Hands on with the Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K LF

Experienced filmmaker and director Brett Danton recently put the new Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K LF through its paces. This is what he reckoned.

RedShark Content Manager, Chris Wells, recently interviewed filmmaker and director Brett Danton about his initial experiences working with the new Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K LF.

Safe to say, the $15,000 camera is eagerly anticipated and has been since it was first announced back at NAB last year. Built around a new 12K 35mm Large Format sensor and with 16 stops of range and 8TB onboard memory,  the Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K LF has been designed from the ground up for high-end digital cinema.

Danton had the camera for three days to put it through its paces down at a friend’s studio. As you can see from the video above, he was impressed with it.

"The first thing I noticed about this camera when I took it out is that it's built really well," he says. "I won't beat around the bush; it's a heavy camera, but you don't buy it for its weight. When you think about what it's doing, it's capturing 12K RAW large format. I've shot with the ALEXA 65, and that isn't exactly a light-format camera. I come from the days of film; we used to shoot with 4000ft mags on the back of cameras - that's when the camera is heavy. Obviously, this uses bigger batteries because it needs a higher current draw.  But again, that's because of what that sensor is doing. It's pretty phenomenal what that sensor is recording. So that was my first really pleasant surprise.  

The next pleasant surprise for him was that it has a proper viewfinder.

"I am so sick of cameras coming out now without viewfinders and even with some of the higher-end cameras now you've got to buy a third-party viewfinder," he says. "This comes with a first-party viewfinder with controls on top. I don't understand how people can just use screens in bright sunlight.

"It also has a very large screen on both sides," he continues. "The thing that's really nice about this is, on the right-hand side, your focus puller or your camera operator can have a completely different screen from the other side.  So from that perspective, it's a really hands-on camera for the rest of the crew.  And I was pleasantly surprised at the fact that the monitors on those on the sides are bright. They're really clean. You could definitely pull focus on it.

"It has built-in power outputs, which are important. So we can run a follow focus and all of that stuff straight off it.  

He also draws attention to the menu system and how easy it is to use.  "A lot of cameras have come out with really complicated menu systems," he says. "I found this menu system easy. Straight in, didn't get stuck with it, very simple to operate, and you can use it from either screen.  And again, the multiple formats you can shoot in, I mean, is quite incredible."

More, including Danton's thoughts on workflows, how the Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K LF is going to keep focus pullers on their toes, and the chances of 12K becoming a production format in the video...