Blackmagic Design announces Ursa Cine 12K, teases 17K version: Digital Photography Review

April 16, 2024

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Image: Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design has unveiled its latest Ursa Cine camera, a 12K camera with support for interchangeable Arri PL, Arri LPL, Canon EF and Hasselblad lens mounts. It features a large sensor, propriety memory and a slew of industry-standard connections.

At the heart of the Ursa Cine 12K is a RGBW 36x24mm 12K sensor, which Blackmagic Design says can support resolutions from 4K to 12K. It also claims the sensor can capture 16 stops of dynamic range, the most ever for a Blackmagic Design camera. It can shoot open gate 12K from its full 3:2 region at up to 80p or from a 16:9 full-width region at up to 100p.

The Ursa Cine 12K uses the same RGBW pixel layout as the existing, smaller-sensor URSA Mini Pro 12K. This devotes half of its resolution to capturing luminance (detail) data and then divides the remaining pixels equally between red, green and blue. The array is specifically designed so that it can be sub-sampled to deliver 8K or 4K footage from 12K capture, without the need for cropping.

The other significant change is how the camera stores data. The camera comes with a propriety ‘high-speed memory module,’ a decision Blackmagic Design says they made to “eliminate all the problems of media cards” to ensure a more reliable and faster data pipeline. It comes with an 8TB module and can capture 4 hours of Blackmagic RAW in 12K or 20 hours in 4K. An additional 8TB modules will cost $1695, and a 16TB version is also being worked on. An optional ‘Blackmagic Media Module CF’ unit can also be used to add dual CFexpress slots.

Image: Blackmagic Design

To transfer footage from the module, there are docks for direct download, or you can utilize the camera’s 10G ethernet port, Wi-Fi with SRT (Secure Reliable Transport) streaming, or the industry-standard Lemo and Fischer connections. Using the latter options, Blackmagic Design says the transfer rates are near real-time, which should aid remote viewing and logging of footage.

On the capture front, the camera uses 12K Blackmagic RAW and captures Full HD H.264 proxies simultaneously allowing faster cloud sync and post-production workflows. Various settings are supported, ranging from 12K/80p open gate to 8K/224p (2.4:1) and 4K/240p. In addition to its 3:2 open gate mode, it can shoot 16:9, 17:9, 2.4:1 and 6:5 anamorphic. There’s also support for Super35 9K in the same aspect ratios, providing compatibility with older cinema lenses.

Not mentioned in the press release but teased in a video demo, Blackmagic shared it is working on a Ursa Cine 17K. The new camera won’t be available until the end of 2024, and pricing has yet to be determined. The 17K version will use a 50.8×23.3mm sensor (essentially a wider version of the sensor in the 12K model), which makes it close in size to 65mm 5-perf film (23mm). The larger sensor rules out the use of the Canon EF mount, so the camera will likely use Arri PL and Hasselblad mounts.

The Ursa Cine 17K will be built around a ’65mm format’ sensor: essentially a wider version of the one in the 12K model.

Image: Blackmagic Design

All current Ursa Cine 12K features will be carried over into the 17K version, except for built-in 2/4/6 stop ND filters. Blackmagic says the 17K sensor is too large for the ND filters to fit.

Pricing and availability

The Blackmagic Ursa Cine 12K is now available for $14,995. Accessories, such as a viewfinder, lens mounts, grips and rails, can be added as add-ons to customize your build. Blackmagic says initial shipments will be limited to “high-end customers.”

Press Release:

Blackmagic Design Announces New Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K

Las Vegas, Nevada, April 12, 2024 — Blackmagic Design today announced Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K, a revolutionary new digital film camera that introduces new advanced technologies with total integration into the post production workflow. This new model includes a new large format RGBW 36 x 24mm sensor with larger photo-sites for 16 stops of dynamic range, interchangeable PL, LPL and EF lens mounts, and industry standard Lemo and Fischer connections. Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K comes with 8TB of high performance storage built in and also includes high speed networking for media upload and syncing to Blackmagic Cloud. Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K is available immediately from Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide from US$14,995.

The Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K will be demonstrated on the Blackmagic Design NAB 2024 booth #SL5005.

URSA Cine features a revolutionary new sensor designed for incredible quality images at all resolutions from 4K to a massive 12K. The larger sensor builds on the technology of URSA Mini Pro 12K with larger photo-sites leading to an astounding 16 stops of dynamic range. The unique RGBW architecture provides equal amounts of red, green and blue pixels. This means it is optimized to deliver incredibly rich colors at all resolutions and provide the ultimate in image quality and flexibility.

URSA Cine is designed to meet the demands of any high end production. The evenly weighted camera body is built with a robust magnesium alloy chassis and lightweight carbon fiber polycarbonate composite skin to help customers move quickly on set. Standard Lemo and Fischer connectors let customers control the camera remotely while providing power for lens motors and other accessories. Customers also get 12G‑SDI out, 10G Ethernet, USB-C, XLR audio and more.

