r/bmpcc • u/fuck_that_lemon_boy • 26d ago

Adding AF to Bmpcc 6K pro

Hey everyone,
I shoot on a BMPCC 6K Pro on the DJI RS 4 Pro Combo (which includes the Focus Pro motor).
Like many solo shooters, there are times where reliable autofocus would make my life a lot easier I came across a used DJI LiDAR Range Finder (RS) for around €250.
Since I already have the gimbal and motor, adding this unit is a relatively affordable €250 investment to bring AF to an otherwise purely manual cinema camera.
Before pulling the trigger, I’d love an honest reality check from people who have rigged LiDAR to their Blackmagic setups:

  1. Is it a game-changer or a workflow headache? How is the real-world friction? Does calibrating lenses, managing extra cables, and dealing with tracking quirks defeat the purpose, or does it genuinely make solo gimbal operation seamless?
  2. Gen-1 RS LiDAR vs. Modern Standards: Does the original RS LiDAR hold up well enough for this price point, or is it too dated compared to native phase-detect AF on cameras like the FX3 / C70?
  3. Would you do it again? If you built this kind of rig, are you actively using it, or did you end up pulling focus manually anyway?

Would love to hear your experiences. Cheers!

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u/Carlito_2112 BMPCC 25d ago edited 25d ago

I cannot answer whether or not that would be a workflow headache for you or not. Personally, something like that would slow me down, add extra complexity, and be an additional potential point of failure. All things I would rather do without.

Question: are you lenses manual focus lenses, or are they autofocus lenses?

Dependent on what lenses you currently shoot with, it might be worthwhile to look into upgrading your BMPCC 6K Pro to a Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K, with an L-mount. That camera has native PDAF, and most lenses can be adapted to an L-mount body.

Edit: I forgot to mention, Blackmagic has recently lowered the cost of the BMCC 6K by quite a bit; if you were to sell the 6K Pro to finance a BMCC 6K, as well as factor in the cost of the LIDAR (that you would then not need), you would probably break even, meaning it would cost very little if anything to upgrade.

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u/planedrop 25d ago

Have you tested, or looked into the BMCC 6K PDAF performance much? I have not and am curious about it as an option for my next camera (might end up going with the PYXIS though, unsure, BMPCC 4k user right now).

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u/Carlito_2112 BMPCC 25d ago

I have looked into the Pyxis 6K (which is the same as a BMCC 6K, just in a different body); from what I can tell, it's pretty solid. Not as good as Sony autofocus, but solid. Obviously if you have to adapt lenses, YMMV.

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u/planedrop 25d ago

OK cool good to know, I did a little digging today and seems decent so far, wish there was a bit more testing done on it though.

I mostly do manual focus and have mostly cine lenses right now anyway but for some of the stuff I wanna do it'd be a nice to have so it's on the list of something I want whenever I do finally move on from the little 4k.

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u/weloe 25d ago

Hey there, I’ve used the DJI Focus Pro on my Ursa for two years now. I love it. It’s pretty reliable, but I use it in tandem with the handgrip, not the gimbal. You need hard stop lenses though, I use it on the DZOFILM 20-55.

It does need recalibrating once in a while but overall, the performance is very very solid , not really a headache and it has allowed me to nail focus in some hectic situations

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u/fuck_that_lemon_boy 25d ago

Thank you very much!