Fremont, CA—Blackmagic Design announced a new lower price for the Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12K camera. The price reduction to $5,995 was made possible by efficiencies in manufacturing combined with an improved supply of 12K sensors.
In addition, the new rendering engine in the bundled DaVinci Resolve 17.3 software shows speed improvements up to 3x when working in 4K and 8K resolutions. As a result, the lower price will make high resolution workflows more accessible.
“URSA Mini Pro 12K’s extreme resolution goes well beyond traditional motion picture film. Customers get the benefits of shooting with film. including incredible detail, wide dynamic range and rich, deep color,” the company announced. “It’s perfect for feature films, episodic television and immersive, large–format IMAX. The incredible definition around objects makes it ideal for working with green screen and VFX, including compositing live action and CGI. Super sampling at 12K also means customers not only get better color and resolution at 8K but also a smoothness that comes from making aliasing invisible.”
Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12K
The compact camera boasts a 12,288×6,480 12K Super 35 image sensor, 14 stops of dynamic range and a native ISO 800. The combination of 80 megapixels, new color science and Blackmagic RAW makes working with 12K a reality. And users can capture stills and motion shots at the same time. Moreover, oversampling from 12K gives them the best 8K and 4K images with the subtle skin tones and detail of higher end still cameras.
The URSA Mini Pro 12K shoots standard resolutions and frame rates in 4K, 8K as well as 12K. It shoots at 60 fps in 12K 12,288×6,480 17:9; at 120 fps at 8,192×4,320; and at 160 fps at 8,192×3,408. Users may also window the sensor to Super 16 to capture 4K at 240 fps at 4,096×2,160 DCI.
What’s more, the camera features built–in ND filters; dual CFast and UHS-II SD card recorders; as well as a SuperSpeed USB-C expansion port. Furthermore, the camera’s interchangeable PL lens mount lets customers choose from a wide range of vintage and modern cinema lenses. They can switch between PL–, EF– and F–mount lenses.
In addition, the 12K sensor and Blackmagic RAW were designed together to make 12–bit RAW workflows in 12K seamless. An efficient next –generation codec, Blackmagic RAW lets users shoot 12K and edit on a laptop. The resolution of the sensor means they can reframe shots in postproduction for delivery in 8K and 4K.
Moreover, constant quality Q0 and Q5 options and new Q1 and Q3 lock the quality level; this allows compression to adapt, matching the detail of the scene. Also, constant bitrate encoding options 5:1, 8:1, 12:1 and the new 18:1 give cinematographers the best possible images with predictable file sizes.
Additional Features
With its dual card slots, users can record RAW to two cards simultaneously so they can shoot 12K or 8K to either CFast or UHS-II cards, even at high frame rates. Blackmagic RAW also stores camera metadata, lens data, white balance, digital slate information and custom LUTs.
In addition, Blackmagic Generation 5 Color Science technology has a new film curve to make full use of the amount of color data from the 12K sensor. Consequently, it is said to deliver better color response for more pleasing skin tones, and better rendering of highly saturated colors, such as neon signs in high contrast scenes.
What’s more, Generation 5 Color Science informs complex Blackmagic RAW image processing; the color and dynamic range data from the sensor are preserved via metadata for use in postproduction. Compatible with all previously shot Blackmagic RAW files, Generation 5 Color Science lets users take advantage of the new film curve even with existing work.
DaVinci Resolve Studio
URSA Mini Pro includes a full version of DaVinci Resolve Studio. The software combines professional editing, color correction, audio post and visual effects. Whether users are working on major Hollywood feature films; episodic television; music videos; commercials; or the latest YouTube shoot, DaVinci Resolve Studio gives them a lossless workflow.
“Since we released Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12K last year, we have worked hard to increase the supply of sensors as well as make improvements in our manufacturing processes to help reduce costs,” said Grant Petty, CEO, Blackmagic Design. “This new lower price, combined with the incredible 3x faster speed of DaVinci Resolve, makes high–resolution 4K and 8K workflows more accessible!”
Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12K is available now for $5,995.
