[10:04 Sun,30.November 2025 by Rudi Schmidts] |
For about two years, Thomas Bolland has been announcing a modular cinema camera under the product name "Nexus G1" in a professional cine body, whose internals are derived from the Pocket Cinema Camera 6K. After Blackmagic has now launched a similar boxed camera – the PYXIS – the project now aims to particularly distinguish itself from it.
In a comprehensive, now tenth project update, the Nexus team reports further progress on the Nexus G1 camera. The team announces that the camera prototype is now fully functional and is in an intensive testing phase. To prove this, the camera is said to have been tested for weeks under demanding conditions in the hot and humid Australian rainforest in a "run-and-gun" deployment. The resulting test sequences, mostly shot handheld with actor Logan Huffman, give a first impression of the practical handling. The developers emphasize that the footage was shot with a wide range of readily available lenses – from vintage glass to affordable cine primes and Sigma photo lenses – to demonstrate versatile use. In addition to the practical tests, all core components have also been finalized. The proprietary 1TB MaxDrive storage system makes media handling easy and affordable. However, the developers particularly highlight the performance of the cooling system, which is said to have proven itself in extreme stress tests: In a climate chamber at 57 degrees, the Nexus G1 recorded continuously for 1.5 hours without overheating. This is intended to prove low thermal noise and absolute reliability even under the toughest conditions. A particular technical challenge was the integration of wireless connections, as the housing made of magnesium alloys and carbon fiber has radio-absorbing properties. The solution: The G1 offers two high-gain internal antennas as standard, but also has two MMCX ports for connecting external antennas if even greater range is required for remote camera control. Further milestones include the final optimization of the optical system, with particular emphasis placed on precisely maintaining the "Sensor Stack Height" to maximize imaging performance at the edges of the frame, as well as the announcement of a proprietary Full-Frame Module (FF Module) that enlarges the sensor and is intended to further increase image quality – essentially a speed booster. ;) Nexus G1 - Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K in a Carbon Cine Body The Nexus team now plans to move into series production at full speed. The first delivery units of the Nexus G1 are now scheduled to go out to supporters in the first quarter of 2026. Despite some delays due to complex technical hurdles, they are very confident and emphasize that these challenges have even led to technical improvements that will ultimately make the camera "even better than planned." We personally find the project somewhat opaque overall, especially since the targeted price seems very optimistic to us: Early supporters are only supposed to pay a surcharge of 400 Euros for the complex rehousing. According to the website, Blackmagic is not involved in the project, but is said to have "approved" it and provided support with a helpful support team for technical questions. And even if the actual construction of the camera internals is completely omitted in this case, other manufacturers of small camera series like Kinefinity or Z-Cam show that it is difficult to make a profit in this market with small production volumes. This is probably why Nexus obviously plans to earn money through its completely independent modular camera infrastructure by offering its own mounts, SSDs, ND filters, and focal reducers. However, one should not forget that the NEXUS G1 will always remain a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K at its core. And its image quality is fundamentally undisputed for cinematic projects. As the following clip with the first demo footage of the Nexus G1 is also intended to prove: The risk associated with an order should be clear to every interested party. You are buying from a manufacturer who has never practically appeared before. Furthermore, nothing concrete can yet be said about the quality or reliability of the components. Any return rights or warranties are also likely still open.  more infos at bei nexus-cameras.comdeutsche Version dieser Seite: Weitere Fortschritte bei der Nexus G1 - Pocket Cinema Camera 6K im Cine-Gehäuse |
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