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Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/1299064
In the RAW So now your image is at its last stop before the audience sets their eyes on it and you have these amazing 12K Blackmagic RAW files, how practical are they to work with? Though we couldn’t get our hands on the camera for this article, we were able to download some sample files as well as the new Blackmagic RAW codecs that let us put them through their paces in Adobe Premiere Pro. Though the format was created with a DaVinci workflow in mind, Adobe quickly came on board with support for the format. Blackmagic RAW takes full advantage of the macOS Metal graphics architecture as well as the GPU integration provided by Adobe. It would also give us an idea what would happen if we tried to edit 12K raw files on a 2019 Retina iMac. The codec download from Blackmagic includes a customized copy of their popular Blackmagic Speed Test to let you know how well your computer will handle the different URSA files and our iMac showed promising results. It also includes a handy Blackmagic RAW Player utility so you can view your original files in the raw (so to speak) to see how they look before being interpreted by your editing application. We were not totally surprised to find that the full-size 12K files were a bit of a strain, but quite usable with the playback quality reduced. A good part of this comes from the preprocessing that happens in real time in the camera, lifting that burden from the desktop. One thing we did note was a noticeably longer lag with Lumetri Color adjustments in Premiere. RED 8K clips made a much better showing in that regard. Depending on your feelings about doing color grading on proxy footage, you may want to save that phase for a heftier workstation, though not necessarily a Mac Pro. If you were planning to move up to a high-end camera for digital cinematography, the URSA Mini Pro 12K may just leave you with enough in the bank for a reasonable down payment on one of those new Cheese Graters. At $9,995 for the body, you’ll be getting a whole lot of pixels for your dollar. What’s more, you’ll be receiving the benefit of a variety of what we consider breakthrough-level innovations, not least of which is a camera that can handle so many resolutions and frame speeds natively. Even with all their talent and imagination, it’s always a challenge for an indie producer to compete with a Hollywood budget. But in terms of camera hardware, Blackmagic Designs has taken a big step towards leveling the playing field. For more info visit www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/blackmagicursaminipro