Atomos Ninja and the V1U

[Brian Murphy]

Ok you V1U folks, I just joined the club! I was very fortunate and was given a V1U last week and I have to say I am very very happy to have it. I own two Ninjas a first edition and a new Ninja2. The Ninja one was about to be sold on Craigslist when I got the V1U and I quickly dropped the ad.
I also own a Sony FS100 and NEX 7 but was missing the all in one camcorder for certain jobs and had been looking at buying an EX1 to fill that gap. I am sure happy with the V1U/Ninja combo and have put a lightweight package together with a Fiesol tripod and Chinese made fluid head along with a Sign Video zoom controller that I had on the shelf from the days when I rented out my Kessler crane.
I will use the tape deck as a back up and because I want to use the Lanc control for the Ninja from the camera and the zoom control unless someone knows of a way to override the "no tape" condition.
Overall I am impressed with the control over settings and features of the V1U and the quality of the images. Damn nice little camera!

[D.J. Ammons]

Brian, great timing on your post. I have not looked at this thread for awhile but checked it tonight because I just ran across an unbelievable deal on an original Ninja that I could not pass up.

I love the look, auto focus, etc of my Sony V1u's but hate mixing HDV footage with my Canon XA10 and Canon 4ti. I am looking at the Ninja as a way to continue using a camera I love and I think still puts out a great image.

What hard drives are you using in your Ninja's? SSD's or regular 2.5" hard drives? What brands?

[Andrew Smith]

The Ninja has also had quite a significant price reduction just lately.

Andrew

[Jeff Allen]

Originally Posted by D.J. Ammons

Brian, great timing on your post. I have not looked at this thread for awhile but checked it tonight because I just ran across an unbelievable deal on an original Ninja that I could not pass up.

I love the look, auto focus, etc of my Sony V1u's but hate mixing HDV footage with my Canon XA10 and Canon 4ti. I am looking at the Ninja as a way to continue using a camera I love and I think still puts out a great image.

What hard drives are you using in your Ninja's? SSD's or regular 2.5" hard drives? What brands?

DJ, I have used Hitachi 7200 RPM drives (I have 3 X 500GB versions) very successfully as well as SSD's. These days unless I am shooting longer form content I tend to use my SSD, but for longer shoots I use the Std HDD as my SSD is only 120GB.

I have to move around a lot for various shots and have less concerns when doing that with an SSD. I know you asked Brian for his input but thought I would chime in as well.

Happily still using my V1U with the ninja. I can pull specific models if you are interested. I also usually shoot in ProResLT.

[Andrew Smith]

I shot in ProResLT, but only ever once. I'd only use it if the finished product was going to be SD output only. It's been the HQ setting for me ever since.

(Actually, just looked at the Wiki page etc and the 422 is the middle option whereas I always thought it was the next-to-uncompressed option. Might give it a go.)

Andrew

[Brian Murphy]

Originally Posted by D.J. Ammons

Brian, great timing on your post. I have not looked at this thread for awhile but checked it tonight because I just ran across an unbelievable deal on an original Ninja that I could not pass up.

I love the look, auto focus, etc of my Sony V1u's but hate mixing HDV footage with my Canon XA10 and Canon 4ti. I am looking at the Ninja as a way to continue using a camera I love and I think still puts out a great image.

What hard drives are you using in your Ninja's? SSD's or regular 2.5" hard drives? What brands?

I use WD Black Scorpion 500 GB drives. They are approved by Atomos and I have never had a shake warning. But as I add drives I will go with Atomos approved SSD drives. I shoot Pro-Res HQ 220Mbits, lots of storage and though the files are large the quality is excellent with the 422 output from the camera, I believe it is 8 bit coming out going to the 10bit record on the Ninja.
Another bonus with the Ninja is it acts as a client monitor too ...B&H say the sunshade will be available in June.
Cheers
Brian

[D.J. Ammons]

Thanks everybody.

Brian - I had already ordered the WD Black Scorpiran 500gb drive before I saw your post so I am glad it has been a good one for you!

Andrew, Jeff & anybody else - can you tell me what settings you use on the Ninja when using it with your Sony V1?

Also anything I need to be aware of or tricks to make things smooth with the Ninja / V1 combo?

[Jeff Allen]

Originally Posted by Andrew Smith

I shot in ProResLT, but only ever once. I'd only use it if the finished product was going to be SD output only. It's been the HQ setting for me ever since.

