Blackmagic Design surprises once again during their latest live stream, when they announced a new cinematic video camera, with a 12K Super 35 sensor and 14 stops dynamic range. They also announced two new capture and playback solutions with 3G-SDI and HDMI connections via Thunderbolt 3, as well as two new 5’’ and 7'' HD monitors / recorders, with 3G-SDI and HDMI connections.

Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12K

The Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12K was the latest product announced by Blackmagic Design and it proves to be a notable leap from the current URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2. Do not be deceived by its exterior. Despite it looking similar to the URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2, the inside technology in this 12K version can be considered innovation, which leads Blackmagic to state that it is “the best cinematic video camera in the world”.

Grant Petty (CEO, Blackmagic Design) points out that the work on the new URSA Mini Pro 12K began some years ago, whilst working on the Blackmagic RAW format. However, why jump from a 4.6K camera to a 12K? Grant Petty explains that the motivation to develop a 12K camera, came essentially with the goal to produce high quality 8K pieces.

With capturing a 12K image, the editor can re-frame the scene in post, without a loss in quality. Another aspect to consider is the subscaling from 12K to 8K, which allows for a clearer and sharper image. Beyond this, and this is perhaps the most important aspect to consider according to Grant, 12K gives us the possibility to capturing images using a Full-RGB color space.

In order to achieve this, Blackmagic concluded that it would have to develop their own sensors which, together with Blackmagic RAW and DaVinci Resolve, would allow its users to reach horizons in producing professional video as never before. Given the symmetrical nature of this sensor, it is possible to scale it directly on the sensor, allowing the camera to capture in 12K, 8K or 4K natively, without having to use crop and without experiencing aliasing.

As we already mentioned, this sensor is a revolutionary Super 35mm sensor of 12,288 x 6,480px, with 14 stops of dynamics and a native ISO of 800, which makes it possible to capture an impressive 80 megapixels per frame. The possibility of scaling the sensor also has advantages in terms of frames per second (fps). While at 12K we can capture up to 60fps, when we reduce it to 8K or 4K we can reach 110fps, always in full frame. You can also reach about 220 fps capturing at 4K Super 16.

On the subject of storage, this camera allows you to simultaneously record onto two cards at up to a whopping 900MB / s when using two CFast cards, or even at 500MB / s if you use UHS-II SD cards. The USB-C SuperSpeed expansion port on the rear can be used to record onto an USB-C flash storage at a rate of up to 900MB / s as a third recording option. The Blackmagic RAW codec has several levels of compression and will allow you to capture videos in 12K and edit them using a simple laptop.

Lastly, we would like to highlight the importance of technology around capturing color. Blackmagic launched version 5 of its “color science” which includes a new curve for color analysis. This allows the capturing of more natural skin tones and a better rendering of highly saturated colors, such as neon signage or car brake lights, even in high contrast situations.

Find more info here.

Ultrastudio Recorder and Monitor 3G

On the same live stream, Blackmagic presented an upgrade for its Ultrastudio Mini Recorder and Ultrastudio Mini Monitor. In addition to having removed the word "Mini", these new models replace their predecessors with new internal technology.

While previous models had a Thunderbolt 2 connection, these new ones were equipped with a new Thunderbolt 3 connection. Although the Thunderbolt 2 technology allows to transmit and receive data at the same time through two bidirectional 10 Gbps channels, version 3 offers two bidirectional channels of 20 Gbps, that is, double the data per second.

SDI ports have also been updated, and hence the inclusion of “3G” in the new product name. In the previous version we had 1.5G HD / SDI ports at 1080i50, while in this new version we have SDI 3G ports that support all formats up to 1080p50.

The color space has also been improved. With this new equipment we can use REC 2020 or RGB, whereas in its predecessor we were limited to Rec. 601, Rec. 709 or even YUV. The new Ultrastudio Monitor 3G also allows HDR monitoring.

These equipments are very versatile and very portable, with their ability to be integrated into several types of workflows, with decks, monitors, routers and even live production switchers.

The Ultrastudio Recorder 3G allows you to connect any type of signal via SDI to a computer, and capture it through the 3G connection, for later streaming or recording. Ultrastudio Monitor 3G is a lightweight and simple solution that can be used to connect a computer via Thunderbolt 3 to monitors or other distribution equipment with SDI or HDMI input.

Find out more here. 

These two devices are also suitable for live production workflows, connecting cameras and switchers to a computer with Thunderbolt 3.

Video Assist 3G

Blackmagic Video Assist monitors have been a reference in their category. With monitoring and recording functionality, this family of monitors will allow the operator to have greater control over what is being captured. All models in the series feature a touch screen that allows you to configure and monitor focus peaking, zebras, histograms, false color, scopes, frame markers, guides and much more. The new versions are also available in 5’’ and 7’’ inch screens.

To reduce the price of these new versions, when compared to the existing ones in 12G, some features had to be downgraded. One of the most evident and which is illustrated by the product name itself, is that SDI ports only support 3G signals, allowing resolutions of up to 1080p. The screens in these versions have been replaced by standard LCD screens, instead of the HDR screens that come with the more expensive versions. These LCD screens have the advantage of consuming less energy, allowing the batteries to last longer.

Regarding the available ports, the 5 ’’ version comes with HDMI input and output, and micro BNC SDI input and output ports. Storage is done using an SD card. In the 7 ’’ version it has the same ports (SDI and HDMI), but the SDI ports become normal size, and it also comes with professional analog audio input ports via mini-XLR. Storage is also possible by using two SD cards, which give you the flexibility to exchange cards during recording or for continuous recording.

Both sizes support two Sony NP-F batteries, include a tally light, a speaker, power port and a 3.5 mm headphone jack.

In summary, these two solutions serve the same purpose as the more expensive ones, with the same functions and tools, but with slightly simpler physical characteristics, which in no way affect the power that Video Assist can bring to your productions.

Checkout all the specs here.

July 2020