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As a filmmaker who spent the last month analyzing every single difference between the G2 and the 12K to decide which one to buy this year, I can't be more happy about this "review". I was actually falling for all the bad BlackMagic + community bad advertising about the 12K and I really needed an opinion from a person like you, whose work speaks by itself in my opinion, to take my final choice. Thank you Matteo and keep up the good work! (E salutoni dall'Italia! ^^)

This camera is insane, especially for $6k. I had a friend pay $5k just to get his Red Epic Helium upgraded to do 8K60, the fact that for a little more money you can get an entire camera that will do 12K60 and 8K120 is nuts! Also you'd think 12K footage would bog down your computer but BRAW is just so damn efficient you can edit off a MBP no prob.

Blackmagic team is so 'our product speaks for itself', so laid back. :) Davinci Resolve 18.1 has a one click audio clean up, they are like yeah we added that. I am screaming that's a big deal!! lol

We picked up the 12K after watching your films - it's the best camera we've ever used. What a bargain for an incredible camera.

I‘m always so impressed by this camera. 12k, 8k, 6k, 4k while giving so many options, the dr, the color science, the noise ratio BM‘s great interface and the price is also unbelievable

Cined did a test on the Ursa 12K. They concluded that’s the Ursa 12K is “leading the pack for Blackmagic cameras for dynamic range”. Even though the G2 is advertised as 15 stop of DR. They also found that shooting at higher resolutions = more DR. So 12K will have more DR than 8K which will have more DR than 4K. Also almost no rolling shutter in 8K. Just google the article.

Great video Matteo, one of my favorite KZfaqrs on Blackmagic stuff since I brought my first Pocket 4K in beginning of 2019. The 12K continues to impress me but your footage in this video is reaalllly next level. Almost an overdosis of awesomeness at 7:02 with no rolling shutter and that image. Good job, thanks!!

Couldn't agree more. I absolutely LOVE my 12K, and as you've said, 8K and the possibility of various framerates is the "crème de la crème" of this beast. Got after using the G2 in some sets and some of your videos. Thank you so much!

This is why I tune into your videos, because you actually know what you’re talking about with no bs. Blackmagic should give you a percentage. Now I’m going to check out the 12K.

Liked the video, agree 100%. Bought your LUTS looking forward to using them. Keep up the good work!

Wow thank you for taking the time to make this video. I thought this camera was just a one trick pony but you showed some great features. You captured wonderful footage too!

I shot a Disney+ show recently at 3200 ISO on this camera to get 100fps 4K during night time scenes. Post preferred to add noise reduction rather than deal with flicker from lighting at lower frame rates (UK based). Turned out fine and there’s A LOT of it in the show!

SOLD. Thank you so much for this excellent video. I have a 6K Pro and in the future will want to have a camera capable of shooting high speed action so the 8K rolling shutter bit was so helpful. 👌 Id love to see more videos on the Ursa Mini Pro in the future and why oh why havent Blackmagic made you their spokesman. Your expertise and down to earth videos trumps salesmanship anytime.

Love all your videos,always very informative brother.. Im a fellow Blackmagic shooter 6kpro but your points always hit home for me 👍🏽👍🏽good stuff

You have completely turned me around. I wasn’t a believer but I trust your opinion and expertise very much. 12k will def be my next A camera when I’m ready. But it will be awhile because I’m far from needing a new A camera.

What most people don't realize is that the vast majority of cameras that claim 14, 15 or even 16 stops of dynamic range actually only have 12 - 13 stops of real usable dynamic range. It really comes down to the roll-off that marks the visual differences. Arri is the only company that is actually honest about their cameras range. They indeed to have 14 stops of usable dynamic range and that is why the Pros swear by them and they dominate the industry. Blackmagic used to be pretty honest about this, claiming 13 stops of range on their cameras, but they bought into the game of advertising more range than is actually there. Go over to CineD and take a look at their camera lab tests and you'll see that most cameras have nearly the same dynamic range. Just pick the camera that suits your needs and don't worry too much about the dynamic range, the greatest films of all time were shot with less than 8 stops, so we really have it better now than we have ever had it at any time is history. Go shoot something great.

