Blackmagicdesign URSA Mini Installation And Operation Manual
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Blackmagicdesign URSA Mini Installation And Operation Manual

Blackmagicdesign URSA Mini Installation And Operation Manual

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Installation and Operation Manual
Blackmagic URSA Mini
and URSA Mini Pro
Includes Blackmagic URSA Viewfinder, URSA Studio Viewfinder,
URSA Mini Shoulder Kit, URSA Mini Lens Mounts, Blackmagic Camera
Fiber Converter, Studio Fiber Converter and URSA Mini SSD Recorder.
May 2019

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Summary of Contents for Blackmagicdesign URSA Mini

  • Page 1 Installation and Operation Manual Blackmagic URSA Mini and URSA Mini Pro Includes Blackmagic URSA Viewfinder, URSA Studio Viewfinder, URSA Mini Shoulder Kit, URSA Mini Lens Mounts, Blackmagic Camera Fiber Converter, Studio Fiber Converter and URSA Mini SSD Recorder. May 2019...
  • Page 2 We hope you use your URSA Mini or URSA Mini Pro to produce some of the world’s most exciting films and television programming, music videos and commercials! We are extremely excited to see...

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    Contents Blackmagic URSA Mini and URSA Mini Pro Which camera are you using? Playback URSA Mini Introduction to URSA Mini Camera Front URSA Mini Pro Left Side – URSA Mini Getting Started Attaching a Lens Left Side – URSA Mini Pro...
  • Page 4 Plugging in Return SDI Outputs Fiber Converter Mounting Blackmagic Camera Interchangeable Lens Mount Fiber Converter Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro PL Mount Attaching the URSA Studio Viewfinder Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro B4 Mount Plugging in a Talkback Headset Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro F Mount Operating the Camera Fiber Converter...
  • Page 5 Adding Titles Using Avid Media Composer 2018 Color Correcting your Clips Using Adobe Premiere Pro CC Using Scopes Blackmagic URSA Mini B4 Mount Secondary Color Correction Shimming Lens Mounts Qualifying a Color Shimming URSA Mini PL Adding a Power Window...

  • Page 6: Which Camera Are You Using

    You’ll notice while reading this manual that occasionally a feature will be specific to a particular Blackmagic URSA Mini camera. All URSA Mini cameras produce incredible, wide dynamic range images and share the same basic chassis. There are some differences between different models, though.

  • Page 7: Ursa Mini

    URSA Mini Pro is easy to recognize by the additional control buttons and LCD status screen on the left side of the chassis, as well as the ND filters near the lens mount. URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 also features an orange ‘G2 4.6K’ icon on the front above the lens mount and an orange ‘G2’...

  • Page 8: Getting Started

    Attaching a Lens Attaching a lens to your camera is the same process for URSA Mini 4K, URSA Mini 4.6K and URSA Mini Pro, however the EF, PL, B4 and F mounts have slightly different ways of operating.
  • Page 9 Be sure to align the lens for easy viewing of the lens marks. Tighten the PL locking ring by rotating it clockwise. If attaching a PL lens with a servo unit to URSA Mini PL or URSA Mini Pro, you can also connect the 12 pin broadcast connector for servo control.
  • Page 10 12 pin connector and cable built in. This will provide power and control signals from your URSA Mini to the lens. For information on the types of B4 lenses and how to use them with your camera, refer to the ‘Using Servo Zoom Lenses’ section in this manual.

  • Page 11: Powering Your Camera

    2 o’clock position, and gently remove. NOTE Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro F mount features a mechanical iris adjuster. To use older style F mount lenses with built in focus rings with this mount, your lens aperture will need to be set and locked to its smallest setting, such as f/22.
  • Page 12 Use the supplied AC to 12V DC adapter to power your Blackmagic URSA Mini You can use industry standard third party external batteries such as V mount or Gold Mount batteries with your URSA Mini. Refer to the ‘mounting batteries’ section for more information about mounting the different types of battery plates to support different batteries.
  • Page 13 If you need to, you can also briefly hold down the record and forward skip buttons on the control panel behind the LCD to power your camera on or off If your URSA Mini Pro is turned off when the power switch is set to ‘on’, your camera may have been powered down via Bluetooth control or by holding down the ®...

