At IBC 2019, Blackmagic Design announced their next generation Video Assist monitors/recorders – the Blackmagic Video Assist 12G HDR. Available in two versions, much like their predecessors, there will be a 5-inch and a 7-inch version both with combined monitoring and recording functions and some subtle differences.
The new Blackmagic Video Assist 12G HDR adds professional monitoring and recording to any SDI or HDMI camera in all HD, Ultra HD, 2K and 4K DCI formats. The new improved all-metal design includes innovations such as brighter screens for HDR work, tally indicator, 4 built in scopes, enhanced focus assist features, 3D LUTs and native Blackmagic RAW recording from supported cameras such as the Canon C300 Mark II and Panasonic EVA1 to start with (*there may be more models supported in the future).
Images by Blackmagic Design
Both models feature 12G-SDI and HDMI 2.0 enabling you to to record ProRes or DNxHD/HR from virtually any device in all formats up to 2160p60. A brighter touch screen ensures a better view of your recording when shooting HDR digital film, or when shooting outdoors in sunlight.
The new design also features upgraded batteries and supports 2x standard Sony L-Series batteries, in lieu of the Canon LP-E6 on the previous generation. The bigger 7-inch model gets full size 12G-SDI I/O and mini XLR inputs, while the smaller 5-inch Video Assist 12G HDR has mini BNC connectors, which can be a pain, but that’s because of the smaller form factor of the unit itself, and apparently they couldn’t fit full-sized BNC connectors on the side.
Images by Blackmagic Design
The 7-inch Video Assist 12G HDR also gets dual UHS-II SD card slots, while the 5-inch model gets on SD card slot.
Both units get a super-bright 2500nit display and an innovative touchscreen LCD user interface with Blackmagic OS providing intuitive control. There are dedicated on-screen buttons for play, stop and record, plus a mini timeline for scrolling through your recordings. You can even swipe the image to jog! The LCD includes a heads up display of timecode, video format, media status and audio meters.
Images by Blackmagic Design
Scopes, focus and exposure assist can all be enabled via the touch screen with a simple tap. There’s also an extensive range of settings that can be controlled via the on-screen dashboard. You can even load and save 3D LUTs!
The Video Assist 12G HDR gets a bottom mounted USB-C expansion port that lets you plug in and record onto massive external SSDs.
The Video Assist 12G HDR 5-inch is priced at $795, and the 7-inch model at $995. Both are said to be available later in September. For more info head over to Blackmagic Design.
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