It’s NAB time again, when filmmakers gather to drool over the latest and greatest offerings from companies around the world. This will keep us filmmakers busy for a few weeks, so let’s kick off with a company that been making waves in camera development for years: Blackmagic Design.
Blackmagic Design came on to the scene by first introducing an inexpensive, high dynamic range 2.5k raw shooting camera, the Blackmagic Cinema Camera. Blackmagic then followed it up with the Pocket Cinema Camera and the 4k Production Camera.
One of the primary complaints about the Cinema and Production cameras was the odd form factor – it seemed people didn’t really want just a sensor in a box. So last year Blackmagic introduced the URSA, an upgradable bear of a camera (pun intended) that, while a large and heavy camera, is capable of 4k shooting with a global shutter.
How can Blackmagic improve on the URSA?
Blackmagic Design URSA Mini
Blackmagic announced the new URSA Mini. And while it is designed to be smaller and lighter then the original URSA, it is not at all lacking in teeth.
It seems that Blackmagic Design is always listening to their consumers. The design of the URSA Mini is a far cry from the simple box of the Cinema Camera. It has a substantial body and removable, rotatable side handle that brings to mind the design of the Canon EOS Cinema series – Which have great ergonomics.
But what about the specs?
The URSA Mini touts a new 4.6k sensor. And the sensor can reportedly record 15 stops(!) of dynamic range in rolling shutter mode. And it can also switch to a global shutter mode at the cost of a few stops of range.
The option to switch can let you maximize your dynamic range in slow moving shots but avoid “jelly cam” when you need it. I'm always in favor of options. The ability to shoot 60 FPS at 4k is also great – it might not be much slow motion, but sometimes it's all that you need.
There are some drawbacks to the URSA Mini, too. Using CFast cards is a good choice, but they are still extremely expensive (although prices are always coming down). And while the large (5 inch) viewscreen is good, if you want to carry the URSA Mini on you should (news-style) you'll need to buy a shoulder rig ($395) and a viewfinder ($1,495). Accessories add up fast – including, for example, a v-mount plate for battery mounting ($95).
The Good of the URSA Mini:
– Super 35 sensor size
– Four models: 4k and 4.6k sensors in both EF and PL lens mounts
– up to 15 stops of dynamic range
– Selectable global or rolling shutter (at a price)
– up to 60 fps at 4k raw, 160 fps at 1080p
– Multiple recording formats: compressed and uncompressed raw, all flavors of ProRes
The Not So Good of the URSA Mini:
– Records to dual CFast 2.0 cards (good media, but still very expensive)
– No sensor upgrades (unlike URSA)
– EVF and should kit available (for $1,500 and $400, respectively)
– No built in ND filters
In short, if Blackmagic Design keeps up the pace, then the URSA Mini looks like a great addition to Blackmagic's other camera offerings. Personally, I am more and more impressed with cameras with extended dynamic ranges, and 15 stops is up in RED Epic territory.
Add it together and the cost for the URSA Mini is not bad for low-budget filmmakers who have the post-workflow available for working with raw files.
