URSA Cine Baseplates

Whoa There! Hold the horses!

Why did the pricing on the URSA Cine Baseplates skyrocket in price? Where are these manufactured?

The 15mm Baseplate used to be $475, and the 19mm Baseplate used to be $595. Now it’s $1,189 & $1,489!

That’s way too overpriced!

Can someone tell me what’s going on and whether manufacturing can move to lower the effect of the damn tariffs?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi Tim,

No markings that I can find on my baseplate but likely China if the retail price has more than doubled. There is really no option for product that is in transit with a 145% tarrif.

Perhaps these parts are machined in China where the tariff is now 154% and China’s tariff on US goods is going to remain steady at 125% regardless of any further US tariffs that will be “ignored” henceforth.

Perhaps these parts are machined in China where the tariff is now 154% and China’s tariff on US goods is going to remain steady at 125% regardless of any further US tariffs that will be “ignored” henceforth.

That response by Xi pointed out that these levels are effectively prohibitive to future business and he stated that China did not want to partake further in what history would remember as "a joke".

I certainly agree with this approach but we’re are in for a shock. Every year at WWDC in June Apple announces new iPhones and the price per model. This year I think they’ll discreetly ignore quoting a price. And not even mention they’re not going to quote prices. You’ll have to wait until September.

There’s a chance Apple will use its obscene cash pile to blunt the impact of the costs of tariffs. But that will be a one-time concession as the market will react by trashing the stock.

Apple charges obscene markups and they might sacrifice their markups instead but again one time and the stock will dive.

I've read that an iPhone made in the USA would cost consumers $30K per phone. There's no way Apple will ever manufacture here. It's too expensive and they'd never be able to sell units.

This whole Trade War is moronic. I'm going to be contacting my congressional representative to ask for power of tariffs to be removed from the executive branch.

Yeah, I'm going to hold of buying the Baseplate for a while. I won't pay that much money for it.

I've read that an iPhone made in the USA would cost consumers $30K per phone. There's no way Apple will ever manufacture here. It's too expensive and they'd never be able to sell units.

This whole Trade War is moronic. I'm going to be contacting my congressional representative to ask for power of tariffs to be removed from the executive branch.

Yeah, I'm going to hold of buying the Baseplate for a while. I won't pay that much money for it.

Phones, computers, memory chips, etc were just exempted from the tariffs. I did not see camera equipment and lenses on the list but hopefully they will get added too. No reason to slap exorbitant tariffs on things that are not and won't be made in the USA in any significant quantity for the foreseeable future.

If you need a baseplate in the meantime until all this tariff mess is sorted, Mid49 has an aftermarket alternative. Their accessories are generally very good. You can get buy a full mid kit with rainbow handle, top plate, and side arms for what BMD is now charging for the 19mm baseplate. The baseplate alone is about the same cost of the BMD one before the price hike, I'd definitely choose the OEM one at same price.

USA has been at a very unfair trade advantage (a reason why American cars are rarely seen outside this country) and unilateral tariffs applied to USA goods (along with government fraud and waste on an absolutely massive scale) and punitive taxation is not a sustainable paradigm. So in principle, I agree with tariffs. But the implementation here certainly could have been much better. Short term, I'm more concerned about the impact on equity markets, 401ks etc, than cost increases on things like camera equipment, although as someone who loves photography and cinematography I would of course love to see prices come back down! I'm not a professional but the pricing of the Cine 12k LF allows an amateur like me to dabble with professional grade equipment.

I’ve been able to piece together a rig for my URSA Cine 12K from cheap Chinese parts. These are pre-war prices, so they may not last as the US supply is depleted.

