IBC 2012: Blackmagic Design Releases

Blackmagic Design President Dan May

Blackmagic Design (Hall 7, Booth H20) has come to IBC 2012 with a lot of product announcements. Chief among them is the Blackmagic Cinema Camera MFT, the second version of the camera the company unveiled at NAB 2012. "The camera is our biggest news," says President Dan May. "It consumes the most amount of mind share from the customer base, and I think it'll be one of the most talked about products."

"When we introduced the EF version of the camera, our goals were simple," he continues. "We wanted to have that DSLR type of feel and the cinema quality. And the camera has been well received. Now customers want the passive Micro Four Thirds lens (MFT) mount, so they'll have an even greater choice of lens options when shooting." The current model will be renamed Blackmagic Cinema Camera EF, to create an easier differentiation. The camera will be available in December for $2995.

Blackmagic Cinema Camera MFT

Blackmagic Cinema Camera MFT is identical to the EF model but does not include lens communication, necessitating manual lenses. Other features include a 2.5K sensor, 13 stops of dynamic range, built-in SSD for high bandwidth recording of RAW video, open file formats compatible with CinemaDNG 12-bit RAW, Apple ProRes and Avid DNxHD, support for 1080HD resolution capture in 23.98, 24, 25, 29.97 and 30 fps, and a Thunderbolt connection that allows direct camera capture via Media Express software and live waveform monitoring via the included Blackmagic UltraScope software. A full copy of DaVinci Resolve 9.0 color grading software is also included.


According to May, another Blackmagic Design theme for IBC 2012 is 4K with the UltraStudio 4K and DeckLink 4K Extreme. The UltraStudio 4K is a Thunderbolt-based rack-mount capture/playback device featuring full 4K support, dual stream 3D capture/playback, 10-bit hardware architecture, dual link 3 Gb/s SDI among others. It will be available in November for $1,295. The DeckLink 4K Extreme is Blackmagic Design's newest PCI Express capture and playback card allows 4K, 3D, 4:4:4 and 2K capture/playback as well as SD and HD in a single card, priced at $1,295.



DeckLink 4K Extreme. Click image for larger view.



UltraStudio 4K. Click image for larger view.


May also points to the Mini Converter SDI to HDMI 4K and Mini Converter SDI Multiplex. "At $495, these are simple and affordable products that really help ease the transition to 4K," he says.

The Mini Converter SDI to HDMI 4K is a Quad Link HD-SDI to HDMI 4K converter that also works with new Dual Link 3 Gb/s SDI 4K connections and allows monitoring using the new HDMI 4K devices. Mini Converter SDI Multiplex offers four SDI inputs and four SDI outputs, for conversion to and from Quad Link HD-SDI and Dual Link 3 Gb/s SDI 4K signals. Both will be available in November.



Blackmagic Design Ultrastudio Mini Recorder. Click image for larger view.


In addition to 4K, Thunderbolt-enabled products are another theme at the Blackmagic Design booth, including the UltraStudio Mini Monitor and Mini Recorder. "We'll continue to see Thunderbolt," says May. "It's becoming more widely adapted. It's moved over to Windows over the summer and now is its big coming out party. It's continuing to open up opportunity for video technology, which is something we'll continue to push."

"Another announcement that is small but will have a big impact is the ExFat for Hyper Decks," he adds. "This free update, available in September, will allow customers on Windows to format the drives the way they want to for future updates," says May who adds that he believes Blackmagic Design has "the first Thunderbolt Windows certified products out there."

"Our company is on a mission to make great products and keep pushing the boundaries of technology," says May.

As to introducing such a large number of products at IBC, May says the products were ready so there was no need to hold off and debut it at NAB. "Some of these are close enough to be ready where we feel we can get them out in the next three months," he says.

In other words, look for more products and more shipping products by April. Blackmagic Design is on a roll, having double-downed on its new camera and continuing to come out with a range of products that enable the latest trends in technology at a very affordable price point. Who knows what we'll see at NAB 2013?

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