What a surprise! While this camera is pretty tough to find right now, DVEStore.com was kind enough to lend me one of their BlackMagic Design URSA Mini Cameras. I really did enjoy the quality coming from the big URSA, but it was a beast of a camera to manage out in the field. It required a heavy duty tripod and couldn’t be shouldered for very long without fatigue. The URSA MINI is less than 1/3rd the weight at just 5lbs (camera body) with a more compact form factor, so very easy to move around and travel with.
The most stand out feature over the BlackMagic Production 4K camera, is that the URSA MINI offers 4K RAW up to 60fps (yes 4K/60fps!) and for just $2995 (here). That’s cheaper than a Sony A7RII. There’s additional modes for 1080 up to 120fps if you need faster. If you want even better quality, the URSA Mini 4.6K sensor will offer 4K RAW up to 80fps.
The basic package for the new URSA Mini doesn’t come with the top handle, shoulder pad, extension handle, battery plate, or URSA EVF which is all options you can purchase to make a full shoulder rig camera. For now, I’ve had to improvise by assembling my favorite rig parts together (as seen below).
I would say the ‘core’ of the rig you see above is the SHAPE C100/C300 Rig setup with the Paparazzi Top Handle + SHAPE Pro Dual Follow Focus. The long 15mm Rails are lightweight Carbon Fiber from PVGear.com. The CAME-TV Shoulder Pad is placed directly under the camera, so it’s very well balanced. But when the camera sits this far back, you’ll need an EVF upfront. I’m using my Cineroid Retina EVF + Loupe.
I’m using CAME-TV 15mm Handles with Rosette joints. The BlackMagic URSA Mini Remote Handle just happens to be the exact same so I was able to replace one handle with the URSA Mini Remote. Now that I have most of this put together it’s time to take it out this week for some test footage. If you guys have any questions about this camera, I have one here in my hands and i’ll try to answer some. Otherwise you can get more information by contacting or visiting DVEStore.com
BlackMagic Design URSA Mini 4K or 4.6K Cameras
