Blackmagicdesign URSA Mini Pro, URSA Mini 4.6K Quick Start Manual
www.fdtimes.com
Apr 2017
Jon Fauer, ASC
Special Report
Blackmagic Design
URSA Mini Pro Introduction
&
URSA Mini 4.6K Quick Start Guide
2 April 2017 • Blackmagic Special Report
Blackmagic Design URSA Mini Pro
The new Blackmagic Design URSA Mini Pro comes standard with an EF
mount. PL and B4 lens mounts are sold separately as is the shim kit to
adjust flange focal depth.
EF Mount
PL Mount
B4 Mount
Shim Kit
3Blackmagic Special Report • April 2017
URSA Mini Pro
Blackmagic Design URSA Mini Pro
in comparison: URSA Mini 4.6K
• Sensor Size: 25.34mm x 14.25mm
• Max Res: 4608 x 2592
• Filter dial: Clear, ND.6, 1.2, 1.8 (0, 2, 4, 6 stops)
• Media slots: 2 x CFast 2.0
2 x SD UHS-II
• Lens Mounts: Comes standard with EF
Interchangeable PL, EF, B4
(PL with /i shown here)
• Monitor: 4” fold-out touchscreen
• Sensor Size: 25.34mm x 14.25mm
• Max Res: 4608 x 2592
• Media: 2 x CFast 2.0
• Lens Mounts: PL or EF (PL shown here)
• Monitor: 5” fold-out touchscreen
Blackmagic Design had a nice pre-NAB surprise in March: URSA
Mini Pro 4.6K.
It is much more than a mere evolution of the URSA Mini 4.6K.
ey made all the right moves with all kinds of great details.
e new URSA Mini Pro gets built-in ND lters, interchangeable
lens mounts, camera le-side outside LCD display and control
panel, thoughtful ergonomic switches and dials for faster and
easier operating. e body is the same size as URSA Mini 4.6K, so
all the existing accessories will t and work.
e sensor is the same as URSA Mini 4.6K: up to 4608 x 2592
resolution with 15 stops of dynamic range and the same wide color
gamut. ree ND lters with IR compensation can be summoned
up with the twist of a dial: Clear, 2, 4 or 6 stops.
URSA Mini Pro’s main display on the surface of the camera’s le
side shows timecode, shutter and lens settings, battery, recording
status, and audio levels. e display is backlit and designed to be
visible in both dimly lit studios and outside in direct sunlight.
Open the display door and a 4-inch LCD touchscreen monitor
resides on the other side. (In comparison, the URSA Mini 4.6K
monitor is 5-inches. Something had to give—one inch—to make
room for the new ND lters and controls.)
4 April 2017 • Blackmagic Special Report
• Support for CinemaDNG 4.6K RAW les and ProRes 4444
XQ, ProRes 4444, ProRes 422 HQ, ProRes 422, ProRes 422 LT,
ProRes 422 Proxy recording at Ultra HD and HD resolutions.
• Supports up to 60 fps 4.6K resolution capture in RAW.
• Standard connectors, including dual XLR mic/line audio inputs
with phantom power, 12G-SDI output for monitoring with
camera status graphic overlay and separate XLR 4 pin power
output for viewnder power, headphone jack, LANC remote
control and standard 4 pin 12V DC power connection.
• Built in stereo microphones.
URSA Mini Pro is available from Blackmagic Design resellers
worldwide for US $5,995. Also available: optional URSA Mini Pro
PL lens mount for US $245 or optional URSA Mini Pro B4 HD
lens mount for US $385. URSA Mini Pro comes standard with an
EF lens mount, and additional replacement mounts can also be
purchased for US $175.
Blackmagic URSA Mini Shoulder Kit has built-in industrystandard Hirth-tooth rosettes, rail mounts, viewnder mount,
integrated tripod quick lock release and top handle. is is an
essential accessory.
Blackmagic URSA Viewnder is an excellent, high resolution
viewnder with a full HD OLED display and glass elements. e
image is so crisp and good you can easily check focus by eye. is
EVF is also a must-have.
For broadcast and multi-cam, Blackmagic URSA Studio Viewnder
has a 7” screen, variable tension mounting points, grab handles,
and external controls.
ere’s an URSA V-Lock Battery Plate for V-Mount batteries.
URSA Mini Pro has a great new interchangeable lens mount
system for PL, EF and B4 lenses. Standard-issue is an EF mount.
PL and B4 lens mounts are sold separately. Lens metadata is
supported from electronic EF, B4 and i/Technology compatible
PL lenses, with automatic recording of camera settings and slate
data such as project, scene number, take and special notes.
PL mounts have /i Technology lens metadata contacts in the
usual 12 o’clock position. e camera body has a standard 12-pin
Hirose lens control connector.
Beneath the swing-out main control panel/monitor door, there
are dual C-Fast 2.0 and dual SD/UHS-II card slots. C-Fast cards
are essential for full rez RAW recording. UHS-II SD cards are
inexpensive, readily available, and suited for ProRes Ultra HD
les or RAW HD les. With dual slots for each media type, the
camera never has to stop recording because when the rst card
is full, it automatically continues on to the next card. Full cards
can be hot-swapped for empty ones without stopping the camera.
URSA Mini Pro can record lossless 12-bit CinemaDNG RAW
les or 10-bit ProRes.
Like the URSA Mini 4.6K, URSA Mini Pro includes the full
version of DaVinci Resolve Studio soware for importing, editing,
color correcting, nishing and delivering. DaVinci Resolve Studio
works natively with the RAW and ProRes les from the camera,
without having to convert or change them.
Additional Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro Features
• Helpful dials, buttons and switches for direct access to the
most important camera include: external power switch, ND
lter wheel, ISO, shutter, white balance, record button, audio
gain, lens control, high frame rate, and more.