  • Page 14: Storage Media

    Storage Media Your Blackmagic URSA Mini camera has a number of storage options. All URSA Mini cameras use CFast 2.0 cards to record video. URSA Mini Pro 4.6K can also record to fast UHS-II and UHS-I SD cards. Using the USB-C expansion port on URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2, you can also connect high capacity USB-C flash disks for increased recording times.
  • Page 15 This is because CFast 2.0 cards have different read and write speeds. The tables below identify the CFast cards recommended for use. Which CFast cards should I use with the Blackmagic URSA Mini and URSA Mini Pro Cameras? The following CFast 2.0 cards are recommended for recording 4.6K Blackmagic RAW 3:1 up to 60 fps.
  • Page 16 The following CFast 2.0 cards are recommended for high frame rate recording at 4.6K in Blackmagic RAW. Brand Card Name Storage KomputerBay 3600x CFast 2.0 Card 64GB ProGrade Digital 550MB/s CFast 2.0 128GB ProGrade Digital 550MB/s CFast 2.0 256GB ProGrade Digital 550MB/s CFast 2.0 512GB SanDisk...
  • Page 17 Lexar Professional 3600x CFast 2.0 256GB For the most up to date information on supported CFast cards for Blackmagic URSA Mini please refer to the Blackmagic Design support center at www.blackmagicdesign.com/support. NOTE Only the ‘D-series’ of Sandisk CFast 2.0 cards have been certified for use with Blackmagic URSA Mini cameras.

  • Page 18: Sd Cards

    SD Cards In addition to CFast 2.0 cards, Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro can record on high speed UHS-I and UHS-II type SD cards. Using high end SDXC UHS-II cards, you can even record ProRes HQ footage in 2160p for Ultra HD content! With SD cards, you can use more affordable storage media when shooting compressed video formats in HD.
  • Page 19 The tables below identify the SD cards recommended for use when shooting with Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro. It’s worth regularly checking the latest version of this manual for more up to date information. Updated manuals are available for download from the Blackmagic Design website www.blackmagicdesign.com/support...
  • Page 20 The following SD cards are recommended for Ultra HD ProRes 422 HQ up to 30 frames per second. Brand Card Name Storage Angelbird AV Pro 300MB/s UHS-II SDXC 64GB Angelbird AV Pro 300MB/s UHS-II SDXC 128GB Delkin Devices UHS-II 250MB/s SDHC 32GB ProGrade Digital V90 UHS-II 250MB/s SDXC...
  • Page 21 Wise 285MB/s UHS-II SDXC 128GB For the most up to date information on supported SD cards for URSA Mini Pro please refer to the Blackmagic Design support center at www.blackmagicdesign.com/support. Locking and Unlocking SD Cards SD cards can be write protected, or ‘locked’, to prevent data from being overwritten.

  • Page 22: Usb-C Flash Disks

    Your URSA Mini Pro will indicate when locked SD storage media is inserted USB-C flash disks Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 features a high speed USB-C expansion port, which allows you to record video directly to USB-C flash disks. These fast, high capacity drives allow you to record video for long periods, which can be important when filming events with long durations.

  • Page 23: Ssds

    SSDs With the optional Blackmagic URSA Mini SSD Recorder, URSA Mini can record video directly to solid state drives, or ‘SSDs’. These fast, high capacity drives can are readily available from a variety of consumer electronics outlets.
  • Page 24 To remove an SSD: Open URSA Mini SSD Recorder’s cover and gently grasp the drive between your thumb and forefinger. There’s a small recess in the top of the bay to let you get a grip on the drive. Simply pull the drive out and close the cover.
  • Page 25 Brand SSD Name Storage Sony G Series Professional SSD. SVGS48 480GB Sony G Series Professional SSD. SVGS96 960GB Transcend SSD370 512GB Western Digital WD Blue 3D NAND SATA SSD The following SSD’s are recommended for 4.6K ProRes 444 XQ up to 30 frames per second, but have been discontinued by the manufacturer.

  • Page 26: Preparing Media For Recording

    URSA Mini’s storage and formatting screen, or via a Mac or Windows computer. We recommend formatting storage media using URSA Mini for best performance. HFS+ is also known as Mac OS X extended and is the recommended format as it supports ‘journaling’.

  • Page 27: Preparing Media On Blackmagic Ursa Mini

    Tap ‘Format Card 1’ or ‘Format Card 2’ to format the CFast card in slot 1 or 2, respectively. Use your URSA Mini’s storage manager to format your camera’s CFast cards Tap ‘edit reel number’ if you would like to manually change the reel number.

  • Page 28: Preparing Media On Blackmagic Ursa Mini Pro

    ‘format card’. When using URSA Mini SSD Recorder with URSA Mini Pro or a USB-C flash disk with URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2, the SSD will appear in slot 2 regardless of the position of the media storage switch.

  • Page 29: Preparing Media On Mac

    For information on switching between CFast and SD storage see the ‘SD Cards’ section earlier in this manual. NOTE If you have the optional URSA Mini SSD Recorder connected, ‘SSD recorder’ will appear over storage slot 2. When a USB-C flash disk is connected, ‘External Drive’ will appear.

  • Page 30: Preparing Media On Windows

    For lower data rates try lowering your frame rate, resolution, or try a compressed codec such as ProRes. Check the Blackmagic Design website for the latest information at www.blackmagicdesign.com Storage Media...

