Archive notice: This article was originally published on August 9, 2012. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
AtomOS 3.0
One of the new features of the current AtomOS 3.0 operating system – the Smart Control function – appears to be due in part to feedback from director James Cameron. As Jeromy Young, CEO of Atomos, related at NAB 2012, Cameron requested this function before his dive in the Pacific because he would need it in the confines of his small submarine. With the Smart Control feature, one or more Ninja-2 field recorders are intended to be controllable via serial controllers from a mixing console, PC, Mac, iPad, or iPhone.
In addition, the new AtomOS 3.0 operating system offers the Smart Monitor feature, with which focus and exposure are intended to be easily adjustable using Focus Peaking, a blue exposure check, and a control for individual filters.
The Smart Log feature is particularly interesting, because it is intended to allow clips to be marked as favorites while recording, in and out points to be set, and clips to be tagged with keywords. SmartLog is intended to work in both monitor and playback modes. Thus, clips can already be provided with feedback during production, which is intended to make editing in post-production easier.
Equipment
In terms of operation, the Ninja-2 is equipped with a high-resolution 4.3-inch touchscreen monitor with a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels. According to Atomos, playout takes place in full HD resolution with 1920 x 1080 pixels. The Ninja-2 is intended to enable recording, monitoring, and playback of unaltered, 10-bit compressed images directly from the sensor of a DSLR or camcorder.
In addition, an external power connection via D-Tap is now intended to be possible in the second Ninja release. Larger external batteries from 7-20 volts are intended to be connectable to the field recorder. According to Atomos, this allows users to choose between the internal battery system with uninterrupted operation and simple integration with the camera’s battery system.
The Ninja-2 field recorder is now available from specialist retailers at an affordable price of 946 euros (including German VAT).
More information is available here: http://www.atomos.com/ninja2/
Jeromy Young, CEO of Atomos, presented the Ninja-2 and its new features at NAB 2012:
NAB 2012: Atomos Ninja 2 – a hard to beat disk recorder from cinema5D on Vimeo.
In DP 04/11, we tested the first Ninja; at that time, audio recording was still one of the weakest areas of the inexpensive field recorder. What improvements have been added in this regard has not yet been announced.
