Introducing Blackmagic’s New 17K Large-Format Cinema Camera

Blackmagic Design announced a large-format camera with an incredible large resolution at NAB 2024.

The Ursa Cine-17K camera is a teaser that will not be available until 2024. However, the information we have about it so far is impressive and worth describing.

The cinema camera is equipped with a 50.8 x 23.33-millimeter sensor to produce its high-quality, cinematic footage in large format.

Blackmagic’s new Ursa Cine 12-K sensor has dimensions of only 35.6 x 23.33 millimeters, but still boasts an impressive 12K resolution.

The new Ursa camera has a surface area that is roughly 30% larger.

This translates into a surface of 1,183.6mm2 with 17,520 x 8040 pixels or 140.9 MP.

Blackmagic claims that the 17K version will have almost the same specs and features as the recently released Ursa Cine 12-K camera, with a few exceptions.

This includes the absence of a neutral-density filter because of the higher resolution of the 17K and also the absence of an EF version due to the same reason. Ursa 17K is available with Arri LPL or Hasselblad mounts.

Blackmagic says that the 17K Ursa will not replace the 12K Ursa immediately. It would be odd if the 17K was coming so soon.

It’s more of a complement to the 12-K. This gives filmmakers an option if they like the features that the 12-K has to offer but still want a larger sensor. The new camera also features 16 stops of dynamic spectrum.

Stuart Ashton from Blackmagic Design’s Business Development Department told CineD that the huge sensor of the Ursa Cine 17K was also designed and engineered in-house.

We don’t have an exact price for the 17K Ursa Cine, but it won’t be cheap. The Ursa Cine 17K will cost more than the Ursa Cine 12, which is priced at $14.995.

Renting Arri’s Alexa 65 large format camera for Hollywood movies costs between $10,000 and $20,000.

A film production company would have to spend over $150,000 just for the body of one of these large format Arri cameras. Alexa 65 can cost more than $200,000 with the price of key lenses.

The sensor size of the Ursa Cine 17K (50.8 x 23.3) is similar to the Alexa 65 (which has a sensor measuring 54.1 x 25.6), which is a much more expensive camera.

The Ursa Cine 12K is a great option to get into large-format cinematography.

The 17K version will probably offer a similar experience at a higher level. The 17K edition won’t be inexpensive by amateur filmmaking standards, but it’ll seem very affordable compared to the current alternatives.