Blackmagic URSA Mini 4K First Impressions

The Film Live team were very lucky to have one of the first production models of the Blackmagic URSA Mini 4K cameras which we used to shoot ALL our coverage of IBC 2015. This is our first impressions of the camera after using it for just 4 days. There is a lot to love about it and so far its been a dream to use. There are a few issues we have but when you factor in the cost of the camera you are hard pressed to find anything else that gives you so much for what your paying for it. From Blackmagic Design Introducing URSA Mini a lightweight miniaturized URSA featuring an incredible 4.6K Super 35 image sensor with global shutter and a massive 15 stops of dynamic range! The super compact and lightweight design is perfectly balanced for handheld use and comfortable enough for all day shooting. That means you get a handheld camera with higher resolution and better dynamic range than most Super 35mm film! URSA Mini shoots up to 60 frames per second has a super bright 5 inch foldout viewfinder dual RAW and ProRes recorders and more. You can select from four models of URSA Mini with 4.6K or 4K image sensors and either EF or PL lens mounts. We have now started to build URSA Mini and we will be delivering throughout September. Because we had a few delays with the metalwork we have had the chance to add some nice updates since we launched the camera at NAB. We have included the reference video input and the timecode on the same connector so we now have a free connection for adding 12G-SDI input. This will let us use the URSA Mini with an external recorder better but also means we can use URSA Mini as a live production or studio camera! There is a program button that lets you select to see the 12G-SDI input on the fold out screen or the viewfinder. Both the EF and PL models of URSA Mini will have this 12G-SDI input and we think they will make fantastic studio cameras! Another new feature we have added is a B4 lens control connector to the URSA Mini PL models. This will let the camera power the lens and it also means the camera can control the IRIS and the record button on the lens will start and stop camera recording. Unfortunately we have had to remove the GPS feature the URSA Mini 4.6K models had as we could not get reliable satellite reception with the current design. This is a shame as I love GPS and wanted to be able to tag the location into the files when shooting outdoors. We think these new features to the URSA Mini will make the camera much better and its great we could add these requests into the final version of the camera design. We will be bringing a full review of the camera over the next few weeks. If you have any questions about it let us know in the comments below. Produced by Film Live: Twitter: Facebook: Hosted by Ben McNeill: Film Live is part of the NEXI TV Network: ,

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