Ursa Mini Viewfinder Too Contrasty?

Hello,

Does anyone else notice how much the Ursa Mini's Viewfinder adds more contrast than what is actually being picked up by the sensor? Or is it just my viewfinder?

I've had the viewfinder for close to a year now and I used it enough/ran tests where I can confidently say that it adds a great deal of contrast that it's an annoyance. Granted, I use false color and scopes to expose properly but it has become such a pet peeve where I see a very dark corner and think I didn't light properly when using the shoulder rig. Yet I only remember after moving my eye from the eyepiece that what I'm being shown is greatly pushed and it's not that exaggerated in reality.

Is there any planned update to address this issue, like maybe add a contrast setting to the viewfinder? Or is this really just my viewfinder?

Any and all information helps,
Thanks!

-Sunny P.

Yes me too. Mine kept going blue so I bought picked up a gratical whilst BMD slowly sorted it out. I've since got used to the gratical and when BMD returned my evf, I was struck by the same thought, it's annoyingly contrasty with no adjustment

Hello,

Does anyone else notice how much the Ursa Mini's Viewfinder adds more contrast than what is actually being picked up by the sensor? Or is it just my viewfinder?

The EVF is very good to my eye compared to many others, and for me the reason it's very good is because it's basically an OLED that has very heavy blacks.

It takes getting used to, just like it does in a home viewing environment when you're not used to those blacks.

Two solutions that have worked for me and my operators.

Personally, I turned the EVF brightness UP to try and open up the blacks a bit more. They DO seems a bit more crushed than what they really are. False Colour is a good way to check where you are.

I had an operator who struggled and she ended up looking a lot more at things in LOG which is a way to open up the blacks. I guess you can also get used to that BUT, I would worry about misjudging exposure.

I find the Amira / MINI Evf's do the same thing, very heavy blacks with an OLED. I actually kind of prefer the original Alexa EVF which is NOT an OLED. I haven't looked through a RED EVF recently but the BOMB evf's were awful.

The Sony F55 EVF's are also terrible by comparison, and last time I looked at a Panny Varicam EVF it also didn't pop as much as the BMD one. The only one that trumps the BMD evf for ME is the new Panavision EVF, which is the same scenario, an OLED but is HDR.

The thing with EVF's you want is to get used to how it looks and then leave it alone. This comes with experience of course and I know now from experience that looking through VIDEO that the whites will look more clipped and the blacks will be more crushed than what is there. Just like grading there's a great difficulty in being able to make it look GREAT and also technically right all the time in all situations. You just have to get to know the base look and where it's not to be trusted so much.

In very low light for example, I almost can't see anything, but I know the pictures will turn out to be salvageable. If I really have to I'll switch to LOG but I try not to do that as it's VERY misleading for exposure in low light

JB

Just a question and sorry to go off topic,

Which LUTs are you guys using for monitoring on the UM4.6K?

As John mentioned, using False Colour on the BMVF will give you greater assurance your exposure is good than judging the normal image. Although it may be heretical, I’ve even shot events in challenging light where I left the false colour ON at all times. You get used to it and it becomes instantly obvious when you need to vary exposure to keep your skin tones consistent. Now I wouldn’t do that for narrative work or commercials where you want to see all the nuanced expressions, but for events where your iris is your only tool once you press record, shooting in false colour can be really useful.

Of course it’s statements like the above that would probably get me kicked out of film school if I was in film school. Always challenge the norm.

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Just me running evf in black and white?
Now I sold my Ursa but it was in b/w for easier seeing peaking and exposure/clipping.

//A

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Anders, I’ll give that a try. Hadn’t thought of that option to help with focus peaking.


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The EVF is very good to my eye compared to many others, and for me the reason it's very good is because it's basically an OLED that has very heavy blacks.

It takes getting used to, just like it does in a home viewing environment when you're not used to those blacks.

Wouldn't it possible to create a special LUT for the EVF which does raise the blacks a bit more than you would on the cameras LCD and dial back the highlights too?

The EVF is very good to my eye compared to many others, and for me the reason it's very good is because it's basically an OLED that has very heavy blacks.

It takes getting used to, just like it does in a home viewing environment when you're not used to those blacks.

Wouldn't it possible to create a special LUT for the EVF which does raise the blacks a bit more than you would on the cameras LCD and dial back the highlights too?

I guess you COULD, but I'm wary of shooting through a LUT. I think it can be misleading to do that. FC works in this situation for me.

JB

Same experience here with the EVF and it's "extra" contrast. I agree that sending log mitigates the crushing, yet it also makes exposure difficult to judge, while sending BMD's standard REC709 video clips the highlights too much. I've found that loading one of Kholi's A side or B side LUTs into the camera and sending that to the EVF has been the happiest medium I can find. His LUTs don't clip the highlights and have also been a useful guide for exposure, even if I go a totally different direction in the grade or normalize in ACES rather than using LUTs.

Anders, I’ll give that a try. Hadn’t thought of that option to help with focus peaking.


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Cheers. Im used to b/w in evf. My new c200 got it in my initial setup

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Anders, I was using the BM Viewfinder yesterday in B&W mode. It did make Focus Assist even easier. I’ll be doing a client shoot on Sunday and I’ll give it a go. Also decided to pump up the brightness to 10 finally after always using it on 0. Think that will help too.


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I "grew up" on monochrome EVFs, so for me it is easy to shoot, still need a good color monitor to set WB, etc, but for just shooting a setup camer B&W is the way to go.
Cheers

My shoot today was using B&W with medium red focus assist. It does make the focus lines stand out more. But does take some getting used to the lack of colour in the subject. I know Denny likes the white focus peaking, but when the scene is all shades of grey, I prefer red as it stands out better when shooting events.


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Red works well a,so Rick. White is just a little less distracting to me, but does take some getting used to.
Cheers

Hello friends.
Yesterday I bought the evf for the UMP, and it looks marvelously good, but it does not turn off after 20 seconds when it is not being used as explained in the manual. you have to configure something in the menu or is the sensor could be defective?

Greetings.

Hello friends.
Yesterday I bought the evf for the UMP, and it looks marvelously good, but it does not turn off after 20 seconds when it is not being used as explained in the manual. you have to configure something in the menu or is the sensor could be defective?

Greetings.

I can't recall the timeout, but this was extended to be a few mins instead of 20 seconds.

JB

[Tim Schumann]

The general release of our 4.0 software added improvements to the proximity sensor settings in the Viewfinder.

If you download Camera 4.5 update and flash your viewfinder it will update it to 4.0 which is the latest version possible for the viewfinder.

Thanks for the answers.
I have updated the latest versions both the UMP and the viewfinder, but in more than 5 minutes without activity does not go off

Although I’m using the URSA Mini 4.6K, with camera firmware 4.4 and BMVF firmware 4.1, on my camera the BMVF screen will turn off without activity. I haven’t timed it, but it happened during last Sunday’s shoot after I had stepped away from the camera Viewfinder.


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