Can’t agree with you more. My ursa g2 is so underrated for commercial and doc work. So easy to use and dynamic range in test is same as the Komodo :)

The fact they don't advertise the super16 6k mode is crazy to me, the idea that you can use vintage lenses and still have modern resolution is already an amazing feature on its own

I have a few reasons why this hasn't taken off (I'm assuming this hasn't sold as many as BM has hoped, but that is all conjecture): 1) Not enough variety of codecs. - Codecs will segment an owner/operator because certain production houses favor certain codecs over others. A production house who subcontracts their editors will need to stick to a codec that can work in all levels of workstations and NLE's. BRAW is too limited at this point. Even for Premiere Pro, it requires a plugin to work. BRAW has always been buggy for me in Premiere, so for projects where I am handing it off to an editor, I stick to Prores for safety. 2) This relates to point #1. The URSA 12K is in a broadcast ENG style body rather than a box style body. For the broadcast ENG form factor, it will be attracting the hybrid documentary, news, cinema crowd and as such it needs more codecs to satisfy that market (news and documentary require Long GOP as opposed to uncompressed). I strongly believe if this was in a box style camera, then the users of RED and Alexa would be taking a harder look at this camera. Form factor is all about personal feel. When someone likes the modularity and compact nature of a box style camera, then you cannot make them buy a more cumbersome body like an elongated broadcast ENG form factor, their already existing accessories wouldn't work as well. and the comfort and feel is different At 4:43, the owner of FreeFly talked about what type of camera inspires him and he touches on this point: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/aZqZntxe3J7cj3k.html For my own preference, my favorite form factor is the 6K Pro (but with a mirrorless lens mount instead of a DSLR, EF mount). 3) There could be a bit of RED user bias. RED users always have touted resolution as the main reason for choosing to go with RED. But when BM comes out with a much higher resolution (and higher frame rate) camera for less money, now it's a lot of hate against a higher resolution offering. If it was indeed about resolution, then the 12K would be a no brainer right? I even heard some hate from an FX9 owner/operator and he said the 12K was upscaling pixels and isn't a true 12K (uh?). 4) Media cards. I think sticking with internal CFAST was the nail in the coffin for the URSA 12K. Yes you can record to USB-C or to NVME U.2 via the SSD caddy add-on, but nothing beats a more compact setup using a robust internal media card. The reason is because when someone is investing in a cinema camera, they want to maximize their investment by being able to do a variety of shooting tasks such as mounting it on a drone or jib. Using an external option makes the camera more fragile and bulky which would make these tasks more difficult. CFAST is also limited to up to 1TB and is getting outdated, so to record at 12K internally, you would need to heavily invest in CFAST knowing that it isn't the best future option for a media card which potentially could be a wasted investment sooner rather than later (I'd rather have CFexpress B so I can use their 4TB cards).

Thank you Matteo I didn't know you could film in 4K full sensor on this camera! I thought you were forced to shoot in 12k in order to not have a crop I really love the images out of this 12K. I think it's the best image from a BlackMagic camera!

You make a very good point. Early on I saw footage of this camera on KZfaq with all it's compression and I saw how gorgeous the image is. Stunning. And the HUGE price drop... I can't figure it out, besides I'm a Canon guy but this was interesting for sure.

Keep promoting it Matteo. Thanks for shedding some light on the feature’s

You know your stuff, great to watch a video of this quality with some real footage from actual productions. Damn I need to give this camera a try. Blackmagic was always my go-to for B/C next to an ARRI A.

Man, this is some gorgeous footage. I currently have the Pocket 6K and 6K Pro. I'd love to see Blackmagic create a camera that sits in-between the 6K and 12K, almost like an 8K Ursa Pocket-the portability of the Pocket cams with the features and build quality of the Ursa's that you highlighted in this vid. The Blackmagic image is just so easy to work with in post. And the menu system, by far, makes adjustments during production so much quicker.

I love my 12K, also use it in 8K most of he time. Agree with the contrast capabitity of the sensor, it´s huge! Shot a Musicvideo in a Club with all black walls and mostly against harsh stage lights and moving lights, the rendering is so beautiful! For me it´s also a good shoulder cam, well balanced. Used it with Zeiss CP2 Lenses on PL, nice and compact! As someone mentioned in the coments, I also wish they upgrade the capability to use the Gyro data and at least one flavour of ProRes. In the TV- World there are alot of cutter who did not want to use BRAW. Since they appreciate it and decide to use it I convert over night and hand out ProResHQ or 4444 to the Productions. I keep the Raw Footage till the Show is aired for safety reasons. Keep up the good Work!