AliExpress
Top Handle Grip w/ Cold Shoe Quick Release Cheese Mount 15mm Rod Clamp for DSLR Camera Cage Rig Stabilizer Monitor Light Support Shop1104306401 Store $23.33
PXSW Dovetail Plate and QR Baseplate With Double 15mm Rod Adapter & ARRI Rosette Connections For DSLR Camera Tripod Head $56.65
Plate is 25cm 9 13/16” L, 60 x 35 x 125 mm PXSW baseplate is 4.3175”/110mm wide
Nitze PA32A Left Right Side Handles with ARRI Rosette for Camera Field Monitor Cage S7nwayfoto Photographic $28.02
Camera Screw Mount Set, 26Pcs 1/4 Inch and 3/8 Inch Converter Threaded Screws Adapter Flash Shoe Mount for DSLR Camera/Tripod/ Monopod/Ballhead/Flash Light/Quick Release Plate Digital Horizon Store $7.20

Temu
20pcs 1.8''×1.9'' Black Steel 90 Degree Right Angle Brackets for Cabinet, Bookcase, Bathroom Furniture Accessories DL51326 GOFO Exp $11.60
48mm/1.9” H 4x 5mm/.2” holes larger oval holes in center. The top of the Sirui VSK-3 cage has a clearance of 36mm from the top of the URSA Cine, with the center of the 15mm rod hole at 45mm. It can be adjusted so that the clearance is 59mm with the center of the 15mm rod hole at 68mm. + 9mm to top to clear handle = 77mm.
Aluminum Alloy Camera Mount Set with Tripod Adapter - Universal Action Camera Accessory with 1/4 Inch Screw, Compatible with Sports Cameras, Multi-Color Pack blk TB440827 GOFO Exp $2.76
NEWKS Stainless Steel 1/4" Quick Release Tripod Screw - Durable Camera Connection with Secure Hanging Ring for Easy Installation, Tripod Mount Adapter x3 $3.65

Camvate
CAMVATE NATO Safety Rail Bar 60mm $7.80

Zacuto
Zacuto MICRO Boompole with NATO Adapter Mfg SKU Z-MB-XLR ⅜-16 $189.00

B&H Photo
Sirui VSK-3 Video Survival kit cage handle SISUVSK3 $79.99
Davis & Sanford FM18 Fluid Head, 18 Lbs Capacity DAFM18 $105.95

PXSW Dovetail Baseplate

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Top Handle Grip

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Sirui Video Survival Kit VSK-3

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If we don’t get charged the exorbitant tarriff on Chinese goods, will the Dear Leader send henchmen over to collect their “La Mordidita” the bite?

It's still $865 on B&H... if you need one, maybe now is the time to place a pre-order.

I still have a pre-order with Adorama at the original price of $595. Hope they don't cancel it on me...

At this point I'm making the URSA Mini Pro Shoulder Mount Baseplate work for me. It's fine. I'll wait it out till I can buy at the correct 475 Price. Or I'll buy it in the UK at that price, and pay for the shipping.

A lot of damage to the US economy its reputation and the dollar, Trump has blinked first with his blanket tarrifs now he had to exempt some products coming in from China and I have no doubt that list will expand but he is not man enough to publicly comment about exemptions for Chinese goods because that means he has lost he trade war with China before it even began. Instead of isolating China the opposite is happening, economies around the globe has rallied around Beijing even previousely difficult trade barriers such as electric cars import into the EU has been removed. If Xi were to pick up the phone first it would be to thank Trump for helping China win big time.

Last month, I bought several B-Stock Angelbird AV PRO CFexpress 2.0 B MK2 4TB cards for $599.99 from the factory. In January, the dollar had the equivalent value to the Euro. Due to the recent decline in the value of the US dollar, if they were to charge us now using the January Euro price, we would be paying $655.87 for each card. This is a bargain.

Update - The dollar has lost even more value, and we would be paying $681.81 now.

US Dollar April 14, 2025

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Certified refurbished
https://www.angelbird.com/refurbished/

US Dollar declining in value

DollartoEuro2025 (1).jpg (225.77 KiB) Viewed 1690 times

If Xi were to pick up the phone first it would be to thank Trump for helping China win big time.

Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.

Xi has to be thrilled.

Any updates on the pricing? I've seen no movement. And, the baseplates are still out of stock. I'm hoping that Blackmagic manages to move manufacturing to a location that only 10% Tariffs are applied at worst. Right now the markup is insane; 475 originally and now 1,189.

