Blackmagic releases major update to URSA

Blackmagic Design announced a couple of days ago the 1.9.9 software update, which comes with several important new features for the Blackmagic URSA camera.

Important new functions

The highlight of this update has been support for higher frame rates, which can reach up to 80 frames per second, allowing for improved slow motion in both RAW and ProRes.

The speed settings have been modified so that the recording frame rate (of the sensor) is not limited by the frame rate of the project. This means that it is possible to select the desired frame rate for the job, such as 24fps if we are doing film, and then select the recording speed independently, from 5 to 80fps. This way, when we play the clip in camera we will be able to see the effect it will have when we take it to the postproduction systems.

A CinemaDNG 12bit RAW format using 3:1 compression has also been added, allowing recording at higher frame rates and more storage capacity on CFast 2.0 cards.

Other improvements

With this software version you will be able to format CFast cards in camera, without using a computer to prepare them. To do this, the camera technically analyzes the storage structure of the card and optimizes the formatting to allow better performance in real time.

In addition, multiple changes have been added to the user interface, such as the new Dashboard menu screen, which contains functions such as formatting and scrolling menus, where you can swipe your finger vertically on the touchscreen to scroll through a list of menu settings.

Finally, among the new settings we will find the framing guides that mark (with opacity control) a lot of aspect ratios on the folding monitor, such as 2.35, 1.85, etc.

The camera update 1.9.9 is now available for free download from the Blackmagic Design website. Don’t forget that very soon starts the Digital Cinema Camera Course taught by Rafa Roche. Here you can read all the information.