Black magic urda mini 4o is a popular model of the Blackmagic Design URSA Mini 4K digital cinema camera. It is known for its high-quality image capture and professional video production capabilities. The URSA Mini 4K is designed to meet the demands of professional filmmakers and cinematographers, providing them with a compact and versatile camera that delivers stunning image quality. The Blackmagic Design URSA Mini 4K features a Super 35mm image sensor with global shutter technology, which eliminates motion artifacts and rolling shutter effects. This allows for smooth and precise image capture, even in fast-moving scenes. The camera's 4K resolution capability ensures that every detail is captured with exceptional clarity and sharpness.
The camera's 4K resolution capability ensures that every detail is captured with exceptional clarity and sharpness. In terms of connectivity and flexibility, the URSA Mini 4K offers a range of features to cater to a filmmaker's needs. It has built-in ND filters, which allow for better exposure control in various lighting conditions.
Review: Blackmagic’s Ursa Mini 4.6K camera
I have already tested two of Blackmagic’s cameras, and I found both of them to be a great value for the money. This left me with great expectations for the Ursa Mini 4.6K camera.
The Ursa Mini 4.6K feels like a very solid, well-built camera. I spent 15 years on broadcast sports trucks, and this camera has that rock-solid feel to it, and for only a fraction of the price.
This camera has had some software updates since it was first released. The magenta cast issues with the sensor, which required additional color correction in the first run of cameras is gone, and everything looks great in the camera that I’ve been testing. Even without a global shutter, the rolling shutter on the camera looks great compared to DSLRs and delivers a usable shutter and smooth motion when I tweaked it in FCPX.
David with the Ursa Mini.
I used the flip-out screen outdoors in fairly bright sunlight in a park with some tree cover, and it worked fine for framing and focus. Since you need the screen to control the camera settings, you might want to consider a sun hood if you are in extremely bright locations. This will make the screen non-collapsible, but you really do need to see what you’re doing.
Blackmagic sent me the Ursa Mini 4.6K, EVF (Electric View Finder), along with the follow focus and shoulder pad kits. I used my set of Rokinon prime lenses and my Petroff matte box, rods and follow focus. The Ursa Mini 4.6K, with its solid magnesium body, is manageable for even us older guys. I like the weight and the feel of the camera without the matte box and follow focus for extended hand-held shoots. If I’m using a tripod or a slider, it’s nice to have a matte box and follow focus.
There’s really a lot of stuff going on with this little camera. The shoulder mount works better on tripods with small camera plates. My Miller plate digs into my shoulder a bit, but it’s easy to fix by simply unscrewing my tripod plate while doing handheld.
The rotatable side handle is really nicely done, and it’s easy to adjust it to fit your body. If you’re used to making your own rig, with parts hanging everywhere, the side handle and shoulder pad will give you a welcome feeling of tight control. It also has iris control and LANC control for stop/start.
On the backside of the LCD screen there are several handy controls. In addition to Record, Iris, Focus, and Playback controls, there are two programmable function buttons. These come in very handy and are easy to reach when the LCD screen is closed and you’re using the viewfinder.
The electronic viewfinder (EVF) on the Ursa Mini 4.6K is a compact wonder. It’s small, yet easy to adjust for comfortable viewing. The HD display not only looks great but has a zoom and programmable function buttons on the top the unit, which come in very handy. I like to use the zoom and the peak buttons to check focus with my left hand, while my right hand is on the handle grip. It’s really easy to do without looking.
With my old BMD MFT Cinema camera, a T1.5 Rokinon lens and a Meta-bones speed adapter, I could practically shoot in the dark at 1600 ISO. The Ursa Mini 4.6K is not a great low-light camera; its native 800 ISO can be pushed to 1600 without too much noise in the image, but it really likes stop or two of light.
The Ursa Mini 4.6K has two XLR inputs mounted directly behind the handle on the top of the camera. These two channels of audio can use the onboard mics for scratch audio, or you can plug a microphone into the XLRs.
The nice thing about this camera is that it has phantom power to power your shotgun mics. I recorded a violin performance outdoors with a Sennheiser 416 shotgun mic plugged right into the camera. I used a blimp and dead cat to control the wind noise, and ended up with amazing audio. This camera has the best audio of any BMD camera that I’ve tested.
