Blackmagic Design has released DaVinci Resolve 18.5, a major new update with new AI tools and more than 150 feature upgrades, and the Ursa Mini Pro 12K OLPF, a new model of the company’s advanced digital film camera. DaVinci Resolve 18.5 public beta is available for download now from the Blackmagic Design website. Blackmagic Ursa Mini Pro 12K OLPF is available immediately from Blackmagic Design resellers for $6,385.

DaVinci Resolve 18.5
Among many advancements and new capabilities, editors can now transcribe audio within clips to search for media based on narrative content, or they can quickly generate subtitles for timelines with the automatic speech-to-text feature. DaVinci Neural Engine AI can analyze and automatically sort audio clips based on classification, and on the Fairlight page, users can now group audio tracks for faster mix automation and editing. Colorists can use the new Relight FX to add virtual lighting to a scene. VFX artists can collaborate more easily with support for Universal Scene Description files and work faster with the multi-merge tool.

The new Relight FX lets users add virtual light sources into a scene to creatively adjust environmental lighting, fill dark shadows or change the mood. Light sources can be directional to cast a broad light, a point source, or a spotlight, and they can be adjusted for surface softness and specularity control.

The auto-subtitle feature on the Cut and Edit pages transcribes speech to text automatically into a subtitle track on the timeline. To activate, editors simply click “create subtitles from audio” in the timeline menu and then, once analysis is complete, click the individual captions to modify them in the inspector.

Blackmagic has also added speech-to-text editing in the “transcribe” feature, which automatically transcribes video and audio clips. Users can search for specific terms or jump to the section of a clip where a word appears. Instead of listening to entire scenes or interviews, they can quickly locate the topic they need and add it to their timeline, saving countless hours.

Fusion now supports Universal Scene Description files for easier collaboration between VFX artists. USD data such as geometry, lighting, cameras, materials and animation can be imported. Fusion’s new USD tools let users manipulate, relight and render files using Hydra-based renderers such as Storm.

Ursa Mini Pro 12K OLPF
When shooting in virtual production environments, the high frequencies of the LED matrix in video walls can cause problems for modern, ultra-sharp lenses and high-resolution sensors, creating interference patterns. An optical low-pass filter minimizes that interference, which results in a reduction of moire and aliasing. For that reason, Blackmagic has added a high-performance, optical low-pass filter to the 12K Super 35 image sensor in the new Ursa Mini Pro 12K OLPF. The OLPF reduces artifacts while preserving color and critical image detail. The Ursa Mini Pro 12K OLPF’s high-performance, optical low-pass filter is precisely matched to the 12K sensor. The OLPF also incorporates updated IR filtering that improves far-red color response, which, when combined with Blackmagic RAW processing for the Ursa Mini Pro 12K OLPF, preserves color and critical image detail for new levels of image fidelity.

The camera has a 12,288×6480 12K Super 35 sensor and 14 stops of dynamic range built into the Ursa Mini body. The combination of 80 megapixels per frame, new color science and the flexibility of Blackmagic RAW makes working with 12K a reality. Oversampling from 12K gives users 8K and 4K images with the subtle skin tones and extraordinary detail of high-end still cameras. They can shoot at 60fps in 12K, 120fps in 8K and up to 240fps in 4K Super 16. Ursa Mini Pro 12K has an interchangeable PL mount, built-in ND filters, dual CFast and UHS-II SD card recorders, a SuperSpeed USB-C expansion port and more.

The Blackmagic Ursa Mini Pro 12K features a new sensor with a native resolution of 12,288×6480 — 80 megapixels per frame — plus 14 stops of dynamic range and a native ISO of 800. The new 12K sensor has equal amounts of red, green and blue pixels and is optimized for images at multiple resolutions. Users can shoot 12K at 60fps or use in-sensor scaling to allow 8K or 4K RAW at up to 120fps without cropping or changing their field of view. Ursa Mini Pro’s interchangeable lens mount makes it possible to choose from the widest range of vintage and modern cinema lenses.

Blackmagic Generation 5 Color Science features a new film curve designed to make full use of the massive amount of color data from the new Ursa Mini Pro 12K sensor. This delivers even better color response for more pleasing skin tones and better rendering of highly saturated colors, such as neon signs and car taillights in high-contrast scenes. Generation 5 Color Science informs complex Blackmagic RAW image processing, with color and dynamic range data from the sensor preserved via metadata for use in post production. Compatible with all previously shot Blackmagic RAW files, Generation 5 Color Science lets users take advantage of the new film curve even with their existing work.

Vertical Video Support for Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Cameras
In related news, Blackmagic has updated its camera software to v8.1 to accommodate vertical video for all Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Cameras. The cameras shoot 9×16 vertical aspect ratio so users can create cinematic vertical video for platforms such as TikTok and YouTube. The software automatically rotates the camera’s on-screen HUD and automatically tags files vertical so they display correctly when imported for editing, making it much easier to both shoot and edit vertical content.

Version 8.1 software is available now.