Are you content with your Samurai?

[Gary Brun]

I am using the Sony EX3 and Im looking to find a beter way of improving our picture quality and for improving our work flow as well as file sharing compatability with PC and Mac.

I would value your opinions on the product as there doesnt seem to be much real information on the product on this site at the moment.

Pros and Cons please would be appreciated.
Thanks i in advance.

Gary

[James Kuhn]

Gary...I'm not a power user, but I have been very satisfied with the Samurai I purchased. I use mine through a Sony HXR-NX5U. My friend, a Graphic Artist with 30-years in Broadcast, was very impressed with the quality of the video. His words, "I never get this quality video, ever."

I've included the Atomos and FaceBook link. There's also a Twitter page you can try, but I find it's a duplicate of the FB page. This is where I get the most up to date info.

Atomos

Atomos | Facebook

The Atmos Samurai: Can this new field recorder handle the rigours of News and Doco? | ImageJunkies.com

Good hunting,

J.

[Bruce Schultz]

Very much so.

I use it pretty exclusively with a Sony F3 camera and it has performed flawlessly on sound stage shoots, exteriors and sit-down interviews.

I use 2 Intel 160GB SSD 's for anything handheld or camera movement, for ultimate recording stability, and I use standard laptop spinning disk 500GB Scorpio's for longer duration needs. You can buy for around $25 at B&H Photo a set of 6 caddies to pre-mount your drives into and then it's just a matter of switching them out as you need to. Atomos has a list of approved drives on their web site.

Reports from post production have all been good. I only use ProRes HQ but will be happy when they release the DnX version for my Avid clients.

[Buck Forester]

I just read this on the Atomos Facebook page in the link above in regards to the Samurai:

"Future updates include off-speed recording (over- or under-cranked), while focus peaking, zebra stripes and false colour should be added by NAB."

The inability to overcrank has been one area of concern as I contemplate the Nanoflash vs. Samurai. The Nanoflash already has this feature. This news of an overcranking update makes it almost a no-brainer for me, as the Samurai is half the cost of the Samurai and is 10-bit.

[Dominic Witherow]

I use my Samurai with an EX3 and it really is worth it, even for web delivery of static corporate stuff. The dynamic range of Prores over EXCAM is quite something and makes awkward lighting situations a doddle to handle, saving hours of correction time in post.

The units are very well built and very easy to operate too. With the expected firmware upgrades coming, this really is an excellent bit of kit.

Best buy in ages!

Dominic

[Marty Hudzik]

can someone clarify what offspeed recording means exactly? Is this just the ability for the Samurai to record a stream from say an AF-100 that is over/undercranked or is this something that enables over-undercranking from a traditional camera? I am guessing it's the first as the second option seems to technically not be possible.

[Rohan Dadswell]

Yes, it is just the ability to record a fast or slow motion that the camera is already shooting at.

In the case of the AF-100 (and probably other cameras) there is an issue that as there is no SDI standard for 1080 slow mo, you need to record at 720p.
This isn't a fault of the recorder (I'm using the NanoFlash) but how the SDI standard/bit rate is implemented - something that isn't likely to change in the near future.

For the EX3 this wouldn't be a problem as it only shoots variable frame rates at 720.

[Gary Brun]

Thanks for the replies Gentlemen.
I have purchased the unit.