The Blackmagic URSA is a

digital movie camera A digital movie camera for digital cinematography is a video camera that captures footage digitally rather than the historically used movie camera, which shoots on film stock. Different digital movie cameras output a variety of different acquisi ...

developed and manufactured by

Blackmagic Design Blackmagic Design Pty Ltd. is an Australian digital cinema company and hardware manufacturer based in Port Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It designs and manufactures broadcast and cinema hardware, most notably high-end digital-movie camer ...

, released on August 8, 2014. It is the first camera to be user-upgradeable for additional equipment manufactured by Blackmagic and other third-party makers.

History

At the

NAB Show NAB Show is an annual trade show produced by the National Association of Broadcasters. It takes place in April, and has been held since 1991 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The show's tagline is "Where Content Comes t ...

in April 2014,

announced the URSA digital movie camera, which was the first movie camera to be user-upgradeable for additional equipment, alongside the Studio Camera, the

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

-oriented version of the

Cinema Camera The Cinema Camera is a line of digital movie cameras developed and manufactured by Blackmagic Design, introduced on September 4, 2012. They are a series of small form-factor cinema cameras that shoot in either 6k, 4K, 2.5K, and 1080p resolution, ...

. In November, a

firmware update A patch is a set of changes to a computer program or its supporting data designed to update, fix, or improve it. This includes fixing security vulnerabilities and other bugs, with such patches usually being called bugfixes or bug fixes. Patche ...

maxed the frame rate to 80p and added a new 3:1 compression ratio for RAW files. In April 2015, the URSA Mini was announced and all URSA models and variants received another update that upgraded the maximum frame rate for the windowed 1080p resolution to 150 fps and added support for Apple ProRes 444 XQ and updated the models with a second-generation sensor. A B4 lens mount was added to the Mini in September. The 4.6K version of the Mini was then released in March 2016, controversially without global shutter. In August, a

public beta A software release life cycle is the sum of the stages of development and maturity for a piece of computer software ranging from its initial development to its eventual release, and including updated versions of the released version to help impro ...

of the redesigned Camera Utility 4.0 for URSA Mini was released.

Design

Specifications and hardware

The camera can come in both 4K and 4.6K specifications, with max resolutions being 4608 x 2592 for the 4.6K spec and 4000 x 2160 for the 4K. All models and variants include DaVinci Resolve. The camera comprises two displays; the main 10.1" flip-out

TFT-LCD A thin-film-transistor liquid-crystal display (TFT LCD) is a variant of a liquid-crystal display that uses thin-film-transistor technology to improve image qualities such as addressability and contrast. A TFT LCD is an active matrix LCD, in con ...

display that is controlled using physical buttons and a 5" LCD

capacitive A capacitor is a device that stores electrical energy in an electric field by virtue of accumulating electric charges on two close surfaces insulated from each other. It is a passive electronic component with two terminals. The effect of a c ...

touchscreen A touchscreen or touch screen is the assembly of both an input ('touch panel') and output ('display') device. The touch panel is normally layered on the top of an electronic visual display of an information processing system. The display is ofte ...

that can show recording status and can be used to access features by another operator. The camera records

lossless Lossless compression is a class of data compression that allows the original data to be perfectly reconstructed from the compressed data with no loss of information. Lossless compression is possible because most real-world data exhibits statistic ...

CinemaDNG CinemaDNG is the result of an Adobe-led initiative to define an industry-wide open file format for digital cinema files.Adobe Press ReleaseAdobe Starts Initiative to Develop Open Format for Digital Cinema Files CinemaDNG caters for sets of movie cl ...

RAW Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...

, RAW 3:1 and 4:1 and Apple ProRes.

