holly crud 4k for under 5K

This is what the URSA should have been from the start.

In fact, I would go ahead and suggest that the URSA should be discontinued and this should be badges as an URSA.

I'll hold judgement until I see the image from the sensor, but I've never been a fan of the image from any Blackmagic camera..

This will probably sell quite well though, I imagine - and it will be a camera many will want to have.

What does this do for current Blackmagic Cinema/Production Camera owners though - considering this is a better body with a better sensor for the same price or less..
 
Black magic sure is upping their game
the regular usra now can do 120 fps at 4.6k


The old usra was built to be upgradable, you can put the 4.6k sensor in it.
It's nice to see a manufacturer putting out a product that isn't completely outdated in 2 years.

Is anyone else shocked there is a $3000 camera available with a viewfinder that costs $1500
 
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I'll hold judgement until I see the image from the sensor, but I've never been a fan of the image from any Blackmagic camera..

Can I ask why? Not meaning to start an 'xxx vs. xxx' but I shoot a lot of Blackmagic raw and ProRes and I've always been delighted with the looks I get out of Resolve - genuinely interested to hear why you feel the BMD image is lacking..?
 
Can I ask why? Not meaning to start an 'xxx vs. xxx' but I shoot a lot of Blackmagic raw and ProRes and I've always been delighted with the looks I get out of Resolve - genuinely interested to hear why you feel the BMD image is lacking..?

I've also always been a bit underwhelmed by the Blackmagic image, although I'd be hard pressed to explain exactly why. To me, the image often looks a bit flat and, though I realise a lot of it is to do with the grade, a lot of filmmakers tend to keep a really soft, narrow colour palate.

That said, this camera looks like hot shit. Glad I've not bought any of the prior Blackmagic products (but hasn't that been the case with every Blackmagic camera release?). The Micro Cinema Camera also looks really cool: https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/blackmagicmicrocinemacamera
 
I've also always been a bit underwhelmed by the Blackmagic image, although I'd be hard pressed to explain exactly why. To me, the image often looks a bit flat and, though I realise a lot of it is to do with the grade, a lot of filmmakers tend to keep a really soft, narrow colour palate.

Grading is everything with the Blackmagic cameras - the BMD 'film' look is *incredibly* flat - you can pump 100% saturation into Resolve and it'll *still* look washed-out - if you want Canon-like colour you have to go way beyond what might seem like 'normal' saturation adjustments - fortunately the footage is versatile enough that it can withstand substantial abuse.

Setting your lift/gamma/gain levels is pretty simple but getting the colour just so takes some finagling (or LUTs) - I've been using my PCC for a year now and I'm still learning better ways of working with the footage - definitely not recommended for those that want grading to be quick and painless but if you want near total control of your final look (including nailing that elusive 'filmic' quality) then BM really does deliver imo.
 
Zacuto have a new EVF coming called the 'Eye' which is a straight pass-through (without their scopes/LUT support) - still uses their OLED display but it's supposed to be a cheaper product than their Graticle HD (how much cheaper though they haven't said yet).
 
Grading is everything with the Blackmagic cameras - the BMD 'film' look is *incredibly* flat - you can pump 100% saturation into Resolve and it'll *still* look washed-out - if you want Canon-like colour you have to go way beyond what might seem like 'normal' saturation adjustments - fortunately the footage is versatile enough that it can withstand substantial abuse.

Setting your lift/gamma/gain levels is pretty simple but getting the colour just so takes some finagling (or LUTs) - I've been using my PCC for a year now and I'm still learning better ways of working with the footage - definitely not recommended for those that want grading to be quick and painless but if you want near total control of your final look (including nailing that elusive 'filmic' quality) then BM really does deliver imo.

Yeah, I have no doubt that it can be used really effectively. I was part of a 48-hour team last week who shot on the Blackmagic and it doesn't look washed out at all. But I do think that a lot of Blackmagic users buy into that sort of heavily-exposed, desaturated indie aesthetic that is so easy with the Blackmagic products.
 
Blackmagic rocks it again.. seems like a red killer to me..

https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/blackmagicursamini

The Blackmagic camera body is actually more expensive than the Canon C100 Mark II, by $500.

The Mark II has a bigger sensor, mounts all of the Active EF Mount lenses that the Blackmagic can, also has a max resolution of 3840 X 2160, offers the same max frame rate in 4K, and the list goes on...

Go Canon C100 Mark II.
 
Is anyone else shocked there is a $3000 camera available with a viewfinder that costs $1500

Nope - if the viewfinder is any good....
The OLED viewfinder for the F5/55 costs ~$5,000 - around a third of the cost of an F5 body.


Can I ask why? Not meaning to start an 'xxx vs. xxx' but I shoot a lot of Blackmagic raw and ProRes and I've always been delighted with the looks I get out of Resolve - genuinely interested to hear why you feel the BMD image is lacking..?

My problem with BMD is the image is totally 'fine' - and that's it. I've shot a lot of RED, and I've shot a lot of Alexa... when you mount a lens on the RED or Alexa... or even the Sony F5 - the image has a certain... pop... that no other camera <$15k has.

To me, no matter how hard you push the grade (and you do have to push it a lot in many cases), it continues to look like a DSLR with more dynamic range (not to mention the colours in ProRes tend to be super weird, and need heaps of correction to get them looking normal).

I just have an overall disappointment with the image out of a camera that claims it is a cinema camera. It's a huge step up from a DSLR, especially when a 5D costs about the same as this new body. But if you're going to claim you can compete with the big boys, you better be able to bring an image that rivals them. And this doesn't.

If you mount a lens on a RED or Alexa for a Director who's previously only shot little stuff on their DSLR, they'll go 'wow this camera is amazing' (to which you have to stop yourself from saying 'the camera didn't light the scene or do any of the creative choices in regards to lensing, filtration etc. ;))
Mount a lens on a Blackmagic for a Director with whom you normally shoot Alexa, RED, film or whatever (but for some reason you don't have the budget for it this time) and the two of you will kinda look at it and say 'oh... is that it?'

And for $5k maybe that's all it should be. But then - is it worth the ridiculous hype that comes with every announcement? It's like people buy cameras these days purely based on the spec sheets, rather than actually looking at the image that comes out of it, or how the camera itself handles..


Blackmagic will sell a heap of these... but hardly a RED killer.
 
I've also always been a bit underwhelmed by the Blackmagic image, although I'd be hard pressed to explain exactly why.

Agreed.

To get to here on a BMCC (2.5k RAW and good lenses) took more than it should've done: https://vimeo.com/84971935

Short explanation is there were image quality issues to the point we thought the camera was faulty. For example, we had banding!!!!! Sure, we (i.e. the editor) got rid of it but it was an unwelcome surprise. Naturally, all the other BMCC issues meant we didn't want to buy it as a primary.

However, this new camera looks very interesting. I noticed the shipping date is July 2015 meaning December 2019 in Black Magic terms?
 
More likely December 2015. I saw the first generation URSA at last year's NAB and it was shipping by September and available on Amazon by October.

It's an intetesting game they're playing isn't it? It's relatively accepted that you shouldn't buy a camera unless you can pay it off within 18 months as it will be just about superseded by then...

Meanwhile Blackmagic are announcing better cameras in better bodies for less money - only 6 months after the first model starts shipping
 
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