World's First 12K Video Camera Hits The Market

According to Grant Petty, CEO and Founder of Blackmagic Design “With Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12K we have advanced imaging technology into a new generation where new styles of shooting will be possible. It's not just the 12K sensor, but there are so many other innovations in this camera. From the Generation 5 Color Science, the in sensor scaling, new symmetrical colour pattern, full RGB quality and of course the 12K resolution, it’s going to be exciting to see what DOPs do creatively with this technology!”

The camera which would cost $9,995 is said to have a higher resolution version of the existing Ursa Mini Pro, which shoots at 4.6K; the new model has a 12288 x 6480 Super 35 sensor capable of capturing 12K footage at 60 frames per second, 8K at 110 fps, and cropped 4K Super 16 at 220 fps.

The camera uses a PL mount for compatibility with a wide range of high-end cinema lenses, but it can be swapped out for Canon EF and Nikon F mounts. Other features include built-in ND filters and a USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 expansion port for faster data transfer to external SSDs.

No-one has a 12K TV, obviously, so this camera isn’t necessarily designed for projects that will actually be viewed in 12K. Instead, Blackmagic says the extra pixels can help produce a cleaner image in 8K or 4K through downsampling, as well as letting you crop in post-production without losing resolution. Blackmagic’s own DaVinci Resolve software is capable of editing 12K footage, while the camera’s built-in compression can store 4K, 6K, and 8K versions at once for instant exporting.

It’s a similar approach to Blackmagic’s Pocket Cinema Camera 6K, which also uses a high-resolution Super 35 sensor but is designed for 4K or HD projects. The Ursa Mini Pro 12K is a much more expensive camera, of course, and sits firmly in the realm of products that only film and TV professionals would consider buying or renting.

Blackmagic says it’ll be available worldwide later this month.