URSA Broadcast G2 | Best all-around camera in 2023?

[@TDE-76]

Thanks Will, I picked this camera up for an absolute bargain a few weeks ago, complete with viewfinder, plus 2 V lock batteries, charger, Sigma 18-35mm, Top Handle & Shoulder Mount, unused DaVinci Resolve Studio code, and unmarked condition for 3 grand (British). Haven't used it for a job yet but got a lot coming up. Nice to have confirmation from this video that I made the right choice! Thanks mate!

[@WillvonTagen]

Glad you like it! Thanks for watching :)

[@KevinThornMusic]

Oh snap! Fellow Law & Crime shooter! Didn’t expect to see that, haha. Great review!

[@WillvonTagen]

Hahaha! Nice! How often are you shooting for them?

[@FitsTube]

@@WillvonTagen I'm friends with Law and Crime shooter Evan from Tripod productions, he uses a FF sony fx6.

[@FilmSpook]

Thanks Will, your knowledge, experience, skill and clear, explanatory ability are *Superb,* my Brother. And that Fujinon lens, wow, hehe, what a deal! Eternal Thanks & Best Wishes, my Friend. 😎Carlos

[@WillvonTagen]

Thanks Carlos!

[@shanjayaweera3036]

really great video - I love your real world experience

[@WillvonTagen]

Thank you! Thanks for watching :)

[@Beyond90Seconds]

Great video!

[@martintrippen4855]

Phantastic Review!!!

[@WillvonTagen]

Thank you very much!

[@aLgProduction]

I also have this camera. Still playing with & learning it.I also like Law & Crime :-)

[@sembalo1776]

seems like a pretty damn good all around camera

[@rob_andrson]

I would love to have a review on that lens!!

[@AndrewZeletrainStudios]

Great video! I've decided to go with the Broadcast G2 over the other Ursa models mainly since it does much better in event environments where I don't have control over the lighting. Rolling shutter has been a concern, but coming from a post background and my own personal style of shooting it's not really a concern. I would be using it for events, docs and cinema. I feel this camera is being overlooked simply because it has "Broadcast" in the name.

[@EmileModesitt]

Agreed, the naming has definitely kept this camera from being popular

[@MessianicJudaism]

What lens is mounted on this camera?

[@KevinBeckman]

Killing the competition.

[@RLTPhoto]

Great info. I have the g2 with a Canon HJ22X. There was a website called B-roll which opened the door for freelancers but has gone away. Do you know of another site? I currently shoot HS sports for Dave Campbell in Texas. It has been a great camera. Would love to do more.

[@hifiandrew]

As a "prosumer" not in the industry but who liked to geek out as a teenage kid, that rig is unbelievably cheap for what it can do at its quality level. I remember lusting after betacam SP rigs of the local station, costing $30k-$40,000 in 1990's dollars. That rig you use should cost $60,000 today if the technology hadn't come down so much. Then again-- that my phone produces better images than 90s $30k betacam SP is also amazing how the tech changes and improves.

[@HBCTelevision]

Will, I have the same lens and I can't get the autofocus to work. I have an URSA Broadcast G2. Is there a setting in the menu somewhere for this to work or is it just not working for this camera? Thanks a bunch.

[@hbp_]

Does the lens have digital communication? Do you see the name of the lens in the metadata? BG2 can only control digital servo motors. Even then I have had it bugging with some lenses and requiring reboots to make the controls work. If you are trying to get the comm work for AF, just forget it. The AF is completely useless on this camera.

[@vividmemories8883]

How recent of an IPhone is needed to do the live streaming?

[@mikeatlionwise]

Great video! I was helping a local university to shoot some interviews, and they mentioned that they had two of the URSAs you're reviewing, but that they never use it because the colors are off during broadcast. I saw you mentioned color grading a lut to use in camera (at 6:22) - what was your Node tree like for the modified LUT? I'd like to see if I can fix their issue, since I think it's a fantastic camera that I've used on several shoots now, and that it may rectify their issue.

[@CUTproductionsLtd]

Their issue is probably incorrect and inexperienced set-up. Colours are not off that I can see on my UBG2; very nice in fact, as you know from your own shooting ;). It comes pre-loaded with standard Gen 5 to various display luts; depending whether they have video (legal rec.709 16-235), extended video (full swing rec. 709), or film (log) set for shooting; they will need to have the correct lut also and you can choose whether that is display only, baked in or simply off; and if say shooting 'Film' then you need the corresponding lut in post, otherwise naturally it will look like washed out log; not to mention it will look wildly off also, if you have no or the wrong display lut, whilst shooting; so for ENG you could avoid luts altogether and just shoot video or extended video, for quick turnaround ENG purposes. Alternatively if they were using them as part of a traditional multicam broadcast chain, then they have an internal colour correctors that can be controlled from the gallery and if they don't know what they are doing, that can be off too - it's not as sophisticated internally, as the expensive ENG cameras, like the big Sonys. I believe here he loaded a modified lut, simply because the feed was robbing saturation. You can of course load any luts and I have some nice ones for emulating an Alexa Amira.

[@bedemiller]

If you prefer iso over db you can change it to iso in the URSA settings menu.

[@WillvonTagen]

Oh! I’ll have to look into that. I was told it couldn’t be changed.

[@CUTproductionsLtd]

Not on my Ursa Broadcast G2, that I can see; latest firmware. ISO is just a gizmo term anyway, in an actual technical and engineering sense; it's pure gain in all electronic cameras; not comparable with photo-chemical ISO. This camera shares the identical sensor with the Pocket 6K, with identical dual 'gain/iso' settings and it's easy to cross-reference to that, if you're used to ISO. I'm used to ENG and DB gain too; hence why I bought it, but I think it would be useful for younger shooters to be able to switch between them; especially since this camera can be used with EF/PL mounts to shoot more cinematic setups. It would be a simple firmware update issue and is perhaps more of a marketing differentiation by BMD, as it stands.

[@memostothefuture]

Two thoughts: Could it be that your LiveU doesn't have enough SIM cards to load-balance? I use four and generally don't have much of a low-saturation issue like you described. Next, I gotta say the Sony XDCam image you showed @12:10 strikes me as more appropriate. You want the audience to understand where the reporter is and in a live shot you don't have much else to go with. If this was following a filed segment and the audience was familiar with the courthouse I'd be with you as your image is nicer but the context here seems relevant.

[@timoritchie]

Possibly a dumb question, but do you not need a 4k lens to record at 4k and output UHD?

[@WillvonTagen]

You do not. “4K lens” just means it yields a slight sharper image-nothing more.

[@StephenHildreth]

The sensor in the G2 is more akin to the Pocket 6k/Pro. I think it's just that sensor rehoused.

[@EventStreamTeam]

hello, what is the model of the portabrace bag?

[@WillvonTagen]

I believe it is Porta Brace CC-210-PW Quick Draw Case. I bought it on eBay and that’s what the listing states.

[@Dontlicktheballoons]

My bread-and-butter is corporate AV and interviews for lobbyists/large companies and the like. But my passion and love are cinema. Obviously, this camera can handle the former. But how do you feel it would handle work on set?

[@WillvonTagen]

I think it would work incredible on set. At the heart it is still a Blackmagic camera with all the color and power of their other cameras. Swap to a PL or EF mount with some cinema glass and you are good to go.

[@Dontlicktheballoons]

@@WillvonTagen Thank you so much!

[@filippomarmo8109]

this optical with second focal doubler, can it go well? Fujinon A20x8.6BERM-SD Lens Thanks

[@mrparks08]

How do you go about getting freelance news gigs with networks? What resources could you spare to someone that's been working in the field for a long time and looking to find these freelance gigs?

[@matthewhartman7176]

BMD does this trick all the time. They'll package their "broadcast" versions of their models as less expensive, but by most all accounts, they're as capable as the "cinema" versions. All-in-all, I find the aquisition across all their lineup seamlessly blend in post production, especially in Resolve. Its difficult to NOT be a BMD fanboy/girl when they do so many cool things for the little guys/gals and keep it classy. On a side note, I'm getting ansty for my brand new BMPCC OG cage. I'll be putting it through its paces during a heavy shoot month in September in Singapore heat. ('m based in WA USA) Let's see! MY only gripe so far is that it's branded by the machine shop's IP. I feel you missed an opportunity to brand them with your own IP to increase your online visibility. Either way, I'm happy you made it possible, and from the looks of it appears to be the best designed cage system for the OG to date. I'm skipping the wooden handle, tho. I think that piece of kit was priced a bit too steeply for what it is. I'll just throw on a smallrig or titla or something like that. But, I picked up the other items! Can't wait! No, seriously, hurry up. Thanks!

[@WillvonTagen]

The cage isn’t branded by the machine shop’s IP. I started a company called XLCS designs for all of this-and will bring other products out under that name. The various parts are coming from different shops-the cage itself is being produced at a shop called Bear Mountain Machine in New Plymouth, ID. Can’t wait for you to get your cage-you’re gonna love it 👍🏻

[@matthewhartman7176]

@@WillvonTagen Ah, I see. Good to know! I'm excited. Do you have a method users can offer a review? I don't have a YT channel or anything like that.

[@h96films]

@@WillvonTagen the cages should have had "von Tagen" laser printed in cursive hahaha

[@WillvonTagen]

@buddybarz4108 Hahaha, i don’t think I could sell those with a straight face.. unless I included a tshirt with my face on it as well.

[@matthewhartman7176]

@@WillvonTagen It worked for Famous Amos. 😃

[@simonbaker1970]

Hey Will.. Thanks for your views on the Broadcast G2. I found your video very helpful. I am curious though why you choose the B4 lens off eBay instead of taking the package deal lens that is offered with the camera, and from what I understand can only be bought as a package deal and not separately afterwards. I think the lens you bought is rated as a HD lens and not 4K like the package offer. Was it just down to cost or because you don't use 4K in your usage? I'm trying to decide on what to do myself. I've found a similar lens to yours (FUJINON XA16x8A-XB8 2/3" B4 HD Lens Autofocus Zoom Lens), but I am not sure what the difference is compared to the one you bought. I noticed that the last three letters on yours are XB4, compared to this one which is XB8.. any ideas between the two?

[@WillvonTagen]

Thanks for watching! So, if you subtract the MSRP of the G2 from the cost of the package deal it reveals the lens included costs $3,700… that’s almost $3k more than I paid for mine. The HD lens covers the sensor in UHD mode and there really isn’t a lot of difference from 4k quality to HD as far as the eng lenses are concerned (but a huge step up from the 480p of the earlier lenses which also have a smaller image circle). Yes.. there may be a slight difference, but not worth $3k imo especially for the type of work. I don’t know the differences between the lens I got and the one you mentioned but I would guess it isn’t much. The important thing is it begins with XA as other makes will not create a large enough image circle. Hope this helps :)

[@Pla2es]

Great and practical review and tips! I planned on renting the G2 Broadcast on a short film which emulates the camera following a reporter handheld with frenetic camera movements, zooms in and pans, but I´ve seen in many reviews that rolling shutter is an issue with S35 lenses. Apparently the regular G2 is much better in that area. Any insights or comments? Maybe with the B4 UHD crop is not that bad? Many thanks.

[@WillvonTagen]

So I never noticed it to be a problem. Weather it’s better or worse than the 4.6k I cannot say for sure. One thing I would say, though, is rolling shutter isn’t something an audience member is familiar with or really cares about. I say this only because I feel a lot of filmmakers stress out about gear issues that really only matter to other filmmakers. Lens breathing, rolling shutter, true anamorphic, highest DR possible… while these are all elements of high quality gear-99% of viewers won’t notice or care, so I don’t think it’s worth limiting yourself or straining your budget to have them. There are plenty of very successful, popular quality movies shot on “sub-par” gear and they still are wildly appreciated (even by other filmmakers). Spend your money in a place that matters and gives you the flexibility to finish the project in the end. $2,000 extra is a lot to pay for the 4.6k just because it might have better rolling shutter. Just my 2 cents :) hope this helps!

[@hbp_]

Hint: if you crop just a little in S35 mode you get 6K 2.4:1 with 14.7 ms rolling shutter compared to 20 ms in full 6K.

[@mrkumaran]

this may sound weird, but i subscribed caused you said you were a Blackmagic camera guy, so i want to learn more about them too. I also moved from Sony to Panasonic and now to BMD. Have not looked back

[@WillvonTagen]

Hahaha, well thanks for subscribing and watching :)

[@Th3_Gael]

Currently using old Sony gear to learn with, have just agreed a purchase of a couple Panasonics and here I am looking at BMD for a little further down the road

[@retropalooza]

B and h trying to unload em at 5999 with 20x lens and both servo controls and davinci lifetime qrs...and tripod and viewfinder

[@voiceofshade319]

Hello can you please SHARE the link of the link PLEASE

[@WillvonTagen]

Which link?

[@TyParmenter]

Great video! I'm curious about your lighting kit for this assignment? Were you just running 1 Amaran 60x, or multiple? As a one man band, I'm looking to put together a smaller lighting kit than what I currently own for a more portable setup. Thanks!

[@WillvonTagen]

Yeah I was using an Amaran 60 mostly because it was easy to power off a vmount. I also had a Neewer 150d plugged in to a jackery box. They did the job but were a bit under powered. I’ve since upgraded to a couple of Litepanel 1x1 6x’s. They draw a lot less power but put out much more light and are very light weight. I’m happy with them. Got them used off eBay for about $300 each.

[@TyParmenter]

Thanks for the breakdown. I'll have to look into the Litepanels. Fighting outdoor ambient is always tricky though, in your shots for this project, the Amaran seemed to hold up reasonably well. @@WillvonTagen

[@WillvonTagen]

It did, but during midday I had to have it very close to my talent without diffusion and turned up to 100%. It worked but you may have better luck with a 100w+ light

[@SportFlow]

how is the battery life? I heard the camera is power hungry

[@PandoShiro]

odd in this day and age TV news is still on 1080i and we're already in a 5G cellular internet speeds for data streaming on the LiveU unit

[@JuzzyQld]

News is fast, 4K would take a lot longer (too long) to render and edit

[@Amadeushs]

What about battery life?

[@WillvonTagen]

The ursa requires either vmount or ab-mount batteries. These all have different capacities, so it completely depends on what battery you put on it. There is no “native” or standard battery from BMD so it’s impossible to say. Also it depends on how much you are using the evf and flip out screen. When those aren’t being used they don’t draw power so there is also no constant, steady number on power draw. But generally you will get a few hours from a fully charged brick.

[@TheTechnoPilot]

It’s a little unfortunate and misinformed technically to say no dslr/mirrorless style cameras for this style of filming, ultimately features and lensing is what matters and that doesn’t preclude mirrorless. As someone with shoulder mounted camera powered by v-mount, EVF, SDI and HDMI, NDI, timecode, four channels of audio including dual phantom powered XLR, and B4 mount at beyond 4K at up to 120FPS with audio or 1080 240FPS, plus many more functions. Sure it’s great having much of this integrated with the Ursa Broadcast G2 and it’s an awesome camera, I just find it overly generalized when companies make such blanket statements.

[@starvideoproduction2045]

Unreal that you can do live streaming without a LiveU. Wondering who else will jump on the bandwagon. Sony, Panasonic?

[@WillvonTagen]

Totally👍🏻

[@starvideoproduction2045]

I contacted Blackmagic, apparently you can decode the signal with just an ATEM streaming bridge on the other end. Very interesting@@WillvonTagen

[@chrisw443]

Biggest gripe Im seeing is the viewfinder being over 1500 dollars.....

[@WillvonTagen]

True.. but you can find them used for around $750 pretty easily. And TBH it really is a VERY nice viewfinder.

[@chrisw443]

@@WillvonTagen Fair point, is that lens off of a pmw 300? It looks alot like a sony camcorder lens. 799 is a deal, I am seeing those 16:9/4:3 switchable lenses for around maybe less than that price too. Thoroughly impressed with the control over depth of field you have with the b4 mount, shame it needs to be screwed off to put an ef lens on.

[@SimplicityForGood]

5000 dollars on ebay, wow! that is one pricey but really cool camera, I am sure is great for documentary work! but out of my budget.

[@WillvonTagen]

Actually it’s $4,000 brand new and about 2,500 on eBay.

[@maxyorkshire5930]

For what it does it is 10k underpriced.

[@jackbynum]

With a lens like that, is there any sort of autofocus?

[@bedemiller]

No, B4 broadcast lenses are not designed for autofocus, they prioritise manual focus. Same with Blackmagic cameras in general, some support basic autofocus but it’s unreliable and not designed for moving subjects, you should just be using manual focus on them.

[@GuardianFilmworks]

If your wanting reliable auto focus you should look more into Sony camera and lens systems first followed closely by Canon. Sony is know for having some of the best auto focus and tracking systems to date. Just my two cents worth 🤷‍♂️

[@bradhotdog]

11:36 i like the blurred background, but based off how this shot looks and how your camera looks while you're talking, this field reporter looks awful. it looks so compressed, possibly out of focus, soft, and little detail. i really want to see some sample footage of this camera but the samples i'm seeing in this aren't really selling it. i'm hoping it has to do with bad compression on the video after being ripped from youtube or something, but i just don't know

[@PyroKalfje]

Sorry but the more sdof is BS!, let me explain. Broadcast g2 use a 6k super 35 sensor. To use a b4 lens, you Will need to crop into the sensor, because the 4k part of sensor is still to big for b4 image circle. Their are optics inside in the mount. To get de propper image circle. That has even a massive drawback you Will loose around 1 stop of light and sharpness. A eng camera has 3 sensors that is combine 2x so larger as the active part of the ursa sensor when use with b4 lens. So larger pixels, better lowlight and higher dynamic range. Finnaly a 3 chip sensor is the only tru 4:4:4 chroma subsambeling. But these cameras are really expsensive arround 30K for only the body. Thats why they are often so old because they last 10 or more years. A modern comsumer or cinema camera has way lower life circle. And blackmagic dont offer same things that you need for most news or broadcast settings. Example 4 channels of audio, hypergamma and more, the reason why they have so simple menu because they do not have 80% of the settings of a broadcast camera. Finnaly the blackmagic is not realible at all. They have so many bugs. You dont want at random to not able to record, because it has a bug. And i experience this multiple times with multiple different units. And my 10 year old sony camera has better low light, multiple audio channels, better buildquality, 100x better ergonomics and has no bugs. For the same price but used. It shoots only 1080p/i but you dont need more for news now. But most important you dont get less dof on ursa. Because the image circle is still the same on any b4 glass and you cant make it bagger.

[@PyroKalfje]

And dont forget often we close the apature down. Because we want a less soft background. The background often tells the story. When we talk about court we want to see the court. Otherwise you can also stand add a green screen 😂. This is little story telling that modern oneabe filmmakers forget about. They want more more and more Sdof, Good DOP choose the right sDoF is choosen how to story goes. Look ad big budget movies that is the same with news, but the background is 95% important so you want to see the background

[@PyroKalfje]

And yes handheld camcorders has a smaller size sensor. But they are physically smaller, and you cant make a 3 chip 2/3 system that is so small

[@PyroKalfje]

And is quite logical that a liveu or other mobile transmitter has worse image quality that is recorderd direct into the camera. You cant stream 220Mbs to 6 bonded 4g sims, (yes there are 8 inside, but often 2 sims is used as backup sims) a liveu is often setup at 5Mbs h264 or 2,5Mbs h265. That is offcourse worse quality then a 200mbs bitraid with less compression

[@hbp_]

Actually, also a 3-chip camera has about 1 stop of light loss in the prism 🤓 What's the benefit of 444 in ENG? Most of the time the image is compressed in many ways before it even reaches the studio. Otherwise I agree that BMDs products are a bit toyish. With the BG2 you don't have access to many "standard" features directly on the cam and it's completely lacking some. Moreover, I have had to reboot my BG2 a dozen times due to SW bugs. Yet it costs less than half of the cheapest competing 1080p camera. Considering that, I'm fine with the drawbacks. I was going to make a video listing all the flaws of the BG2 but it felt dumb to complain about a product that delivers so much for so little money.

[@PyroKalfje]

@@hbp_ but a 3 chip system has still 3x larger pixels. we have the ursa g1 and g2 broadcast at school, they are soooo bad at lowlight. as my pdw 680 and also schools pmw 400 has amazing low light performance. for 2/3 system

[@RR-gy6jq]

It is okayish, the dynamic range is limited, the coloring is a pain in the ass, and the operating temperatures are laughable

[@MessianicJudaism]

I don't know anything about lenses, I just want a lens with shallow depth of field, fujinon, servo zoom control, great for live broadcasting, and creating professional content for my synagogue 🕍 😊 And who makes good lighting gear?

[@WillvonTagen]

Hi! The lens is discussed in the video. If you pause on the shot of it you can get the exact model number. It’s a solid lens for this camera. Amaran makes good, budget lights. Godox and neewer are even cheaper but not quite as high quality. Good luck!