Black Magic Design recently released a firmware upgrade to it’s Ursa Camera that allows 150fps recording in HD, use of Apple’s new ProRes 4:4:4 XQ in HD & 4k and support for a new 4k sensor upgrade. The Ursa is known for being the world’s first user upgradable 4k camera. Among other features, a crucial one is the price point starting at $5,995.00 for the EF mount Ursa. It is a truly professional camera with a global shutter. The global shutter allows for clean, motion capturing and warp-free recording. Unlike other brands on the market it is definitely the best bang for your buck when it comes to recording DCP or professional broadcast material.
Some may argue that Black Magic Design is too new to the digital camera arena to create a camera that would be able to compete with existing manufacturers I would definitely disagree. Having worked with Canon, Panasonic and Sony Professional cameras this particular model is on par with best cameras out there as far as ergonomics and professional features go. 4k recording for digital projection being one of the key reasons to purchase the Ursa, allowing producers & motion graphics artists the ability to shoot special effects on a 4k canvas in either RAW or Pro Res 4:4:4. Shooting in these robust codecs allows for a lot of flexibility in post, such as resizing and rescaling, color grading or green screen effects/elements. If your end goal is an HD output those features are magnified at least twice the color resolution and 4x the digital zoom before ever seeing any loss in picture resolution. The Ursa can also shoot up to 150 fps in HD(with the new firmware upgrade) you can create some amazing slo-motion effects, making this camera a motion graphic artists dream.
Having a global shutter puts this camera a step above economy based 4k cameras like the GH-4. A global shutter makes sure that every frame you record is a snap shot of the scene and not a continuous scan like other cameras that use a rolling shutter. The problem with a rolling shutter is that it can create unwanted artifacts, such as distorted motion or a latent image capture. An example of this would be shooting a car chase scene and having the vehicles drive across the screen while the camera pans across the action, upon review of the footage you may see a warped blurred car going across a slanted image that simply looks like it was shot on a cell phone camera. Another such example would be recording a shoot out, the camera can be on a tripod, do to the fact the image is scanned on a rolling shutter, the recording might only capture half of a gunshot flash. A global shutter fixes this with simultaneous capture of the whole sensors image.
These are just some of the key reasons you would want to produce or have your next project shot on the Ursa camera. It is definitely an economical camera in terms of quality, you’re getting picture quality that is on par with best Hollywood productions. And if you’re shooting for broadcast television no camera on the market comes close in value.
For more information, hop on over to: https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/blackmagicursa
And see for yourself why it’s worth it to shoot your next project with the URSA.