epsom salt
Well-known member
Bummer. Global Shutter was a big deal for me too....
Blackmagic Design announces URSA Mini 4.6K and Micro Cinema Camera now shipping
- Thread starter Danilo Del Tufo
- Start date
Surf it Mike
Well-known member
So what is the refresh rate on the sensor , same as the 4k version?
Yes, but in a way, its a good thing. When you see that picture of the giant heat exchanger they are using to cool the sensor, pulling back a feature implies they are trying to do the right thing and make a reliable product. They are willing to pull back on the feature list to give you a product that will actually work.
That heat exchanger scares me in a way. It shouldn't. It shows they are doing what is necessary. But also shows you how much camera vendors are pushing the limits of technology. To have to put that monster in there to keep the sensor cool is wild stuff.
So I have to wonder what is possible beyond this point.
Yes they had to start shipping before NAB. Even if it means just a few cameras, just so they can say they are shipping when they are asked at NAB.
The global shutter is a bit of a deal breaker. It was the most special feature. How many S35 global shutter cameras are there? F35, F65, F55 and BMD 4K. But the BMD 4K has other problems. So the 4.6K dropping the global shutter means only the very high end cameras have it. Probably for a reason.
The global shutter is a bit of a deal breaker. It was the most special feature. How many S35 global shutter cameras are there? F35, F65, F55 and BMD 4K. But the BMD 4K has other problems. So the 4.6K dropping the global shutter means only the very high end cameras have it. Probably for a reason.
Well, another way to look at it is they promised too much and couldn't deliver. It's definitely a bummer.
A global shutter with 15 stops at this price would be something special. Now it's only a marginal improvement over the old 4K. I look forward to the DR test by C5D.I guess they really deeply hoped to get global shutter working on the 4.6K sensor, and spent every last second trying to make it happen (as they could never work on it beyond NAB 2016 obviously, that would be a PR disaster. So this was the longest they could work on making it happen).
I spent a good few weeks last year thinking hard about pre-ordering the URSA Mini 4.6K, but in the end decided to go with the Sony F3 when I found a great deal on it for only US$1.2K
Now that I see how long it took for the Mini 4.6K to ship (plus who knows how much longer mine would take because I wouldn't have been in the first week of pre orders, so might have been a loooong way down the order queue), I am feeling extra pleased that I went with an F3 instead! :-D
Matt Gottshalk
Resident Preditor
If the reviews on B&H are any indication, I am leery of the build quality of these in a production environment.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1137314-REG/blackmagic_design_cinecamursam40k_ef_ursa_4k_digital_cinema.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1137314-REG/blackmagic_design_cinecamursam40k_ef_ursa_4k_digital_cinema.html
If releasing the 4.6K sensor forces the "big boys" to flood the market also with high quality cameras at low prices, then we can all be very grateful to Blackmagic Design for making this happen!
But no, I do not see Arri / RED / Sony / Panasonic releasing 4.6K raw, high frame rate, S35mm camera for under $5k any time soon!
Of course, because BMD's costs have remained the same. Eliminating global shutter does not reduce it. If anything, their costs are HIGHER than they expected!! Because they'd have spent so much on R&D for so long in trying to make this work.
If you absolutely *MUST* have back up certainty then buy *two* of them! ;-) That way you have a spare BMD camera at hand if something goes wrong with the first one. This was after all the normal approach people had with RED cameras in the early days (and a BMD camera is waaaaaaaay cheaper to buy a second one than a RED!).
Personally I feel that is serious overkill. But the option clearly is there for you, if you wish to buy a second camera.
Agreed! Would've made it heaps more appealing.
But BMD is a young camera company, and tackling optics of an ND filters is perhaps too much to ask for now. Maybe at next NAB... ;-)
I don't think their cameras are build for that. They are build for indie guys and small productions. They wouldn't fit in a full on production such as an Alexa type of environment. Not as the A cam anyway.
it is the problem of squeezing in 14 stops of dynamic range into 12bit of linear raw, just won't happen!
Yep. At that point including RAW is just a marketing thing.
Matt Gottshalk
Resident Preditor
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Sorry not buying it. If you think "indy" crews are any LESS hard on their geqr, then I've got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.
Sorry not buying it. If you think "indy" crews are any LESS hard on their geqr, then I've got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.
Actually, they had to ship before the pre-NAB announcements because they probably know what's coming. A likely consumer does not.
You can compare feature tit for tat or you can compare practical use. The 4.6 Mini with an EVF is $6,500 for the EF mount. Red Raven is slightly more but with a superior reputation of Red. And then there are cameras that we don't know about at this point but that will ship concurrently with the 4.6 Mini.
That is completely irrelevant to the conditions of the market.
Let's face it, the only reason Sony doesn't have a $6,000 10-bit camera is because it has an $8,000 10-bit camera that is selling extremely well. And because its $6,000 8-bit camera is selling well also. But FS7 has been out for a year and a half by now and, chances are, it's due for an the update and the update will have improved specs, if nothing else.
As I'd mentioned on other threads, Sony could easily make a camcorder version of A7RII with a 15 MPX oversampled 4K, auto focus, 10-bit out, etc. As it stands, the company has $3,000 models that have features lacking in a $20,000 model. At some point - and this point may be four weeks away - their various product cycles will catch up with each other.
PS. Panasonic LT, Red Raven and C300II are already encroaching onto the F5 territory, so Sony has to come up with the answer in that niche. Once it does, the price/quality ratio will be compressed further. And it'll probably crush BMD.
Thomas Smet
Veteran
Why are people so hard on their gear? Nothing gets more fragile than a DSLR and I'm pretty sure the Ursa Mini is a bit more robust than a DSLR. I tend to take very good care of my gear and a friend of mine does an even better job keeping his gear clean and handles it with care. I mean he doesn't wear a face mask and white gloves when he uses his stuff but he isn't an ogre beating the record button with a mace either.
A crash cam I expect to be robust or cheap enough to be expendable. A camera like the Ursa needs to be treated with love and care and treated like a fine machine and not a punching bag. If one is prone to dropping cameras I think that person really needs to take a step back and figure out why they keeping dropping their cameras like that. Would they drop their baby on its head? Thats pretty much equally devastating.
By the time you get a RED Raven with a V mount plate, XLR inputs, and an EVF, plus media, then you're looking at far far more than the URSA Mini cost! It is not "slightly more".
Sony F5 however can be picked up much cheaper than a Varicam LT or C300II, I see F5 cameras going secondhand for sub $10k. Certainly if I was going to upgrade then an F5 would be top of my list right now. (FS7 or URSA Mini 4.6K would be next on my list to consider)
I'm curious about this too. Will this camera be as good with audio as the c100 I've been using the last few months? I pretty much resolved myself to a Tascam with the audio situation on the BMCC.