Undiagnosed Ursa G2 problem

Posting in case anyone else has experienced this....intermittent dropped frames warning when recording via USB-C (both Samsung T5 and samsung T7), as well as on Cfast cards. All recording media is approved, but I have now on 3 different occaisions had corrupted footage after getting a dropped frame warning when recording on this camera. Sent it in to BM and they cannot recreate the issue, so are sending it back to me.

I cannot use this camera on a professional shoot....Out of the 4 shoots I have had with it, 3 of them (all the 4k, but not a 1080 shoot) have resulted in failure. The cam is brand new, has not been overheating, but fails to record without dropping frames and creating useless media. Has anyone else had issues with their Mini Ursa G2?

I’ve been using my UMPG2 for 5-Years now and not encountered this. I’ve used CFast primarily, but have tested using the SSD option. I’ve recorded from 3:1 to 12:1 and only experienced dropped frames when attempting 120 FPS at 3:1. I’ve recorded for full days with 3:1 in 24 FPS no problem.

Have you checked the media?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Posting in case anyone else has experienced this....intermittent dropped frames warning when recording via USB-C (both Samsung T5 and samsung T7), as well as on Cfast cards. All recording media is approved, but I have now on 3 different occaisions had corrupted footage after getting a dropped frame warning when recording on this camera. Sent it in to BM and they cannot recreate the issue, so are sending it back to me.

I cannot use this camera on a professional shoot....Out of the 4 shoots I have had with it, 3 of them (all the 4k, but not a 1080 shoot) have resulted in failure. The cam is brand new, has not been overheating, but fails to record without dropping frames and creating useless media. Has anyone else had issues with their Mini Ursa G2?

You should tell us exactly what are you doing:
- what subject recorded
- what compression used
- what frame rate

If you don’t give us infos we cannot help you.
My opinion is you try to record more data/infos than device can support. Every recording media approved is in a special list where are indicated what you can at max record.


Inviato dal mio iPhone utilizzando Tapatalk

Subjects were a press conference, a panel discussion and a live concert

Here is more info:

Shoot #1 was USB-C (high speed cable) to a Samsung T5 1tb, recorded at 4k ProRes 422
Shoot #2 was USB-C and AngelBird Cfast cards, both gave dropped frame errors, even after power cycling. Resolution was 1080HD and 4k ProRes 422

Shoot #3 was USB-C to samsung T7 (and T5), 4k raw, 8:1.

All would run for a short period then start flashing a dropped frame error.

BM says it runs fine, although they tried different media (SSD's) and different Cfast cards.

All of the samsungs work wonderfully on our 4k &6k pockets as well as our 6k Studio cams. Anglebirds work as well at an "at home" test....then all media failed on the very next gig.

One other note....when I pulled these drives from the camera, I plugged them into my 4k VIdeo assist and recorded through it....and it worked just fine. Same drive, same cable, but no failure in the video assist.

Did you format in the camera? Which format?
I'd recommend HFS+ (aka OSX Extended).

The Samsung T7 is not Blackmagic approved and the T5 while approved is inconsistent in batches. People will tend to have problems with them due to a lower sustained write speed.

Yes, both are inconsistent between batches.
That's why T7 (non Shield) is reported to be fine for some and T5 is not always good.
Test, test, test! And fill them up when doing that.

Thank you for that. I noticed that the Delkin Juggler was approved, and I can run tests with that one. The samsung t7 is on the approved list for the G2, but if there are inconsistencies, I should avoid those. The USBc port being under the lcd could not be in a more horrible location for using usb-c drives though....not sure who thought that was a good idea?

I am going to look into SSD recording backs...or just dump this G2 on ebay and move towards a different cam manufacturer all together. BM support was seriously lacking on this issue. They ran "tests" with the camera using non-usb-c drives, found nothing wrong with it, then told me they would not swap it out for another camera body. I need a reliable usb-c port and recording option, so if they are unwilling to provide it, perhaps another brand (sony/panasonic/etc.) is in order.

Why don't you try AngelBird CFast cards? They're very reliable for me. I don't bother with USB-C SSD Drives for recording ever. I already have enough cables to deal with that a USB-C Drive just would add too much. Between Timecode SDI, SDI to Wireless Video Transmitter, and P-Tap off battery to P-Tap splitter with P-Tap to Wireless Video Transmitter and Wireless Lens Motors there's enough cables on my rig. So cleaning it up by having CFast internally just makes my life a lot easier. Plus they're super reliable.

Second that. I've fiddled with SSDs long enough and we switched to cards completely.
Yes, they cost more, but how much costs a lost client?

Actually, I have 2 of them. During one of the episodes in which it failed, I was running to T7 via usb, it dropped frames, I unplugged it and hit record to go to the cards, dropped frame came up again, so I had to reboot the camera. Then the only work around was to run SDI to my video assist and plug the T7 into that.

This camera body has failed 3 out of 4 shoots. Only a 1080 shoot to sd card worked. I don't trust it at all on a hired gig.