Atomos Ninja V | Camera Jabber

Utilizing the Atomos Ninja V requires a distinct manner of working to utilizing the digicam in isolation. Initially, you’ll want a rig to carry the digicam in place, after which you might want to be sure that each the digicam and Atomos Ninja V are working along with the suitable resolutions, framerates and Gamma.

Beginning with the set-up, I normally use a Manfrotto 055 with a friction management arm used to carry the monitor near the digicam’s again.

Likewise, if I shift to the Zyiyun Crane 3S with Smallrig deal with, I can once more bolt the monitor with one other friction management arm.

The flexibility to mount the Atomos Ninja V is a significant characteristic and offers you loads of flexibility in varied capturing areas. I might advocate utilizing a cage round your digicam as this additional extends the mount choices, but in addition lets you repair down the cables that are important in the event you’re shifting about.

The one cable that you might want to look out for is normally the HDMI connection into the digicam. Usually on an ILC, this can be a Micro HDMI, so guaranteeing you may safe the cable in place is important.

With the bodily set-up full you may then deal with the Atomos options, firstly checking the decision that you simply’re recording and the format on the digicam. This ought to be fed by from the digicam.

A degree value highlighting is that in the event you’re coming to the Ninja V considering that it’ll give your digicam an enormous video high quality enhance it gained’t. When you document from an 8-bit digicam, then the footage you’re capturing might be 8-bit, in case your digicam is proscribed to 4K 30fps, that may nonetheless be the utmost you may document at.

The Ninja does some processing and permits a larger vary of codecs, however that isn’t going to significantly enhance the video high quality or offer you big quantities of further scope in relation to grading. Nonetheless, it does document at 4:2:2 moderately than 4:2:0, so there could also be a marginal enchancment within the color information, though I can’t see an excessive amount of of a distinction.

So, then the Atomos Ninja V is all about workflow and efficiency. It affords you entry to nice options that may enable you to maximise your digicam’s potential.

These options embody the monitor; it’s larger and brighter with a toolset that may enable you to guarantee publicity and focus are proper.

Then on the Atomos, you might have fast entry to a number of totally different set-up choices. The primary is to faucet the display to show the choices if not already exhibiting. At this level, it is best to have 4 color circle icons throughout the underside together with time code, waveform show, ranges, recording time, battery energy and settings ICON.

Faucet the setting ICON, and you may set-up your recording choices. It’s value stating right here that the Ninja V doesn’t replace your cameras recording settings, so in case your digicam is about to 1080p, then that’s the decision that may feed by to the Ninja V.

The primary choices you might want to take note of while you begin are the video enter settings, and these ought to mirror the choices you might have chosen on the digicam.

It’s value checking by these to make sure that every part is about to the suitable Gamma in your challenge. These settings in your digicam will take a bit getting used to particularly in the event you’re capturing in log modes, otherwise you need to preview how LUTs will look as soon as utilized.

What instruments does the Ninja V give me when filming?

Primarily the massive upside of utilizing the Atomos Ninja V is all that addition display dimension. OK, digicam screens are getting larger however not 5.2-inches.

That in itself won’t appear that giant, however belief me its an important dimension in the event you’re a one-person crew. I have a tendency to make use of a two and three-camera set-up and have not less than two Ninja’s working at any time.

The easy cause is that there’s a tonne of instruments that you should utilize to assist gauge the standard of your pictures, again to these icons throughout the underside of the display. Faucet the yellow Mon icon, and a collection of choices seem, together with; waveform, scopes, focus peaking, Zebras, false color, zoom, crop and squeeze.

The squeeze choice is important in the event you’re utilizing one of many wonderful new Surui MTF Anamorphic lenses with a Panasonic GH5 or Olympus OM-D EM-5 MKII.

Clicking the yellow monitor icon additionally provides you entry to the monitor settings and lets you change choices for the Waveform, Focus Peaking and Zebra. It’s additionally the world the place you may have essentially the most enjoyable with the look of your footage.

For this check, I used a choice of LUTs from BounceColour. As soon as loaded into the Ninja V, you may then choose them for the monitor, and the impact is then utilized to the footage.

A characteristic that makes this small monitor recorder stand out is that the LUTs may be baked into the footage because it’s recorded. Within the Monitor choices, you may faucet the ‘Throughout Recording’ choice to allow this.

An alternative choice right here is the facet by facet preview, so you may see precisely how the LUT results the shot, all very intelligent.

The Ninja V packs in small options that make monitoring and recording movies far simpler than utilizing the digicam alone. Probably the most helpful options apart from the bigger brighter display are the main target peaking, zebras, and previewing, however not making use of LUTs.

What’s the distinction between recording internally and externally on the Atomos Ninja V?

On the floor, you’d suppose that there’s little distinction, and in relation to core high quality, there’s little or no distinction. Nonetheless, with the Atomos Ninja V, you might have just a few extra file choices.

Earlier than we go into these, it’s value noting that internally the A7 III shops video footage with XAVC-S compression, utilizing H.264 in a standard .mp4 container.

This footage is compressed, and surprisingly that compression doesn’t have an effect on the standard however does have an effect on the quantity of labor your laptop has to do to unpack it.

ProRes is a high-quality format with far much less compression. This implies much less uncompressing work in your laptop however a lot bigger information.

Finally this implies there’s no must create proxy information – I’ve checked the information dimension distinction, and the ProRes information are bigger than the XAVC and proxy information mixed. Nonetheless, you may get caught straight into the modifying!

One other main characteristic is that the monitor isn’t restricted to recording occasions. The Sony A7 III and all DSLR and Mirrorless cameras are restricted to 29 minutes. Because the Atomos data off the HDMI there is no such thing as a restriction, a significant benefit throughout lockdown and recording reside performances and speeches.

I’ve already coated LUTs, however once more it’s a significant benefit and with the choices, you may both preview the footage with the LUT utilized or baked it in.

Lastly, cameras such because the Sony A7 III color are recorded at 4:2:0 whereas connected to the Atomos you may document at 4:2:2. Nonetheless, that is nonetheless 8-bit, and the distinction between the 2 so far as I’ve seen is negligible.

Finally the Atomos Ninja V lets you shoot nice video extra simply and take a few of the processing pressure away out of your laptop.

If that’s an Intel NUC Excessive Package, then it gained’t care that you simply’re attempting to reserve it some work. If that laptop is an Apple MacBook Professional, then that call will save its life.