Blackmagic Design URSA Mini Pro
URSA Mini Pro with EF mount
URSA Viewfinder
and Shoulder Kit
Filter Dial: Clear, ND.6,
1.2, 1.8 (0, 2, 4, 6 stops)
Menu Dial
Iris/Headphone Dial
ISO, Shutter, White
Balance Buttons
Main Display
5Blackmagic Special Report • April 2017
Blackmagic Design URSA Mini Pro
URSA Mini 4.6K with PL mount
URSA Mini Pro’s 4” fold-out touchscreen
URSA Mini Pro with PL mount and /i lens data pins
URSA Mini Pro with EF mount and Canon lens data pins
URSA Mini Pro with EF mount
Compare URSA Mini Pro
with USA Mini 4.6K
And on the next pages, let’s begin our
URSA Mini 4.6K Quick Guide Jump Start
6 April 2017 • Blackmagic Special Report
Blackmagic Design URSA Mini 4.6K Quick Start
Blackmagic Design URSA Mini 4.6K camera with
URSA Viewfinder, URSA Mini Shoulder Kit, and
Canon Compact Servo 18-80mm T4.4 EF-mount zoom
7Blackmagic Special Report • April 2017
Blackmagic URSA Mini 4.6K Quick Start
EF Mount URSA Mini 4.6K
Blackmagic Design’s URSA Mini 4.6K camera is lightweight,
compact, easy to use and aordable. e Super35 (25.34 x 14.25
mm) CMOS sensor delivers beautiful images that can be recorded
internally onto inexpensive CFast 2.0 Cards—from HD through
4.6K CinemaDNG RAW or UHD ProRes.
ere are two models: EF or PL mount. You’ll want the EF model
if you work with Canon EF, Sigma EF or ZEISS ZE lenses and like
lens data readout in the viewnder as well as auto exposure and
auto focus on some models.
FDTimes usually wriggles out of price discussions—but this is a
camera system clearly intended for independents where cost is an
important concern. So here goes.
e camera body is around $4,995. It’s a complete camera/
production/post-production package in a box—with the full
DaVinci Resolve Studio soware and USB dongle inside.
ere are three essential accessories that you will want as constant companions. Blackmagic Design’s URSA Viewnder is a really good deal and a steal at $1,495. e optics have an indexed
diopter and the 1920x1080 OLED display is crisp enough to actually determine focus clearly. e eyepiece rotates and adjusts
to many viewing angles. It positions in and out from the camera
body which is helpful for both le and right-eyed operators.
Unless you plan on leaving the camera attached to a tripod or
drone, Blackmagic’s URSA Mini Shoulder Kit ($395) is another
essential accessory. It has an ergonomic, adjustable shoulder pad,
rosettes on both sides, a handgrip extension, and a top handle.
PL Mount URSA Mini 4.6K
• Sensor Size: 25.34mm x 14.25mm
• Media: 2 x CFast 2.0
formatted HFS+ (Mac) or ExFAT (Windows/Mac)
• Lens Mounts: PL or EF
• Monitor: 5” fold-out touchscreen on camera left side
• Video Output: 1x SDI, 1x Monitoring SDI with info overlays
• Shooting Resolutions
4608 x 2592
4096 x 2304 (4K 16:9)
4608 x 1920 (4K 2.4:1)
4096 x 2160 (4K DCI)
3840 x 2160 (Ultra HD)
3072 x 2560 (3K Anamorphic)
2048 x 1152 (2K 16:9)
2048x1080 (2K DCI)
1920 x 1080 (HD)
• Frame Rates: Dependent on resolution and codec selected,
23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 50, 59.94 and 60 fps supported.
Off-speed frame rates up to 60 fps in 4.6K, 120 fps in 2K windowed.
• Lossless CinemaDNG RAW, RAW 3:1 and RAW 4:1 at
4608 x 2592, 4608 x 1920, 4096 x 2304, 4096 x 2160,
3072 x 2560, 2048 x 1152 and 2048 x 1080.
• Apple ProRes 3840 x 2160 and 1920 x 1080.
• Storage Rates (based on 30 frames per second)
• 4608 x 2592
CinemaDNG RAW Uncompressed 513 MB/s
CinemaDNG RAW 3:1 180 MB/s
CinemaDNG RAW 4:1 135 MB/s
• 3840 x 2160
Apple ProRes 444 XQ 250 MB/s
Apple ProRes 444 165 MB/s
Apple ProRes 422 HQ 110 MB/s
Apple ProRes 422 73.6 MB/s
Apple ProRes 422 LT 51 MB/s
Apple ProRes Proxy 22.4 MB/s
• 1920 x 1080
Apple ProRes 444 XQ 62.5 MB/s
Apple ProRes 444 41.25 MB/s
Apple ProRes 422 HQ 27.5 MB/s
Apple ProRes 422 18.4 MB/s
Apple ProRes 422 LT 12.75 MB/s
Apple ProRes Proxy 5.6 MB/s
• Analog Audio Input: 2x XLR (mic, line, phantom power
• LANC 2.5 mm (2x) : for rec start/stop, EF iris, focus control
URSA Mini 4.6K Camera Quick Specs
For a few dollars more ($895), you should add a Blackmagic
Video Assist 4K 7-inch HDMI/6G-SDI Recorder/Monitor. It can
trigger-record every take. In other words, whenever the camera
starts or stops recording internally, the Video Assist 4K will automatically record a ProRes or DNx copy onto SD cards, via SDI or
HDMI, up to 3840x2160 30p.
Although the Backmagic URSA Mini 4.6K is one of the most intuitive cameras available, and passes the 10-minute rule for being able to gure it out without an instruction manual, here are
a few pages of quick-start notes to reduce the learning curve to 5
minutes.
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