Blackmagic Design Announces URSA Broadcast G2 Camera

Blackmagic Design
(Image credit: Blackmagic Design)

FREMONT, Calif.—Blackmagic Design has announced the Blackmagic URSA  Broadcast G2 broadcast camera with 6K digital film sensor to deliver digital film quality to traditional and online broadcasters. 

The 6144 x 3456 digital sensor delivers exceptional low-light performance with dual gain ISO of up to +36dB and 13 stops of dynamic range. It supports H.265 and Blackmagic RAW file formats and Blackmagic generation 5 color science. It also offers a USB-C expansion port for external disk recording.

The URSA Broadcast G2 can be used as a 4K production camera, a 4K studio camera or a 6K digital film camera. Using the existing lenses and batteries of broadcasters, the camera records to common SD cards, UHS-II cards, CFast 2.0 cards or external USB disks, using common file formats like H.265, Apple ProRes and Blackmagic RAW, making it compatible with all video software and broadcast media management systems.

The 6K sensor, flexible enough for broadcast and digital film work, can use B4 lenses, giving users a 4K window for the sensor for Ultra HD broadcast use. If they change to a PL or EF lens mount, they can use the full 6K resolution of the sensor for digital film.

The low-light performance of the new camera enables users to shoot using ambient light or even under moonlight. The Blackmagic URSA Broadcast G2 features gain from -12dB (100 ISO) up to +36dB (25,600 ISO) so it's optimized to reduce grain and noise in images, while maintaining the full dynamic range of the sensor. The gain can be set via a camera switch, the LCD menu or remotely using the SDI remote camera control protocol.

The camera’s dual CFast 2.0 recorders and dual SD/UHS-II card recorders give users the ability to choose the media that's best for them. Both types of media are standard, inexpensive and readily available at computer and camera stores, the company said.

With dual media slots, URSA Broadcast gives users non-stop recording. When a card is full, recording automatically continues onto the next card so customers can swap a full card while recording continues, it said.

The Blackmagic URSA Broadcast G2 is currently available now and priced at $3,995 from Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide.

More information is available on the company’s website.

Phil Kurz

Phil Kurz is a contributing editor to TV Tech. He has written about TV and video technology for more than 30 years and served as editor of three leading industry magazines. He earned a Bachelor of Journalism and a Master’s Degree in Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism.