Blackmagic recently made a huge splash with the announcement of a new RAW format (BM RAW) that delivers superior image quality while improving post-production performance. Currently it’s only available on the URSA Mini Pro, but I’m sure over time we’ll see it introduced to other systems as well… Since I own a Mini Pro, I decided to take a few quick minutes Shoot some test shots and see how the new format performs.
Blackmagic has offered RAW recording on its cameras since the original BMCC, but has always relied on Cinema DNG. This allows for compressed recording (at 3:1 or 4:1 quality), which helps reduce file size, but will be clunky and slow to play back in post unless you’re working on a very fast machine.
On the other hand, the new BM RAW format solves the playback problem head-on and is the next logical evolution of RAW recording. While it minimizes RAW file size through compression (up to a 12:1 ratio), it’s also carefully designed for optimized playback. This means that even if you have an older machine, you should be able to playback the archive more easily/smoothly than with Cinema DNG.
There are two modes you can use in Blackmagic RAW settings: constant bitrate and constant quality.
Constant bitrate works much the same as most other RAW codecs. You choose a compression ratio (3:1, 5:1, 8:1 or 12:1) and the camera will compress your footage accordingly. There won’t be any fluctuations in file size – no matter what you shoot, your files will always use a consistent amount of data based on your specifications.
Constant quality, on the other hand, works differently. It prioritizes image quality, so if you’re recording something that requires more material (such as fast panning through a busy background), it will increase the data rate. This setting will make it more difficult to accurately predict remaining card space, but it brings the benefit of improved quality. When using constant quality, you can choose to use Q0 or Q5 compression – with Q0 being the highest quality option available.
I haven’t had enough time to shoot with the new format yet, but I snuck in some test footage on my front porch the other day. It was just after sunset, so I decided to roll as hard as I could for about 30 minutes to see how the camera performed in low light using BM RAW.
I did some testing beforehand to see the image quality differences between each RAW setting, but they were barely noticeable. Images recorded at Q0 at constant quality look incredible, as do images recorded at 12:1 compression at constant bitrate. I’m sure you’ll notice a greater difference between the two in tougher circumstances, but in normal conditions I was impressed by the look of the more compressed RAW options – including 12:1.
That said, everything you see in the video below was shot using the highest quality settings (Q0), ISO 8oo, 4.6K. Unlike my previous tests, with these lenses I just wanted to test the best quality the camera could offer and wasn’t concerned with comparing each individual compression setting. Take a look at the few shots below, lightly color graded in Resolve –
I always evaluate color science First and foremost, as usual, ballistic missile defense plays a role in this. Many cameras struggle to achieve natural color balance in low light conditions, but the URSA Mini Pro never had this problem…and certainly not when using BM RAW.
The shot above was not shaded using any of Blackmagic’s LUTs (I just created some basic grades from scratch), but I did try out Blackmagic’s latest “Film to Extended Video V4” LUT. At first glance, this LUT seems to provide better results than any of the V3 LUTs, which were always a little too strict for my tastes…either way, both when grading manually and when trying to use I was impressed with the color performance across the board and the presets.
Another interesting thing I observed was the difference in noise and grain when shooting in BM RAW.
Low-light noise is the Achilles’ heel of most BMD cameras, but BM RAW seems to have improved in this area as well. I’ll need to do some side-by-side testing to make sure my eyes aren’t deceiving me, but at first glance, BM RAW seems to have a more pleasing noise pattern than any other recording format. In a way, it’s less distracting and more cinematic, not to mention it seems easier to de-noise in post. None of the shots in the video above used any noise reduction, but I tried NR in Resolve and was impressed with the results.
All in all, shooting with BM RAW was a great experience. The new settings take some getting used to – especially Constant Quality, as it will make your recording time jump up and down the monitor – but the color science, grain and overall quality it delivers make BM RAW hard to miss. Even editing footage is a breeze, which is surprising considering I use a 2-year-old MacBook Pro to edit the highest quality files (Q0).
Hopefully we’ll see this format introduced to other cameras in the future – even cameras outside of the Blackmagic ecosystem. Hopefully we’ll see it integrated into other editing platforms like FCP It’s promising and I’m sure this is just the beginning of a long journey into this incredible new format.
Have you tried BM RAW? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
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