Blackmagic Forum

Ordered my Ursa Mini Pro a week ago on Adorama - and it shipped as of tonight! I had the Ursa Mini 4.6k EF (which I sold privately once this camera was announced), so I'm very excited.

Craig Marshall wrote:A camera operator's ability to set up Reel Numbers with User Bits in the field for example, is absolutely essential IMO and can save a lot of time/money in Post.

Craig

What digital camera offers this ability ?

User bits went out with video tape. As far as I know, not a single digital media based camera has user bits.

The file system does the reel naming now.

JB

John Brawley wrote:

Craig Marshall wrote:A camera operator's ability to set up Reel Numbers with User Bits in the field for example, is absolutely essential IMO and can save a lot of time/money in Post.

Craig

What digital camera offers this ability ?

Canon XF300/305
Canon EOS C100/300/500

You can also add the Panasonic AF100 to that list, it had User Bit settings, and it was was one if the first, SD card based Cinema type "cross-over" cameras, with similar ENG camera features that the new UM Pro offers. But, I think User-bits is a bit dated, when you can now add camera numbers, and other file info to the meta data file.

But what is the point of user bits when the file paradigm creates reel numbers and dates ?

It's a legacy format. It's like pre-roll

JB

John Brawley wrote:But what is the point of user bits when the file paradigm creates reel numbers and dates ?

It's a legacy format. It's like pre-roll

JB

...and I think Sony's A6300/A6500 offers it too. Sure, if there's other methods of embedding reel numbers into timecode in the field, great. Although my Sony/Atomos records native ProRes, it does not generate timecode so I perform a quick and non destructive 'batch TC re-stripe' prior to post which embeds TC and Reel# into the ProRes file.

So Pre-roll is a legacy format? Gee, I must be getting old.

Pre-roll is a feature I use every day in Lightworks - hit the 'P' key to see the Play Head immediately pre-roll 3 seconds before your in-point then automatically Play down over your cut/transition for as long as you like until you hit Stop where the Play Head immediately returns to your in-point.

Craig Marshall wrote:

John Brawley wrote:But what is the point of user bits when the file paradigm creates reel numbers and dates ?

It's a legacy format. It's like pre-roll

JB

...and I think Sony's A6300/A6500 offers it too. Sure, if there's other methods of embedding reel numbers into timecode in the field, great. Although my Sony/Atomos records native ProRes, it does not generate timecode so I perform a quick and non destructive 'batch TC re-stripe' prior to post which embeds TC and Reel# into the ProRes file.

So Pre-roll is a legacy format? Gee, I must be getting old.

Pre-roll is a feature I use every day in Lightworks - hit the 'P' key to see the Play Head immediately pre-roll 3 seconds before your in-point then automatically Play down over your cut/transition for as long as you like until you hit Stop where the Play Head immediately returns to your in-point.

It used to be you needed 5-10 seconds of pre-roll when shooting to ensure the tape machines could lock up when doing punch and crunch editing.

That's pre-roll.

JB

John Brawley wrote: It used to be you needed 5-10 seconds of pre-roll when shooting to ensure the tape machines could lock up when doing punch and crunch editing.

That's pre-roll.

JB

You are correct and Lightworks' NLE pre-roll is a legacy from tape based editing which I think still has merit today but at the risk of getting of completely off topic, later Betacam SP tape machines (I owned four of Sony's PVW 28xx machines in my mid '90s component on-line edit suite) could be configured for a two second pre-roll with zero second post-roll. When coupled with software EDL management to minimise reel changes and tape spooling for 'non-linear' VTR editing, a one hour programme could be auto-compiled in little more that a two hour booking. It was a joy to watch a quarter million dollars of hardware running under 100% machine control.

tonydeansmith wrote:Ordered my Ursa Mini Pro a week ago on Adorama - and it shipped as of tonight! I had the Ursa Mini 4.6k EF (which I sold privately once this camera was announced), so I'm very excited.

How much were able to sell your 4.6k for?

Phillip Bergman wrote:

tonydeansmith wrote:Ordered my Ursa Mini Pro a week ago on Adorama - and it shipped as of tonight! I had the Ursa Mini 4.6k EF (which I sold privately once this camera was announced), so I'm very excited.

How much were able to sell your 4.6k for?

I got $3900. Not great, but I bit the bullet.

Craig Marshall wrote:

John Brawley wrote: It used to be you needed 5-10 seconds of pre-roll when shooting to ensure the tape machines could lock up when doing punch and crunch editing.

That's pre-roll.

JB

You are correct and Lightworks' NLE pre-roll is a legacy from tape based editing which I think still has merit today but at the risk of getting of completely off topic, later Betacam SP tape machines (I owned four of Sony's PVW 28xx machines in my mid '90s component on-line edit suite) could be configured for a two second pre-roll with zero second post-roll.

