You’ve certainly had your hands on Blackmagic Design equipment at least once a week if not more often working in this industry – a shoutout to my fellow nerds out there rocking a DeckLink 4K Extreme 12G capture card – and it’s been that way for an extended period with Blackmagic Design products. Media server folks and lighting designers have been using Blackmagic capture cards to previz everything under the sun for well over a decade. Their cards and camera equipment are high-grade, production quality, and used cross-spectrum in Entertainment.
For this article, I was sent a Blackmagic Design ATEM Mini video switcher (MSRP $295), one each of a Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K Plus (MSRP $1295) and a Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K Pro model (MSRP $1795), and a Blackmagic Web Presenter 4K (MSRP $695). With this equipment and a handful of my own Monoprice cables, I was able to successfully pipe a live feed with multiple sources to a dummy broadcast, in 4K.
We are, as in the Entertainment Production market segment, a large component of their market share. However, we are not their entire market share, and that is incredibly positive for us as an industry. Blackmagic Design’s very wide industrial reach across segments like Education and Marketing allow them to quite literally create some technological and financial magic through research, development, and hard-charging industrial usage. Case in point, these three product lines have developed because they understand how we operate, and their product workflows help novice users quickly move into knowledgeable territory by gently but quickly immersing us with user comfort in the interface.
A Panic Killer – the ATEM Mini
A mammoth show of congratulations goes to the Product team on the ATEM line, because I am a lighting designer and admittedly not a video director; I was able to set up and control not only the Studio Camera 4K Plus that I was sent, but the Studio Camera 4K Pro, my laptop controlling PowerPoint, and even an old Sony NEX-5 as a video camera via HDMI, at my own turtle speed of 90 minutes. This was with audio, and some basic setup of a few lower third titles, some logo bugs, and very surprisingly easy setup and implementation of PiPs (picture-in-picture frames).
Do you also have the slow-burn fear right before you go live on your cobbled together system because you are not the video ninja you think you were? You need to go click on the Dealers link on the BMD website or call up your local shop because this ATEM Mini kit is like anti-anxiety drugs for people afraid of their limited video knowledge, while still giving the real pixel wizards the teeth to produce heavy hitting content for whatever genre of display you’re pumping to your audience.
Across the ATEM switcher line, you will see the same layouts, configuration settings, and workflows to quickly make changes on the fly regardless of which surface you are using – one of the most beautiful things about the ATEM line is that your software is the same, your look and feel is always the same. Once you get into the line with ATEM Mini, it’s a matter of time before you’re going to feel comfortable enough to add more cameras, run more sources, and produce larger productions for your audiences. As you start small, you quickly become comfortable enough to increase your rig, and frankly the price points are as such that you can go very quickly from the ATEM Mini at four inputs to the ATEM Mini Extreme ISO (MSRP $1295) with double the inputs plus four chroma keyers, a plethora of DVEs, 16-way Multiview, and nine record streams to get clean feeds of all your expanded inputs without even maxing out a consumer credit card account. Something of note was that in my research for this piece, it is very easy to get packages from dealers that include three Studio Camera 4K Pro cameras, a larger ATEM Mini surface, tripods, and accessories for less than the cost of a computer and a graphics card capable of low latency processing.
An Active MFT Lens Mounting Changes Your Optics Game
Prior to even mentioning the features of the Studio Camera 4K Plus and Studio Camera 4K Pro bodies, hear that these models have an active micro four thirds (MFT) lens mount, so that you can use your photographic lenses to get outstanding quality light capture! This is not just an MFT mount camera, don’t worry – the MFT can be adapted to our other industry mounts, EF and PL for example, so you’re ultimately flexible with optics choices. The sensor in the Studio Camera 4Ks features an ISO up to 25,600 – so with the superior quality glass in photographic lenses of this smaller size and lower weight, you can get excellent shots in very low light situations. With that 4K sensor, combined with what Blackmagic calls “generation five color science,” you can now use cinematic imagery for live production. Frankly, this is a game changer with respect to available optics for shooting in all environments and on all budgets. It’s that plainly said.
