The Best Native Lenses for the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K (2024)

Disclaimer:

Since I haven’t received my Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K (Amazon, B&H)yet at the time of this writing most of this guide is conjecture – the result of relying on information provided by BMD, educated guesses and my personal experience and analysis based on the work I’ve done with earlier cameras. It is only a starting point, from which you will hopefully continue to research and find what best suits your workflow. Update: I have received the BMPCC4K and have reviewed it. The information provided here might not be accurate or relevant. You are solely responsible for your decisions and actions.

If you’re looking for cine lenses or manual lenses, read this article.
If you’re looking for Super 16mm and C-mount lenses, read this article.

Also, don’t forget to read about the important quirks and features of theBlackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K (Amazon, B&H) for video shooters.

What is a native lens?

A native lens is one specifically designed for the Micro Four Thirds (MFT) system, and which allow the following:

Electronic metadata like iris, focal length, etc.
Single-point autofocus (theBlackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K (Amazon, B&H) doesn’t support continuous autofocus on any lens).
Zoom

The fourmajor brands that make electronic native lenses are:

Panasonic
Olympus
Sigma
Tamron

There are others, but only these fourmake lenses that autofocus for video.

Do you get continuous autofocus for video?

No. Not with any lenses.

You only get Single-point autofocus. To be honest I would just stick to manual focus.

Best prime lenses for theBlackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K

When should you pick prime lenses?

The single greatest advantage prime lenses have in general is they can open wider than zooms. You can go down to f/0.95 if you wanted to!

This makes it a great option for low light cinematography. And there’s really no excuse for not having at least one prime because they also tend to be cheap without sacrificing quality. Another advantage of prime lenses is they are usually lighter than zoom lenses (comparing the same price range).

You might want to get a 50mm (35mm equivalent) as your first general purpose lens, so you’re looking at something in the 25mm range. TheBlackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K (Amazon, B&H)has a crop factor of 2 in 4K mode and 4 in 120p HD windowed mode. We’ll look at the windowed mode in another article.

Best zoomlenses for autofocusfor the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K

When should you pick zoomlenses?

Zoom lenses are all about convenience. You pick a zoom when you want that flexibility in creating wide shots and close ups. You simply don’t have the time to swap lenses often, or can’t afford more than one or two general lenses.

If you are sticking to zoom lenses, get the most expensive you can afford. You typically get what you pay for.

If you could only getone lens, which would should you get?

Get the Panasonic Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm f/2.8 Asph. (Amazon, B&H). Please note, this is the Mark I version. A newer Mark II version has been released, but it’s $999, so pick the latter if you can afford it.

This lens will give you a 24-70mm 35mm equivalent, more than enough for most general purpose video work.

What are the best wide angle zoom lenses for theBlackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K?

Luckily the MFT system has twogreat wide-angle zooms, in order of preference:

Olympus M.ZUIKO Digital ED 7-14mm f/2.8 PRO(Amazon, B&H)
Panasonic Lumix G Vario 7-14mm f/4.0 ASPH.(Amazon, B&H)

This would give you a 14-28mm 35mm equivalent, more than enough for most wide-angle work. The Olympus is more rugged and more suited to outdoor use (it’s also weatherproof), and for ultra-wides AF isn’t that big of a deal. The only major drawback of these zoom lenses are that you can’t put standard screw-in filters on them. You’ll need something like theFormatt Hitech 165mm Lucroit Filter Holder Kit (Amazon, B&H).

What are the best normal zoom lenses for theBlackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K?

The best standard range zoom is Panasonic Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm f/2.8 II ASPH (Amazon, B&H). This is the Mark II version.

You might be asking, why not a variable aperture zoom (something like an f/4-5.6 or whatever). The problem is once you set exposure and then zoom in, you’ll have to compensate by raising the ISO. In low light situations, you’ll have a cleaner wider shot and a noisier close up. In the editing room side by side, the differences will be more pronounced. Try to avoid variable zooms whenever possible for video.

What are the best telephoto zoom lenses for the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K?

If wide angles are the bane of MFT, then telephoto lenses are its rockstars. Try to get a lens with internal image stabilization, like the Panasonic OIS telephoto lenses.

Get thePanasonic Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm f/2.8 II POWER O.I.S. (Amazon, B&H). It will give you a 70-200mm equivalent, great for any kind of telephoto work. Olympus also has a stellarED 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO lens, but there’s no image stabilization. You could still pair it with a gimbal, but the there’s no way to control any function in the camera via a gimbal.

If I could only have three lenses…

What if I could only have three lenses for everything? This is what I would get:

Panasonic Lumix G Vario 7-14mm f/4.0 ASPH. (Amazon, B&H)
Voigtlander Nokton 25mm f/0.95 Type II (Amazon, B&H) – Manual focus only (If you need AF replace with the Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 25mm f/1.4 ASPH)
Panasonic Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm f/2.8 II POWER O.I.S. (Amazon, B&H)

In the next article we’ll look at the manual focus options and cine lenses available for theBlackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K (Amazon, B&H).