You're talking about editing pre-roll, but you always had to RECORD more than that before anything important. That wasn't always so easy on doco work.

Plus most audio double system chase systems for film originated material also needed 5 seconds for the DAT to chase back.

JB

Hi

Re-posting this as when I originally posted it I was just joining the forum so by the time I was approved the post got lost into the ether.

Does anyone know...

- Is there an IR filter at ND setting 0? In other words is there a constant clear IR filter in front of the sensor? A recent review I read claimed this but I'd like to hear from others ..most importantly from the guys at BMD.

and

- The SSD adapter, due to come out later in the year, connects via SDI IN/OUT. Two questions, why does it need the SDI IN? And will that leave the camera with no spare SDI out for a Focus Puller or Director monitor, or are there alternative solutions to this, can some form of splitter be used?

Thanks

The "guys at BMD" have already told us the clear filter is an IRND with ND0.0.



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I could see the difference when shooting the same critical shirts in direct sunlight with my Pocket and the UMP. Quite obvious shifts with the little one, even without ND, minimal ones with the UMP.

Thanks Rick Lang.

Anyone have any idea about my second query, regarding the SSD cradle connection via SDI?

Thanks

rick.lang wrote:The "guys at BMD" have already told us the clear filter is an IRND with ND0.0

The clear filter does not attenuate IR itself, but there is still the original IR cut filter in place.

CaptainHook, your statement is a complete contradiction to what we have heard elsewhere from BMD. I'm not going to even look where and when we were told the clear filter still provided infrared attenuation. In the future I'll try to just state it as you have done here because... we trust you!


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CaptainHook wrote: The clear filter does not attenuate IR itself, but there is still the original IR cut filter in place.

I didn't realize that there is actually some IR cut in front of the sensor even on the original Ursa Mini. Wow.
Is it quite weak?
I still get some pollution even with no ND on the camera, especially on black clothing, so I run with a Hoya IR cut on the lens at all times.
Do you shoot the Ursa Mini without any additional IR cut?

CaptainHook wrote:

rick.lang wrote:The "guys at BMD" have already told us the clear filter is an IRND with ND0.0

The clear filter does not attenuate IR itself, but there is still the original IR cut filter in place.

Thanks, Captain Hook, but to which original IR cut filter are you referring to? Never heard of this.

AND, can anyone answer my second question???

George, I believe the sensor cover glass has some infrared protection, but it it is not aggressive presumably to promote good rendition of skin tones. I recall hearing about that previously but it's never mentioned in the promotional copy on their webpages.


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Yes, that's what I read recently. Thanks Rick

AlexeyUdaltsov wrote:I got really excited for a moment about the external SSD recorder thinking that it may finally allow higher frame rates for 4K RAW. But then I realized that there is still the bottleneck of the SDI cable capping it at 60fps... Such a bummer. Especially since modern SSDs are perfectly capable to handle 120fps. Oh well... Guess we will have to wait some more for that to happen

Is this definitive? With the Atoch solution, for example, and 2 appropriate SSDs, will you not be able to record 120 fps on the highest available resolution/codec (2k 16:9 Raw)? From what I understand it connects via the CFast ports and is powered via DTap so I don't see how the SDI would be involved.

Cassius Corrigan wrote:Is this definitive? With the Atoch solution, for example, and 2 appropriate SSDs, will you not be able to record 120 fps on the highest available resolution/codec (2k 16:9 Raw)? From what I understand it connects via the CFast ports and is powered via DTap so I don't see how the SDI would be involved.

He's talking about the forthcoming BMD SSD option, which does use SDI.
---
c

George Tsikos wrote:- The SSD adapter, due to come out later in the year, connects via SDI IN/OUT. Two questions, why does it need the SDI IN?

My guess is so that you can review playback on the camera.

Of course, that makes sense. Thanks.

Not every reviewer is quick to publish. Here's a late review you might enjoy now the dust has settled:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/fN-Rcvewu3M



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Hello fellow ursa owners.

I have an Ursa that was damaged by having it fall on the handle side. The electronics board behind it has been damaged and some transistors came off. Just to make sure that I have all them, can some one send me a hi res photo of the electronics board on this side?

It quite easy to open that side, if I could get a photo of it, it would really help me identify the transistors.

This is for an " Ursa Mini Pro 4.6K " not the normal ursa mini.

Thank you so much to anyone who can help out. Thank you

The last Ursa Mini that happened to, BMD states it was beyond economical repair. From what I understand the UM4.6 main board is not a “spare part” that can be quickly put in. The camera will require a total realignment, and recalibration.

Now you have the perfect excuse to upgrade to a UM Pro2.
Cheers