Blackmagicdesign Blackmagic URSA Installation And Operation Manual
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Blackmagicdesign Blackmagic URSA Installation And Operation Manual

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Installation and Operation Manual
Blackmagic URSA
Blackmagic URSA Viewfinder
February 2017

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  • Page 1 Installation and Operation Manual Blackmagic URSA Blackmagic URSA Viewfinder February 2017...
  • Page 2 We think it takes care of the needs of large film crews as well as having all the features you need if you’re operating in single person shooting. Blackmagic URSA’s unique design allows you to replace the sensor, adding new imaging capability to it over time. What this also means...

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    Contents Blackmagic URSA Introducing Blackmagic URSA Camera Assist and Audio Station Connectors Getting Started Front Panel and Turret Attaching the Handle Rear Panel Attaching a Lens Top Panel and Underside Turning Your Camera On Touchscreens CFast Cards Touchscreen Features Inserting a CFast Card Blackmagic URSA Settings Choosing a CFast 2.0 Card...
  • Page 4 Contents Blackmagic URSA Secondary Color Correction Working with 3rd Party Software Using Final Cut Pro X Qualifying a Color Using Avid Media Composer Adding a Power Window Using Adobe Premiere Pro CC Tracking a Window Using Autodesk Smoke 2013 Using Plugins...

  • Page 5: Introducing Blackmagic Ursa

    D IO Blackmagic URSA PL model with Blackmagic URSA Viewfinder. Blackmagic URSA is designed for single or multi user operation. While it's very easy to use Blackmagic URSA as a single operator, your URSA features a dedicated DOP station on one side, and camera assist and audio stations on the other to cater for shoots with larger crews.

  • Page 6: Getting Started

    Attaching the Handle To attach Blackmagic URSA’s handle to the camera body, simply slide the base of the handle along Blackmagic URSA’s handle ridges and screw the handle to one of the 3/8” mounting points. Choose a mounting point that provides the best weight balance for your camera.

  • Page 7: Turning Your Camera On

    I OU I IN Use the supplied 12V AC adapter to power your Blackmagic URSA. If you have both external and battery power connected, only external power will be used. If you remove external power while a charged battery is connected, your camera will switch to battery power without interruption.

  • Page 8: Cfast Cards

    When turning off, press and hold. CFast Cards Blackmagic URSA uses CFast 2.0 cards to record 4K, Ultra HD or HD video. CFast 2.0 cards are capable of very high data rates so are perfect for recording HD and 4K video at high frame rates.

  • Page 9: Choosing A Cfast 2.0 Card

    NOTE To remove a CFast card, press the ejector button underneath the respective slot. This will eject the card a short distance allowing you to hold the card and remove it from the slot. Choosing a CFast 2.0 Card When working with high data rate video it’s important to carefully check the CFast card you would like to use.

  • Page 10: Blackmagicdesign.com/Support

    Tap on the ‘format card’ icon with your finger. Select the ‘format card’ icon on the Blackmagic URSA dashboard to format your CFast card. Tap on the CFast slot you want to use, then tap ‘continue’ to proceed, or ‘cancel’...

  • Page 11: Preparing Cfast Cards On A Mac Os X Computer

    Preparing CFast Cards on a Mac OS X Computer Use the Disk Utility application included with Mac OS X to format your card in the HFS+ or exFAT formats. Remember to back up anything important from your CFast card as all data will be lost when it is formatted.

  • Page 12: Recording

    Press the ‘record’ button marked REC on Blackmagic URSA’s monitor controls. A ‘record’ button is also on the outside of the fold out monitor. This is helpful when using Blackmagic URSA Viewfinder with the fold out monitor closed, for example shooting with the camera on your shoulder.
  • Page 13 Choosing the Codec, Resolution and Sensor Area Your Blackmagic URSA records using CinemaDNG RAW codecs with a choice of lossless RAW or RAW compression, as well as Apple ProRes compressed codecs. Sensor frame rate options will vary depending on the codec and resolution you choose.

  • Page 14: Record Duration Table

    To select your desired codec and resolution on Blackmagic URSA: Press the ‘menu’ button on the control panel. Navigate to the ‘recording’ menu and select your desired ‘codec’ by tapping the codec selection arrows on the touchscreen. Tap the relevant selection arrows for your desired resolution.
  • Page 15 Format CFast Frame Cinema ProRes ProRes ProRes ProRes ProRes ProRes Card Rate DNG RAW 444 XQ 422 HQ 422 LT 422 Proxy Duration Duration Duration Duration Duration Duration Duration Ultra 256GB 19 mins 4K RAW 21 mins 31 mins 47 mins 71 mins 101 mins 230 mins...