Matteo, I hope, Blackmagic would see your video. I love my 12k and I love the advantages you describe here, that is so on the point. I shot the most in 8k and yes it feels like a global shutter camera in 8k, that is so awesome. If I shoot in 12k or 8k and there is some flickering and noising in the background, on my BM6k material deflickered the image is so extremely soft quite unusable to repair with the DVR Deflicker, but when I do the same things with the 12k or 8k material, nothing happens with the image, it is just deflickered and that is so a big difference. I tested also the 4.6G2 and it is the same result as for the BM6k, so did I told you: I love my 12k and yes, NATIVE ISO would be great, but my lenses have T1.5 or T1.3 and that is enough to film with ISO 800. For darker shoots I use my 6k G1. I hope instantly that BM would see this video.

Not cropping in when you go down to 8 and 4k is great. That bugs me about my Pocket 6K but I can't complain for the price of course. Great video!! thanks!!

Love this video so much!!!

i had the pleassure to shoot with the 12k last week and now i also want to buy it 😅, this cam is just amazing!

I think im gonna go for the 12k pro.... this will be my first film camera... thanks for the video, I really wanted something like this

This camera has been top of my list for some time. I think it's about £10k once you factor in all the extras but that's a total bargain. Only thing I'm hoping is that by the time I get one later this year is that a G2 version comes out with dual ISO (and to be honest, without 12k - 8k 24-120p and 4k 240p would do me fine). Thanks for all the insights. Confirms everything I already feel about this camera (yes and at first I saw it as overkill until I woke up to all the amazing features it offers).

Hi Matteo. Love your informative videos. Any chance of a video looking at what gear you have attached to your Ursa 12k

Grazie Matteo! Finalmente una recensione utile!

Just wondering what lenses your using? Great video, thank you for the clear explanation. I'm thinking of upgrading from the pocket4k and this seems like a dream come true!

An eye-opener... thank you :)

Bro if you could some timestamps for more of your videos that would be greatly appreciated. Especially the opinion pieces. Otherwise, great video as usual bro. Just like you did with the 6k, you make me want to buy this camera as well. One day I will for sure have it.

Matteo, Thank you, You are fantastic and a great review. Been shooting for over 40 years. Bought the 12k and will never look back. Been on many shoots with Arri and it's a great camera is you have an unlimited budget. If it wasn't for metadata 99.99% of these experts would not be able to tell the difference between Arri and the 12K Ursa.

Thanks for your evaluation

I shoot with Canon but I've seen a lot of footage from the URSA Mini 12 K - agree it has a beautiful and unique looking image

I think that Ursa 12K is a very budget camera for high level project so the problem of low light is easily fixed because you save money for lights and other props. Although at the same time you have a great camere with a PL mount.

Its the first blackmagic camera that spoke to me. It had that instant "I didnt do anything and it already looks great" I had with other higher end cameras.

Great vid. How's the FPN? You mentioned dark detail, and with it being a different sensor I'd assume a different experience.

Good video bro. Two thumbs up!!!

It is my dream camera since it got released :) its so underrated, its insane. I even talked to a local dp and he was like, oh this camera is so bad, huge file sizes, why you need 12k blabla and its a flop, reason why they lowered the price to the g2 etc... and i was like he does not really know what he is talking about ! But the crappy market in my country does not allow me to afford it and at this paste maybe in 2-3 years, hell maybe the g2 of it will be released then... for now am still rocking my p6k and s5. 😅 I am sure you will make BMD make some sales with you video! I saw people going a lot to using kinefinity lately because of all the framerates options, body size and 15 stop of DR with a super active forum animated by the ceo and dev themselves.

I bought my 12k because of your videos. Its been one year since We bought it

I'm still in love with my original Mini Pro. One day I'd like to get either a 12k or a Broadcast G2, but for now I don't feel like the Ursa is holding me back at all

Great report, thank you. What lenses do you use? What is the best setting, 8k or 12k?

sarebbe molto bello se facessi un video su come ti sposti con la tua attrezzatura, che zaino/case usi per la ursa e che zaino/case usi per la bmpcc6k

Thanks, Matteo! Do you use c-fast cards for ursa? If so what brand would you recommend?

yep things i have notices its b-raw codec is Red 3.21 -4.33.1 build renamed

Thank you for this! The 12k looks like a dream camera, and the image is 😍😍 do the Angelbird Cfast 2.0 cards work ok with 8k? Cheers!

Thanks!! BM should pay you for this !!

Thanks for sharing.

I think my biggest issue about blackmagic is quality control. I have been using the 6k URSA pro this past year for a broadcast company I work for, and each camera has developed some type of minor issue. One was that the plug wouldn't power the camera battery did, another the screen had go bad and radomly showed lines, the eye piece went out for one, and the list goes on but at the end of the day it was still able to capture amazing footage. While I do love what blackmagic has done, I don't know if i'd call this future proof if this thing starts to slowly break on itself.

