Neumann Films

An important distinction. Any qualms about build quality should start and stop here. The Pocket Cinema Camera does feel very cheap, I will give @Coiii that much...but the URSA and specifically this model isn’t a part of that family. I have personally never used an URSA myself but just by looking at them they seem to be a step or two above the Pocket line.

I guess I need to look at it a little closer, it seemed like a C300 or something more in that range?

I think their biggest advantage is the reputation they have built with all of their other products. Their cameras have aimed high and come up short in the past but they haven’t ever really gone after the high end market. One thing I will say, I think their customer service is pretty bad. If they want to break into the high end game they will need to beef that up.

RED had a similar reputation not all that long ago. It takes a big innovative splash to make people change ships...once they do you have a chance to shake up the market. I think this camera will make enough RED users jump ship and then it all comes down to this specific camera and how good/reliable it is. There’s no reason to think this camera isn’t how Blackmagic enters that conversation. None at all.

Poor Canon, this camera got hit by a complete tidal wave of marketing from the Ursa launch. Which is unfortunate because they really did innovate and do some great things, you know, by LAST weeks standards 😏

Certainly debatable as of two days ago ☺️

The dirty secret is that RED color has been terrible since Epic Dragon. The Helium sensor is just bad. Prior to Dragon, RED received very similar complaints to what BM is getting right now. It only takes one solid camera and a few years to change the narrative.

Probably reason #1 that I got out when I did. I felt a major price drop was around the corner. Now it almost has to be!

I've been in the castle but I'm not royalty. I still have the peasant mindset with cameras. I'm definitely not a camera snob. I generally have insurance on all of my gear, at least if it's over $1,000. I suggest most people do the same actually, Athos insurance is really affordable. A few things to mention here. It seems to be 50/50 with people that want RAW vs people that just want a color graded clip that's ready to rock. For the people that do want RAW...they are hiring high end post houses for grading and they will have no problems since they use Resolve. You are correct that R3D's are more universally adopted than BRAW, but in the high end post world Resolve is more adopted than even R3D's! I don't rent my cameras out and have never had success with it (due to my location). I will be waiting a few weeks...for my order to arrive! Then I will have all of the test footage I need 🙂 I will always remember when I ordered the RED Helium and started planning a shoot. The day it showed up and I went to power it on with the AC adapter only to realize that it didn't have an AC input. I was pretty shocked, even for RED it was bad. I think the "modularity" is just an excuse to charge more money for accessories. It's actually one of the reasons I want out. Blackmagic is doing it the way it should be done. Internal ND, built in XLR with Phantom Power, easy battery solutions and MEDIA...don't get me going on media for RED cameras. For me, it's all about data rates and compression. R3D is great but when you have to shoot 12:1 compression in 60p but you can do 5:1 in BRAW...I would choose 5:1 all day. Once you get into those higher compression numbers with RED files, they REALLY start to fall apart. 8K 60 looks pretty poor when you zoom in. I did some internal tests for a streaming company and they were less than impressed with the Helium at 8K 60. There are two camps. One camp likes things ready to rock and don't care about color grading. They just want it to look great right away. The other camp wants the RAW files but I can always get away with 4444 in Log. The other camp is thrilled with 10 Bit H.265. I mean, H.265 is really incredible for delivery!

Quality Control...likely. I don’t know much about Blackmagic but from what I have heard it’s spotty? RED has turned theirs around but there was a time where it was fairly “hit or miss”. I have had minor issues with almost every one I have owned now that I think about it. After Sales Service - Again, not totally sure but I can say that RED’s is top notch.

PRICE RED Helium Ranger + Monitor: $31,400 URSA Pro 12K + Accessories: $11,500 The new URSA Pro is 37% of the price of RED's comparable offering. SPECS RED Helium Ranger: 8K @ 60p (12:1 Compression) 4K @ 120p (Cropped Sensor) URSA Pro 12K: 12K @ 60p (5:1 Compression) 8K @ 110p (No Crop) ANALYSIS The new sensor technology that allows you to shoot at lower resolutions for higher framerates is arguably the most important aspect of this camera. That and...price. There's really no reason to be in a RED at this point in time. I guess if you hated money you would stick with them? I'm scrambling to find one area that RED would beat BM in and I can't think of one. It was always codec but we might just be there with the release of this new version of Blackmagics Color. Add in the full ecosystem compatibility with Resolve and the fact that it's almost 3x the price. Seriously, if Blackmagic wanted to make a dent on the high end I think they just blew it up. RED is going to have to innovate AND lower their prices (drastically) just to be competitive again. You will have outliers and people that stay loyal to the brand for whatever reason...but if you're unbiased and just looking to make the right purchase, I don't see how RED makes any sense. As of today at least. Seriously a crazy release and few days here. I don't know if I have ever pre-ordered>cancelled pre-order>pre-ordered new camera in a 48 hour window before.

Theatrical releases don’t make up nearly the percentage of overall productions that it used to. Streaming platforms have quality thresholds that must be met and most productions move there just in case.

I’ve already talked to a few that are thinking of switching. Like I said, it’s enough to make them consider it. Blackmagic hasn’t really had an offering on the higher end until now, that’s why it’s relevant.

Do it, I think this IS the camera to “future proof” with. It has the feeling of like a 6K Red Epic Dragon (still my favorite RED camera).

This is what RED should have been doing all along and I guess they started to with 4K ProRes proxies, either way...for me this announcement marks major gap in the armor for RED. Probably not "the end" as they have been silent for a while and probably have something big in the pipeline. The problem is that RED has been chasing the resolution dragon (thank you) almost exclusively. They haven't given us more FPS and they have actually taken functionality away while getting more expensive! The features of this camera are almost...silly. RED would charge $50,000 for a similar camera but an extra $10,000 would be needed for accessories. So yeah...this is a major splash on the high end. Enough to make a lot of RED guys switch? Who knows. Will it test their loyalty? Abso-freaking-lutely.

Last comment, I’m not mad I just want to make a point: Criticizing fellow creatives is rude, no matter what. I don’t care what you do for a living, it puts food on your table and provides for you and those you care about. Weddings? Great, pay them bills. It’s better than most 9 to 5s and requires a lot of skill. YouTube shill? Fine, pay them bills. It’s on us, the consumer, to do our own research and make the right buying decisions. What I don’t like is when someone mocks someone else for the work they do. It shows a lack of big picture awareness. Especially in 2020 man, everyone is scrambling.

Whatever my man, I'm done with this. You know your intent just as much as I do. Have a good day.

Perfectly acceptable explanation except for... So. I call bullshit. Don't walk it back. Own it.

STOCK FOOTAGE SHOOTERS!!! Ring any bells? You offended before I responded to you...clowny. Don't mock what you don't understand.

Oh, so your Caps Lock isn't stuck then. Clown act still engaged though.

This is the answer right here.

I could show you a few receipts that would help you dial down the clown act. 🙂

I think people are missing some key things here. Built in ND, XLR audio, cheap media/accessories, 8K @ 110 fps and 4K at over 200 without cropping. Do you know how much of a breath of fresh air all of that is compared to RED cameras? You spend $30K on a RED only for it to show up with no AC power input, no audio ports and some of the worst looking slow motion at 4K that you can imagine. This is BM's move to break into a new market.

Because brand tribalism is apparently what it's all about?

I probably would not use this for anything else. Not a fan of their cameras or their workflow. I'm sure it's the perfect camera for other applications too though. It's a specialty tool.