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Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K export settings.
BRAW in, a graded file out.
This full frame L-mount body records Blackmagic RAW and an H.264 proxy, and no ProRes. Here is what each file is good for, what a browser can play, and the export a client should actually judge.
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By uncompressed.io · Updated September 2026
What the camera records
Blackmagic RAW, an H.264 proxy,
and no ProRes.
The Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K puts a 36 x 24 mm full frame sensor, 6048 x 4032, behind an Active L-Mount. Blackmagic rates it at 13 stops with dual native ISO 400 and 3200, and it records to one CFexpress Type B card. Every file it makes is one of two kinds.
6048 x 4032
Open Gate 3:2
Full sensor, up to 36 fps
12-bit
Blackmagic RAW
The only camera original
1920 x 1080
H.264 proxy
8-bit 4:2:0
80 Mbps
HEVC 10-bit review
Our starting point for 1080p to 4K
Blackmagic RAW recording modes from the Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K tech specs, blackmagicdesign.com, read 19 September 2026.
Data rates from the Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K tech specs, read 19 September 2026. Mbps computed by us at 8 bits per byte. Constant quality Q0, Q1, Q3 and Q5 are also offered; they have no fixed rate. The H.264 proxy is recorded as 1920 x 1080, 8-bit 4:2:0.
For the grading master, pick the least compressed setting your storage allows: 3:1, or Q0 if you prefer constant quality. Blackmagic describes constant quality as completely removing the upper data limit, so file size rises with detail and noise instead of capping. 8:1 and 12:1 keep a card going longer; they do not change what the review export looks like, only how much latitude the grade had to make it.
What plays where
Two files a browser cannot use,
and one it can, with a catch.
Blackmagic RAW: macOS app
BRAW does not play in a web browser. The uncompressed.io macOS app plays it natively on compatible Macs; playback is hardware-dependent, so test a short clip on the recipient's Mac. DaVinci Resolve reads it on your side.
H.264 proxy: browser, for a content check
H.264 is a browser codec, so the proxy can play in a review link. It is 1080p, 8-bit 4:2:0 and ungraded: fine for 'is the take in there', wrong for any color, focus or texture sign-off.
Graded HEVC export: browser, for sign-off
A 10-bit HEVC file made from your graded timeline is what the client should judge. It carries the grade, the crop and the desqueeze you decided on, sized for playback.
Supported camera originals and Vault playback use the compatible macOS app; they are not universally playable in web browsers. No RAW format and no ProRes plays in a web browser through us, and this camera records no ProRes anyway, so there is no in-between file to lean on. The browser review file is always one you export. Browser playback uses your uploaded export without another platform re-encode. Codec, device and connection requirements still apply.
The review export
Codec, bitrate and frame rate,
sized for 6K sources.
HEVC Main10, 10-bit, in MP4 or MOV, constant frame rate, 2-pass VBR, AAC audio at 320 kbps. The bitrate follows the export size and frame rate, not the 6K negative.
uncompressed.io recommended review bitrates. One starting number: 80 Mbps HEVC 10-bit covers 1080p through 4K. Calm frames such as interviews sit at 40 to 50; snow, rain, water, foliage, heavy grain and fast pans want 100 to 120.
Resolution. A 4K review export from a 6K timeline is usually the practical choice; a 6K file asks more of the viewer’s device, as the 6K browser playback answer explains. Export 6K only when the client needs to see the full frame and has the hardware for it.
Frame rate. Export at the timeline rate. Material shot at 100 fps in Super 16 or 120 fps in HD is usually conformed to slow motion in the edit, and the review file carries the timeline rate, not the capture rate. A 6K 2.4:1 or 4K DCI timeline at 60 fps goes out as HEVC; H.264 is not recommended there.
Open Gate and anamorphic. Open Gate 3:2 (6048 x 4032) and Anamorphic 6:5 (4832 x 4032) are capture frames, not delivery frames. Decide the delivery crop for Open Gate, and desqueeze anamorphic material by your lens’s factor in the timeline, before the export. Export square pixels at the final aspect, so the client never reviews a stretched or uncropped picture.
The grade. BRAW is RAW: the image the client sees is the one your grade or a transform to Rec.709 produces. A browser shows the file exactly as it is encoded, with no look applied on top, so the grade happens before the export. Free presets with these values for DaVinci Resolve, Premiere Pro, Media Encoder and Compressor are on the NLE page.
Card to client
From the CFexpress card
to a review link.
Offload
Copy the BRAW clips and any H.264 proxies off the CFexpress Type B card into your project, as you already do.
Grade or transform
Grade the BRAW, or apply a Rec.709 transform for a quick pass. Set the Open Gate crop and any anamorphic desqueeze here.
Export
HEVC Main10, MP4 or MOV, constant frame rate, 2-pass VBR, AAC 320 kbps, at the bitrate the table gives for the export size.
Upload
Drag the export in. Uploads are resumable and take files up to 5 TB each, within the plan's hot storage. Add BRAW originals if the client will use the macOS app.
Share
Send the link; the client needs no account. Add a password per video if you want one. Original downloads stay off until you switch them on.
Pull notes back
Comments carry author and timecode, drawings sit on the picture. They return as markers through a Resolve script, a Premiere Pro panel or a Final Cut Pro bundle.
A new cut replaces the file and keeps the link, views, settings, notes and approvals, so round two goes to the same address. For the BRAW side of this workflow in more depth, see sharing BRAW for client review; for a Super 35 Blackmagic body, the Pocket Cinema Camera 4K page covers the same steps.
When this is the wrong tool
Questions
Frequently asked
Can my client just watch the H.264 proxy the camera records?
For a quick content check, yes: it is H.264, a codec browsers decode. But Blackmagic lists it as 1920 x 1080, 8-bit 4:2:0, and it is the ungraded picture. Nobody should approve color, exposure or texture from it. Send the graded HEVC export for anything that needs a decision.
Should I export Open Gate 3:2 or crop first?
Crop first. Open Gate is 6048 x 4032, a 3:2 frame that is usually reframed for a 16:9 or 2.4:1 delivery. Put the delivery crop in the timeline before you export, so the client reviews the frame the audience will see rather than the full sensor area.
Which Blackmagic RAW setting makes the best grading master?
The least compressed one you can store: 3:1 among the constant bitrate options, or Q0 among the constant quality options. Constant quality removes the upper data limit, so file size follows the image. 8:1 and 12:1 save space at the cost of data the grade can use. The review export afterwards is the same either way.
Can a client play the BRAW files straight from this camera?
Not in a browser. Supported camera originals and Vault playback use the compatible macOS app; they are not universally playable in web browsers. The macOS app plays Blackmagic RAW natively on compatible Macs, and playback is hardware-dependent, so test a short clip on the recipient's Mac first.
What resolution should a review export be for a 6K timeline?
Usually 4K. A 4K HEVC 10-bit file at 40 to 80 Mbps (24 or 30 fps) or 50 to 100 Mbps (60 fps) plays on far more devices than a 6K file. Keep a 6K export, up to about 120 Mbps HEVC, for clients who specifically need to judge the full frame on a capable machine.
Send the graded picture, keep the RAW
Upload a graded HEVC export for the browser link and the BRAW originals for the macOS app, in the same account. Streaming has no per-view or bandwidth charge.
Sources
- 1.Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K, Tech Specs (Blackmagic Design) (sensor, recording formats, frame rates, media and BRAW data rates, read 19 September 2026)
- 2.Blackmagic RAW (Blackmagic Design) (DaVinci Resolve support and constant quality encoding, read 19 September 2026)