Blackmagic Design has raised prices across cameras and storage products for the second time in a week, blaming a worsening global flash memory shortage driven by AI data center demand.
Blackmagic has become the first camera manufacturer to raise prices on cameras and other product lines explicitly due to the ongoing memory shortage. And it's done it not once, but twice.
"Unfortunately, due to even further price increases today for flash storage parts and high-speed DRAM memory, we have had to increase some product prices again. This is the fourth time flash memory components have increased in price since the NAB show and the global supply chain situation is extremely frustrating," said the company in a May 11 statement on Facebook and elsewhere.
For anyone hoping that the ongoing RAMageddon situation would be easing by now, this is a bit of a blow. Exactly the opposite seems to be happening.
Blackmagic explains that its storage products and cameras with pre-installed storage require the same high-performance enterprise-grade memory used by data centers. Securing that supply now means outbidding those data centers and the world's hyperscalers for components. That must be close to impossible at the moment given that so much of what is happening in the global economy is about funding data center build outs.
Perhaps what's even more uncomfortable knowledge is that Blackmagic has previous form as the canary in the coalmine when it comes to price rises. It was the first major manufacturer to announce an increase in US prices due to tariffs in April last year, a move eventually followed by everyone else. And while not every camera has the same degree of high-spec memory onboard, it shows that pressure is increasing here and elsewhere in this industry and others.
The latest round of increases hits the URSA Cine lineup hardest. The URSA Cine 12K LF now sits at $15,495, up from $11,995. The 17K 65 body moves from $16,995 to $18,495, and the URSA Cine Immersive from $24,995 to $26,995. Storage products though see the most aggressive jumps: the 8 TB Media Module goes from $2645 to $4195, a 59% increase, while the Cloud Store 80 TB rackmount moves from $31,995 to $48,995, a massive $17,000 rise.
This is the second such announcement in a week. On May 7, Blackmagic had already raised the price of the URSA Cine 12K LF from $10,585 to $11,995 along with a stack of other products.
Interestingly, that price notice also introduced a notable workaround: new storage-free variants of the ATEM Television Studio range. The ATEM Television Studio HD8 ISO, previously $4395 with 2 TB pre-installed, launched as a new model without storage for $2995, a $1400 saving. The ATEM Television Studio HD8 saved $700, the ATEM Television Studio 4K8 $1300. And that pricing along with the other memory-free units, has not changed with the latest announcement.
"You get a more affordable price by recording to a fast USB external flash disk," says the company. "Or you could install a flash memory card you already own."
Blackmagic recommends using a qualified dealer or engineer to install your own flash card, and notes that the memory must be fast enough for video and correctly fitted with thermal components. Of course, unless you already have it to hand, the trouble is finding that memory cheaper anywhere else.
The company says it will lower prices as soon as it is able to, and has a decent track record of honoring such commitments. However, it has to be said that analysts do not expect meaningful relief in the market until new fab capacity comes online in late 2027 at the earliest if the current rate of data center build is sustained.
At the moment it is unfortunate that something that was seen as such a strength of Blackmagic's lineup in the shape of pre-installed, plentiful, fast storage, is having such an impact on its camera prices. But as you can see from what is also happening to its storage products, the situation is both worsening and spreading. We've already lost some of the more highly-specced Mac models, we might be seeing plenty of other shortages elsewhere before this is all over.