The full sensor area gives customers a stunning 3:2 open gate image which lets customers reframe their shots in post production. Or customers can use the large sensor area to shoot anamorphic and deliver in a range of aspect ratios with 1.3, 1.5, 1.6, 1.66, 1.8 and 2x de-squeeze factors. Plus, customers can shoot in 4K, 8K or 12K using the entire sensor without cropping, retaining the full field of view of their lenses. There are even 9K Super 35 4-perf, 3-perf and 2-perf modes for full compatibility with classic cinema lenses.

Different projects require different lenses which is why URSA Cine features an interchangeable lens mount. Customers can quickly switch between PL, LPL, EF and Hasselblad mounts. Plus, each mount has contact pins to read lens metadata for monitoring and for use in post production.

URSA Cine lets crews work faster on set with multiple monitoring options. The fold out monitor has a large 5″ HDR touchscreen on one side and an external color status LCD on the other. On the right side of the camera, there’s a dedicated assist station with a second 5″ HDR touchscreen which allows crew to work around the camera without needing external monitors. There’s even a dedicated focus puller’s mode to help customers get perfect focus.

The wide range of industry standard connections on URSA Cine make it perfect for high end cinema production. The 7 pin Lemo and 3 pin Fischer connectors at the front provide record start/stop and 24V power so are ideal for on board accessories such as focus motors. Camera power is provided by a standard 24V 8 pin Lemo connection, plus there’s an additional 2 pin Lemo 12V connection at the rear for lower voltage accessories.

Blackmagic RAW files store camera metadata, lens data, white balance, digital slate information and custom LUTs to ensure consistency of image on set and through post production. URSA Cine records to the included Blackmagic Media Module 8TB, allowing customers to capture over 4 hours of Blackmagic RAW in 12K or a massive 20 hours in 4K.

URSA Cine includes a high performance, optical low pass filter that is precisely matched to the sensor. The OLPF also incorporates updated IR filtering that improves far red color response which, when combined with Blackmagic RAW processing for the URSA Cine, preserves color and critical image detail for new levels of image fidelity.

URSA Cine is the first digital film camera with ultra fast high capability Cloud Store technology built in. Blackmagic Media Module is fast, rugged and includes a massive 8TB of storage. The high speed storage lets customers record at the highest resolutions and frame rates for hours and access their files directly over high speed 10G Ethernet. Or customers can use the media customers already own with the optional Blackmagic Media Module CF, which has dual CFexpress slots.

Blackmagic Media Dock accelerates post production workflow by making it faster and simpler to start editing and color correction. Mount up to three Blackmagic Media Modules for high speed access to media from multiple URSA Cine cameras all at the same time. The four high speed 10G Ethernet ports allow up to four separate edit workstations to connect directly and it is extremely fast, even when a lot of users are connected at the same time.

URSA Cine supports creating a small H.264 proxy file in addition to the camera original media when recording. This means the small proxy file can upload to Blackmagic Cloud in seconds so their media is available back at the studio in real time. The ability to transfer media directly into the DaVinci Resolve media bin as editors are working is revolutionary and has never before been possible.

Now customers can live stream from film sets. URSA Cine features a built hardware streaming engine that supports RTMP and SRT streaming to major platforms or directly to clients. Simply connect to the internet via Ethernet, high speed wifi or even connect a 4G or 5G phone for mobile data.

URSA Cine supports the optional Blackmagic URSA Cine EVF to make outdoors and handheld shooting accurate and easy. Customers get an integrated high quality 1920 x 1080 color OLED display with built in proximity sensor, 4 element glass diopter for incredible accuracy with a wide focus adjustment. A built in digital focus chart ensures customers get perfect viewfinder focus setup.

URSA Cine includes an 8-pin Lemo power connector at the back of the camera that works with 24V and 12V power supplies. That means it’s easy to use the camera with existing power supplies, batteries and accessories. URSA Cine comes with a massive 250W power supply and B Mount battery plate so customers can use a wide range of high voltage batteries from manufacturers such as IDX, Blueshape, Core SWX, BEBOB and more.

URSA Cine comes with everything customers need to get started on set. Every camera comes in a rugged Pelican case with custom foam cutouts that precisely and securely fit the camera and its accessories. The PL lens mount comes preinstalled on the camera body, plus customers get an interchangeable locking EF mount for a strong and secure attachment when using heavier cine lenses. Customers even get a massive 8TB Media Module preinstalled, formatted and ready to record. Customers also get a top handle, antennas for high speed wifi, baseplate, 24V power supply and high voltage B mount battery plate for quick set up.

“We wanted to build our dream high end camera that had everything we had ever wanted,” said Grant Petty, Blackmagic Design CEO, “Blackmagic URSA Cine is the realization of that dream with a completely new generation of image sensor, a body with industry standard features and connections, and seamless integration into high end workflows. There’s been no expense spared in designing this camera and we think it will truly revolutionize all stages of production from capture to post!”