I think they were so sure of the camera that they didn't need to mention in detail why it's better than the 4.6K. And honestly not a lot of people would care if it was an in-house sensor. But yeah, it's a great achievement to be doing that.

great information!

When shooting narrative projects what compression and resolution settings do you usually use?

Great video

what lens do you recomend me to buy first I'm looking for a allround inema lens not too expensiv tho...

I was the second unit DP on a feature shot on this camera. It was fun! It's light and has easy menus. During production, however, the sensor developed an issue by which it would burn in a vertical line across the image every now and then. The camera was repaired and is doing well now, though.

I love BRAW. Love the whole ecosystem.

Great video. I've been curious about the useable dynamic range compared to the G2. Is it a similar sensor to the Pocket 6k texture/look wise? I am able to tell a quality difference between the Pocket 6k and the G2 (G2 looks more filmic/better dynamic range).

Those shots were beautiful!

I own the 12K and it is an amazing camera. If they just didn't crop at 6K (maybe a firmware update in the future?) and made it possible to use gyro metadata like they do on the pocket cameras, this camera would be perfection, IMO.

Bro forget about what you sayin #nofront (thanks for that but), Dude your images are freaking amazing. Im just sitting here and im wondered by how amazing your shoots are. Props

Super! Thanks!

Hi Matteo! Can I ask what glass you shot on the surf/beach vision at 6:35, those shots are simply stunning!

Thoughts on the new version of the 12k with olpf and updated ir filtering that improves far red colour response?

Hello friend, it's a great vide.. You record 12k and slow motion. What is the SSD ,you use to record. Please explain that to me. I'm grateful.

I just bought one I’m tryna shoot music vids and documentaries.. Do you all think this the right camera .. and what is the best editing software for this camera ?

how can i install the Viewfinder? Do i need the Top handle or can i do it without? if so, which accessoires are required?

Hey. First of all great video. Actually if I would have known some of these things earlier I might have considered one over my Ursa G2. But I just wanted to aks something just to clearify: You mentioned that the camera shoots 4k with no crop right? So if I select 4k. I will get a full sized S35 picture. What also means I get a 12k downsampled to 4k braw image, right? This is fucking insane. I always thought if this camera could do that it would be simply insane, because I didn't know that. Edit: and also I noticed on my Ursa G2, that the grain has a vertical texture to it. Especially in low light, if you have to bring the shadows in post up a little, it gets very noticible and just looks weird and cheap. Did you notice such things with the 12k sensor?

I have 2 unit 12k .. and is simply Amazing ..

Yeah only downside for me was no ProRes. Once funds are available I might get FX6 for those certain jobs since UK industry is super heavy with Sonys for event and some corporate coverage. Wouldn't call myself a DOP so the jobs where Ursa would truly be utilised are far between. Still love my 12K but need to get an Easyrig at some point. With the OOOM this bad boy is heavy AF.

Agreed, awesome camera.. bad marketing! Is the 12K netflix approved? how about any other BM camera? thanks!

I don't worry so much about how it is promoted, I just think the 12K does everything well. It's the right camera for me. Here's are some of my 12K 60 FPS out-takes from a wedding in August, my special look is characterized by range, detail and color. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/htZ_eNiqsdinen0.html

Spitting facts Matteo! It’s a workhorse of a tool. Blackmagic really need to fix their marketing when it came to Ursa 12K. I also think not shipping the camera out without the few major issues of ghost rec and some fix pattern noise at the beginning gave critics ammo to complain about it. Honestly with the newer firmware updates it’s pretty much perfect as it can be.

Great video, I hope Black Magic brings out a Pocket 12K 🤣🤣 What's the light in use at 9:41?

I've always been intrigued by this sensor tech. I saw there was some moiré/aliasing issues when dropping down the resolution, originally. Do you know if they've fixed this? Have you noticed any issues like this?

What media do you use for shooting in 8k?

Ciao Matteo! L'ho appena presa, ha veramente una pasta incredibile, sensore fantastico, l'ho presa insieme alla broadcast, per avere anche una 6k nel corpo e con le funzioni Ursa! Veramente grandissima camera! Sto scoprendo che in situazioni low light abbassare gli iso aiuta tanto, recuperando poi i black in post, ad avere un immagine più pulita! Se sei in Italia e ti serve una camera B chiama, vengo volentieri 😁 Hello Matteo! I just got it, it really has an incredible texture, fantastic sensor, I got it together with the broadcast, to also have a 6k in the body and with Ursa functions! Really huge sensor! I'm discovering that in low light situations lowering the ISO helps a lot, then recovering the black in post, to have a cleaner image! If you are in Italy and you need a room B call, I'll gladly come 😁

