GEAR
BLACKMAGIC URSA MINI PRO G2
The Ursa Mini Pro 4.6K G2 may look pretty much identical to its older sibling, but changes to the electronics and sensor inside the camera make it worth the extra – especially that delicious 300fps slow-motion and Raw capture. The original Ursa Mini Pro can be bought for less, though. Even cheaper still is the original Ursa Mini, but this had a unique design with few external buttons, touchscreen-only controls and unusual user-interface menus. The Ursa Mini Pro has a more traditional form factor, with dedicated external switches for the main controls, an LCD side panel to change settings while the camera is in shoulder- mounted use – and menus that define simplicity. If it’s value for money you want, the Ursa Mini Pro 12K is a bit of a stunner. At launch, it cost £9714/$9995 body only, but is now available new for £5999/$6385. They are starting to crop up on the used market, but remain hard to find. The 12K version is almost identical in body and usability, with a similarly poor AF system to the G2. It adds a 12K sensor of Blackmagic’s own design that gives stunning results, especially when downscaled or recorded in 4K. But the price to pay is that you must shoot in Blackmagic Raw. That 12K Blackmagic Raw gives amazing quality, with 14 stops of dynamic range and beautiful, filmic colours. In 8K and 4K, the quality is staggering. If shooting 12K Raw in 60fps or 8K Raw in 110fps excites you, it’s worth the price. As a do-it-all camera with more options, the Ursa Mini Pro G2 is still a great machine with more straight- from-camera codecs, as well as the option to shoot Raw. WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER URSA MINIS?
MIX AND MATCH With a Canon lens mount, you can fit loads of lenses such as this Sigma zoom
“Rolling shutter has been reduced, but in fast pans, background objects can lean”
in Raw, such as the flexibility to adjust white-balance and rescue highlight and shadow detail, as well as controlling sharpening precisely. Many Raw formats choke up workflow as they are so large. To remedy this, Blackmagic made the formats easy to ingest and edit in DaVinci Resolve. With Blackmagic Raw, choose compression levels from 3:1 up to 12:1. If you want the highest quality, then 3:1 is the way to go. For much smaller file sizes and speed of processing, go up to 12:1. One massive advantage of the more compressed ratios – from 8:1 upwards – is that they allow the camera to shoot to its maximum frame rate. This means super
slow-motion is feasible. Blackmagic says that much effort was put into making 12:1 footage work well with slow motion – and you can tell. It’s fantastic quality. Readout from the sensor is also much faster, so rolling shutter has been reduced. However, in fast pans when using slow motion, background objects can still lean. Faster processing and the fresh sensor enabled Blackmagic to use its Generation 4 colour science, which is where the camera really stood out, especially with skin tones. Newer cameras boast fifth- generation colour, though, which is even better. The camera allows you to embed 3D LUTs into Raw clips. New LUT control in DaVinci Resolve makes this simple, taking the guesswork out of Raw shooting. You can also chose standard, video-like codecs or flatter, filmic gammas. Shooting Raw in high-contrast light – and exposing to retain highlight detail – the hidden shadow intricacies are excellent. You can really draw it out in post, with hardly any noise. With an expanded ISO range of 200 to the new high of 3200, it’s
VERSATILE KIT Paired with the right accessories, the Ursa works on the shoulder or on top of a tripod
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