The Australian cinematographer John Brawley has published mixed resolutions footage of the fascinating URSA Mini Pro 12K which was announced last week. Check out these stunning samples and read the insights behind them. 

URSA Mini Pro 12K

For those how to live in a cave and are not familiar with Blackmagic’s 12K bombshell, here’s a recap: The URSA Mini Pro 12k is a brand new “digital film camera” which was announced last week. The camera owns an advanced 12,288 x 6,480 12K Super 35 image sensor, 14 stops of dynamic range, and high frame rate shooting at up to 60 frames per second in 12K at 80 megapixels per frame, 110 fps in 8K and up to 220 fps in 4K Super 16. The URSA Mini Pro 12K utilizes Blackmagic Generation 5 Color Science which is a new film curve designed to make full use of the massive amount of color data from the new 12K sensor.

Test footage: 12K

Australian cinematographer John Brawley took the URSA Mini Pro 12K into s spin and published two videos of sample footage. Below you can find some footage shot with an early prototype of the Blackmagic Ursa Mini Pro 12K, recorded as Blackmagic RAW clips, edited and graded on 2017 MacBook Pro using DaVinci Resolve. All were shot at 800 ISO with Zeiss Supremes lenses

It feels very epic and 3D in a way that’s quite new for me. I guess it’s a little bit like LF.

Cinematographer John Brawley

“Like LF”

Brawley compares the new UMP 12K to an ALEXA LF, by answering to one of the viewers. Here’re the question of the viewer and Brawley’s answer:

Viewer: “This is stunning. The images have a great depth to it and the motion is ‘cinematic’. How would you compare this camera to other cinema cameras you may have used?”

Brawley: “Very hard to define. It feels very epic and 3D in a way that’s quite new for me. I guess it’s a little bit like LF? It may also just be what you get with really nice lenses and really high resolution. There’s a kind of transparency to the image. You become less aware of the “structure”.

12K acts as a 3D effect

According to Brawley, the 12K grants the image a 3D feel regarding depth and separation: “ Haven’t wanted to say it publicly, but I think with the extra resolution, there’s a kind 3D or dimensional its effect. I’m not sure it’s real or just a function of the lenses, but it certainly looks epic” he says.

Mixed resolutions sample footage

The second video demonstrates mixed resolutions. As stated by Brawley: “One of the amazing developments with this new sensor is the ability to shoot the same full sensor raster or size at different resolutions without having to crop. Typically when shooting st different resolutions we’d expect that the sensor would have to window or crop. Here are some examples that were shot using the in-camera scaling, shooting at 8K, 4K with some frame rate variations as well. I also included a 4K Super 16 crop shot that was shot at 220 FPS. Apologies for my grading skills, there’s a little bit of a different shot to shot, but that’s down to my lack of skill in these things more than anything. I also tried a couple of different looks with the last few sequences. I personally think the 8K 60 FPS material was especially lovely”. Explore the video below.

One of the amazing developments with this new sensor is the ability to shoot the same full sensor raster or size at different resolutions without having to crop.

Cinematographer John Brawley

Price and availability

Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12K will be available in July 2020 from Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide for US$9,995. The camera can be preordered on the B&H website.

Final thoughts

It seems that the 12K BRAW works well with the new Generation 5 Color Science that produces a flatter curve to allow enhancement of the grading process. Furthermore, the ability to edit and grade 12K on a laptop is not so trivial and constitutes a truly decent achievement. What are your thoughts and insights about the Ursa Mini Pro 12K footage and color science?