Equipment field reference · checked September 20, 2026
URSA Broadcast G2.
Body controls, B4 lens switches, connectors and the ATEM live link
Model documentation from the Blackmagic URSA Broadcast G2 manual (November 2025 edition). Confirm the installed badge, software and physical path before applying it.
Field reference
Six faces, three control panels.
The G2 ships with a B4 mount and includes an EF mount; PL and F mounts are optional. The 12 pin broadcast lens connector powers and controls servo B4 and PL glass. The left side carries three panels: the forward panel on the chassis, the ergonomic panel on the outside of the fold-out monitor, and the internal panel behind it.
| Face | What is there |
|---|---|
| Front | Stereo mic, B4 mount with alignment pin, 12 pin lens connector, ND wheel, Auto W/B button |
| Left, forward panel | Power, ND wheel, settings wheel with three way switch, menu wheel with Back, lock, Gain/Shutter/WB toggles, F1, F2, HFR, REC |
| Left, ergonomic panel | Status LCD, Still, Hold, Reset, Timecode, Bright, Iris, Focus, PGM, transport, audio knobs, speaker, channel select, panel lock |
| Left, internal panel | Touchscreen, XLR mic/line/AES switches, 48V phantom, Focus, Peak, PGM, Menu, REC, transport, two CFast and two SD slots, media switch, USB-C for updates |
| Right | 3G-SDI HD monitoring out, 4 pin XLR 12V out, LANC for the side handle, broadcast lens control connector, rosette |
| Rear | V-Lock plate with D-Tap (removable; molex beneath for a fiber converter), LANC, 12G-SDI out, 12G-SDI in, REF/TC in, 4 pin XLR 12 to 20V in, 3.5 mm headset, USB-C for external SSD recording |
Camera front, page 53 ↗ · Left side panels, page 55 ↗ · Rear panel, page 57 ↗
Field reference
The forward panel is the show panel.
Everything an operator touches with the monitor closed lives here. Gain is in dB on this body, shutter is a speed, and ND is a physical wheel.
| Control | What it does | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Power switch | Camera on and off | Backup: hold REC and forward skip on an inside panel. Switch on but camera dark: toggle the switch. |
| ND wheel | Clear, 1/4, 1/16, 1/64 (0, 2, 4, 6 stops) | Clicks per position. The menu can show ND number, stops or fraction. The panel does not move this wheel. |
| Settings wheel and switch | Headphone, Monitor or Iris | Iris: wheel down opens, up closes. B4 handgrip iris switch must be on A. |
| Menu wheel and Back | Drives the HUD on an external monitor when status text is on for the front SDI | Press to open, turn to select, press to confirm, Back to exit. Closes after one minute idle. |
| Lock switch | Locks every control on this panel | Down is locked. Lock it once the shader owns the camera. |
| ISO/Gain toggle | 1/3 stop per push, −12 to +36 dB | 0 dB is the clean setting. Hold to scroll. |
| Shutter toggle | Next preset up or down | Twelve presets, 1/24 to 1/2000. Flicker free suggestions in the touchscreen shutter menu. |
| WB toggle | 50 K per push | Hold to scroll. |
| Auto W/B | Tap shows a white sample box for five seconds; hold three seconds performs auto white balance | Box turns green on success. |
| F1, F2, HFR | Assignable | Defaults: F1 false color, F2 display LUT, HFR toggles the off speed frame rate while not recording. Setup menu reassigns them. |
Forward control panel, pages 60–62 ↗ · ND filter settings, page 61 ↗
Field reference
The status LCD answers most questions without opening the monitor.
It shows external and generated timecode, the main timecode or clip duration, FPS, shutter angle, white balance, gain, iris, battery in 25 percent bars (hidden on mains), card 1 and 2 with an SD flag, a record dot, a LOW warning near five minutes remaining, a dropped frame flash and peak audio meters.
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Still | One uncompressed DNG frame to the Stills folder; the record indicator flashes three times |
| Hold | Freezes the displayed timecode while held; timecode keeps running underneath |
| Timecode | Tap toggles clip duration and timecode. Hold five seconds enters record run preset edit; Reset zeroes, the menu wheel sets, hold three seconds commits. Timecode and Hold together for three seconds returns to time of day |
| Bright | Status LCD off, low, medium, high |
| Iris | Auto exposure on compatible lenses. Manual iris on the skip buttons |
| Focus | One shot autofocus. A B4 lens needs servo focus with the servo switched on; manual is the live norm |
| PGM | Shows the SDI return on the LCD. Hold is momentary, double press latches, press again returns to camera. Formats must match |
| Audio knobs | Record level for channels 1 and 2; keep peaks under 0 dBFS |
| Panel lock | Locks the ergonomic panel; channel select stays live |
Ergonomic panel and status LCD, pages 63–67 ↗ · Internal panel and phantom power, page 68 ↗
Field reference
Three handgrip switches decide who owns iris, zoom and focus.