  • Page 31: Recording

    Recording Recording Clips On Blackmagic URSA Mini you can start recording by pressing the red ‘record’ button on the inside control panel, the outside of the fold out monitor, the touchscreen or the optional Blackmagic URSA Handgrip. On Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro, the external ‘record’ button is located in the forward control panel for convenient access when shooting from the shoulder.

  • Page 32: Blackmagic Raw

    Stops Below Blackmagic RAW Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro supports the new Blackmagic RAW file format. This format offers superior image quality, wide dynamic range and a broad selection of compression ratios. Blackmagic RAW keeps all the benefits of RAW recording, but the files are very fast because part of the de–bayer is performed in the camera where it can be hardware accelerated.

  • Page 33: Recording To Blackmagic Raw

    So what all this means is if you want to color grade your images at some point, then you have all that film dynamic range preserved in the file. You don’t have your images hard clipped in the whites or the blacks, so you retain detail and you can color grade to make all your images look cinematic.

  • Page 34: Constant Bitrate Settings

    Constant Bitrate Settings The names for 3:1, 5:1, 8:1 and 12:1 represent the compression ratio. For example, 12:1 compression produces a file size roughly 12 times smaller than uncompressed RAW. Constant Quality Settings Q0 and Q5 refer to different levels of quantization. Q5 has a greater level of quantization but offers a greatly improved data rate.

  • Page 35: Blackmagic Raw Software Development Kit

    The Blackmagic RAW SDK supports Mac, Windows and Linux, and is available as a free download from the developer page of the Blackmagic website at www.blackmagicdesign.com/developer The following diagram illustrates the components of the Blackmagic RAW API: Blackmagic RAW API Decoder .Braw...
  • Page 36 The higher the sensor frame rate compared to the project frame rate, the slower the playback speed. For example, URSA Mini Pro G2 allows you to shoot at very high sensor frame rates for extreme slow motion.
  • Page 37 The tables below contain available codecs, resolutions and their maximum sensor frame rates for URSA Mini 4.6K and URSA Mini Pro models. It should be noted that the references to Blackmagic RAW, ProRes 444 and ProRes 422 are references to all of the supported variants within each particular codec.
  • Page 38 Full ProRes 422 Full To select your desired codec and resolution on Blackmagic URSA Mini. Press the ‘menu’ button on the control panel. Navigate to the first page of the ‘record’ tab. Tap your desired combination of codec, quality, and resolution.

  • Page 39: Trigger Record

    444 codecs is 60 frames per second up to 4.6K 2.4:1. If you increase the resolution to full sensor 4.6K, the maximum project frame rate is 30 fps. On the original URSA Mini Pro 4.6K, the maximum project frame rate for ProRes 444 codecs is 60 frames per second up to 2K 16:9.

  • Page 40: Record Duration Table

    11 mins 19 mins 30 mins 46 mins – – – 11 mins 19 mins 30 mins 46 mins – – – * Blackmagic RAW is available on the URSA Mini Pro 4.6K and URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 only. Recording...
  • Page 41 40 mins 16 mins 27 mins 44 mins 66 mins – 18 mins 40 mins * Blackmagic RAW is available on the URSA Mini Pro 4.6K and URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 only. CFast Frame ProRes ProRes ProRes Blackmagic Blackmagic...

  • Page 42: Playback

    CFAST URSA Mini Camera URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 Camera Blackmagic URSA Mini has playback and transport controls buttons on both the internal and ergonomic control panels. NOTE Blackmagic URSA Mini will play back clips of different quality settings as long as they are in the same codec, frame rate and resolution.
  • Page 43 The controls of your camera work just like a CD player, so pressing the ‘forward skip’ button will skip to the start of the next clip. Press the ‘reverse skip’ button once to go to the start of the current clip or press twice to skip back to the start of the previous clip. Hold the ‘forward’ or ‘reverse skip’...

  • Page 44: Introduction To Ursa Mini

    XLR inputs are on the top panel behind the mounting points for professional balanced analog audio on URSA Mini and URSA Mini Pro, and AES digital audio input on URSA Mini Pro. A 4 pin XLR connector is provided on the rear panel for external power input, and an output is available on the right side for powering accessories such as Blackmagic URSA Viewfinder.

  • Page 45: Left Side - Ursa Mini

    CFast and SD card slots are located behind the foldout monitor. The USB-C port is above these memory card slots, and is used to connect to a computer to update your URSA Mini Pro’s internal software.
  • Page 46 ND Filters Your URSA Mini Pro has three internal neutral density filters to adjust the amount of light reaching the sensor. Four settings are available, ranging from clear to six stops of light reduction.

  • Page 47: Right Side

    See the section ‘storage media’ for more information. Right Side URSA Mini’s right side panel gives you access to all the video, audio and power connectors plus the rosette mount for the optional Blackmagic URSA Handgrip. URSA Mini PL model Side Rosette Mount Standard rosette mount for the optional Blackmagic URSA Handgrip.

