It hasn't made its 2025 release window, but the team behind the Nexus G1 says that the camera is now fully operational, will release in Q1 2026, and it's sharing the test footage to prove it.
It's been a few months since we last heard from Thomas Bolland and the team behind the Nexus G1, the modular box form-factor cinema camera built around the sensor and main electronics of the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K. Back in June, in Project Update #9, the team was still hoping to hit a 2025 release and had opened pre-orders for a 10% deposit of $320. The bad news is that the schedule has slipped once more, with the camera now slated to ship in Q1 2026. The good news is that it's now fully operational and Nexus has shared the first footage shot with it in the hot and humid Australian rainforest.
Shooting on the Nexus G1
Bolland reports that the test footage was shot on a mixture of vintage lenses, affordable cine primes, and Sigma photo lenses. For this update, the plan was just to show what everyday shooting on the $3300 camera will be like. Forthcoming plans include shooting some more scientific test footage on "some fancy glass" with a focus on highlighting image quality.
All footage was shot on the company's own 1TB Nexus MaxDrive.
"We’ve also now started testing the Nexus on gimbals (starting with the DJI RS3 Pro), and it is insanely streamlined to setup," reports Bolland. "You just take the Nexus straight from handheld, tripod, slider, or shoulder rig, and slide it right onto the gimbal and start shooting – no breaking down rigging or setting up a gimbal rig. And if you want to make it even lighter, you can even power your gimbal from the Nexus!"
The team has also designed and developed its own FF module, which makes the effective sensor size Full Frame, and is optically optimized to maximise image quality when used with the Nexus G1. "We’ll be doing tests soon with some T1.5 primes boosted to T1.0," says Bolland.
Cool Under Pressure
Part of the reason to shoot in the Australian rainforest was to show that the camera is no show pony and can operate under proper real-world conditions. Bolland refers to the processor and sensor cooling system as now being "fully tested," and the team has taken it further as well.
"In addition to field testing, we’ve stress-tested the Nexus G1 in an environmental chamber at 57 °C / 134 °F - the highest temperature ever recorded on Earth, in Death Valley, Nevada," he says. "The Nexus G1 filled the whole 1TB drive – recording for 1.5 hours straight, without overheating. As you guys know, that’s awesome cooling performance. The cooling system is definitely overpowered, it keeps the sensor cool for the lowest thermal image noise, keeps the fan slow and super quiet, and ensures the Nexus is reliable in the toughest environmental conditions."
Sensor Stack Height
One of the reasons for the slippage on shipping is that the team had to put in far more time than planned into the optical system, especially optimizing the sensor stack height.
"This is a lesser-known but critical part of camera design which is often overlooked," says Bolland. "In short, every lens ecosystem is designed around a specific stack height, and all optical elements in front of the sensor contribute to it. This is different from, but just as important as flange distance. Getting it right ensures the lens’s optical wavefront reaches the sensor as intended, maximising edge MTF and reducing chromatic and other aberrations.
"We conducted precision spectral analysis of multiple IR-filter materials and our E-ND element to meet stack-height requirements while achieving our target spectral response and effective IR suppression. Special thanks to Griffith University Brisbane and their brilliant team for supporting us by providing access to their lab and spectral analysis equipment."
Wireless Systems
There have been other challenges as well that have slowed down rollout. Bolland says they faced "significant challenges" with the wireless systems. The problem is that the camera body is made almost entirely of radio-blocking materials in the shape of magnesium alloy and carbon fiber. This is great for general signal integrity but makes implementing an internal wireless system kinda fiddly.
"We considered every possible solution, all kinds of internal antennas and external antennas. Each had compromises, we didn’t want the range limitations of internal antennas, and we didn’t want fixed external antennas that get in the way. We don’t want to keep adding features to the Nexus, but ultimately we decided to include both antenna options."
By default, the Nexus will use dual high-gain dual-band internal antennas mounted flush. Alongside this there are also two dedicated MMCX ports on the top of the camera so users can use full sized dual band external SMA or MMCX whip antennas for long range camera control.
When Exactly Will the Nexus G1 Ship?
Bolland takes positives from the delays to date. "We have encountered some complex technical issues along the way that made things take longer than expected but not only have we solved them all perfectly, these challenges have led to several technical advancements beyond what we originally planned," he says.
"From here on it is all full speed ahead to get the Nexus G1 precision manufactured and into filmmakers’ hands. First units are now planned to be released Q1 next year.
"We have established great relationships with our manufacturers and will soon be meeting with them, ensuring all components are made to our standard of excellence, for assembly in our facility. We thank our amazing supporters and the filmmaking community who have been supporting and encouraging the project from the beginning! It is all coming together beautifully and we are extremely grateful for everyone coming along together with us on this exciting journey. We are nearly there, and the Nexus G1 has been realized even better than we planned!"
Fingers crossed that scaling up that the process of scaling up manufacture goes smoothly...