. Bundled Remote
- The built-in camera control software allows you to enable and disable still/motion recording remotely. Moreover, this software will control different camera settings from a PC.
- It comes with a 36.4 MP full-frame CMOS sensor, which is devoid of an anti-aliasing/OLP filter.
- The size of the LCD is 3 inches, and it comes with 921,600 dots.
- It provides support for raw and raw + JPEG shooting. The maximum shooting speed is up to 4 FPS in velocity priority type continuous shooting.
Comparison of Panasonic S1H vs Blackmagic Pocket 6k vs Sony A7R:
| Panasonic S1H
|
Blackmagic Pocket 6K
|
Sony A7R
|
|
| Product dimensions | 9.1 x 9.1 x 9.1 inches | 9.1 x 9.1 x 9.1 inches | 5 x 1.9 x 3.7 inches |
| Weight | 1 pound
Approx. 1,052g / 2.32 lb (Body only) |
1.98 pounds | 1.03 pounds |
| Depth | 4.3 inches | 4 inches
|
1.9 inches |
| Sensor Resolution
|
24.2 Megapixels (Effective)
25.28 megapixels (Total)
|
23.10mm x 12.99mm (Super 35) | 36.4 Megapixel
|
| Camera display type | Viewfinder:
Rear Monitor:
|
LCD / Capacitive
Screen Dimensions:
|
LCD |
| Display Form Factor
|
rotating | built-in
|
folding |
| Diagonal Size
|
3.2 inches | 5 inches | 3 inches |
| Diagonal Size (metric)
|
8 cm
|
12.7 cm
|
7.5 cm
|
| Touch screen display | Yes | Yes
|
No |
| Camera display features | display brightness control
|
Touchscreen with accurate focus | TRILUMINOS Color technology, contrast control, display brightness control
|
| Optical Sensor Type
|
CMOS
|
Super35 CMOS | Exmor CMOS
|
| Optical Sensor Size
|
|
23.1 x 12.99 mm
|
Full Frame (24 x 35.9 mm)
|
| Sensor Features
|
Supersonic Wave Filter (SWF)
|
Dual Native ISO technology
|
Anti-Dust coating, Dust Reduction (image sensor vibration)
|
| Image Recording Format
|
JPEG, RAW, RAW + JPEG
JPEG (DCF, Exif 2.31), RAW, HLG Photo (CTA-2072) 6K PHOTO: MP4 (H.265/HEVC, Audio format: AAC (2ch)) |
– | JPEG, RAW, RAW + JPEG
|
| Digital Video Format
|
AVCHD, H.264, H.265, HEVC, MOV
MOV: H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, H.265/HEVC (Audio format: LPCM (2ch 48kHz/16-bit, 48kHz/24-bit*, 96kHz/24-bit*)) *When attaching DMW-XLR1 (sold separately).
|
ProRes 422, ProRes 422 HQ, ProRes 422 LT, ProRes 422 Proxy
Shooting Resolutions:6144 x 3456 (6K) up to 50 fps
|
AVCHD, H.264
|
| Digital Camera Type / Mount System
|
mirrorless system / L Mount | Pocket 6K camera system / Active EF mount (Canon) | mirrorless system
|
| Continuous Shooting Speed
|
2 frames per second, 5 frames per second, 6 frames per second, 9 frames per second
|
– | 1.5 frames per second, 4 frames per second
|
| Max Video Resolution
|
5952 x 3968
|
6144 x 3456
|
1920 x 1080
|
| Frame Rate (Max Resolution)
|
24 fps
|
50 fps
|
60fps |
| High-Definition Video Support
|
6K | 6K | 1080p |
| Auto Focus
|
Depth From Defocus (DFD) technology, Focus Peaking function
|
TTL contrast detection
|
TTL contrast and phase detection
|
| Auto Focus Features
|
Depth From Defocus (DFD) technology, Focus Peaking function
|
Focus Peaking function
|
Focus Peaking function, Manual Focus Check Live View |
| ISO (Max)
|
204800 | 25600
|
25600 |
| Light Sensitivity
|
ISO 100-51200, ISO 102400, ISO 204800, ISO 50, ISO auto
|
F13 | ISO 100-25600, ISO 50, ISO auto (100-6400)
|
| Wireless Connection
|
Bluetooth 4.2, IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
|
Bluetooth | NFC (Near Field Communication), Wireless LAN
|
| Memory Card Slot
|
Dual SD card
|
SD card, CFast 2.0
|
Memory Stick PRO Duo card, SD card |
| Supported Memory Cards
|
SD Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card, SDHC UHS-I Memory Card, SDHC UHS-II Memory Card, SDXC Memory Card, SDXC UHS-I Memory Card, SDXC UHS-II Memory Card | Supported Memory Cards
CFast 2.0, SD Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card, SDHC UHS-II Memory Card, SDXC Memory Card, SDXC UHS-II Memory Card
|
Memory Stick PRO Duo, Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo, Memory Stick XC-HG Duo, SD Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card, SDHC UHS-I Memory Card, SDXC Memory Card, SDXC UHS-I Memory Card
|
| Connectivity Features
|
Standard USB transfer, a full-size HDMI port for video transmission, two SD card slots, and wireless (Wi-Fi + BLE) connectivity. | remote control via Bluetooth
|
remote control via mobile devices
|
| Computer Connectivity
|
Mac, Windows
|
Mac, Windows
|
Windows 7 |
Concluding Note:
To fulfill your desire for cinematic, photographic experiences, these three camera models are the best to try. In addition to outstanding photo capturing and video shooting abilities, they excel in terms of advanced features, simplicity of use, compatibility, display, and many more.