In the ever-evolving world of digital cinematography, Blackmagic Design has once again pushed the envelope with its latest marvel: the URSA Cine 17K 65. This cutting-edge camera boasts a staggering 17K resolution paired with a 65mm sensor, promising filmmakers an unprecedented level of detail and depth. To demonstrate its capabilities, Blackmagic recently unveiled two projects—”Iceland” and “The Ranch”—shot entirely with this new camera.
Experience the Footage Firsthand
Curious about how 17K footage handles in your own post pipeline? Blackmagic Design has made the complete 17K camera original RAW files for “Iceland” and “The Ranch” available for download on their official URSA Cine gallery. These aren’t just teaser trailers or compressed clips. This is the real deal—full-resolution, uncompressed RAW files, plus downloadable behind-the-scenes videos, allowing you to poke, prod, and pixel-peep to your heart’s content.
You’ll also find full 4K, 8K, and 17K resolution downloads for both films, with various format options for evaluating footage in your preferred workflow. For post-production artists, colorists, VFX supervisors, and anyone who wants to know how this footage behaves under grading and finishing conditions, this is a rare chance to evaluate the URSA Cine 17K 65’s performance directly on your own systems.
Additionally, Blackmagic provides clips showing how “Iceland” and “The Ranch” were made—giving technical insight into the camera’s on-set behavior. This includes drone setups, lighting rigs, lens choices, and handling—important data if you’re wondering whether this camera could slot into your own production workflow without requiring a second mortgage.
The availability of RAW files means that artists can test everything from dynamic range and color fidelity to compression handling and grading flexibility. Whether you’re a DIT on set or a finishing artist in post, these assets allow hands-on exploration—ideal before considering integrating this technology into high-stakes projects.
Iceland and The Ranch: Two Cinematic Test Cases
Florent Piovesan’s “Iceland” leaned on the 65mm sensor’s vast dynamic range to render the island’s massive vistas in full 2.2:1 open gate, without the compromise usually needed on smaller sensors. Piovesan used Tokina Vista Cine primes for their clean, natural look. He emphasized that 17K resolution allowed multiple framing options from a single take in post—a significant flexibility boost.
Meanwhile, Dylan Rucker’s “The Ranch” was a love letter to the American West, with fast-paced action sequences and open landscapes shot on 24mm lenses—yet with the field of view equivalent to 14mm in full frame, but minus the distortion. Rucker made the most of the camera’s compact form, deploying it on drones and car rigs to capture kinetic scenes involving cowboys and horses.
Technical Rundown and Post Pipeline Compatibility
The URSA Cine 17K 65 features a large format 65mm RGBW sensor delivering 16 stops of dynamic range. It supports PL, LPL, and Hasselblad lens mounts, 8TB internal storage, and high-speed networking for Blackmagic Cloud sync. The associated software suite—including DaVinci Resolve 19.1.4 and Fusion Studio 19.1.4—has been updated to support URSA Cine 12K LF, ensuring streamlined 17K/8K RAW workflows.
Proceed with Caution (and Curiosity)
As always, bleeding edge resolution comes with bleeding edge demands. Before integrating 17K into your production workflow, test and validate—stability and usability matter as much as pixels, especially in post. The provided RAW footage is a perfect opportunity to do just that.
Download the Clips here: https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/blackmagicursacine/gallery
