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Blackmagic URSA Mini Is Coming! 15 Stops of Dynamic Range, 4.6K Sensor & Much More!

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I just stopped by the convention center in Las Vegas to pick up my press pass for NAB and couldn’t help but notice this sign (pictured below), announcing the brand new Blackmagic URSA Mini!

Tomorrow at 9:30am Blackmagic Design will be holding a press conference (which I will be attending) and I can only imagine that the new Blackmagic URSA Mini will be amongst the largest announcements made. For now, there isn’t a whole lot to report here other than what you might gather from the banner, but it certainly looks promising.

URSA-Mini-Just-Announced-NAB-2015

The current Blackmagic URSA is an unbelievable camera, and one that I have now owned for a couple of weeks. The Mini version is sure to impress those shooters that were interested in the URSA but were looking for a smaller form factor, and lighter body. Not to mention 15 stops of DR and a Super 35mm 4.6K sensor is nothing to scoff at! Here’s hoping that Blackmagic has this sensor (or a similar version) available to upgrade on the current URSA body.

Check back here this week for lots of news, updates, interviews and more from NAB 2015! And be sure to sign up to the newsletter using the form on the right panel of this page.

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About Author

Noam Kroll is an award-winning Los Angeles based filmmaker, and the founder of the boutique production house, Creative Rebellion. His work can be seen at international film festivals, on network television, and in various publications across the globe. Follow Noam on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for more content like this!

13 Comments

  • Top 50 Video and Film Production Blogs | The Advertising Bible
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    […] 1. Noamkroll. The mission is to share fundamental storytelling techniques that go far beyond the resourcefulness of any single piece of equipment, whether it be in the areas of story, direction, cinematography or otherwise. Mission accomplished. Best Post: Blackmagic Ursa mini is coming! 15 stops of dynamic range, 4.6K sensor & much more! […]

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  • Top Video and Film Production Blogs, Vlogs and their Best Articles – Central Suite
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    […] 1. Noamkroll. The mission is to share fundamental storytelling techniques that go far beyond the resourcefulness of any single piece of equipment, whether it be in the areas of story, direction, cinematography or otherwise. Mission accomplished. Best Post: Blackmagic Ursa mini is coming! 15 stops of dynamic range, 4.6K sensor & much more! […]

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  • Top 50 Video and Film Production Blogs,Vlogs and their Best Articles | The Advertising Bible
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    […] Noamkroll. The mission is to share fundamental storytelling techniques that go far beyond the resourcefulness of any single piece of equipment, whether it be in the areas of story, direction, cinematography or otherwise. Mission accomplished. Best Post: Blackmagic Ursa mini is coming! 15 stops of dynamic range, 4.6K sensor & much more! […]

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  • Liam
    at

    Hi Noam,

    Curious of your opinion on run and gun ability still. When they announced this I was super excited and thought it would be my new all round camera, but now I’m quite close to just spending some money on a C100 mk2 instead.

    Mainly because I can’t find a need for 4k yet, it has built in ND’s, is great in low light and it takes SD cards rather than Cfast which although I know they’ll go down they’re very expensive right now. Also I have a Sachtler Ace tripod and I doubt it’ll take the weight of the Ursa minor + V-mount battery and lens. It’s a pretty small and light tripod (but a bloody good one).

    So as much as my heart says Ursa mini, my head and my current work says stop being silly and get an easy camera to work with that’ll fit on your current tripod of choice!

    Will it be a terrible investment? Or are my hunches correct I wonder… It’s going to be less for narrative work as well and more for run and gun corp/doc/low budget music vids.

    Reply
    • k
      at

      I thought about c100m2 this cam changed my mind. This cam looks like it’ll put you in good shape for the next 5 years. Image quality is good and you don’t have to shoot 4k with it. I have a Canon 5d3 which I will keep and still use. I think for the price the bm would be a pretty good investment

      Reply
      • Noam Kroll
        at

        I agree. An amazing investment camera since the initial cost is relatively low and the specs are going to deliver great results for at least a couple of years. If you really want a 5 year solution, the larger URSA is a great option too since it has an upgradeable sensor.

        Reply
    • Noam Kroll
      at

      Hey Liam – I think you bring up some great points. If you need a great camera TODAY that is going to work out of the box and keep your costs to a minimum… The C100 MK II is still an amazing option. Like you said, the ND filters built in are amazing, and the cost of media is very cheap. That said, I think the image and overall feel of the camera is very different. If you aren’t in a rush and would consider picking up an URSA Mini later in the year, the cost of CFast cards will likely drop even more by then. It’s hard to make a decision between those two cameras one way or the other, but if you really don’t need 4K and are looking to make a purchase sooner than later, the MK II might be the way to go… If you were only shooting narratives and music videos though, I would say the opposite. Sorry to confuse things even more!

      Reply
  • Ironymous
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    You know, they could have more appropriately called it the URSA Minor. Blackmagic seems to be nailing it hard and fast. I was already tempted to add the Micro as a second camera to my Pocket but then I come across this. If it falls in at around C-100 pricing, I’m buying this one for sure.

    Reply
    • Noam Kroll
      at

      It’s only $3k which is pretty astounding. I think they’re going to sell a lot of these… to say the least.

      Reply
  • Oldacre Films
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    Most likely the camera will have a global shutter. But, 15 DR. Now that’s a big step. Canon might want to lower their prices because Blackmagic is really coming up, and fast.

    Reply
    • Noam Kroll
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      Agreed on Canon. In the end, it was cool to see that BMD went with the option to switch between global and rolling. Pretty awesome!

      Reply
  • sam
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    http://nofilmschool.com/2015/04/blackmagic-ursa-firmware-2-3-1080-150fps-update-new-4k-sensor

    Reply
  • The Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera Is About To Be Announced And It Looks Amazing! | Noam Kroll
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    […] Earlier today I posted an article about the upcoming Blackmagic URSA Mini that will be announced tom…I noticed the banner hanging at NAB this afternoon, presumably being set up for tomorrow’s Blackmagic press conference, and knew instantly that it would be a massive highlight of this years show. That said, I missed another banner the first time around which showcased the new Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera. […]

    Reply
  • Rayhan
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    Need to know 2 things

    1. Rolling or Global Shutter?
    2. Weight?

    Reply
    • Noam Kroll
      at

      We’ll know in the morning… But if I had to guess… Rolling shutter and 9 pounds. Wild guess.

      Reply
  • Danny
    at

    Yes! Exciting! Cool hopefully it’s cheap enough for my pockets. Thx for the heads up, on a side note I heard there is going to be a firmware for gh4 announced , maybe log mode… Thx for this

    Reply
    • Noam Kroll
      at

      Great to know! I will be seeing Panasonic tomorrow and will certainly post some updates if there are any firmware updates.

      Reply
  • NAB 2015: The Blackmagic URSA MINI 4K+ Camera to be Unveiled Tomorrow | 4K Shooters
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    […] [via Noam Kroll] […]

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