Need some buying advice

[seanzzxx]

Alright folks I really need some buying advice ... 

I’m a videographer that does 90% commercial video, 10% photography. I’m filming on a Pocket 4K which I’m EXTREMELY happy with and am looking for a second camera. I’ve just sold my A7rii and now am doubting heavily between a Pocket 6K pro and a Canon r6. I own all Canon ef lenses by the way. These two cameras are roughly the same price in my country.
 

The choice in my head is: Pocket for image quality, internal nds, way better screen, just an all around much better video camera. I’d rent or borrow a photo camera on the rare occasion I would need to.
Canon for size, ibis, and especially AUTOFOCUS. I often operate by myself and really like the idea of an af capable second camera. My main concern is that nothing about the image blows me away like the Blackmagics do. I’ve tested an R5 and were left kinda ‘meh’ with the image.
 

What would you guys do here? 😕 

[UncleBobsPhotography]

The variable ND adapter for EF to RF works quite well. The only annoying thing is that the clear filter is just as expensive as buying a non-ND adapter.

If you get the R6 you would also have an excellent photo camera. If it's only for video use I wouldn't really recommend the R6 since many people have had problems with overheating. The R6/R5 has excellent focus though, and even the manual focus is better than other cameras. It will tell how far off you are from achieving focus, which direction you have to focus and the focus guide will snap to the subjects eyes if you want it to. I am extremely pleased with my R5, but if you think the image quality is 'meh' and you're doing full time video it's hard for me to recommend it.

[scotchtape]

Well, it seems like you just need to decide whether you want AF or not, it's that simple :)

[kye]

3 hours ago, seanzzxx said:

What would you guys do here?

I think @scotchtape nailed it - it's about AF.

Step 1: work out if you want AF or not and then buy the Canon if you do and P6KPro if you don't

Step 2: setup some test scenes with a colour checker (or some brightly coloured objects) and shoot it with both cameras and then work on a preset colour grade that will match the colours in post

Step 3: go shoot stuff

[MrSMW]

What about a used EOS R for that 10% photography and those times you need AF?

Personally, it bugs me using 2 different systems, but there isn’t any single system that ticks every box.

But if the BM is your mainstay, I’d do the above and see if that fills your need as it’s a cheap option.

[seanzzxx]

Thanks for the advice guys! Regarding the R, I thought about that, but I need at least a 10-bit camera if I am going to match it with my Pocket, I had an 8-bit camera (a7r II) and there's just no proper matching to be done on a cam like that in my opinion; skin tones especially go super waxy.

[MrSMW]

R6 then? 

You can always try that and if it doesn't work out, sell it on.

Even better if you buy used in the first place.

[IronFilm]

Personally I see you have two very clear choices:
1) Pocket 4K: you have then two literally IDENTICAL cameras, very handy indeed for dual camera shoots. Plus the P4K is the best bang for the buck option. 
2) Pocket 6K Pro: the pros are internal ND, optional EVF, tilting screen, bit longer battery life, and slightly more resolution (meh).

Take your pick. 

(Canon? Canon who?)

[kye]

On 4/28/2021 at 5:00 PM, IronFilm said:

1) Pocket 4K: you have then two literally IDENTICAL cameras, very handy indeed for dual camera shoots. Plus the P4K is the best bang for the buck option. 

Which also means that you can have two sets of key accessories (like batteries and media) which can act as backups between the cameras, and some accessories (like lenses) don't need to be duplicated and can be shared across both cameras.

This is a big deal - I'd suggest @seanzzxx that you price up the options taking into account all the batteries, chargers, rigging, media, lenses, and all the rest of the stuff that you would need, and then look at each piece and see what you would do if each piece failed, then buy extras so that the camera bodies are the only single points of failure.  
With two different cameras there are likely to be lots of single points of failure where they would take a camera out of operation so you end up with almost 4 sets of stuff, but do that for having two of the same camera and you can eliminate a lot of that.

Plus the extra weight of carrying things around, plus the extra complexity and time spent looking for the accessory from X camera when you've already found that accessory for Y camera but they're not compatible, etc.