  • Page 48: Rear Panel

    ATEM switcher, you can also adjust the camera functions using the switcher’s ‘camera control’ feature. If you’re using URSA Mini in a live broadcast, you can plug in the switcher’s program output and monitor it during the shoot, or check playback from an external recorder.
  • Page 49 On URSA Mini Pro the SDI Input can be used for feeding external timecode to the camera as well. This will lock to the incoming timecode automatically if the frame rate of the incoming SDI signal matches and has valid timecode. The ‘EXT’ logo will appear on URSA Mini Pro’s LCD when external timecode is locked.

  • Page 50: Top Panel

    Phantom power is active only when external audio inputs are selected in the audio settings. Underside 1/4 Inch Mounting Points The 5 mounting points on the underside are used for attaching tripod heads, the optional URSA Mini shoulder mount kit and other accessories. Introduction to URSA Mini...

  • Page 51: Ursa Mini Controls

    URSA Mini Controls Your Blackmagic URSA Mini has a control panel on the left side, behind the fold out monitor and contains all the buttons and adjustment knobs you need to change settings and control audio levels. You can monitor your audio levels using the audio meters on the LCD touchscreen.
  • Page 52 12G-SDI input on the rear panel. This means if you’re using URSA Mini in a live broadcast, you can plug in the switcher’s program output and monitor it during the shoot. Press and hold the program button to see your program feed.
  • Page 53 The playback buttons let you start and stop playback, plus skip to the next or previous clip. On Blackmagic URSA Mini EF, the forward and reverse skip buttons can also be used to open or close the iris when using compatible lenses. Refer to the ‘playback’...

  • Page 54: Ursa Mini Pro Control Buttons

    URSA Mini Pro Control Buttons Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro has control panels on the chassis, outside and inside of the foldout touchscreen monitor to give you quick, easy access to all of its essential functions as well as powerful monitoring tools. These panels are designed to be close to hand whether shooting from a tripod, handheld or with the shoulder mount kit.
  • Page 55 ND Filters Your URSA Mini Pro has three internal neutral density filters. Together with a clear filter, the available settings are ‘2,’ ‘4’ and ‘6’ stops. These filters allow you to reduce the amount of light reaching your URSA Mini’s sensor by a preset number of exposure ‘stops’.
  • Page 56 Menu Wheel When ‘status text’ is turned on for your URSA Mini Pro’s front SDI output, you can use the menu wheel to navigate many of the head up display features usually accessed via the LCD touchscreen. Simply press the menu wheel as you would a button to access your URSA Mini Pro’s head up display on an external monitor such as Blackmagic SmartView, Video Assist or URSA Viewfinder.
  • Page 57 Use the HFR or ‘high frame rate’ button to toggle off speed frame rates. To use this button, simply set the off speed frame rate you’d like to use in your URSA Mini Pro’s ‘frame rate’ menu. Pressing this button will toggle between your chosen off speed frame rate and project frame rate.

  • Page 58: Ergonomic Control Panel

    Ergonomic Control Panel On the outside of your URSA Mini Pro’s touchscreen monitor, you’ll find an LCD status monitor and a variety of monitoring controls. This panel lets you see all of your camera’s status information at a glance, as well as monitoring and adjusting audio levels. Automatic focus can be set using compatible lenses and the transport controls let you playback clips.
  • Page 59 Status LCD This display shows you your URSA Mini Pro’s essential settings at a glance, without needing to open the internal touchscreen. This screen is designed to be visible even in bright daylight. The following information is available: Battery indicator Timecodes...
  • Page 60 ‘f’ or ’T’ stop. Card Information The ‘card 1’ and ‘card 2’ indicators will appear on your URSA Mini Pro’s status LCD when these slots are occupied. The ‘SD’ indicator appears if you are recording on SD cards, and disappears if you are recording on CFast cards.
  • Page 61 ‘S001’ representing the ‘still number’ as the last four digits of the filename. To confirm you have successfully saved a still, an image of a camera will show in the top right corner of the URSA Mini touchscreen and the record indicator on the status LCD will flash three times.
  • Page 62 When the lens is focused, the square will disappear. NOTE Some lenses have both manual and auto focus modes. In order for URSA Mini Pro to be able to auto focus with your lens, you need to ensure that your lens is set to auto focus mode. Program The program button is marked PGM and lets you switch the LCD between the camera view and any signal plugged into the 12G-SDI input on the rear panel.

  • Page 63: Internal Control Panel

    Internal Control Panel With your URSA Mini Pro’s foldout monitor open, you can access the internal control panel. Use the controls here to set your audio inputs as well as phantom power settings, iris, focus, menu and playback controls and more.
  • Page 64 NOTE Some lenses have both manual and auto focus modes. In order for URSA Mini to be able to auto focus with your lens, you need to ensure that your lens is set to auto focus mode. Peak Press the ‘Peak’...
  • Page 65 NOTE You can power your URSA Mini Pro on or off via a combination of internal control panel buttons. Holding the ‘rec’ and ‘forward skip’ buttons will power up the camera if it is turned off, or power it off if it is turned on. If your camera’s power switch is set to ‘on’...

  • Page 66: Touchscreen Controls

    Your Blackmagic URSA Mini’s fold out LCD touchscreen pivots for shooting high and low angles. Buttons on the outside of the LCD panel let you control your URSA Mini when mounted on your shoulder using the URSA Viewfinder and the LCD closed.
  • Page 67 To toggle focus assistance for the LCD touchscreen, tap the switch icon in the bottom left of the screen while in the ‘focus assist’ tab. To set the level of focus assistance for all outputs on your URSA Mini, tap the ‘low,’ ‘medium’ or ‘high’ titles along the bottom of your touchscreen.
  • Page 68 Tap the ‘frame guides’ icon while accessing ‘LCD monitor options’ to access your URSA Mini’s frame guide settings To toggle the appearance of frame guides on your URSA Mini’s LCD touchscreen, tap the switch icon in the bottom left of the screen.
  • Page 69 URSA Mini LCD touchscreen with 2.40:1 frame guides enabled ‚ 2:1 Available on the URSA Mini Pro, this displays a ratio slightly wider than 16:9 but not as wide as 2.35:1. ‚ 1.85:1 Displays another common flat widescreen cinema aspect ratio. This ratio is slightly wider than HDTV 1.78:1 but not as wide as 2.39:1.
  • Page 70 The ‘grids’ setting toggles the appearance of a rule of thirds grid, crosshair or center dot on the LCD touchscreen, as well as setting the overlay that will be visible on all URSA Mini outputs. Tap the ‘grids’ icon while accessing ‘LCD monitor options’...
  • Page 71 The ‘safe area guides’ setting toggles the safe area guides on or off the LCD touchscreen, as well as setting the size of safe area guides for all outputs on your URSA Mini. Safe areas can be used in broadcast production to ensure that the most important parts of a shot can be seen by viewers.
  • Page 72 ‘safe area guides’ tab. To set the level of safe area guides for all outputs on your URSA Mini, tap the left or right arrows on either side of the current numerical value at the bottom of your touchscreen. Alternatively, you can drag the slider left or right.
  • Page 73 50, 59.94 and 60 frames per second. To adjust your URSA Mini’s project frame rate while in the ‘FPS’ menu, tap the left or right arrows next to the current frame rate at the bottom left of your touchscreen. Alternatively, you can drag the slider left or right.
  • Page 74 By default, your URSA Mini’s project and sensor frame rates are matched for a natural playback speed. However, by tapping the ‘off speed frame rate’ switch icon in the bottom right hand side of your URSA Mini’s ‘FPS’...
  • Page 75 URSA Mini’s touch screen. If you have auto exposure set to ‘off,’ this screen will show you your currently selected shutter value, as well as the available flicker free shutter values, based on the mains power frequency you have selected in your URSA Mini’s ‘setup’ menu. For more information, see the ‘setup settings’ section in this manual.
  • Page 76 The manual shutter keypad allows you to type in any shutter value you wish Your URSA Mini has three shutter based auto exposure modes. To select one of these, tap the ‘auto exposure’ button in the far right of the shutter menu.
  • Page 77 NOTE To adjust your Iris from the LCD touchscreen, your URSA Mini must be fitted with a lens that supports changing aperture via the camera. If you are using a B4 or PL lens connected via the broadcast 12 pin connector on URSA Mini PL, make sure that the lens iris switch on the handgrip is set to ‘A’...
  • Page 78 The ‘ISO’ indicator displays your URSA Mini’s current ISO setting, or light sensitivity. Tapping this indicator lets you adjust your ISO to suit varying lighting conditions. The ISO range on URSA Mini is from ISO 200 to 1600, whilst the ISO range on URSA Mini Pro can also be increased to 3200.
  • Page 79 Numerical presets provide the option to select an ISO setting in full stop increments by tapping on the number. URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 provides a slider below these presets, that allows you to fine tune your ISO setting in between these presets in 1/3 stop increments.
  • Page 80 Fill this square with a neutral surface such as a white or gray card and tap ‘update.’ Your URSA Mini will automatically adjust its white balance and tint values to ensure that the average of the white or gray within the white balance square is as neutral as possible. Once updated, this will be set as your camera’s custom white balance.
  • Page 81 Power Your URSA Mini’s power status is displayed in the top right of the LCD screen. There are five possible indicators: Your URSA Mini’s power indicator is at the top right of the LCD touchscreen. While using battery power, tapping this toggles between ‘voltage’ and ‘percentage’ displays Displayed when your URSA Mini is plugged into mains power.
  • Page 82 Record button Next to the histogram at the bottom of your URSA Mini’s touchscreen, you’ll see a round gray button. This is the ‘record’ button. Tap this once to begin recording, and tap it again to stop.
  • Page 83 This menu displays the amount of free space on each CFast card, SD card, SSD or external drive currently connected to your URSA Mini, as well as the name of the card or drive, length of the last clip, total number of clips, and the file format for each card or drive.
  • Page 84 Double tap to zoom You can magnify any part of your URSA Mini’s preview image by double tapping the LCD touchscreen. The area you tap will be magnified, and you can move around the image by dragging your finger around the LCD touchscreen.
  • Page 85 Swipe up or down to hide all status indicators on your URSA Mini LCD touchscreen Playback Menu Tap the ‘play’ control button on your URSA Mini to access the playback menu. You can control previously recorded clips with your camera’s control buttons or the LCD touchscreen.
  • Page 86 Tapping the ‘record’ control button in playback mode will return your camera to ‘standby’ mode, ready to record. Swipe up or down on your URSA Mini’s touchscreen to hide status text while playing back footage. Entering the slate in playback mode will allow you to mark the current clip ‘good take’...

  • Page 87: Settings

    Pressing the ‘menu’ control button on your URSA Mini will bring up your camera’s dashboard. This is a tabbed menu containing the settings not available from your URSA Mini’s head up display. Settings are divided by function into ‘record,’ ‘monitor,’ ‘audio,’ ‘setup,’ ‘presets,’ and ‘LUTS’...
  • Page 88 Codec and Quality The ‘codec and quality’ menu is split into two rows. On URSA Mini Pro you can select Blackmagic RAW or Apple ProRes. The bottom row offers quality options within those families. Blackmagic RAW options are divided between four ‘constant bitrate’ and two ‘constant quality’...
  • Page 89 LUTs setting, see the ‘monitor’ settings later in this manual. Window Sensor URSA Mini can be set to use the ‘full’ sensor area. Alternatively, for even higher frame rates you can use ‘window’ mode. This will use only the amount of sensor pixels needed for a given video format rather than downscaling images from the entire sensor.
  • Page 90 Preferred Card for Recording Use this setting to select which storage card or drive your URSA Mini will record to first when both slots are in use. The options are ‘card 1,’ ‘card 2,’ and ‘fullest card’. When using an SSD the options will be ‘card 1’, ‘SSD’...
  • Page 91 When sharpening is enabled, it will be applied to ProRes video recorded on camera as well as your URSA Mini’s SDI output. When URSA Mini Pro G2 is set to Blackmagic RAW and is used in conjunction with an ATEM switcher, the detail sharpening function can be applied to your SDI output.

  • Page 92: File Naming Convention

    SSD’ sections for more information on how to avoid dropping frames. Apply LUT in File If you are applying a LUT to any of the outputs from your Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2, the selected LUT will be embedded into the Blackmagic RAW file you are recording.

  • Page 93: Monitor Settings

    ‘LCD’, ‘front SDI’ and ‘main SDI’, as well as ‘all,’ which covers monitor settings that affect all outputs on your URSA Mini. Each of these menus has two pages of options, which you can cycle through by tapping the arrows at the edge of your camera’s touchscreen, or swiping left or right.
  • Page 94 Display 3D LUT Your URSA Mini can apply 3D LUTs to any output to approximate the look of color graded footage. This is especially useful when shooting with ‘film’ dynamic range, as these produce an intentionally ‘flat’ low contrast image.
  • Page 95 Status Text On/Off This setting is only available for URSA Mini Pro. It can be useful to hide the status text and meters on your LCD HUD, leaving only the information necessary to compose or direct a shot.
  • Page 96 URSA Mini’s LCD touchscreen. Front SDI and Main SDI Monitor Settings 2 The second page of your URSA Mini’s ‘front SDI’ and ‘main SDI’ monitor tab contains settings unique to your front and main SDI outputs. 2160p and 1080p resolutions are available on your main SDI output as all times when shooting at resolutions above 3K anamorphic.
  • Page 97 Your URSA Mini can display director specific status text on its front and main SDI outputs Setting the status text to ‘director’ in your URSA Mini’s ‘front SDI’ or ‘main SDI’ monitor settings changes the status text for that output to show the following information.
  • Page 98 For example, setting ‘safe area guide %’ to 90% in this menu will set the safe area guide to 90% for your camera’s LCD, front SDI and main SDI outputs. There are two pages of ‘all’ settings. The first page of your URSA Mini’s ‘all’ monitor tab contains the following settings.
  • Page 99 Tap the left or right arrows in the ‘frame guides’ menu setting to cycle through seven frame guide options for all outputs on your URSA Mini, including EVFs such as Blackmagic URSA Viewfinder. The options are detailed in the ‘touchscreen’ section of this manual, and are also accessible from the LCD monitoring menu in your LCD touchscreen head up display.
  • Page 100 Safe Area Guide % To adjust the size of the safe area overlay on your URSA Mini’s LCD touchscreen, front SDI and main SDI outputs, tap the arrows to the left and right of the percentage displayed in this setting. This percentage indicates the size of the safe area in relation to the image frame.

  • Page 101: Audio Settings

    This slider adjusts the output levels for headphones attached to URSA Mini’s 3.5mm headphone jack. Move the audio slider left or right to adjust levels. Speaker Volume This slider adjusts the output levels for your URSA Mini’s built in speaker. Move the audio slider left or right to adjust levels. Camera Internal Mic This slider adjusts the recording levels for your URSA Mini’s built in microphone.
  • Page 102 Move the audio slider left or right to adjust levels. Speaker Volume This slider adjusts the output levels for your URSA Mini’s built in speaker. Move the audio slider left or right to adjust levels. Channel 1 and 2 input Set the external audio input levels by tapping ‘line’...

  • Page 103: Audio Settings - Ursa Mini Pro

    Channel 1 and 2 phantom power Your URSA Mini’s XLR inputs can provide 48V phantom power so you can use microphones that aren’t self powered. When your camera is set to ‘XLR’ audio input, simply tap the ‘phantom power’...
  • Page 104 XLR input may be listed as ‘mic,’ ‘line,’ or ‘AES.’ If phantom power is enabled and you have your XLR input set to ‘mic’ you’ll also see a ‘+48V’ indicator here. On URSA Mini Pro, it is important to ensure that the 48V switch gets turned ‘off’ when you disconnect your phantom powered microphone.

  • Page 105: Setup Settings

    Set your URSA Mini’s date and time by tapping the ‘date and time’ setting. The date format is year, month, day and the time format is 24 hour. Your URSA Mini’s date and time are also used for time of day timecode if an external timecode source is not connected.
  • Page 106 Shutter Measurement On URSA Mini 4.6K and URSA Mini Pro, use this setting to select whether to display shutter information as ‘shutter angle’ or ‘shutter speed’. It’s worth mentioning that when using shutter angle, the shutter conforms to the frame rate.
  • Page 107 NTSC frame rates. Display ND Filter As Use this setting to adjust how the ND filter indicator on your URSA Mini Pro displays your ND filter setting. Each setting corresponds to a different camera convention. Cinematographers typically use ND.number notation, while those familiar with DSLRs or broadcast cameras may...
  • Page 108 100%. Reference Source This setting is used to select the reference source. Your URSA Mini can lock to an internal or external reference source, or to the reference signal in program input from an ATEM switcher. If you are using your URSA Mini with an ATEM Switcher’s camera control function, you should always set your reference source to ‘program’...
  • Page 109 Set Function Button On the outside of your URSA Mini’s LCD touchscreen, you’ll notice two function buttons, ‘F1’ and ‘F2.’ These are mappable to frequently used features and are quickly accessible when using your camera with the LCD touchscreen closed, such as when you are using URSA Viewfinder.
  • Page 110 ‘color bars’ which always applies to all outputs, the ‘LCD,’ ‘front SDI’, and ‘main SDI’ settings are disabled. On URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 you can disable the function and HFR buttons by selecting ‘none’.
  • Page 111 The fourth page of your URSA Mini’s ‘setup’ tab contains the following settings. Door LED Your URSA Mini has a small LED on the outside of the LCD touchscreen that provides tally and status information. You can enable or disable it by tapping the ‘Door LED’ switch icon. The LED for tally and status information is located in the forward control panel on URSA Mini Pro, and is referred to as ‘Status LED’.
  • Page 112 Door LED Brightness To set the brightness of your URSA Mini’s door LED or URSA Mini Pro’s status LED, simply tap ‘low,’ ‘medium,’ or ‘high.’ Factory Reset To reset the camera to its default factory settings, tap the ‘reset’ button. You will be asked to confirm this action as it will erase any LUTS and presets currently stored on the camera.
  • Page 113 Bluetooth devices up to 30 feet away. Because URSA Mini Pro uses the same set of commands for Bluetooth control as it does for ‘Blackmagic SDI Camera Control Protocol’, you can write your own applications to control almost every setting in the camera remotely, from monitoring to audio settings, the camera’s...
  • Page 114 Enable Bluetooth by tapping the ‘Bluetooth’ switch icon in the ‘setup’ menu on your URSA Mini Pro. Open the ‘Blackmagic Camera Control App’ and select the URSA Mini Pro you would like to pair with. Available cameras will be listed by their camera letter, followed by their unique hardware ID.
  • Page 115 If there is a problem pairing the camera to your iPad you will see the following error message. NOTE If you are not using Bluetooth to control your URSA Mini Pro, it is a good idea to turn Bluetooth off for the purpose of security. Settings...
  • Page 116 Controlling Your Camera with the Blackmagic Camera Control App Once you have successfully paired your URSA Mini Pro to your iPad, you can power the camera on or off, change settings, adjust metadata and trigger record remotely using the iPad app.

