Blackmagic Design Introduces 4K B4 Mount URSA Broadcast

"The lens mount features high performance optics with spherical aberration correction specifically designed to match the camera’s sensor" This was the first thing I looked for, as I believe this means that it corrects for the fact that nearly every B4 lens is designed for a 3 chip camera where the Red, Green & Blue light hits the respective sensors at slightly different flange distances. So if you don't correct for this on a single chip camera, you're image quality it going to take a hit.

I'm really glad to see Blackmagic embracing B4 lens, wish they had done it with "Blackmagic Studio Camera" from day one.
 
I think they have been planning it for 4-5 years and even showed renderings of one model, but it never happened...until now.
 
As an uneducated youngin, why does anyone still care about the B4 mount, unless you’ve got a stack of glass you’re sitting on?

If not invested, is there any reason to be interested in a b4 mount camera when we have EF, PL, e-mount, etc?
 
And it is a matter of what you are shooting..if is narrative it is not problem for you to step closer..on broadcast, concerts and venues..you are filming from distance..and too much DOF is just too much to handle with focusing and aestetics are off
 
What they are doing, for the price they are doing it at, is phenomenal. But I would really love to have seen a nice 10bit h.264 or h.265 based codec in there for shooting UHD.
Additionally I'm concerned about low light capability with that 1" sensor.
Lastly I'm not a huge fan of the shoulder mount design. I know a lot of guys love it and demand it, but I've got a bad right eye and have to shoot with my left so I prefer something more like the Canon C series with a rear mounted viewfinder.

Is there any footage from this camera available?
 
The lens mount is fortunately interchangeable if you don't want to use B4 lens. No footage is available yet besides the compressed 2-hour streaming press conference they shot it with, but it should be extremely similar to the other studio cameras.

The most interesting feature is they have now combined their FILM/VIDEO dynamic range gammas, and have a mixed one that supposedly offers ready out-of-the-box images with a bit more dynamic range than the traditional Rec709 gamma or what not. The camera itself does 12 stops in FILM...not sure what the final number will be in the mixed.
 
puredrifting said:
One thing I admire about BMD, they are not afraid to step outside the box. Nobody else is doing a camera like this in this price range and for that reason alone, I hope it is a success.
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What he said ^^.

Sony wants something like $26k for their 2/3" 4K camera.
 
JPNola said:
Who the bloody 'ell hears about a new 2/3" camera and thinks "portraits" potential?? :grin:
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My solo op stuff is a mix of grab and get - where a 2/3 lens would be perfect - usually mixed with a few sit downs where one has time for a a prime.

Seems like a camera with b4 lens and a couple of voigtlanders would be the simplest way to make this happen

Every producer director seems to want the speed of 2/3 with the look of ff or s35

So who thinks about this? Many people!
 
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Just having fun with ya', Morgan.

It was just that, at first blush, moving to 2/3" and at the same time seeking shallow DoF is counter-intuitive. There are, as you may be aware, the B4 mount T1.6 Zeiss Digi-Primes that lately have been going at bargain prices on the second-hand market...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Carl-Zeiss-Digiprime-Distagon-10mm-F-1-5-B4-2-3-HD-Super16-Near-Mint/263433921167?hash=item3d55e2a28f:g:cZcAAOSwKQ9aNEGQ

But the target market for this camera seems to me, as indicated by the product literature touting the URSA Broadcast's abilities at "breaking news" coverage and live coverage, news-shooting and multi-camera live productions where shallow DoF portraiture is less going to be needed or wanted. That said, I have accomplished some nice video portraiture with 2/3" lenses, wide open at f1.8. This was back when we had no choice but to try to make 2/3" look like S35 because S35 cameras- be they film cameras or digital cameras- were too expensive for most mere mortals to afford.
 
filmguy123 said:
As an uneducated youngin, why does anyone still care about the B4 mount, unless you’ve got a stack of glass you’re sitting on?

If not invested, is there any reason to be interested in a b4 mount camera when we have EF, PL, e-mount, etc?
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If you've never shot with one, it's kind of like trying to explain how a chocolate milkshake tastes to someone that has only lived in the jungle and never eaten anything except roots and berries.

As others said, it kind of depends on what you're shooting, but NOTHING in PL, EF, E, etc. exists remotely close to the range and versatility of 2/3" zoom lens. Outside of sit-down interviews and specialty b-roll that I have nothing but time to shoot, my weapon of choice is my P2 VariCam with Fuji HA 13x4.5 f/1.8 W/A zoom(with built in 2x extender). One lens that covers (s35 FoV equivalent) ~11.5mm to 150mm plus a built-in 2x that puts you up to ~300mm FoV equivalent. And if I need more reach, I have my 22x7.8 f/1.8 that would equate to ~20mm to 440mm plus 2x that gets you up to ~880mm(or in FF still FoV terms 1,300mm).

Plus, the ENG lenses were designed from the start to be handheld, parfocal(you NEVER saw this term until people started shooting video with still lenses. I know people that have been in the business 30-40+ years that had never heard of it, because it was never an issue or needed to be discussed), manageable, one hand focus throws, servo zooms, etc. The long and the short of it is that they were specifically designed to be used effectively(and efficiently) by one person with the most versatility, speed and quality you could put into one lens and a given price point while performing up to professional standards and expectations. I'd say your modern ENG zoom lens is a marvel of optical, electrical and mechanical engineering. Especially when you keep in mind that the lens/grip is the operators main interaction and point of control of the camera/lens system. It all comes together at the B4 mount of the lens and camera body. You have a 20-30lb camera body attached to a lens, resting on someones shoulder and they are controlling the movement of all of it by the lens.
 
JPNola said:
What he said ^^.

Sony wants something like $26k for their 2/3" 4K camera.
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Yeah, but the Sony will be a hell of a lot better to use. Image quality aside, the BMD cam still looks like a toy designed by someone who has never actually shouldered a camera in an ENG situation before.

The BMD looks to be essentially the URSA, but with a swappable mount(with optics) to accommodate a B4 lens. Looking at the picture, it looks horribly unbalanced. The lens looks way too far out in front, and if the shoulder mount is adjustable to slide the body back to help balance it, you're in the same predicament you are when you shoot with something like an F55 or C300, the lens is then going to be so close to you that your arm is going to be pinched back and cut your circulation off, pinch nerves and just generally be horribly uncomfortable after just a few minutes. Or it will just be very front heavy, unless you somehow "ballast" the back-end.
 
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