From Hacked DSLRs to Full-Frame 6K: How We Evolved with Blackmagic Gear

Back in September 2015, New Zealand Son Films, a father-son filmmaking duo, partnered with a passion for storytelling and a DIY spirit. Our first project, Private Sales, was a six-episode series shot on a hacked Canon 5D Mark II. We chose that camera because we already owned it, and with the added magic lantern hack, shooting raw video was possible.

We loved the cinematic image it produced, but post-production? That was another story. The workflow was painstakingly slow, but there wasn’t a lot of options at the time.

Despite the challenges, Private Sales found success on Amazon Prime, giving us the momentum to take make our first feature film.

From Bogotá to Blackmagic: A Game-Changer

In 2017, we flew to Bogotá, Colombia, to shoot Coffee with Ana. While we loved the look of the Canon 5DII footage, the limitations of the DSLR hack were becoming clear. The image size wasn’t quite full HD, and post-processing was restrictive, especially for color correction.

As Coffee with Ana made its way to Amazon, we started pre-production on our next project with one key goal: future-proofing our films. 4K was looming as the industry standard, and after extensive research, we found our perfect match—the Blackmagic URSA 4.6K. It offered affordability, stunning image quality, raw shooting capabilities, and a far smoother post-production workflow.

Pushing the Limits: A Two-Person Crew, A Big Camera

From 2017 through late 2019, we pushed the URSA 4.6K to its limits, shooting five limited series

and two feature films. From the scorching heat of the Mojave Desert to Scotland’s relentless rain, the camera never let us down. We also transitioned from Adobe editing software to DaVinci Resolve,

which revolutionized our workflow. Instead of locking picture before moving on to sound and color software, we could now edit, tweak audio, and adjust color correction—all within the same day, in the same program.

But as much as we loved the URSA 4.6K, we couldn’t ignore its biggest drawback for a two man crew like ours—its weight. Fully rigged with wireless video, follow focus, and a D-Tap battery, it became too heavy to shoot the way we wanted. That’s when Blackmagic released the Pocket 6K.

Enter the Blackmagic Pocket 6K: The Perfect Balance

By late 2019, we had a Pocket 6K in our hands, and it immediately reminded us of our DSLR days—only now with 6K RAW, cinema-quality imaging, and a lightweight build. Suddenly, we had the freedom to move the camera in ways that weren’t possible for us with the URSA, all without sacrificing quality.

Between 2019 and 2024, we shot eleven feature films on the BMPCC 6K. Just like with our previous Blackmagic cameras, we never lost a single hour of production due to technical failures. Meanwhile, DaVinci Resolve kept evolving, with constant updates bringing new tools for sound design and color correction, allowing us to push our films quality even further.

The Next Evolution: Back to Full-Frame Filmmaking

The only limitation we felt with the BMPCC 6K was its crop factor. The widest lens we used was a 24mm, but on the Pocket 6K, it wasn’t wide enough, and anything wider started to give a fish-eye distortion to the edges. If only there was a full-frame version...

And then, Blackmagic delivered. The BMPCC6K Full-Frame and later the 6K Pyxis hit the market. By late 2024, we were filming our newest project, The Salem Sisters, on the Pyxis 6K, and 40 days in, it’s been nothing short of flawless.

Looking Ahead

Our journey—from Canon DSLRs to Blackmagic’s cutting-edge, affordable cinema cameras—has been one of constant evolution. Each camera upgrade has brought new creative possibilities, and DaVinci Resolve has given us the tools to refine our storytelling like never before.

As we move forward, we’re excited to see what Blackmagic has in store next.