Atomos samurai?
 

Atomos samurai....has anyone had any hands on experience with it? does it come also with an hdmi input?

Re: Atomos samurai?
 

Mine comes this week. The Ninja is the one with HDMI inputs. The Samurai is totally SDI.
Phil

Re: Atomos samurai?
 

I have a Samurai andI'm liking it a lot. Like all ProRes devices it adds compression noise to the image which is not present in the originals but in terms of functionality it works very well. The only thing I don't like is the mini BNC's which stick out a long way from the side and look a bit fragile or prone to accidental damage. Replacing the supplied straight mini BNC fly leads with right angled cables would certainly be a big help.

I've been testing it with S-Log and it works well producing recordings that grade very well. Not as clean as the Gemini but then the workflow is much easier due to the smaller file sizes.

Re: Atomos samurai?
 

Hi Alistair,

Are you not getting mute audio after powering the F3 down and powering up again mid-shoot? At least three of us have this issue. Can you please confirm?

Peter

Re: Atomos samurai?
 

I'll test for it tomorrow. Have not noticed it yet.

Re: Atomos samurai?
 

Alister, can you please tell me if the Samuri will record at 29.97? Thanks

Re: Atomos samurai?
 

The Samurai seems to me the first really affordable sdi recorder for the f3...it is small...robust..and can occasionally serve also as a monitor...so any updates on that front is more than welcome...together with the f3 they make such a nice pair...let's wait and see if they can solve the sound issue people is having...that sounds nasty...

Re: Atomos samurai?
 

Please try;

Test 1: Power on F3, then Samurai
Test 2: Power on Samurai, then F3

Can you post whether you have sound recorded on both methods of start-up?

Thanks,
Peter

Re: Atomos samurai?
 

I just set the F3 to "NTSC Countries" and it read on the samurai screen as 1080P 29.97fps.

Re: Atomos samurai?
 

Thank you! I might have t buy one now!

Re: Atomos samurai?
 

I have one for a tryout this weekend and so far so good. Very nice little unit however, the screw thread in the top and bottom of the unit seem to be of non-standard size. I have no arm or gadget that will fit that thread. This makes things very tricky.

Based on my use this weekend, I'll get it for sure. Love the PIX240 but it is too big and heavy for my needs.

Re: Atomos samurai?
 

Pieter,

You have one of the early units that was mistakenly manufactured with an M6 metric spigot mount. If you are just trialling the Samurai, you will have to rig an alternative mount. If you are keeping it, PM me and I'll get you the service guy's details who does the fix in Melbourne.

Re: Atomos samurai?
 

Thanks Peter. I'll PM you.

piet

Re: Atomos samurai?
 

I've had a Samurai for a couple of weeks. I really like the Samurai as a device. It's compact, low power and the functionality is just what you need. The whole package that Atamos supply is very good considering the price and includes everything you need, spare drive caddies, docking station, batteries and charger all in a nice peli style case. Again considering the price the build quality is good and the touch screen and menus are logical and easy to use, it even has nice little touches like a simple on screen button for switching between interlace and PsF. The only thing I don't like about the device is the use of mini BNC sockets that stick out a long way from the body. Then you have to plug quite long plugs onto these that make the slender connectors stick out a good inch from the side. This looks like a weak point to me as such a long slender connector will easily get broken in my opinion. If you could replace the straight mini BNC plugs with right angle ones, this would resolve that small but annoying issue.

My biggest concern with the Samurai though is the ProRes codec. I'm really disappointed with ProRes and the F3. The F3 is a very clean camera and as a result you can really see the extra noise that ProRes adds, just comparing something like a grey card or sky between ProRes recordings and the internal F3 recordings shows more noise (not just with the Samurai, but every ProRes recording I've seen). Now..... early next year the Samurai will get a paid for option for Avid DNxHD recording, which if you ask me is much better and at that point perhaps then the Samurai will really come of age.

While I love my Gemini and will wherever possible use the Gemini, I am looking for alternatives for shoots where I need to record many hours of material for a quick turnaround. Of course one option is to simply buy a lot more media for the Gemini. The Samurai is (despite my ProRes reservations) top of my list of recorders for this specific application, but I'll have to wait I think for DNxHD and continue using my NanoFlash until then. For me the PiX240 is just too big and bulky as is the Cinedeck.

