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Blackmagic’s Pyxis 12K arrives as one of the crucial compelling cinema cameras of the second, packing a full-frame 12K RGBW sensor and vast 16-stop dynamic vary into the identical compact, modular physique that made the Pyxis 6K so well-liked.
Nevertheless, this new digicam isn’t nearly decision for its personal sake – the massive 12,288×8040 sensor offers filmmakers with severe inventive flexibility, whether or not you’re chasing most element at 12K or downsampling to richly detailed 8K and 4K, which profit from Blackmagic’s signature colour science and tonal response.
At roughly the identical bodily dimension as its 6K sibling, the Pyxis 12K feels immediately acquainted, but the efficiency leap inside is dramatic. Twin CFexpress slots, a number of mount choices, and deep integration with the Blackmagic ecosystem (together with DaVinci Resolve workflows) place it as a flexible software for narrative, industrial, and high-end indie manufacturing alike.
That mentioned, this sensor’s capabilities demand cautious rigging and infrastructure – from energy and cooling to media and post-processing – making the Pyxis 12K a digicam that rewards planning as a lot as creativity.
Specs
|
Lens mount |
L-mount |
|
Sensor |
Full body CMOS, 12,288 × 8040 (12K) |
|
ISO |
800 Native, 200 – 25,600 Selectable |
|
Dynamic Vary |
16 stops |
|
Viewfinder |
N/A |
|
Display screen |
4″ HDR touchscreen |
|
Storage |
Twin CFexpress Kind B slots; USB-C exterior recording |
|
Battery |
Sony BP-U batteries or 2-pin Lemo 90W PSU |
|
Dimensions |
5.94 × 4.69 × 4.17 in / 15.1 × 11.9 × 10.6 cm |
|
Weight |
3.5 lb / 1.6 kg |
Worth
Launch date and value The Blackmagic Pyxis 12K is accessible now, with a body-only value of roughly $6,595 (topic to fluctuations as a consequence of tariffs) / £4,320.
Design & Dealing with
Bodily, the Pyxis 12K shares the rugged, machined aluminum field design of the 6K mannequin. It’s dense, feeling each little bit of its 1.5kg weight, and is clearly designed to be the mind of a bigger rig moderately than a handheld unit. I examined the L-Mount model, which I discovered versatile for adapting to PL glass (utilizing a Fotodiox adapter with built-in variable ND) or utilizing native L-mount lenses.
Probably the most important operational distinction is energy administration. The 12K sensor is “hungry.” In my endurance testing, a regular Sony BP-U35 battery lasted solely 35 minutes. Even bigger third-party BP-U100 equal batteries offered simply over an hour of recording time. Customers stepping up from the 6K or Pocket traces should account for this; a V-mount plate and high-capacity bricks are virtually obligatory for a full day of capturing.
I’d be stunned if anybody who’s critically contemplating the Pyxis 12K doesn’t already depend on V-lock batteries for his or her rigs. They’re typically a greater resolution that provides peace of thoughts for longer intervals of filming. As somebody who shoots in a studio a number of the time, I’m additionally grateful for the flexibility to run the digicam from DC energy through its 2-pin locking LEMO connector. It accepts a voltage vary between 12V and 18V and can run even with no battery related.
When it comes to audio inputs, the Pyxis encompasses a single mini XLR connector for professional mics, which is switchable between mic and line-level with phantom energy supply. It additionally has a 3.5mm stereo enter for smaller microphones or different stereo line-level sources, like an AUX cable.
Efficiency
Whereas the Ursa Cine 12K is constructed for pace, the Pyxis 12K trades some body fee functionality for compactness, typically topping out at half the body charges of its bigger sibling. Nevertheless, readout speeds are spectacular the place it counts. Whereas the total 12K Open Gate (as much as 40fps) readout sits within the 24ms vary, dropping to 8K leads to a lot quicker readout speeds of beneath 12ms, minimizing rolling shutter artifacts considerably.
Above: 4K pattern footage present on the Pyxis 12K
A notable omission for some skilled workflows would be the lack of inner ProRes recording. It might probably report ProRes to SSD, nevertheless and DaVinci Resolve now helps ProRes media natively. Internally, the Pyxis 12K data solely in Blackmagic RAW. Whereas BRAW is environment friendly, the shortcoming to shortly offload ProRes 422 recordsdata for fast-turnaround purchasers is a lacking comfort.
