When I got up today and saw the headlines, my preliminary reaction was most likely like a great deal of other individuals, Why does anybody requirement 12K? As soon as I started looking at the camera in detail I quickly understood that it isnt the 12K we should be talking about.
In Spite Of the URSA Mini Pro 12K looking practically similar to the existing URSA Mini Pro, there is rather a great deal of new tech under the hood. We should not be blinded by the 12K resolution, there is a lot more to this video camera than simply that. So lets pop that hood and have an appearance within.
As far as the rolling shutter is concerned, by using an RGB CMOS sensor that can 12K at 60p the rolling shutter performance should be respectable (in theory). Reports indicate that the rolling shutter performance has actually been measured at 15ms for 12K and 6ms for 8K. In 4K it should, in theory, be really, extremely low, to the point where it may not even seem noticeable at all.
The initial IR absorption filter on a lot of the Blackmgic cameras, including the URSA Mini Pro 4.6 K and the URSA Mini Pro 12K dont have an OLPF.
It is not a standard Bayer pattern CMOS sensor that we see in practically every cam. Whether you choose to shoot in 12K, 4k, or 8k, you will get the same field of view.
Sensing unit
Blackmagic isnt the very first business to explore little 2.2 micron pitch sensors. Several business have actually done it such as Canon.
Because of light sensitivity, the factor we probably have not seen Sigmas Fovean gamers RGB sensing unit come back to the market is most likely. Canon likewise had some 5 and 6 layer sensor designs however they have not discovered their method into any cameras either.
In theory, by having an equivalent amount of red, green, and blue pixels you should have the ability to get much better color accuracy and better outcomes when shooting in combined lighting conditions. This is exactly the case with the Sony F35 and Panavision Genesis (although they use a removed RGB sensing unit and not an RGB CMOS sensing unit).
Blackmagic has actually significantly changed direction with sensor tech for the URSA Mini Pro 12K. From what I know this is a brand name brand-new sensing unit that has been developed by Blackmagic in-house. Blackmagic obviously has patents for a lot of this new tech they are utilizing.
Aliasing and moiré prevail issues with digital image capture. To prevent these issues from happening most digital movie theater video cameras (consisting of the Arri Alexa) have an integrated Optical Low Pass Filter (OLPF).
Blackmagic has constantly been a market disruptor and this latest statement still clearly has them on that path. You may recognize with the expression Just because you can, does not suggest that you should. With Blackmagic, it is a case of Just since we can, we will.
A Bayer pattern sensor has double the quantity of green pixels, so for every red and blue pixel, there are two times as lots of green pixels. This is how Phil Holland describes it, With Blackmagics new sensing unit instead of having the Bayer 2 × 2 grid (GRBG) it has a 6 × 6 grid.
OLPFs are pricey. The ones utilized in ARRI Alexas are not cheap. Adding a good OLPF with color science filter and then the R&D expenses connected with tuning that sensor would have added considerable cost to the cost of the URSA Mini Pro 12K.
Business such as RAWLITE make OLPF for a great deal of the Blackmagic cams. There is no reason to believe that they wont make one for this electronic camera.
Having no low pass filter is why you wont see Blackmagic electronic cameras being utilized for a lot of high-end work such as functions. Im still perplexed as to why Blackmagic does not include OLPFs in its cams.
The issue with having an extremely little 2.2 micron pitch sensor is that low light performance might extremely well be jeopardized, however, the high resolution may help to alleviate a few of those worries. The white pixels are simply clear and are there to deal with the light loss of using such little photosites with small microlenses. As a comparison the RED Monstro is 5 micron pixel, the RED Komodo is a 4.4 micron pixel.
Utilized with the approval of Phil HollandThe physical sensor size is 27.03 x 14.25 mm. The image circle of a lens required to shoot 12K DCI needs to be 30.56 mm or bigger. Remarkably enough the physical sensing unit size of the URSA Mini Pro 12K corresponds that of the RED Komodo.
As far as I know, this is the very first commercially readily available RGB CMOS sensing unit that can 4K and higher resolutions.
What is necessary to keep in mind, is that this brand-new Blackmagic sensor has actually been in the works for more than 3 years, and BRAW was developed specifically with this sensing unit in mind. Because of what Blackmagic is doing with BRAW, the only factor it can do what it can is. The two go together. They count on each other for whatever to work. There are no ProRes tape-recording options in the URSA Mini Pro 12K, you can only record BRAW. There is a reason for this. The no cropped resolutions and high frame rate capabilities relate straight to the partly debayered way in which BRAW works. From what I can work out it may well be a case that this combination of BRAW and an RGB sensing unit is permitting much easier downscaling and compression. I dont believe it would be possible to provide the kind of resolutions and framerates with a Bayer sensor. Yes, you could definitely do 12K with a Bayer sensing unit, but the combination of resolution, framerates and no cropping might not yet be possible.