Re: Atomos samurai?
 

My recently purchased Samurai came with the wrong size thread on the top and the bottom. I returned the unit and came away with a new one with the correct thread. Now I can attach it somewhere.

A new issue arises with this one. It will not go into record mode using camera record button as a trigger. I have upgraded the firmware to v2.6. I've tried different cables and used several of my cameras with HD SDI outputs. It will record and create files using the touch screen controls so the drives and all other functions work ok.

It's possible that I may have missed something here?

Re: Atomos samurai?
 

Are you arming the timecode trigger using the small button on the home screen?

Re: Atomos samurai?
 

Hi Pieter,

Have you set the time code to "HD-SDI" with the little blue ">" button in the Time Code menu on the second menu screen? As above have you armed the TC button on the main menu screen?

Re: Atomos samurai?
 

Hi Alistair,

Did you get a chance to import the Avid MXF files directly into Premiere?

Re: Atomos samurai?
 

"It's possible that I may have missed something here?"

Yep, it's possible and I did. The trigger touch button on the screen so now all is good.

Re: Atomos samurai?
 

Peter: I can play back Avid DNxHD 422 .mov files without any issue in Premiere, but I cannot load Avid generated .mxf's. I get an un-supported codec error.

Re: Atomos samurai?
 

Thanks Alistair. I suspected as much about the MXF files. That's a shame.

Re: Atomos samurai?
 

Atomos have released V2.6 of the Samurai firmware and this fixes the lost audio with F3 bug.

Re: Atomos samurai?
 

Yep have had the 2.6 for a while. The rare and random green flashing is more of a problem.

Re: Atomos samurai?
 

Just got my Samurai working...pretty pleased with it so far.

I'll be on the lookout for green. Is it green frames, or entirely green clips?

Re: Atomos samurai?
 

If it happens, the entire clip, all green.

Re: Atomos samurai?
 

Okay, after some more time with the combo:

-I thought the SDI trigger from the F3 without rolling TC was working with the Samurai? I can't seem to get it to work. I would assume there's a setting on the Samurai to have it respond to that SDI trigger, but if it's there I can't find it. Maybe it's only SD Pix that has this wrapped up right now?

-HOLY COW. Clean, clean clean. With Slog, I'm holding sky, sun, clouds, and ground. Nothing is clipping aside from the actual sphere of the sun. I've shot with Alexa. This is so close it's barely worth talking about.
The Alexa of course though has better viewing, better ergos, etc etc.

Re: Atomos samurai?
 

Are you using Slog with the Samurai for the amazing review all almost as good as Alexa? I am still sitting on the fence with both Slog and Samurai but you are really selling it.

I need to up my quality even through some of my prime time TV customers don't care - go figure?

Re: Atomos samurai?
 

S-log on the F3 isn't just a small firmware upgrade. It's like having a totally different camera it so dramatically increases the dynamic range of the camera. It's not just that it can hold on to highlights so much better but also the way the highlights behave once you do reach overload. Instead of nasty, typical video clipping the highlights gently roll off which look so much nicer.

To really make the most of S-Log you need an external 10 bit recorder. I like the Samurai for day to day and long length projects, while the Gemini is my first choice for the high end stuff where uncompressed 444 is desirable.

Re: Atomos samurai?
 

Alister,

Just wondering if you've checked out the suggestion from Mitch at Abel Cine to record the s-Log 800% LUT directly to the SxS cards for a budget S-Log look that doesn't need external recorders or heavy grading? I'm wondering how that compares to the flat profile you recently posted on your blog for SxS recordings.

I would love to get a Samurai and S-Log but stuck fighting my own budget and clients that don't generally want to grade heavily.

BTW - Thanks for all your generous advice to our community this year. Hope your holidays are great.

lenny levy

Re: Atomos samurai?
 

Its not just the flat look that's different, the roll off of highlights and dynamic range is completely different in S-Log. I like the look of regular F3 footage, but S-Log makes it shoot like a different camera.