Blackmagic Design launches new URSA Mini Pro 4.6K camera
Blackmagic Design has released details of the URSA Mini Pro 4.6K, a new professional camera that combines high-end digital film quality with the ergonomics and features of a traditional broadcast camera. URSA Mini Pro features a massive number of tactile control buttons, switches and dials that make it faster to use, built-in optical ND filters, a new interchangeable lens mount, dual CFAST 2.0 and dual SD/UHS-II card recorders, and more.
URSA Mini Pro 4.6K is available now for $5,995 from Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide.
URSA Mini Pro is designed to be the toughest and most fully featured camera available. It includes everything customers need in a compact handheld magnesium alloy body that’s durable and light enough to use anywhere. There’s an external high visibility LCD status display for viewing critical shooting information, a foldout touch screen for reviewing shots without needing an extra on-set monitor, professional connections such as 12G-SDI, XLR audio, built in high quality stereo microphones and more. Plus, every single control on the camera is redundant, including the power, so if anything should go wrong in the field, the camera can still be used.
When it comes to image quality, URSA Mini Pro features a custom 4.6K image sensor that captures up to 4608 x 2592 pixels with a massive 15 stops of dynamic range and a super wide color gamut. Third generation Blackmagic Design color science is used to process the raw sensor data, enabling amazingly rich skin tones, natural color response and an enormous amount of dynamic range. URSA Mini Pro is ideal for everything from standard rec. 709 broadcast HD to the latest rec. 2020 high dynamic range digital film production.
URSA Mini Pro features neutral density (ND) filters with IR compensation for quickly reducing the amount of light that enters the camera. The 2, 4 and 6 stop filters are specifically designed to match the colorimetry of the camera and provide additional latitude, even under harsh lighting conditions. That means customers can use different combinations of aperture and shutter angle to achieve shallower depth of field, or specific levels of motion blur, in a wider range of situations. The IR filters evenly compensate for both far red and infrared wave lengths to eliminate IR contamination. The ND filters are true optical filters with a precision mechanism that quickly moves them into place when the ND filter dial is turned.
The broadcast camera ergonomics of URSA Mini Pro put powerful tactile control buttons, switches, knobs and dials on the outside of the camera, giving customers direct access to the most important camera settings. The controls are laid out in a logical order that makes them easy to remember so cinematographers can operate the camera without having to look at the buttons, hunt through menus, or take their eye off of the action. URSA Mini Pro also features a high visibility status screen that displays important information such as timecode, shutter and lens settings, battery, recording status, and audio levels. The status display features a backlight and is designed to be clearly visible in both dimly lit studios and outside in direct sunlight.
URSA Mini Pro has a revolutionary new interchangeable lens mount that makes it compatible with virtually all professional lenses so customers can choose exactly the right lens for the job. Included standard is an EF mount for working with high quality photographic lenses. If the camera is being used on a high end film or commercial shoot that calls for large cinematic lenses, simply remove the EF mount and replace it with the PL mount. There’s even a B4 broadcast lens mount for working with broadcast HD lenses. URSA Mini Pro also includes a standard 12 pin Hirose lens control connector. URSA Mini Pro comes with an EF mount and customers can purchase the optional PL and B4 lens mounts separately.
Featuring both dual C-Fast 2.0 recorders and dual SD/UHS-II card recorders, customers can choose the media that works best for their projects. C-Fast cards are ideal for full resolution RAW recording, while UHS-II SD cards are inexpensive and commonly available, making them perfect for recording ProRes Ultra HD files or RAW HD files. Simply choose the media type, insert the cards and start shooting. With dual slots for each media type, the camera never has to stop recording because when the first card is full, it automatically continues onto the next card. Full cards can be swapped for empty ones, all without stopping the camera. URSA Mini Pro can record lossless 12-bit CinemaDNG RAW files for the highest possible quality, or 10-bit ProRes files for easy post production workflows with minimum storage requirements.
URSA Mini Pro includes the full DaVinci Resolve Studio software, giving customers a complete post production solution. This powerful software combines professional nonlinear video editing with the world’s most advanced color corrector for importing, editing, color correcting, finishing and delivering projects shot on URSA Mini Pro. DaVinci Resolve Studio works natively with the RAW and ProRes files from the camera, so customers can take them directly into post production without having to convert or change them. Every single bit of quality is preserved because it is a true lossless workflow. Using DaVinci Resolve Studio is the fastest and highest quality way to work with files from URSA Mini Pro.
“Professional DoP’s and cinematographers love the incredible image quality of URSA Mini and we have been working with them and listening to their feedback,” said Grant Petty, CEO, Blackmagic Design. “URSA Mini Pro is so exciting because it combines high end digital film quality with broadcast camera and live production features, all into a single camera. URSA Mini Pro is powerful enough to be used on high end feature films and television shows, versatile enough to be used for broadcast news and live multi camera event production, and affordable enough for indie filmmakers and even students! It’s like getting 3 cameras in one!”