Professional Attention to Professional Detail
With 13 stops of dynamic range and 12bit color space, the Studio Camera 4K Plus and Studio Camera 4K Pro have darker blacks and brighter whites and more range in between, perfect for color correction. The sensor features a resolution of 3840 x 2160 which is great for both HD and Ultra HD work — plus, all models support frame rates from 23.98 fps up to 60 fps. It’s a true professional camera, and both models have HDMI and work directly with the ATEM Mini series, up to and including remote camera control, tally control (which camera is live), and remote record trigger. This makes setting up this system ridiculously simple, and perfect for you-fill-in-the-blank projects all across our business, from YouTubers to Vloggers and Talkshow hosts, to teaching online and having multiple camera remote meetings and Skype/Zoom calls.
Blackmagic Studio Cameras have the same features as large studio cameras, just miniaturized into a single compact and portable design. With digital film camera dynamic range and color science, the cameras can handle extremely difficult lighting conditions while producing incredible imagery.
While these Blackmagic Studio Cameras are designed for live production, they are not limited to use with a live switcher. These cameras also record Blackmagic RAW to USB-C thumb drives or SSD drives, so they can be used in any situation where you use a tripod. The large 7″ viewfinder, on both the Studio Camera 4K Plus and Studio Camera 4K Pro models, makes it excellent for all applications. That bright display with side handles, touch screen, and physical controls makes it easy to track shots while being comfortable to use for long periods of time, as we all know they will be required to do. They’re also incredibly light (Studio Camera 4K Pro weighs in at 3.7 pounds, Studio Camera 4K Plus at 3 pounds) — large broadcasters use highly expensive studio cameras and B4 glass — extremely large, not very portable, costs as much as a decent midrange car. These Studio Camera 4K models feature a lightweight carbon fiber reinforced polycarbonate body in a miniaturized design, are tough, and will take the work.
The main difference between the Studio Camera 4K Pro and Studio Camera 4K Plus models, you’ll notice from the price difference, is the connections for professional level hookup, and that the Studio Camera 4K Pro can be used with powerful SDI switchers. Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K Pro adds professional 12G-SDI and 10G Ethernet connections, which allows you to put that camera a long distance from a switcher. There’s a 12G-SDI output and a 12G-SDI program return input that includes camera control, talkback and tally. You also get the same powerful HDMI output with control features, that way it can also be integrated with your ATEM Mini system. The Studio Camera 4K Pro’s 10G Ethernet connection allows all connections, including power (Type 4 PoE), on a single cable for a SMPTE style workflow that’s much lower cost.
Web Presenter 4K – Click the On Air Button
With brevity in mind, Blackmagic Web Presenter 4K made this happen, the horse behind the aging designer trying to livestream a test broadcast, is a full-featured streaming solution with a professional hardware streaming engine to take your program feed to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, et al. Here’s the trippy thing for the folks who think this tech is above them – I’m looking at you, lighting designers — you can stream to the internet using Ethernet or connect a 4G (or 5G) phone to use mobile data. You more than likely already pay for that service on your phone as it is. Web Presenter 4K also has built-in USB connections like a webcam, so you can connect a computer using any video software and fool it into thinking the common webcam feed it’s getting is actually a broadcast SDI line. You even get a monitoring output with video, audio meters, trend graphs, a huge toolkit.
I cannot stress this enough, I highly recommend diving in and purchasing the ATEM Mini and at least one Studio Camera 4K Plus or Studio Camera 4K Pro, for the retail price there is zero downside. You’ll beat my time in setup and production, guaranteed, and you’ll be getting 4K 60 for under two grand.
At a Glance
Blackmagic Design Studio Camera 4K Plus and Studio Camera 4K Pro
- Effective Sensor Size: 17.78mm x 10mm (Four Thirds)
- Lens Mount: Active MFT Mount.
- Lens Control: Iris, focus, zoom on supported lenses.
- Dynamic Range: 13 Stops.
- Dual Native ISO: 0dB and 18dB gain.
- Sensitivity at 0dB Gain: f11 with 2160p59.94, f12 with 2160p50, at 2,000 lux with 89.9% reflectance.
- Signal to Noise Ratio: 63dB for 2160p.
- Shooting Resolutions: 3840 x 2160 (Ultra HD) up to 60 fps.
- Frame Rates: 23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 50, 59.94 and 60 frames per second. Off-speed frame rates up to 60 fps in Ultra HD.
- Focus: Auto focus available using compatible lenses.
- Screen Dimensions: 7 inch 1920 x 1200
- Screen Type: LCD capacitive touchscreen.
- Screen Brightness: 600 nits (plus) / 2000 nits (pro)
- MSRP: $1295 on the plus, $1795 on the pro
Manufacturer: Blackmagic Design
More Info: www.blackmagicdesign.com
