Gear


Blackmagic Design’s Two New Compact 4K Studio Cameras

July 30, 2021

By Theano Nikitas

Blackmagic's Studio Camera 4K Plus is available for $1,295.

Blackmagic Design has updated its Studio Camera line with two new models: the Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K Plus ($1,295) and the Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K Pro ($1,795). The two cameras offer the same features but the latter adds 12G-SDI, professional XLR audio, brighter HR LCD, 5-pin talkback and 10G Ethernet IP.

Blackmagic Design's 4K camera pro.
Blackmagic Design’s Studio Camera 4K Pro adds 12G-SDI, professional XLR audio, brighter HR LCD, 5-pin talkback and 10G Ethernet IP.

The cameras are designed for live productions (chat shows, broadcast news, sports, etc.) but because they can record Blackmagic RAW video files to external hard drives, they can be used for videos for weddings and live streaming, too. Easy to transport and quick to set up, both Studio Cameras are constructed of lightweight carbon fiber reinforced polycarbonate. New for these models is an integrated 7-inch touchscreen viewfinder (versus the previous models’ viewfinders that had to be screwed onto the camera manually), which comes with a foldable and removable sunshade. When folded, the sunshade protects the LCD viewfinder. The Blackmagic Design Studio Cameras come bundled with a tripod mount and mounting plate to accelerate setup.

[Read: Blackmagic’s URSA Mini Pro 12K & Leica’s M10-R]

The viewfinder now features touch controls for easy access to menus and settings, with manual dials and buttons to the right and left of the LCD. A trio of dials are conveniently positioned for quick access to brightness, contrast and focus peaking while a program return button is on the left along with trio of programmable function buttons. The defaults on the function buttons are: zoom, autofocus and auto iris. (Blackmagic will also be releasing Focus and Zoom Demand accessories that can be attached to tripod arms in October for $245 each if you prefer to control focus and zoom with more manual adjustments.)

Blackmagic has also improved low-light performance with these new Studio Cameras thanks to the ISO range of up to 25,600, which should provide enough latitude for even the dimmest settings. That’s a gain from -12dB (100 ISO) to +36dB (25,600 ISO) along with 13 stops of dynamic range.

[Read: Sony’s ZV-E1: An Affordable E-Mount System for Vloggers]

The cameras’ 4K Sensor resolution is 4096 x 2160 for both HD and Ultra HD. Both cameras also support frame rates from 23.98fps to 60fps. These models are also equipped with Blackmagic generation 5 color science, with the option of controlling the color corrector from the switcher.

Connection ports are plentiful and cover pretty much every need from HDMI, headphone and mic connections, dual USB-C expansion ports and more. Talkback is available so all crew members and directors can maintain constant communication and tally lights come with removable numbers so it’s easy to keep track of which cameras are broadcasting.

With their Micro Four Thirds mount (MFT), users have access to small, lightweight lenses to keep the cameras portable. Because some MFT offer power zoom, the Zoom Demand accessory (and the zoom function button) will come in handy.

Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K Plus ($1,295) and the Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K Pro ($1,795) are available now. The Blackmagic Focus Demand and Zoom Demand ($295/each) are slated to be available in October. Blackmagic Design has also announced four new HyperDeck Studio units, ranging in price from $495-$1,495 along with a Blackmagic Web Presenter 4K ($695); all are currently available. For more information and details, please visit: blackmagicdesign.com.