Software

The URSA uses Camera Utility, the

proprietary software Proprietary software is software that is deemed within the free and open-source software to be non-free because its creator, publisher, or other rightsholder or rightsholder partner exercises a legal monopoly afforded by modern copyright and i ...

developed by Blackmagic also in use for the Cinema Cameras. The software allows the user to add metadata about a single file, including - but not limited to:

shot Shot may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Shot'' (album), by The Jesus Lizard *''Shot, Illusion, New God'', an EP by Gruntruck *'' Shot Rev 2.0'', a video album by The Sisters of Mercy * "Shot" (song), by The Rasmus * ''Shot'' (2017 f ...

take A take is a single continuous recorded performance. The term is used in film and music to denote and track the stages of production. Film In cinematography, a take refers to each filmed "version" of a particular shot or "setup". Takes of each s ...

and

scene Scene (from Greek σκηνή ''skēnḗ'') may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Scene (subculture), a youth subculture from the early 2000s characterized by a distinct music and style. Groups and performers * The Scene who reco ...

numbers, as well as filenames. However, the system must be updated through a computer using

USB Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad ...

instead of other technologies like

firmware over the air Over-the-air programming (OTA programming) refers to various methods of distributing new software, configuration settings, and even updating encryption keys to devices like mobile phones, set-top boxes, electric cars or secure voice communication ...

Models and variants

The URSA is available in four different models: EF, PL, HDMI and Broadcast. The EF and PL mounts are interchangeable and can work with any compatible lenses. However, the HDMI model doesn't have a lens system at all and a separate camera must be connected to the camera via

HDMI High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is a proprietary audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed video data and compressed or uncompressed digital audio data from an HDMI-compliant source device, such as a display controlle ...

to record. It has a threaded camera mount to mount a camera onto the URSA. The Broadcast model uses an optimized sensor for

broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting beg ...

in Ultra HD, as well as a specialized B4 lens mount and a

neutral-density filter In photography and optics, a neutral-density filter, or ND filter, is a filter that reduces or modifies the intensity of all wavelengths, or colors, of light equally, giving no changes in hue of color rendition. It can be a colorless (clear) or ...

wheel on the body.

URSA Mini

The Blackmagic URSA Mini is a variant of the URSA camera. The 4.6k variant was released on March 17, 2016. It has a smaller form factor and loses some functionality and features over the URSA, losing the secondary 5" touchscreen, global shutter on the 4.6k variant and other features. However, it does ship in 4K and 4.6K specifications, and ships in EF and PL mounts.

URSA Mini Pro

The Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro was released on March 2, 2017. Compared to the URSA Mini, it adds an internal neutral density wheel, shoulder-accessible controls, and a secondary 4" touchscreen, 2 SD and 2 C.Fast slots, auto handy focus with autofocus lenses, High Frame Rate record, HFR Mode, Timelapse recording, Video Broadcast record and ships only in a 4.6K specification. Its most unique feature is a user-interchangeable lens mount. The camera ships with an EF mount, and at release time, PL and B4 mount modules were available for purchase.

URSA Broadcast

The Blackmagic URSA Broadcast was released on February 1, 2018. While not an URSA "Mini", the Broadcast uses the same platform as the URSA Mini Pro. The camera features a 4K sensor, 2/3" style B4 lens mount, traditional external controls (like on the Mini Pro), built in optical ND filters, and dual CFast and dual SD card recorders. While the Broadcast ships with a B4 mount, the camera is compatible with EF, PL and F mounts, sold separately by Blackmagic. The actual sensor size is about 13.056mm x 7.344mm, so closer to a 1" sensor, than a 2/3" sensor.

URSA Broadcast G2

The Blackmagic URSA Broadcast G2 was released on November 12, 2021. It is the second generation of the URSA Broadcast line of cameras, and features a 6K Super 35 sensor. The camera had been in development for some time, but was prioritized due to difficulty sourcing the sensors used in the previous generation. Though equipped with a 6K sensor, the camera can only shoot 4K when used with the B4 mount and B4 broadcast lenses, though it can film in 6K when using other lens mounts such as PL, EF or F. An EF mount is provided with the camera.

URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2

The Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2, the second generation of the URSA camera, was announced in March 2019. URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2, is a professional digital film camera that combines 4.6K resolution with the traditional features and controls broadcast camera. The second generation URSA Mini Pro features fully redesigned internal electronics and a Super 35mm 4.6K HDR image sensor for much higher frame rate shooting. The camera also features built-in neutral density filters, an interchangeable lens mount, Blackmagic RAW support, and both dual CFast and SD UHS‑II card recorders. It can record video up to 300 frames per second. The Pro version also has a USB‑C expansion port that allows users to record directly to flash drives or SSD disks.

URSA Mini Pro 12K

The Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12K was released on July 16, 2020. The URSA Mini Pro 12K is the most recent addition to their URSA Mini line of cameras and boasts the highest resolution sensor of any digital film camera to date. The camera features a custom sensor, and does not use a

Bayer pattern A Bayer filter mosaic is a color filter array (CFA) for arranging RGB color filters on a square grid of photosensors. Its particular arrangement of color filters is used in most single-chip digital image sensors used in digital cameras, cam ...

, opting instead for a sensor that includes white filters as well as the standard red, green, and blue. The camera only records in Blackmagic Raw. The camera is capable of recording 12K at 60 fps in 17:9, 4K, 6K and 8K at 120 fps, and at 4K at 240 fps, though high frame rate 4K and 6K are recorded in cropped Super 16. The camera ships with a PL mount, though others are available for purchase. The camera also has an inbuilt ND filters, and has a claimed dynamic range of 14 stops.

URSA Mini Pro 12K OLPF

The Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12K OLPF was released on April 16, 2023. This model is identical to the original 12K model with the addition of an Optical Low Pass Filter in front of the sensor. Unlike the older model, the OLPF version was added to the list of Netflix Approved cameras.

Accessories

Viewfinder

The Blackmagic URSA Viewfinder is a

viewfinder In photography, a viewfinder is what the photographer looks through to compose, and, in many cases, to focus the picture. Most viewfinders are separate, and suffer parallax, while the single-lens reflex camera lets the viewfinder use the main ...

made by Blackmagic Design. It comprises a

1080p 1080p (1920×1080 progressively displayed pixels; also known as Full HD or FHD, and BT.709) is a set of HDTV high-definition video modes characterized by 1,920 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 1,080 pixels down the screen ve ...

OLED An organic light-emitting diode (OLED or organic LED), also known as organic electroluminescent (organic EL) diode, is a light-emitting diode (LED) in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is a film of organic compound that emits light i ...

screen and can be focused and adjusted to both the left and right eye and only turns on by a

proximity sensor A proximity sensor is a sensor able to detect the presence of nearby objects without any physical contact. A proximity sensor often emits an electromagnetic field or a beam of electromagnetic radiation (infrared, for instance), and looks for ...

dubbed the "Eye-sensor". The

diopter A dioptre (British spelling) or diopter (American spelling) is a unit of measurement with dimension of reciprocal length, equivalent to one reciprocal metre, 1 dioptre = 1 m−1. It is normally used to express the optical power of a lens or cur ...

is also user-adjustable. It screws onto the top of the URSA and URSA Mini or onto any mount compatible and connects via BNC- SDI connection and XLR, making it compatible with cameras that have these ports.

Studio Viewfinder

The Blackmagic URSA Studio Viewfinder is a viewfinder display made by Blackmagic that is exclusively for the URSA Mini. It comprises a 7" 1080p LCD screen, a menu button and three function buttons that can display various exposure, focus and framing guides and four knobs that bring up the menu and control the brightness, contrast and peaking sensitivity. It mounts on top of the Mini camera and is adjustable, has a removable sun hood and metal handles on the side.

References

{{Blackmagic Design Cameras Digital movie cameras Products introduced in 2014 Movie cameras