Blackmagic Design Announces New Blackmagic URSA Studio Viewfinder G2

Blackmagic Design today announced a new studio viewfinder model, Blackmagic URSA Viewfinder G2, with a super bright 2,000 nit display, ideal for use in bright sunlight. The new URSA Studio Viewfinder G2 is also available at a new lower price of US$1,495, a reduction of $300 which will help to make it even more affordable for customers to combine URSA Studio Viewfinder with URSA Broadcast G2 to turn it into the ultimate live production camera!

Blackmagic URSA Studio Viewfinder G2 is available now from Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide for US$1,495.

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."

Blackmagic URSA Studio Viewfinder G2 Features

• Integrated V-Lock mounting plate for quick setup.
• Super bright 2,000 nit, 7” display.
• Detachable metal sunshade.
• Large grip handles and variable tension pivot points.
• Physical dials, knobs and customizable function buttons.
• Large RGB LED tally indicator with clip on perspex camera numbers.
• Connects to SDI input and power from camera, so no extra cables or power supplies needed.
• Compatible with Blackmagic SDI Control Protocol for full control of camera functions.

Availability and Price

Blackmagic URSA Studio Viewfinder G2 is available now for US$1,495, excluding local duties and taxes, from Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide.

Press Photography

Product photos of the Blackmagic URSA Broadcast G2, as well as all other Blackmagic Design products, are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images. 

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com.