  • Page 16: Playback

    'fast forward' or 'reverse skip' buttons twice for 4x playback, three for 8x and four times for 16x speed. On Blackmagic URSA EF you can also use the forward and reverse skip buttons to open or close the iris on compatible lenses.

  • Page 17: Blackmagic Ursa Overview And Connectors

    Blackmagic URSA Overview and Connectors Your Blackmagic URSA is built with three workstations including the DOP station on the operator side of the camera, plus the camera assist and audio station on the opposite side. This provides access to separate monitors and buttons so camera and audio crew can change settings and controls during a shoot.

  • Page 18: 10" Lcd Viewfinder Buttons

    Forward and Reverse Skip These two buttons are used to skip backwards and forwards through your clips. On Blackmagic URSA EF, these buttons can also be used to open and close the iris when using compatible EF lenses. Zoom When shooting in 4K and Ultra HD, the ‘zoom’...
  • Page 19 ID. See the ‘entering metadata’ section of this manual for more information. Power Button Promptly press and release the ‘power’ button to turn on your Blackmagic URSA. Press and hold to turn your camera off. Blackmagic URSA Overview and Connectors...

  • Page 20: Memory Card Slots

    CFast slot is still recording. In ‘dual card’ mode, Blackmagic URSA can record high frame rates in CinemaDNG RAW by using both slots to record a frame each. By swapping between slots, it halves the workload for each, making it possible to record extremely high data rates at amazing speeds! For more information, refer to the ‘recording’...

  • Page 21: Camera Assist And Audio Station Connectors

    Synchronize Blackmagic URSA to a common reference signal, such as black burst or tri-level sync, by connecting to the ‘ref in’ BNC connector. This lets you sync Blackmagic URSA to other SDI video equipment, for example, when using multiple cameras connected to a switcher.
  • Page 22 SLATE 3G-SDI Out Use Blackmagic URSA’s down converted 3G-SDI output to send 1080 HD video to an external viewfinder such as the Blackmagic URSA Viewfinder. This output can also be connected to routers, monitors, SDI capture devices, broadcast switchers and other SDI video equipment.

  • Page 23: Front Panel And Turret

    Your Blackmagic URSA’s front panel contains the turret and lens mount. Depending on your model, you can use a variety of lens types. For example, Blackmagic URSA EF gives you the ability to mount any compatible EF stills lens commonly used on DSLRs, or manual EF prime lenses for the highest quality images.

  • Page 24: Top Panel And Underside

    Connectors on the right side of the panel let you plug in 12V power via the 4 pin XLR connector. Video signals up to 12G-SDI can be connected to and from your Blackmagic URSA via the SDI in and out BNC connectors. A timecode input and output is also provided, plus a reference BNC input for syncing your video to an external reference signal.

  • Page 25: Touchscreen Features

    12-20 Volt XLR input. The touchscreens provide scopes to help set optimum exposure, focus and audio quality. The battery indicator changes to the external power icon when external power is plugged into the 12-20V XLR input. Blackmagic URSA Overview and Connectors...
  • Page 26 If you hear a loud sound while recording, you can easily check if your audio is clipped because the waveform will display red tips on the waveform spikes. You can make adjustments to avoid clipping by turning the audio level adjustment knobs counterclockwise until the audio meter stops rising above 0dB. Blackmagic URSA Overview and Connectors...

  • Page 27: Blackmagic Ursa Settings

    When a card is full and you have an empty CFast card in the second slot, Blackmagic URSA will automatically record to the other CFast card. To play a selected clip, press the ‘play’ button on the fold out monitor transport controls, or on the outside of the door.

  • Page 28: Camera Settings

    Select ‘enter’ to save your camera ID, or ‘cancel’ to discard any changes. Setting Date and Time To set date and time on your Blackmagic URSA, tap the + or - icons to change the year, month and day settings.

  • Page 29: Audio Settings

    White Balance To adjust the ‘white balance’ settings, tap the white balance arrow icons with your finger. Your Blackmagic URSA includes white balance presets for a variety of color temperature conditions. These are: 2500, 2800, 3000, 3200, 3400, 3600, 4000, 4500 and 4800K for various conditions ‚...
  • Page 30 Microphone Level Microphone level adjusts the recording levels for Blackmagic URSA’s built in microphone. Move the audio slider left or right to adjust levels. The built in microphone records to audio channels 1 and 2. Scroll the menu to reveal more audio settings.