You need to commend Blackmagic, they certainly understand how to make an entryway. Despite what you consider their video cameras, you require to offer them credit for continuing to press the envelope and innovate.
Resolutions & & Framerates
The URSA Mini Pro 12K has a really excellent selection of shooting resolutions and framerates.
RESOLUTIONS
12,288 x 6480 (12K DCI).
11,520 x 6480 (12K 16:9).
12,288 x 5112 (12K 2.4:1).
7680 x 6408 (12K Anamorphic).
8192 x 4320 (8K DCI).
7680 x 4320 (8K 16:9).
8192 x 3408 (8K 2.4:1).
5120 x 4272 (8K Anamorphic).
6144 x 3240 (6K Super16).
4096 x 2160 (4K Super16).
4096 x 2160 (4K DCI).
3840 x 2160 (4K 16:9).
4096 x 1704 (4K 2.4:1).
2560 x 2136 (4K Anamorphic).
FRAME RATES.
12K 17:9 complete sensor up to 60 fps.
8K DCI full sensing unit up to 110 fps.
4K DCI full sensing unit approximately 110 fps.
8K 2.4:1 and 4K 2.4:1 up to 140 fps.
6K Super 16 up to 120 fps.
4K Super 16 up to 220 fps.
If you still require or want to shoot in HD you still can. Below is what is possible in HD:.
There is a lot to like here, I dont think anyone in their best mind can grumble about what is on offer here. The capability to shoot in 12K 60fps, 8K and 4K at as much as 110fps, and even 4K Super 16 at up to 220fps shouldnt be neglected. For any electronic camera, let alone one that costs under $10,000 USD this is extremely impressive.
1080p23.98, 1080p24, 1080p25,.
1080p29.97, 1080p30, 1080p50,.
1080p59.94, 1080p60, 1080i50,.
1080i59.94, 1080i60.
These options give you more choices than ProRes RAW where you are restricted to two different variations.
There is an excellent variety of BRAW compressions to select from depending on what kind of work you are doing. What you do need to keep in mind is that depending upon what NLE you utilize, you might not be able to view or have any access to BRAW video footage. You are going to need to use an NLE that has a plugin or usage DaVinci Resolve.
The four continuous bitrate variations are Blackmagic RAW 5:1, 8:1, 12:1, and 18:1. Blackmagic RAW Q0 has minimum quantization and yields the highest possible quality, while Blackmagic RAW Q5 utilizes moderate quantization for more efficient encoding and a smaller file size.
DATA RATES.
Below are the forms of BRAW that are available:.
Blackmagic RAW is designed to accelerate 12K for post-production, making it as simple to deal with as basic HD or Ultra HD files. It is extremely enhanced, multi‑threaded works across numerous CPU cores and is also GPU accelerated to work with Apple Metal, CUDA and OpenCL. So you can constantly work with your camera RAW files without needing to make proxies. Blackmagic RAW 12K images supply extraordinary resolution and quality for color, keying, compositing, reframing, stabilization and tracking in 4K or 8K.
Blackmagic has actually been really wise and determined with the items they have released. They have actually produced a whole capture to the delivery ecosystem that benefits the end-user. With BRAW and Resolve they have actually created a affordable and pretty easy method of handling high-resolution RAW video.
BRAW Only.
Blackmagic RAW Constant Bitrate 5:1.
Blackmagic RAW Constant Bitrate 8:1.
Blackmagic RAW Constant Bitrate 12:1.
Blackmagic RAW Constant Bitrate 18:1.
Blackmagic RAW Constant Quality Q0.
Blackmagic RAW Constant Quality Q1.
Blackmagic RAW Constant Quality Q3.
Blackmagic RAW Constant Quality Q5.
As I have already pointed out, this video camera can only shoot internally in BRAW. There are no alternatives to tape-record in any other format. If you wished to tape-record external you would have to do so over SDI to an external recorder.
With the electronic camera, you get the ability to choose in between constant bitrate or continuous quality encoding.
12K– 12,288 x 6480 (based upon 24p).
Blackmagic RAW 5:1– 578 MB/s.
Blackmagic RAW 8:1– 361 MB/s.
Blackmagic RAW 12:1– 241 MB/s.
Blackmagic RAW 18:1– 160 MB/s.
Blackmagic RAW Q0– 241 to 578 MB/s.
Blackmagic RAW Q1– 144 to 361 MB/s.
Blackmagic RAW Q3– 96 to 241 MB/s.
Blackmagic RAW Q5– 72 to 180 MB/s.
8K– 8192 x 4320 (based upon 24p).
Blackmagic RAW 5:1– 258 MB/s.
Blackmagic RAW 8:1– 161 MB/s.
Blackmagic RAW 12:1– 107 MB/s.
Blackmagic RAW 18:1– 72 MB/s.
Blackmagic RAW Q0– 107 to 258 MB/s.
Blackmagic RAW Q1– 64 to 161 MB/s.
Blackmagic RAW Q3– 43 to 107 MB/s.
Blackmagic RAW Q5– 32 to 81 MB/s 4.
6K– 6144 x 3240 (based upon 24p).
Blackmagic RAW 5:1– 145 MB/s.
Blackmagic RAW 8:1– 91 MB/s.
Blackmagic RAW 12:1– 61 MB/s.
Blackmagic RAW 18:1– 40 MB/s.
Blackmagic RAW Q0– 61 to 145 MB/s.
Blackmagic RAW Q1– 36 to 91 MB/s.
Blackmagic RAW Q3– 24 to 61 MB/s.
Blackmagic RAW Q5– 18 to 45 MB/s.
4K– 4096 x 2160 (based upon 24p).
Having a PL install as standard informs you a lot about who Blackmagic is trying to target as prospective users.
I believe there are people who like the URSA Mini Pro form factor and there will be those who dislike it. I can understand why Blackmagic picked to keep the specific same type element as previous URSA Mini Pro electronic cameras.
This recorder lets you record 12‑bit Blackmagic RAW files onto 2.5-inch SSDs, including the current U. 2 NVMe Enterprise SSDs. SSDs such as the latest 7mm U. 2 NVMe disks are really quick and they provide information move speeds of up to 900 MB/s. If you want to record large amounts of 12K, 4k and 8k 12‑bit Blackmagic RAW this will make one of the most sense.
Because of the big file sizes and minimal recording times you will get using CFast 2.0 cards, more individuals are likely to go down the path of including the brand-new optional Blackmagic URSA Mini Recorder ($ 395 USD).
Kind Factor.
When shooting 8K on the Canon EOS R5, it is fascinating to see that 8K Blackmagic RAW 5:1 has a similar information rate to.
The URSA Mini Pro 12K features a magnesium alloy body. The magnesium alloy also makes it lightweight and helps to keep the video camera cool by piping heat into an exchanger that enables convection cooling and heat dissipation from the video cameras body.
The only problem with Blackmagic is that they do highlight new camera designs so often that the worth of your existing electronic camera will constantly take a hit when it comes to reselling it.
CFast cards are required for recording full resolution, 12-bit RAW files. SD cards, which are frequently available and low-cost, can be utilized for tape-recording Blackmagic RAW files at continuous bitrate settings.
The cam body itself weighs in at 2.32 kg (5.1 lb). That might not seem like a lot, however you are still going to have to add on a V-lock or AB Gold mount battery and a Blackmagic Design Shoulder-Mount Kit for the URSA Mini. Luckily a great deal of the Blackmagic accessories are extremely fairly priced.
The cam does use a good amount of outputs, however II still do not like the position of the two XLR inputs. I want they had have done something to correct this.
The biggest factor is to keep costs down. By utilizing an existing body that they already have they can offer the URSA Mini Pro 12K at a lot less than if they had selected to develop something from the ground up.
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It will be interesting to see if Blackmagic offers sensing unit upgrades for older URSA Mini Pro cameras. , if you remember Blackmagic offered an upgrade for the original URSA from the 4K to the 4.6 K sensing unit.
They have actually likewise been able to keep CFast 2.0 cards instead of transferring to something like CFexpress. Again, this is most likely more to do with using the existing URSA Mini Pro style than anything else.
The design of the Blackmagic URSA Mini Recorder suggests it connects directly to the back of the camera and the battery. Its managed via the USB‑C so you dont need to fret about manually beginning or stopping the SSD recorder.
The mix of BRAW and having the alternative or choosing your level of compression is not going to be as taxing on computers as you might think. Yes, the data rates are high, however a lot of contemporary computers will manage BRAW from this cam well, generally due to the fact that BRAW is a pretty effective codec.
Blackmagic RAW 5:1– 65 MB/s.
Blackmagic RAW 8:1– 41 MB/s.
Blackmagic RAW 12:1– 27 MB/s.
Blackmagic RAW 18:1– 18 MB/s.
Blackmagic RAW Q0– 27 to 65 MB/s.
Blackmagic RAW Q1– 16 to 41 MB/s.
