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Black Magic URSA - first modular camera, now from $4995
  • 146 Replies sorted by
  • I like the HDMI version.

  • URSA looks awesome with the audio meter :)

  • I would love to see the features and lossless codec options from this camera, the sensor from the Sony A7s, in the body of the GH4 with its menu system, and the IBIS from the Olympus cameras. I would be willing to take out a bank loan for that machine.

  • @peaceonearth Makes sense, logistically the mount suits internal ND, plus is more suited to ENG which is synonymous with B4.

  • @RRRR me too. Although, I'd have to shift some of the gear that replicates all of that. XLRs, phantom, audio VU, built-in scopes, battery solution, time code, dual recording, form factor.

    If you're starting out fresh, what a proposition it is. Approximations 4k HDMI recorder $1,500, $700 rig, $700 sound recording, $1,000 monitor, still no time code or dual recording. You're almost knocking $4k off the solution. So if this thing is around $4k...I'd say it's good value....it might be a bit more than that though.

  • is see ND filter only for broadcast version?

  • @itimjim

    If the price is right, I'd consider it in a heartbeat!

  • image

    Also looks interesting. No sensor, no mount, just a 4k recorder with the same workflow. Nice!

  • This looks great, can't wait to see the coming sensor modules.

  • @Zigizigi I believe they have a studio camera coming with m43 that looks interesting

  • Kind of curious how a GH4 will be mounted on the HDMI version.

  • Don't forget, it has 12G SDI... there's more expansion than just the sensor... just saying =]

  • The good part is that the body can run in higher frame rates, so the next sensor upgrade will be more interesting. Also having a factory option to exchange EF/PL mount is nice as well.

  • Shipping in July. I wonder if the stand reps have to do 6 months poker face intensive training?

  • BM, Y U NO m43?

  • im almost positive about sensor being reused.

  • It is cool, but sensor can be same as in BMC 4K and they seem to have issues.

  • Looks awesome, but you'll need a serious budget for them CFast cards. Around $1,000+ for 256GB.

  • I dig the dual recording and global shutter. This will definitely send a lot more people to the Black Magic bus

  • From Grant P's email

    Over the last few years it’s been really amazing to watch some of the work being done on our cinema camera and some of the rigs that have been built around it. But when we designed it we never really thought it would be used on such large jobs. It was really designed to be a small intimate camera used for creative work where you need to get in close and personal.

    So we have been watching these larger rigs and thinking about how people are working when they do large shoots. Our thinking is that we needed to design a professional full sized camera that had all the extra on set equipment built into it, so there was no need to rig it up as much. We also wanted a camera with enough size to fit a very powerful cooling system so we could run high frame rates without fan noise.

    The result is URSA, our new camera for professional shoots. It features a stealthy machined aluminum design that’s incredibly strong and has been designed for large film crews. We designed the camera to be divided into separate DOP, camera assistant and audio engineer workstation areas so multiple crew can work around it at the same time.

    The DOP station features a massive 10 inch fold out on set monitor and separate 5 inch screen for settings, camera status and scopes. The camera assist station features a separate LCD screen for camera settings, status and scopes and the audio station features audio meters, controls and audio connections.

    URSA also includes an upgradable Super 35 4K image sensor with global shutter, 12G-SDI connections, XLR audio inputs with phantom power and dual CFast based RAW and ProRes recorders. There is a total of 3 LCD’s built into this camera!

    One of the reasons we have been able to put in such high quality displays and features is because the camera is user upgradable. What this means is the whole sensor and lens mount simply unbolts from the front using 4 bolts and then it can be removed and replaced. So in the future when new sensors are available you can upgrade simply by swapping the sensor and lens mount assembly. This makes the camera virtually future proof!

    URSA is available initially in 3 models. One includes EF lens mount and one has a PL lens mount. An example of how you can upgrade the camera would be if you ordered the EF one, you could later purchase the PL lens mount and install it yourself.

    One of the weirdest ideas we had was to make URSA available without a lens and sensor and the URSA HDMI features a ‘cheese plate” with threaded holes and a HDMI input where the sensor and lens mount would normally be. This means you can use any camera on the URSA body and get all the benefits of big screen, scopes, professional audio inputs, CFast recorders and more!

    The camera runs at 60 fps, however the body has the high speed processing and high capacity cooling to run beyond 100 fps, so when faster sensors are available you could upgrade and then get higher frame rates.

    There are a lot more features in the camera than I have space to describe here. The Blackmagic URSA EF will be available in July for $5,995 and the Blackmagic URSA PL will be available for $6,495 from July.

    http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/ursa/