  • Page 31: Recording Settings

    ‘window’ mode. Window mode allows higher frame rates and takes a 1080 HD resolution image from the center of the super 35mm sensor. Dynamic Range Adjust the ‘dynamic range’ setting by tapping the dynamic range arrow icons. Blackmagic URSA has two dynamic range settings: Film ‚...

  • Page 32: Frame Rate

    Frame Rate Adjust the ‘frame rate’ settings by tapping the frame rate arrow icons. Blackmagic URSA has two frame rate settings; project frame rate and sensor frame rate. Project Frame Rate ‚...
  • Page 33 Dual Card Mode Blackmagic URSA lets you record CinemaDNG RAW clips at higher frame rates by recording to both CFast cards simultaneously. Turn ‘dual card mode’ on or off by tapping the setting arrow icons. You can also enable ‘dual card mode’ to increase the reliability of CFast cards if you find a single card is dropping frames while recording CinemaDNG RAW clips.

  • Page 34: File Naming Convention

    File Naming Convention Clips are recorded to your CFast cards in the CinemaDNG RAW format or to a ProRes QuickTime movie, depending upon which recording format you have chosen. Blackmagic URSA uses the following file naming convention when recording video.
  • Page 35 On Blackmagic URSA, move the 5” Brightness setting slider icon left or right to adjust brightness for each touchscreen. 10” Brightness On Blackmagic URSA, move the ‘10” brightness’ slider icon left or right to adjust brightness for the 10” fold out monitor. Zebra To activate and adjust the zebra setting, tap the left and right zebra arrow icons.
  • Page 36 Displays both frame guides and recording information. 5” LCD Overlays On Blackmagic URSA, select ‘on’ or ‘off’ to enable or disable a touchscreen’s overlays. Main SDI Overlays This setting lets you choose which overlays to display via the rear 12G-SDI output.
  • Page 37 25%. Image Stabilizer When using an EF lens mount, Blackmagic URSA supports the image stabilizer feature found in many EF lenses. Simply set the stabilizer switch to ‘on’ to use it with your camera.

  • Page 38: Entering Metadata

    The Slate The two touchscreens on Blackmagic URSA have many purposes, one of which is to allow you to easily log metadata directly into the camera using the ‘slate’ feature. Metadata is stored in the recorded files and is easily accessed by editing software.
  • Page 39 SDI OUT SDI IN SOLO MUTE SOLO MUTE REF IN IRIS FOCUS PEAK DISP MENU SLATE TIMECODE IN TIMECODE OUT SOLO MUTE SOLO MUTE IRIS FOCUS PEAK DISP MENU SLATE Press the ‘slate’ button to activate the slate feature on a touchscreen. The use of keywords narrows down the number of clips to search through, saving valuable time when you are editing.

  • Page 40: Camera Video Output

    When connected to a switcher, you can easily view the switcher’s program output on your Blackmagic URSA. To do this, first connect the switcher to your camera’s rear 12G-SDI input. Now press the ‘program’ button marked PGM on your camera’s fold out monitor. To switch back to the camera image, simply press the PGM button again.

  • Page 41: Blackmagic Ursa Viewfinder

    ‘2.40:1’ frame guide is also displayed. Mounting and Connecting to Blackmagic URSA To attach the Blackmagic URSA Viewfinder to the camera body, slide it along the handle ridges and tighten the thumb screw to one of the 3/8” mounting points.
  • Page 42 For example you may wish to assign the false color feature to the zoom button. Refer to the ‘shortcuts’ section for more information. Blackmagic URSA Viewfinder...

  • Page 43: Menu Settings

    ‘menu’ button again to confirm your selection. Display The ‘display’ menu provides the following features: B&W ‚ Switches between color and monochrome. The ‘display’ menu in URSA Viewfinder Peaking ‚ Switches peaking on and off. Blackmagic URSA Viewfinder...
  • Page 44 ‘down’ v button to toggle and select one of the features below to assign to the shortcut button. Press the ‘menu’ button to confirm your selection. B&W ‚ Peaking ‚ Zebra ‚ False Colour ‚ Display ‚ Zoom ‚ Film to Video ‚ Meters ‚ Focus Chart ‚ Blackmagic URSA Viewfinder...
  • Page 45 Focus Chart ‚ Your Blackmagic URSA Viewfinder has a built in focus chart so you can focus the eye piece to suit your eyes. Simply turn the focus diopter on the eyepiece until the chart is in perfect focus. Pressing any button on your viewfinder will close the focus chart display.
  • Page 46 Follow the on screen prompts to update your viewfinder’s internal software. NOTE Refer to the ‘Blackmagic Camera Setup Utility’ section in this manual for more information. We recommend updating all your Blackmagic URSA equipment at the same time for optimized performance Blackmagic URSA Viewfinder...