On the optimistic facet, the shortage of IBIS is mitigated by Blackmagic’s gyro information. In my testing, making use of gyro stabilization in DaVinci Resolve took seconds and successfully smoothed out handheld micro-jitters, making the footage look correctly stabilized.
The picture high quality is the Pyxis 12K’s raison d’être. As with earlier Blackmagic cameras, the pores and skin tone replica is agreeable and pure throughout all kinds of complexions, requiring little or no work in publish to look “proper”. The spotlight rolloff is equally spectacular, contributing to a distinctively filmic picture.
I did observe some banding artifacts within the skies in sure high-contrast photographs, significantly when capturing in 8K/4K modes. Maybe a possible facet impact of the compression or sensor readout. Nevertheless, I discovered this was simply rectified in DaVinci Resolve by switching the colour administration lookup desk interpolation from “Trilinear” to “Tetrahedral,” which smoothed out the gradients instantly.
Low-light efficiency is stable, this digicam handles shadow element admirably, although with no second base ISO, you’re reliant on the digicam’s native ISO 800. Pushing to ISO 1600 or 3200 introduces minor noise, however it’s natural and simply cleaned up with Resolve’s noise discount.
Given the quantity of element this digicam can choose up, I might say for essentially the most engaging look – significantly when filming faces – you’ll need to lean on smooth handbook or “characterful” lenses to counterbalance the digicam sensor’s inherent sharpness.
Verdict
The Blackmagic Pyxis 12K is an interesting proposition: it successfully locations the center of the Ursa Cine 12K – one of the crucial subtle sensors available on the market – right into a considerably smaller and extra reasonably priced physique.
For a lot of, 12K would possibly seem to be overkill. Nevertheless, the true energy of this digicam lies in its means to downsample. Taking pictures in 12K or the 9K Tremendous 35 mode yields extremely wealthy 8K and 4K photos, typically retaining barely higher dynamic vary within the highlights than capturing within the decrease decision modes immediately. I discovered the “candy spot” to be the 8K 3:2 (open gate) mode at 8:1 compression; it gives a manageable stability of file dimension and picture constancy whereas nonetheless benefiting from the sensor’s downsampling capabilities.
This digicam is a dream for cinematographers who want most decision for VFX plates, or reframing flexibility through open-gate 3:2. Similar to the 6K mannequin, the UI is intuitive, and fortunately, the Pyxis 12K additionally options vertical menus when turned on its facet for social deliverables.
Given its colossal decision, the chassis has to work onerous to help this digicam’s sensor. The fan noise is unquestionably extra noticeable than on the 6K mannequin, which is one thing to contemplate for quiet narrative work. I hadn’t observed it throughout my first couple of days with the digicam, however later that week, I filmed a sound bowl meditation class, and I needed to swap cameras as a result of the fan was intrusive in such an deliberately sound-sensitive setting. Moreover, the absence of a twin base ISO – with the digicam restricted to a single native sensitivity of ISO 800 – means customers lose that “security internet” acquire circuit present in different cameras for excessive low gentle. That mentioned, Davinci Resolve – which usually prices round £225 / $295 – comes free with this digicam and makes gentle work of decreasing the affect of noise in most believable, real-world use instances.
In the end, it is a digicam that advantages from constructing it out. On the very least, I might extremely suggest selecting it up with the implausible Pyxis Monitor EVF Equipment. You can’t deal with it like a run-and-gun hybrid; it wants a rig, substantial batteries, and loads of storage. However in the event you feed it what it wants, the picture high quality is just about indistinguishable from cinema programs costing 3 times as a lot.
Options
How I Examined
I examined the Pyxis 12K on a wide range of skilled shoots, together with a collection of monologue capturing days with actors, a product video, a promotional shoot for a wellness firm, and run-and-gun road seize. I paired the digicam with Viltrox Cine lenses, a Laowa 8-15mm Probe lens, and the Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8, which was supplied with the digicam by Blackmagic. My endurance testing concerned operating the digicam repeatedly to empty commonplace BP-U35 and BP-U100 batteries, and I verified workflow speeds utilizing Angelbird 2TB and 1TB CF Specific Kind-B playing cards.