| Switch | Position | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Iris A/M | A | Camera, shader panel and ATEM own the iris; the barrel ring is locked out |
| Iris A/M | M | Barrel ring only. No remote iris. Push Auto gives a momentary auto grab |
| Zoom | S | Rocker and remote zoom work; the manual ring is locked |
| Zoom | M | Barrel ring only |
| Focus | S / M | S accepts remote focus; M is standard for live work |
For a shaded camera on a live switch the usual set is Iris A, Zoom S, Focus M. With B4 glass set the record sensor area to 4K; 5.3K and 6K are Super 35 areas for EF, PL and F lenses, and Blackmagic RAW is fixed at Ultra HD from the B4 area.
Field reference
Check back focus on every lens swap.
- Place a high contrast chart as far away as practical, about seventy feet.
- Open the iris fully and hold exposure with the ND wheel so depth of field stays shallow.
- Zoom fully in and focus on the chart.
- Zoom fully out. Sharp means done.
- Soft means loosen the back focus ring knob at the rear of the lens, rotate until sharp at full wide, tighten.
- Zoom in and out slowly and repeat until focus holds through the whole range.
Field reference
One return cable carries the whole live link.
| Connector | Use | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 12G-SDI Out | Program feed to switcher, fiber converter or recorder | Talkback rides embedded channels 15 and 16 |
| 12G-SDI In | Return from the switcher | Program view, tally, talkback, camera control, and reference plus timecode when Reference Source is Program. Format must match |
| REF / TC In | Tri-level, blackburst or LTC | Auto detects. Reference Source must be External to use it. EXT shows when timecode locks; INT after unplug, jammed |
| 12V In, 4 pin XLR | 12 to 20 V DC | |
| 3.5 mm headset | Headphones and talkback mic | A phone style headset with an inline mute works; F1 or F2 can be mapped to talkback mute |
| USB-C, rear | External SSD or flash disk recording | The side USB-C is updates only. The rear disk appears as slot 3 |
| LANC | Tripod handle record, zoom and focus demands | |
| V-Lock plate with D-Tap | Battery and 12 V 1.5 A accessory power | Remove the plate to reach the molex for a Camera Fiber Converter |
Field reference
Set the camera ID and reference before the first bars check.
- Menu, Setup: set ATEM Camera ID to the switcher input number.
- Setup: Reference Source to Program unless every camera and the switcher share a house sync, in which case External everywhere. Change it during setup only; the outputs drop briefly when the camera re-times.
- Match the record format to the switcher standard or the return and camera control will not lock.
- Switcher program or aux to 12G-SDI In, camera 12G-SDI Out to the switcher input. A fiber converter carries both on one SMPTE cable.
- Monitor settings: grids on for the LCD; the red tally border only draws with grids on.
- Setup: Color Bars on to confirm the path at the switcher, then off.
- Handgrip iris to A, then lock the forward panel.
Shader panel changes to gain, shutter, white balance, iris, lift, gamma, gain RGB and master black arrive over the SDI return and update the camera readouts. Zoom stays on the rocker with iris on A.
Field reference
Frame rate ceilings and the ND ladder.
| Resolution | Codec | Max fps |
|---|---|---|
| Ultra HD | Blackmagic RAW, ProRes HQ or 422, H.265 | 60 |
| HD | Blackmagic RAW | 150 |
| HD | ProRes HQ or 422 | 120 |
| HD | H.264 | 60 |
| Position | ND | Stops | Fraction |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clear | 0 | 1 |
| 2 | 0.6 | 2 | 1/4 |
| 3 | 1.2 | 4 | 1/16 |
| 4 | 1.8 | 6 | 1/64 |
Project frame rates: 23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 50, 59.94 and 60. Prefer ND and iris before gain; 0 dB is clean, +18 dB is usable with visible noise.
Maximum frame rates, page 36 ↗ · ND filter settings, page 61 ↗
Field reference
Open checks stay open until observed.
- Read the exact body badge; "G2" alone is not a complete identity.
- Record the installed camera software before trusting any menu description here.
- Confirm the return path reaches this body: red border on the LCD when the switcher takes it.
- Confirm the handgrip switch positions before handing the camera to the shader.
These model references are separate from the venue's current assignments and operational acceptance.