  • Page 47: Mounting Batteries

    If you don’t have an off the shelf battery plate designed for Blackmagic URSA and you want to modify your own battery plate, then you can use the supplied adapter cable and connector.

  • Page 48: Using Your Own Battery Plate

    To mount your battery plate to the rear panel: Remove Blackmagic URSA's molex power cover from the rear panel by unscrewing the 4 corner screws. You’ll now see Blackmagic URSA’s 12 way molex 55959-1230 power connector. Connect Blackmagic URSA's 12 way molex 55959-1230 power connector to your third party battery plate.
  • Page 49 Batt Batt Batt Batt Monitor 1 Monitor0 +12V Out 11 EnableN The rear view of the adapter’s connector housing. Refer to the wire configuration table for a description of each pin. Wire Configuration Table Pins Signal Color Direction Description 1, 2, 3, 4 Batt To URSA 12 V to 20 V...

  • Page 50: Using Davinci Resolve

    Using DaVinci Resolve Shooting with your Blackmagic URSA is only part of the process of creating film and television content, and just as important is the process of media backup and management as well as editing, color correction and encoding final master files. Your Blackmagic URSA includes a...

  • Page 51: Importing Your Clips

    Importing your Clips To start editing your clips, you’ll first need to import them into the media pool: Launch DaVinci Resolve. If this is the first time you’ve opened DaVinci Resolve, wait for the Project Manager to appear, and double click the ‘untitled project’ icon in the project manager window.

  • Page 52: Working With Raw Files

    Working with RAW files When you first import RAW files, DaVinci Resolve will decode the sensor data contained in the files using the ISO, white balance and tint settings used on the camera at the time of shooting. If you're happy with the look of these settings, you can start editing right away. The great thing about shooting RAW is that you're not tied to these settings at all! The breadth of available post processing options when working with RAW files mean that you'll develop your own workflow over time.

  • Page 53: Editing Your Clips

    In the ‘Camera RAW’ tab, you’ll see a small arrow in the top right corner with one of several RAW formats next to it. This should be set to CinemaDNG. When you first drop a RAW clip shot on your Blackmagic URSA into a new timeline, this setting will be set to CinemaDNG automatically.

  • Page 54: Trimming Clips

    To insert the clip onto the timeline, click inside the source viewer then drag the mouse pointer across to the timeline viewer. A list of edit options will appear. Select the type of edit you want. Your clip will be placed onto the timeline using the edit type you selected. You’ll find a description of each edit type and how to use them in the DaVinci Resolve manual.

  • Page 55: Mapping Keyboard Shortcuts

    The ‘edit’ page. You can trim your clips, change their order, move them around and add transitions between them using the timeline editor. Mapping Keyboard Shortcuts If you are familiar with keyboard shortcuts using other editing software, you can easily map your own in DaVinci Resolve to increase speed and optimise your workflow.

  • Page 56: Adding Transitions

    Adding Transitions A transition is a visual effect used to bridge one clip to another in a pleasing way, for example dissolves, wipes, dips to color, and more. These can add a layer of excitement to your edit. Transitions don’t always have to be joining two clips, for example you can apply a dissolve transition to the end of one clip to create a quick and easy fade to black.

  • Page 57: Adding Titles

    Adding Titles It’s easy to create titles for your edit. You can place a title on any video track just as you would a clip. If you run out of tracks you can easily add new ones by right clicking next to an existing track name and selecting ‘add track’.

  • Page 58: Color Correcting Your Clips

    To add a new audio or video track, right click next to a track name and select ‘add track’. For audio, select the track type you want. Color Correcting your Clips Once you have edited your sequence of clips, you can start color correcting. This is best begun after you have finished editing your sequence so you can maintain a consistent look, but part of the fun of DaVinci Resolve is being able to move between the edit and color page to make fine adjustments and discover new creative choices.

  • Page 59: Using Scopes

    Using Scopes Most colorists make creative color choices by focusing on the emotion and the look they want their program to have and then simply work using the monitor to achieve that look. You can look at everyday objects and how different types of light interact with them to generate ideas on what you can do with your images and a little practice.

  • Page 60: Secondary Color Correction

    Adjusting the ‘gain’ Click on the ‘gain’ dial and slide it back and forth. This adjusts the highlights which are the brightest areas of your clip. The highlights are shown on the top section of the waveform on the parade scope. For a brightly lit shot, these are best positioned just below the top line of the waveform scope.