(Actually, just looked at the Wiki page etc and the 422 is the middle option whereas I always thought it was the next-to-uncompressed option. Might give it a go.)

Andrew

The reason I shoot in LT these days is a saw a really good article from a well respected colorist a while back. They did a comparison between the different ProRes versions. Conclusion from them was that unless you are doing compositing, or broadcast work, they saw very little to no visual difference between LT and the other modes. Based on that, I figured I would save on the file sizes. Also, considering that the output from the V1U is limited to 8 bit, despite the fact that the Ninja can record 10 bit, etc. I felt that above LT mode was overkill for the work I am doing.

[Jeff Allen]

Originally Posted by D.J. Ammons

Thanks everybody.

Brian - I had already ordered the WD Black Scorpiran 500gb drive before I saw your post so I am glad it has been a good one for you!

Andrew, Jeff & anybody else - can you tell me what settings you use on the Ninja when using it with your Sony V1?

Also anything I need to be aware of or tricks to make things smooth with the Ninja / V1 combo?

I just insert the drive, format it with the Ninja, set your Codec profile (ProRes LT for me as stated previously), set the Date/Time, then set your Scene/Shot number and you should be good. I only record in Stereo on the ninja directly from the HDMI input, so I also turn off the recording of second pair of audio tracks. I left all the other settings to the default on the ninja if I remember correctly.

[Jeff Pulera]

Also having good results with WD 500GB Scorpio Black drives. As mentioned by another, I think that HQ mode is going to be overkill for most users, especially given the quality of the cameras being used, there is nothing to be gained. LT may even be good enough (certainly better than HDV!) but mentally the 422 setting is a nice feel-good compromise.

Thanks

[Andrew Smith]

I think I'll be taking a crack at recording with the 422 setting in the future. Tip of the hat to Jeff.

Andrew

[Brian Murphy]

I am sure things will work out fine for you. And my compliments to all as well regarding the record rate. I prefer to stay at that level and have had no issues to date but if you don't need the rate to be that high, why not. There are many debates as to the pros and cons of the 10bit recording of 8it signal. I figure it is what it is. I am a very big fan of Atomos and the Ninja and was not always but found my dealings with the company to be nothing short of excellent. They really support their customers.
Cheers
Brian

Originally Posted by Brian Murphy

I use WD Black Scorpion 500 GB drives. They are approved by Atomos and I have never had a shake warning. But as I add drives I will go with Atomos approved SSD drives. I shoot Pro-Res HQ 220Mbits, lots of storage and though the files are large the quality is excellent with the 422 output from the camera, I believe it is 8 bit coming out going to the 10bit record on the Ninja.
Another bonus with the Ninja is it acts as a client monitor too ...B&H say the sunshade will be available in June.
Cheers
Brian

[D.J. Ammons]

Fex Ex delivered my WD 500 GB Scorpio Black hard drive this morning then late this afternoon UPS showed up with my Atomos Ninja!

Just had time to shoot a few minutes of a static shot in the living room then took the drive and caddy to my partners home where she edits. Imported footage of Pro Res 422 from the Atomos Ninja / Sony V1 combo into Vegas Pro 11 and then edited it with some Canon XA10 footage. I rendered that to Blu-ray settings and was pleased with the end result. The footage cut well together with only using the FBMN white balance plug in.

When I got home tonight I ordered a second Ninja for my other Sony V1U. I just can't pass up the deal I have found of $345 with no sales tax and free shipping for the original Ninja that is being phased out. It has the full kit with the two batteries and dual charger which is better than the new $695 Ninja 2 Kit that came out this month. I would love to have the much higher resolution monitor of the Ninja 2 but not for twice the money!

[Alan Craven]

D J Ammons,

You are lucky! I have just paid £600 for a Ninja 1 in the UK. That must equate to around $900 US.

I could have bought the original Ninja 2 package from the same supplier for less.

To add insult to injury, the UK 13A plug adaptor plate for the battery charger power supply is missing.

On the plus side, it works perfectly with my V1E, including the LANC, using a Manfrotto remote.

I have also located some thin flexible HDMI cables from a firm called Keene. They also offer semi-rigid formable HDMI cables, which could be useful in a permanent set-up.

[D.J. Ammons]

Alan, it is interesting that your UK plug adapter was missing just like my USA one was! I emailed Atomos support last night so hope to get a reply today that they are sending me one.

Thankfully in the meantime I can charge the batteries in the Sony V1U camera.