The controls for the audio levels are under the LCD monitor panel, which makes it kind of hard to adjust when you’re using the viewfinder and the LCD panel is closed, but since the menu, power buttons and media slots are under there as well, you get used to it.
Media Cards
So let’s talk a bit about media. Since my other two Blackmagic cameras use SSD media, I have a HighPoint Rocketstor 5212 Thunderbolt drive dock already installed on my Mac.
After doing some research, I decided to use the 256GB Lexar 3500x CFast cards and their Workflow CR2 Thunderbolt/USB3.0 CFast card reader. They are very reliable cards with a good reputation, which is everything when you’re talking data storage. The upside to these cards is that they are located safely inside the camera and are very small in size. The downside is how often you would have to change them when shooting full-blown 4.6K footage.
I shoot a lot of 4K ProRes HQ footage, which doesn’t create too large of a file; one 256GB card will record about 26 minutes of footage. If you have a DIT on set, it’s no problem, but if you’re a one-man band, you will need a bunch of cards. I’m sure the cards will continue to come down in price over time, making them more attractive cost wise.
There is another solution however, and it’s called the Atoch C2S. It mounts on a short arm and has two slots for SSDs. It has two short cables, which plug into your two CFast slots, and a power cable, which plugs into the base of your battery mount at the back of your camera.
Summing Up
The Ursa Mini 4.6K is as solid as a rock, and it really feels like a serious camera. There is a lot of information available on the LCD monitor, and the touchscreen feature let’s you change settings via touch rather than scrolling through a menu. It’s an outstanding value for the money.
David Hurd is a 40-year industry veteran. He owns David Hurd Productions in Tampa, Florida.
6144 x 3240 (6K Super16)
4096 x 2160 (4K Super16)
The camera also supports various lens mount options, including EF, PL, and B4 mounts, providing compatibility with a wide range of professional lenses. One of the standout features of the URSA Mini 4K is its ergonomic design, which makes it comfortable to use and offers easy access to all essential controls. It has a large 5-inch fold-out touchscreen display that provides a clear and detailed view of the footage being captured, as well as a responsive user interface for easy menu navigation and settings adjustments. The camera also offers an extensive range of recording options, including CinemaDNG RAW and ProRes codecs, allowing for greater flexibility in post-production workflows. It supports high frame rates of up to 60 frames per second in 4K, enabling filmmakers to capture smooth slow-motion shots. Overall, the Blackmagic Design URSA Mini 4K is a highly capable digital cinema camera that delivers exceptional image quality and professional-grade features. It is a popular choice among filmmakers and cinematographers looking for a compact and versatile camera that can deliver outstanding results in a wide range of production settings..
Reviews for "Master the Dark Arts with the Black Magic URDA Mini 4o"
1. Sarah - 2 stars - I was really disappointed with the Black Magic URDA Mini 40. The quality of the video footage was poor, and there were constant glitches and freezing throughout. The user interface was not user-friendly, and it was difficult to navigate through the settings and options. Overall, I would not recommend this camera.
2. John - 1 star - The Black Magic URDA Mini 40 was a huge letdown for me. The battery life was terrible, and I constantly had to stop recording to replace or recharge the batteries. The camera also had a lot of issues with overheating, which caused it to shut down during important shoots. The image stabilization was nonexistent, resulting in shaky and unstable footage. I regretted purchasing this camera and would not recommend it.
3. Emily - 2 stars - I had high hopes for the Black Magic URDA Mini 40, but it fell short of my expectations. The audio quality was subpar, with a lot of background noise and distortion. The camera was also quite heavy and bulky, making it difficult to use for long periods of time. The autofocus was slow and inaccurate, often resulting in out-of-focus shots. I was not satisfied with this camera and would not purchase it again.
4. Michael - 2 stars - The Black Magic URDA Mini 40 was a disappointment in terms of its durability. The build quality felt cheap and flimsy, and I was worried about it breaking easily. The camera also had issues with dust and debris getting trapped in the lens, which affected the picture quality. Additionally, the low-light performance was poor, resulting in grainy and noisy footage in darker environments. Overall, I was not impressed with this camera.