  • Page 61: Qualifying A Color

    Qualifying a Color Often you’ll find a specific color in your clip can be enhanced, for example grass by the side of a road, or the blue in a sky, or you may need to adjust color on a specific object to focus the audience’s attention on it.

  • Page 62: Tracking A Window

    For example, you can track a window on a person in order to make color and contrast changes just to that person without affecting his/her surroundings. By making corrections like this you can influence the audience’s attention on areas you want them to look at. To add a power window to your clip: Add a new serial node.

  • Page 63: Using Plugins

    To track a window to a moving object: Create a new serial node and add a power window. Go to the start of your clip and position and size the window to highlight just the object or area you want. Open the ‘tracker’...

  • Page 64: Mastering Your Edit

    Mastering your Edit So now you’ve edited, color corrected and graded your clips you’ll want to export a render of your edit in the ‘deliver’ page. This page lets you select the range of clips you want to export, plus the format, codec and resolution you want. You can export in many types of formats such as QuickTime, AVI, MXF and DPX using codecs such as 8-bit or 10-bit uncompressed RGB/YUV, ProRes, DNxHD, H.264 and more.

  • Page 65: Blackmagic Camera Setup Utility

    In Windows 7, click on the ‘start’ menu, select ‘all programs>Blackmagic Design’. From here you can launch Blackmagic Camera Setup. How to Update the Camera Software The Mini-B USB 2.0 port is used to update the camera software and can be found on Blackmagic URSA’s bottom panel. Blackmagic Camera Setup Utility...

  • Page 66: Post Production Workflow

    After installing the latest Blackmagic Camera Setup utility on your computer, connect a USB cable between the computer and your Blackmagic URSA. On Blackmagic URSA, the Mini-B USB 2.0 port is located on the bottom panel of your camera. Simply open the rubber cap to access the port.

  • Page 67: Using Final Cut Pro X

    Using Final Cut Pro X To edit Apple ProRes 422 HQ clips using Final Cut Pro X, you need to create a new project and set a suitable video format and frame rate. This example uses ProRes 422 HQ 1080p25. Final Cut Pro X project settings.

  • Page 68: Using Adobe Premiere Pro Cc

    Launch Media Composer and the ‘select project’ window will appear. Click the ‘new project’ button. In the ‘new project’ window name your project. Go to the ‘format’ drop down menu and select 1080i/59.94. Go to the ‘color space’ drop down menu and select YCbCr 709. Go to the ‘raster dimension’...

  • Page 69: Using Autodesk Smoke 2013

    Using Autodesk Smoke 2013 To edit your clips using Autodesk Smoke 2013, create a new project and set a suitable video format, bit depth, frame type and frame rate. This example uses ProRes 422 HQ 1080p25. Autodesk Smoke 2013 Launch Smoke and the ‘project and user settings’ window will appear. Click on the ‘new’...

  • Page 70: Shimming The Pl Mount

    Shims are placed between the PL mount and the camera body so the distance from your subject to the sensor matches the focus marks on your lens. Your Blackmagic URSA is supplied with a 0.50mm shim already installed. You can purchase shim sets of varying thickness from your local Blackmagic Design reseller.
  • Page 71 Carefully lift the lens mount away from Note the alignment of the existing the camera body. Keep the screws safely 0.50mm shim with the alignment pin at located close to the lens mount. the 11 o’clock position. Remove the existing 0.50mm shim and Place the lens mount onto the camera replace with the appropriate shim thickness body ensuring the alignment hole is...

  • Page 72: Regulatory Notices And Safety Information

    Lithium battery to extended periods of sunlight. Keep Lithium batteries away from all sources of heat. The 12V DC output connector is suitable to provide power to the Blackmagic URSA Viewfinder or Blackmagic URSA Studio Viewfinder. When connecting other accessories to this connector, ensure that the power consumption is less than 18W.

  • Page 73: Help

    After checking the version of Blackmagic Camera Utility software installed on your computer, please visit the Blackmagic Design support center at www.blackmagicdesign.com/support to check for the latest updates. While it is usually a good idea to run the latest updates, it is wise to avoid updating any software if you are in the middle of an important project.

  • Page 74: Warranty

    Warranty Limited Warranty Blackmagic Design warrants that this product will be free from defects in materials and workmanship for a period of 12 months from the date of purchase. If a product proves to be defective during this warranty period, Blackmagic Design, at its option, either will repair the defective product without charge for parts and labor, or will provide a replacement in exchange for the defective product.

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