  • Page 117: Presets

    You can also import and export presets, which is very useful for setting up a multi camera shoot. Simply set up one URSA Mini to suit your project, then export that preset for all the other URSA Minis on set.
  • Page 118 LCD touchscreen where you can name your preset. Once you’ve typed in the name, tap ‘update’ to save all of your URSA Mini’s current settings to that preset. If your URSA Mini already has a preset loaded with the same name, you will be prompted to overwrite the existing preset or keep both.

  • Page 119: Luts

    Use the storage media selection switch on URSA Mini Pro to select either SD or CFast, depending on the location you would like to export the preset to. If you are using URSA Mini SSD Recorder, you can also export presets to an SSD. Tapping ‘export selected preset’ will prompt you to choose which card you would like to export to.
  • Page 120 It is easy to create 3D LUTs using DaVinci Resolve or other color correction software, and LUTs are available online from a variety of sources. Your URSA Mini can store up to six 17 point or 33 point 3D LUTs, of up to 1.5 megabytes each. Once loaded, you can choose to display a given LUT on your camera’s LCD touchscreen, front SDI, main SDI or any combination of...
  • Page 121 LUTs are saved. You can also import LUTS stored on an SSD if you are using URSA Mini SSD recorder. Choose ‘card 1’ or ‘card 2’ at the top left of this screen to display any available 3D LUTs on those cards.
  • Page 122 Deleting LUTS Your URSA Mini has space for six 17 point or 33 point 3D LUTs. To delete LUTs you are no longer using, or make room for more, select the LUTs you want to delete and tap the icon. You will be prompted to confirm your choice.

  • Page 123: Entering Metadata

    VFX assets to plates. Your Blackmagic URSA Mini automatically saves some metadata to each clip, such as camera settings, timecode, date and time. You can use your camera’s slate to add many additional details.
  • Page 124 Slate for This setting shows the clip which the metadata currently displayed in the ‘clip’ applies to. In ‘standby’ mode, this refers to the next clip that will be recorded. Lens Data These settings display information about the current lens fitted to your camera. Many electronic lenses automatically supply information such as the lens model, aperture and focal length.
  • Page 125 ‚ Focal length Shows the focal length setting of the lens at the start of the recorded clip. When automatically supplied, this is shown in millimeters. Tap this setting to enter data manually. ‚ Distance Shows the focus distance settings of the lens for the recorded clip. Some lenses can provide this data automatically and it will be provided in millimeters.
  • Page 126 For example 23A would indicate scene twenty three, shot one. If you have a shot letter added to your scene, your URSA Mini will suggest letter increments whenever you enter the scene number editor. For example, if your current scene number is 7B, your URSA Mini will offer ‘7C’ as an increment suggestion.
  • Page 127 When entering ‘scene’ metadata, your URSA Mini will prompt you with increment suggestions to the left of the touch keyboard, and shot types to the right Take The ‘take’ indicator shows the take number for the current shot. You can increment this up or down by tapping the left or right arrows on either side of the take number, or tapping the indicator to enter the take number editor.
  • Page 128 Tap the ‘good take’ indicator to flag good takes for easy recall in post production. This tag applies to either the last clip recorded, if your URSA Mini is in ‘standby’ mode, or the clip currently being viewed in ‘playback’ mode.

  • Page 129: Using Servo Zoom Lenses

    Some B4 and PL lenses also have handgrips with electronic focus servo. To ensure this is functioning with URSA Mini PL or URSA Mini Pro, and able to be controlled electronically, set the switch under the zoom rocker labelled ‘focus’ to ‘S’ for servo.
  • Page 130 EF mount. The zoom rocker for these lenses are able to be powered through the lens mount from URSA Mini EF and URSA Mini Pro and information such as lens name, iris, focus and zoom position values are all able to be read and recorded by URSA Mini’s lens metadata system.

  • Page 131: Camera Video Output

    When connected to a switcher, you can easily view the switcher’s program output on your Blackmagic URSA Mini. To do this, first connect the switcher to your camera’s rear 12G-SDI input. Now press and hold the ‘program’ button marked PGM on your camera’s fold out monitor to view your program feed.
  • Page 132 Connecting to Monitors SDI monitoring can be really handy when accessing the fold out monitor is impractical, such as when secured high on a jib arm, on a crane, or mounted on a vehicle. Monitoring information is displayed via your HD-SDI monitoring out connector by adjusting the ‘front SDI overlay’...

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