Blackmagic Design have announced an affordable 4K recorder and 7″ monitor.
Unlike existing devices on the market which record to SSD drives, the View Assist 4K is capable of recording to fast UHS-II SD cards and costs under $1k.
In a shocking development there are NO new cameras from Blackmagic at NAB this year!
However they have just announced some very sweet accessories. Here’s just one of them, and I am sure, the one most relevant to the masses.
I am sure Sony A7S users who have not yet upgraded to an A7S II will be pleased with this one – or anyone looking for a 1920×1080 7″ monitor capable of bypassing the internal codec of the camera and delivering 4K ProRes / DNxHD. It’s also compatible with the Blackmagic Micro Studio 4K camera.
At the lowest bitrate (ProRes Proxy) the Video Assist will record an impressive 190 minutes of 4K footage on a 256GB SD card, great for getting around the continuous recording time limit of most 4K mirrorless cameras.
On the audio side the monitor provides balanced mini XLR jacks (48v phantom power) for lower noise levels and better audio quality, bypassing the noisy internal pre-amps of the camera (great news for Samsung NX1 owners in particular).
Furthermore the View Assist 4K features twin SD card slots unlike most cameras and the HD View Assist which only have one. The display is also larger than the HD View Assist at 7″ versus 5″.
The View Assist 4K is available to buy now and costs $895 or £645 in the UK.
Full details of the View Assist 4K are here