Another reason to delay a purchase until sanity returns to the marketplace. Not having a baseplate will have a huge impact on your rigging options, for example, I’d need to stay with primes rather than add a large and heavy zoom. When you add a 20% VAT in the UK or 12% sales tax in Canada, these tariff-driven prices are more than painful, one will forgo the purchase! That leads to reduced GDP, increased unemployment, decreased tax revenue, a falling dollar, increased interest rates, defaulted loans, insolvent companies, and so on. All because Tim isn’t going to stand for it anymore. Seriously.

Canada and Mexico very shortly will begin to negotiate a renewal of our limited ‘free trade’ with the US. The breadth of that North American free trade agreement is either going to grow exponentially to everyone’s benefit in an economic peace or our ‘free trade’ will officially collapse within a year and then Canada will join the EU and strengthen our current links to Asia including the purchase of mature Gripen fighter jets from Sweden and then possibly S. Korea’s next generation planes. This will all conclude a new shift in world order started by the imperialist goals of the US and Russia (and in some part China), but finished by a new unity of the rest of the world.

Another reason to delay a purchase until sanity returns to the marketplace. Not having a baseplate will have a huge impact on your rigging options, for example, I’d need to stay with primes rather than add a large and heavy zoom. When you add a 20% VAT in the UK or 12% sales tax in Canada, these tariff-driven prices are more than painful, one will forgo the purchase! That leads to reduced GDP, increased unemployment, decreased tax revenue, a falling dollar, increased interest rates, defaulted loans, insolvent companies, and so on. All because Tim isn’t going to stand for it anymore. Seriously.

Canada and Mexico very shortly will begin to negotiate a renewal of our limited ‘free trade’ with the US. The breadth of that North American free trade agreement is either going to grow exponentially to everyone’s benefit in an economic peace or our ‘free trade’ will officially collapse within a year and then Canada will join the EU and strengthen our current links to Asia including the purchase of mature Gripen fighter jets from Sweden and then possibly S. Korea’s next generation planes. This will all conclude a new shift in world order started by the imperialist goals of the US and Russia (and in some part China), but finished by a new unity of the rest of the world.

Luckily for now I'm using the URSA Mini Pro Shoulder Mount 15mm Baseplate. And, I just struck a deal to sell the URSA Mini Pro G2 next week without that part. So I can keep it for now with the URSA Cine. That works for me for now until sanity returns.

Yet, I'd still like to go to the proper URSA Cine 15mm Baseplate. And, I'd like to be using the Arri Dovetail Plate on the tripod. At least now I have a temporary solution that will allow me to bide my time. But I hope that the price comes back to a reasonable price soon.

Very good news for you, Tim.

Very good news for you, Tim.

Thanks! Yeah, it's great when you can sell some gear without some of the extra accessories that can be used on other gear.

Sadly, I now have to list the URSA Mini Pro PL Mount separately. However, I hope the PL Mount could find new life with a PYXIS Pro that takes cues from the URSA Mini Pro line in terms of interchangeable mounts. A fleeting hope.

I am used to having different ‘native’ mounts on the original URSA Mini 4.6K so that’s one thing I needed to consider on the Pyxis which resulted in selecting the L-mount on the camera to use PL or other lens mounts via an adapter. I thought I’d just go native PL on camera, but hedging my bets with an adaptable L-mount and a lens support to strengthen the union.

I am used to having different ‘native’ mounts on the original URSA Mini 4.6K so that’s one thing I needed to consider on the Pyxis which resulted in selecting the L-mount on the camera to use PL or other lens mounts via an adapter. I thought I’d just go native PL on camera, but hedging my bets with an adaptable L-mount and a lens support to strengthen the union.

Yeah. I get the L Mount aspect. Anyone that asks me about the PYXIS I recommend the L version most. I'd personally just get the PL version because I have exclusively PL glass. However, I do prefer interchangeable above all else.

I'll probably list the URSA Mini Pro PL for 100 bucks. At worst 75. But it cost 275 to buy new now (tariff pricing). So it will be a deal for anyone who needs it. Yet, I wouldn't mind getting use of it still in the future.