Blackmagic RAW Q3– 11 to 27 MB/s.
Blackmagic RAW Q5– 8 to 20 MB/s.
Lens Mounts.
The URSA Mini Pro 12K comes standard with a user-changeable PL Lens Mount. There is likewise Canon EF and Nikon F installs available as an alternative.
Why not full-frame?
Should Blackmagic have released a box-style cam with built-in ND, XLR, SDI, made it full-frame 6 or 8K, and do it all for $4,000 USD? Perhaps, but they didnt, so lets move on. There is no point in talking about something that didnt happen.
You will be able to utilize something like the LucAdapters MagicBooster if you want the full-frame appearance.
Optional Accessories.
This is a question that a lot of individuals will probably be asking. I believe many people most likely anticipated 6K or 8K full-frame version of the URSA Mini Pro or BMPCC. Blackmagic decided to remain with S35 and rather increase the resolution beyond 8K.
If you do need devices this is what is offered:.
URSA Mini Pro PL, EF and F Mounts.
URSA Mini Pro Shim Kit.
URSA Mini Shoulder Kit including top extender and deal with arm.
URSA Viewfinder.
URSA Studio Viewfinder.
URSA Mini Recorder.
URSA VLock Battery Plate.
URSA Gold Battery Plate.
URSA Mini Mic Mount.
URSA Mini Top Handle.
URSA Handgrip.
Blackmagic Camera Fiber Converter.
As the URSA Mini Pro 6K makes use of the exact same body and form factor as previous URSA Mini Pro electronic cameras, those very same accessories you may currently have will work on this cam.
Who is it intended at?
That is an excellent question. In a great deal of ways, the camera is quite niche, but it could be utilized for a great deal of applications.
Blackmagic is marketing the cam as follows: Incredible movie quality features makes URSA Mini Pro ideal for film, episodic television, commercials and even IMAX!
Blackmagic RAW Q0 has minimum quantization and yields the highest possible quality, while Blackmagic RAW Q5 utilizes moderate quantization for more effective encoding and a smaller file size. Blackmagic RAW now includes 2 additional Q1 and Q3 alternatives.
In my opinion, the URSA Mini Pro 12K is more of a rival to electronic cameras from Kinefinity, Z Cam and RED. The alternatives from Kinefinity and Z Cam are placed as budget friendly digital movie theater cameras and they make sure to take a success from the Blackmagic. RED may well likewise take a hit with the release of this electronic camera. I dont think a lot of RED shooters will be offering their cameras to buy an URSA Mini Pro 12K either. Many RED shooters are firmly entrenched into the whole RED household and they are really devoted.
While there is no reason it could not be utilized because capacity, making any sort of inroads to getting Blackmagic electronic cameras more commonly excepted in these circles will still be a hard task.
Look, apart from being rather niche, I truly like what Blackmagic has done with the URSA Mini Pro 12K. It is always a risk when you forge your own path, and Blackmagic has actually stumbled and fallen on event, however they keep getting up and moving forward.
You might use the high resolution for VFX, speciality shoots, or perhaps high speed, high-resolution wildlife shoots. You could even utilize it for pulling frame grabs, but similarly, it would be right in the house shooting in UHD at 23.98 p for regular applications. The only genuine caution is that it only internally records BRAW, so that might well put off some purchasers who desire to tape in a more extensively accepted, non-RAW format.
Forget about the 12K, however look deeper into what Blackmagic has actually done here. There is a lot of fantastic development that has actually gone into this video camera.
I believe offered its type factor and recording abilities, there truly isnt a particular market it falls in.
Blackmagic RAW is created to speed up 12K for post-production, making it as easy to work with as standard HD or Ultra HD files. SD cards, which are inexpensive and typically readily available, can be utilized for tape-recording Blackmagic RAW files at consistent bitrate settings. If you desire to tape large amounts of 4K, 8K and 12K 12‑bit Blackmagic RAW this will make the a lot of sense.
I do not think this electronic camera is a Sony FX9 or Canon C300 Mark III rival. Those are totally different kinds of video cameras that are targeted at a specific market. Anyone who is presently shooting content with an FX9 or C300 Mark III is not going to be offering their cam to purchase an URSA Mini Pro 12K.
To be fair to Blackmagic they are likewise mentioning that it might be used for indie filmmakers and smaller sized productions.
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This is not an electronic camera that is being targeted at individuals who desire small form factor cameras and it is not likely to appeal to state somebody who wants to utilize a BMPCC 6K or a canon EOS R5 as their primary video camera.
As always, the proof will be in the pudding and just how the camera performs out in the real world will be intriguing to see. The outstanding specifications on paper need to equate over to real performance.
