Blackmagic URSA Studio Viewfinder G2

The Blackmagic URSA Studio Viewfinder G2 is based on a large 7 inch display and is perfect for tripod mounted studio camera use. It totally transforms the camera into a true studio camera. The studio viewfinder also includes a large tally light and easy to access controls. It's even fully adjustable.

The Blackmagic URSA Studio Viewfinder G2 mounts using a standard V-Lock mount, so it’s easy to attach it to the top of a camera. It can mount to the top of the camera body, or the top of the SMPTE fiber converter if customers have one installed on the camera. It features a bright 7" 2,000 nit display with grip handles so it’s very easy to position it independently of the camera, even while their camera is on air. The mount allows the viewfinder to be tilted up and down and rotated sideways. Then customers can adjust the lock knobs to vary the amount of tension on the viewfinder adjustments. There's also a metal sunshade for use when in bright outdoor locations and the sunshade can be removed quickly when not needed.

The URSA Studio Viewfinder G2 features on screen as well as separate physical controls for adjusting framing and focus features. The menu dial allows customers to scroll through menus and change settings as needed. However the most exciting controls are the 3 knobs on the right side of the viewfinder, which give customers smooth control of the LCD brightness and contrast, as well as directly adjustable focus peaking control. The focus peaking control allows customers to constantly adjust peaking to make focus easy at the zoom setting customers are using. Plus, there are 3 customizable function buttons customers can program to control features such as zebra, false color, focus peaking, luminance waveform, LUTs and more.

The back of the Blackmagic URSA Studio Viewfinder G2 features a large tally light that illuminates red for on-air, green for preview, and orange for ISO recording. As the director cuts between cameras on the ATEM switcher, tally information is sent back to the camera over SDI so the light is lit when the camera is on the air. Customers only need to set the correct camera number in the URSA Broadcast G2 menus. The tally light is very large so it’s easy to see when the presenter is a long distance from the camera. Plus, the Blackmagic URSA Studio Viewfinder G2 also includes clip-on number decals that insert into the tally light, so each camera is clearly numbered and easy for presenters to see.

The big bright tally light on the top of the viewfinder is one of the features that can be controlled over the SDI video connection. The Blackmagic SDI Control Protocol takes advantage of blanking space in the SDI data stream to add talkback, tally and other camera control information direct to the camera via the program return feed. This also works with the viewfinder as it has the same control sent to it from the camera via its SDI input. The Blackmagic control protocol is an open standard and is documented in the URSA Broadcast and ATEM switcher manual. That means anyone can create custom solutions for Blackmagic cameras, switchers and Blackmagic URSA Studio Viewfinder.

“Customers have enjoyed the flexibility of being able to transform their URSA Broadcast into a live production camera for studio or outdoor live events, and have been asking for a brighter display particularly for use in bright sunlight,” said Grant Petty, Blackmagic Design CEO. "We have worked very hard to build this studio viewfinder at a lower cost, and we think even more people will be able to take advantage of this price reduction to move into a more advanced and much higher quality live production workflow."