Just as your local cinema gets round to installing a brand new 4K laser projector, things are already about to get much better. Blackmagic Design has announced its URSA Mini Pro 12K, one of the industry’s first digital film camera that is equipped with an 80 MP sensor and supports a 12K resolution at up to 60 frames per second.
The Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12K features a 12,288x6480 Super 35 sensor with 14 stops of dynamic range and a native ISO of 800.
A 12K resolution — which will clearly provide incredible details on 12K displays many years down the road — is perhaps an overkill for today, so the camera supports oversampling to 8K that enables better color, lights, and smoothness. Meanwhile, videos shot in 12K can be reframed in post-production, which gives a lot of additional flexibility. Furthermore, the camera can shoot in an 8K at 110 FPS and 4K Super16 at 220 FPS formats.
- Best 4K camera: the 10 top cameras for shooting movies
- Best 360 camera: 10 cameras to capture everything
- Best full-frame camera: the 10 finest high-end DSLRs and mirrorless cameras
A camera for today and tomorrow
The new URSA Mini Pro 12K camera can be equipped with any lenses and is compatible with a wide-range of industry-standard accessories like batteries and mounts.
The URSA Mini Pro 12K can shoot in 12-bit Blackmagic RAW format that is compatible with Blackmagis’c 12-bit workflow which relies on programs like DaVinch Resolve Studio (bundled with the camera). Editing of Blackmagic RAW files can be accelerated using GPUs that work with Apple Metal, NVIDIA CUDA, and OpenCL APIs.
The URSA Mini Pro 12K can record video on two CFast cards or two SD UHS-II cards. In addition, it can record on regular external SSDs featuring a USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C interface (10 Gbps).
For professionals that need very long recording times and prefer to avoid cable clutter with external SSDs, Blackmagic Design offers its URSA Mini Recorder that can house a 2.5-inch U.2/NVMe SSD of any capacity and endurance that attaches directly to the back of the URSA Mini Pro between the camera and the battery. The URSA Mini Recorder connects to the cam using a USB-C interface.
The Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12K body is now available from the company’s resellers for $9,995. Viewfinders, lenses, lens mounts, batteries, shoulder mounts, and other accessories are sold separately. The Blackmagic URSA Mini Recorder without an SSD is available for $395.
- Camera rumors 2020: the biggest and best camera rumors around
