Blackmagic URSA Broadcast G2 Announced – 6K S35 Sensor, Dual ISO, and More

Camera News

by Georg GilsteinNovember 12^th, 2021

Blackmagic Design silently announced the new Blackmagic Ursa Broadcast G2 overnight. It features a new Super 35mm sensor, new recording formats and Blackmagic’s Gen 5 color science.

The previous URSA Broadcast probably wasn’t as popular as the main URSA Mini Pro series, but now Blackmagic Design gave it quite a big upgrade.

The new Blackmagic URSA Broadcast G2 now features a 6K Super 35mm sensor. In combination with 2/3″ B4 lenses it can be used for UHD and HD productions.

The sensor has a claimed dynamic range of 13 stops. The dual native ISO at 400 and 3200 enables clean low-light images with a maximum ISO of 25.600 (+36db).

I don’t know if that sounds similar to you, but the specs match with the 6K sensor from the Blackmagic Pocket 6K and 6K Pro.

That’s great news, combined with the Gen 5 color science, which is now supported, it delivers a high-resolution image with nice colors.

H.265 support for long recordings

The previous URSA Broadcast was able to record in flavors of DNxHD, ProRes, and Blackmagic RAW (with an update). The new G2 ditched the DNxHD codec and instead supports 10-bit H.265 codecs, great for keeping file size small. As this camera is made for live production and broadcast workflows, long recording times with highly compressed codecs will save a lot of storage space. Because if you record a 4-hour live stream in ProRes 422 HQ, you will need quite a lot of free gigabytes.

As with the Pocket series and the Ursa Mini Pro 4.6K G2 and 12K, BMD added support for recording on external drives via USB-C.

If 2/3″ B4 lenses aren’t the desired choice, you can swap the B4 mount for an EF, F, or PL mount and use the full 6K resolution of the S35 sensor.

The URSA Broadcast G2 still features three built-in ND filters, dual CFast 2.0, and dual SD UHS-II card slots. The URSA form factor and user interface are intuitive and by now well-known. It is compatible with previous accessories like the Camera Fiber converter, shoulder rig, or URSA Studio Viewfinder.

Speaking of the Viewfinder, Blackmagic Design also released an updated version with a 2000 nits 7-inch display. This allows for outdoor use in bright light conditions. It features a V-Lock quick-mount system for quickly attaching the viewfinder to the camera. Other functions like RGB tally light, SDI, and XLR connectors to the camera have stayed the same. The Viewfinder G2 is available for $1,495.

To top it off, BMD also released a new family of Micro Converter 12G models, which feature 3D LUTs, and more SD, HD, and UHD video formats. Find out more about them on their site.

URSA Broadcast G2 pricing & conclusion

The camera will be available for 3,995$. This it fills the gap between the URSA Mini Pro 12K, which was recently reduced to $5,995, and the cheaper Pocket 6K Pro ($2,495) and Studio Camera 4K Pro ($1,795).

It’s quite interesting what Blackmagic did here. It features specs already seen before in BMD’s cameras. It feels like a Pocket 6K Pro in a URSA body with additional broadcast features. But as it’s cheaper than the URSA Mini Pro series, it might appeal to broadcast users who want a bigger sensor with the option of using EF lenses.

Find out more about this camera and the new viewfinder G2 on Blackmagic Design’s website: Blackmagic Design

What’s your opinion about this camera? What do you think Blackmagic will present next? Let us know in the comments.