Blackmagic Design publishes the readout speed table of its newest cameras: URSA Cine 12K LF, and PYXIS 6K. The URSA Cine 12K LF appears to be a very fast camera with almost no rolling shutter artifacts, similar to global shutter performances. Let’s have a look at the data.
Readout Speed of URSA Cine 12K LF and PYXIS
This is the readout speed data as published by Blackmagic Design:
Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K LF: Readout Speed (Res, Aspect, Max FPS, Pixel count, Sensor area, Readout in milliseconds):
- 12K, 3:2, 80, 12288 x 8040, Open Gate: 12.06
- 12K, 16:9, 90, 12288 x 6912, Full Width: 10.37
- 12K, 17:9, 100, 12288 x 6480, Full Width: 9.72
- 12K, 2.4:1, 120, 12288 x 5112, Full Width: 7.67
- 12K, 6:5, 80, 9648 x 8040, Full Height: 12.06
- 8K, 3:2, 144, 8192 x 5360, Open Gate: 6.75
- 8K, 16:9, 168, 8192 x 4608, Full Width, 5.81
- 8K, 17:9, 180, 8192 x 4320, Full Width: 5.44
- 8K, 2.4:1, 224, 8192 x 3408, Full Width: 4.29
- 8K, 6:5, 144, 6432 x 5360, Full Height: 6.75
- 4K, 3:2, 144, 4096 x 2680, Open Gate: 6.75
- 4K, 16:9, 168, 4096 x 2304, Full Width: 5.81
- 4K, 17:9, 180, 4096 x 2160, Full Width: 5.44
- 4K, 2.4:1, 224, 4096 x 1704, Full Width: 4.29
- 4K, 6:5, 144, 3216 x 2680, Full Height: 6.75
- 9K, 3:2, 100, 9408 x 6264, 4-perf Super 35: 9.4
- 9K, 16:9, 130, 8688 x 4896, 3-perf Super 35: 7.34
- 9K, 17:9, 130, 9312 x 4896, 3-perf Super 35: 7.34
- 9K, 2.4:1, 160, 9312 x 3864, 2-perf Super 35: 5.8
- 9K, 6:5, 100, 7680 x 6408, 4-perf Super 35: 9.61
Let’s compare it to the Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12K:
- 12K, 17:9, Open Gate: 15.55ms
- 8K, 17:9, Open Gate: 7.78ms
- 4K, 17:9, Open Gate: 7.78ms
- 6K, Super 16: 7.78ms
Blackmagic PYXIS 6K: Readout Speed (Res, Aspect, Max FPS, Pixel count, Sensor area, Readout in milliseconds):
- 6K, 3:2, 36, 6048 x 4032, Open Gate: 25.08ms
- 6K, 17:9, 48, 6048 x 3200, Full Width: 19.90ms
- 6K, 2.4:1, 60, 6048 x 2520, Full Width: 15.67ms
- 4K, 6:5, 36, 4832 x 4032, Full Height: 25.08ms
- 4K, 4:3, 50, 4096 x 3072, Super 35: 19.10ms
- 4K, 17:9, 60, 4096 x 2160, Crop: 15.13ms
Discussion
First, the URSA Cine 12K LF is ultra-fast. For comparison let’s take the readout of 8K, 17:9, 180, 8192 x 4320, Full Width which is 5.44. The RED V-Raptor (a very fast camera) has a readout of 8 ms in that resolution. The ARRI ALEXA LF has a value of 7.5 ms (but in 4K resolution). The Sony VENICE 2 which is among the fastest cinema cameras, has a readout speed of 4 ms. And the BURANO has 17.65. That means the Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K LF will be among the fastest cinema cameras since its readout is equivalent to a global shutter sensor. There’s even a faster readout when shooting in the format of 8K, 2.4:1 (value of 4.29 = lightning fast). As for the PYXIS, it’s the same as the Cinema Camera 6K, which is 25.08ms in 6K resolution and 3:2 ratio. That’s considered slow and thus expect vast rolling shutter artifacts when shooting 6K with the PYXIS.
![RED V-Raptor OG vs. [X] vs. ARRI ALEXA 35: Dynamic Range Insights](https://ymcinema.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/red-v-raptor-x-arri-alexa-35-480x384.jpeg)
Because sensor readout is limited by the horizontal rows, the URSA Cine 17K, at 17520 x 8040 pixels, should have the same 12 ms rolling shutter, but will only crank up to around 56 fps when using the entire sensor.
“The Sony VENICE 2 which is among the fastest cinema cameras, has a readout speed of 4 ms. And the BURANO has 17.65. That means the Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K LF will be among the fastest cinema cameras since its readout is equivalent to a global shutter sensor.”
A global shutter sensor has a readout speed of 0ms. Not equivalent. But, anything under 15ms seems just fine for 99% of use cases, so it’s definitely impressive.