Ciao Matteo! Excellent video, thank you! I own two FS7 cameras (PL) for corporate work, mainly a way to connect with wannabe producers who only know what FS7 is. I am selling my GH5 and M43 cine lenses and walking away from M43. I am looking for a third camera, a Super35 camera I could afford for more cinematic/documentary projects and mainly for a house to my Fuji XK6X20 PL Cabrio cine T3.5 zoom lens. I only care about color rendering and I wish I could afford an ARRI or the LT with the newest EVF, but I can't. My other lens is the Super35 Meike also PL. I was seriously considering getting a Varicam LT body only with my Zacuto EVF (same price as the 12K) but of course, a dinosaur when it comes to upgrades, etc. but still a much better camera. What do you suggest is best for documentary work for both my PL super35 lenses? I am open to considering the 12K! Yes, I think in reverse, from the lens down to the camera. Thanks!

If you do green screen work this is a no brainer choice! Key in 8-12k matte, spill, reduce to 4444 4k so it’s easy to composite. Done.

Hello @matteobertoli ! Amazing video and very thorough. Touched on a lot of points I was wondering about. I did want to ask - I was a BMPCC4K and 6K user, then moved to a Red Komodo for some reasons I think were just a personal desire to own a Red. Since then I've kind of second-guessed that decision, and I still keep coming back to loving the image from Black Magic. Something about the color science is just so good to me. I wanted to ask your opinions on the Komodo, if you've shot with it, and if you think there's merit for owning both or if I should cut losses on my choice and sell the Komodo for the 12K? I really value your opinion, been a follower of your content for a while. Thanks so much!

Thank you very much for sharing. I do enjoy your videos and have been watching for quite some time. I am someone who likes to buy version two or beyond of any given camera, not one. This is an incredible version. one in light of what you’re sharing. Plus you have the best looking footage I’ve seen of this camera. I have a question you probably hardly ever get. I know it may sound foolish. Have you ever tried just filming in HD? Does the HD look amazing? I am not someone who films in high resolutions every time. Quite often I’ll do HD. Ever since the Sony F 35 image in HD I’ve been looking for a sensor that would give me an amazing image like that without cropping. And it’s amazing to know that a 8k 120 P is there if I need it, but I am very curious if you’d be willing to release footage in HD to play with and compare to the same camera’s 4k, 8k and 12k?

What lenses do you use

if I'm going to buy a new camera I don't just rely on a sales blurb before I purchase .. I will go more in depth into the specs sheet anyway..

When you mentioned "the pocket" are you saying you film low light in the black magic pocket 6k pro?

Something I've been curious about lately is why Blackmagic implements crop when shooting in raw, at least for my Ursa Pro. I can shoot full sensor in any resolution with ProRes but I can't shoot full sensor b-raw in 4k, only 4.6k. I don't shoot raw often so I wasn't sure if this was a technical limitation they had to make, but if it was an intentional handicap that kinda would seem pretty foolish on their part, I know a lot of people like using b-raw but I don't necessarily need 4.6k yet, it seems like a weird catch twenty-two.

Would you ever consider a camera like the Canon C70 instead of the Bmpcc 6k pro? I see a lot of people switching

Much appreciated

How do you feel it compares the RED DSMC2 lineup? We have the Helium and are generally happy with it. But we also have a Pocket 6K and really love the workflow with b-raw and Resolve. I have wondered if selling the Helium and getting the 12K might simplify our workflow and also give us more options for high FPS shooting… what do you think?

Hey matteo , u are truly a BM evangelist. You are one of the reasons i feel very good about my Pocket 6k. What u think about the new ronin DJI 4d hype. U like that image ?

Man, this is such a good review… I’m currently growing my business and I want to start shooting on some more professional camera systems (currently on a sigma FP. Amazing camera, but dear lord the CDNG file sizes are insane). Juggling between the Broadcast G2 and the Ursa Mini 12k. What are your thoughts?

Hi Matteo, is it the EasyRig Minimax you're using in some of these shots? I have one now, but wasn't sure if something like the Ursa Mini was a bit too much weight once you have a relatively large lens, battery and the EVF. Thanks

I find that the footage is very hard to use the qualifier tool on it. It has a hard time I think due to the strange noise that is made up of green, red, and blue blob dots.

This is a better ad for the camera than their site.

Great video, I have 3 12Ks at work, and it is such a dynamic camera, you can even use it for virtual production in LED and Green screen.

Very underrated camera. For pro productions.