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Atomos Samurai Blade or SmallHD for GH3?
  • sdessdes

    Any thoughts? I am looking for an external monitor for my compact rig. The new SmallHD AC7 looks like a lot of monitor for the bucks with great focus assist. But the new Atomos Samurai Blade also looks nice. And it records (4:2:2 ProRes) from HDMI making workflow easier..

  • 14 Replies sorted by
  • vicharrisvicharris

    I use the Ikan D5W. It doesn't record of course but it's a damn fine monitor with any function you could ever want. It's great because you have all the scopes, focus peaking and false colors right there. Can't ask for too much more and clients love the way footage looks on it during playback.

  • peaceonearthpeaceonearth

    I am thinking of buying this monitor recorder combo too but mainly for the FS700. Consider that the Samurai is SDI only. For HDMI DSLR you will need a SDI-HDMI converter also (Atomos S2H e.g 290$)

  • sdessdes

    Yes, I saw that. Additional costs and power needs. I'll probably buy the SmallHD AC7. Or perhaps the DP6 if I find a cheap one used.

  • TscheckoffTscheckoff

    I think the GH3 codecs are good enough actually. And the AC7 is THAT nice feature wise - hard to resist ^^. Btw.: Get the AC7 lcd version. The DP6 isnt that much cheaper used. And you get way more features with the AC7. Lg

  • sdessdes

    AC7 LCD is on it's way. Looks big, but hope I'll get used to it.

  • TscheckoffTscheckoff

    Nice to hear - Btw.: Tell us please, how you like it ^^. Oh. And there is actually NO smaller monitor available which is really "better". (I just hope that SmallHD will bring out a new cheaper AC4 or AC5 in the future.) So if you feel that it´s too big - Just think about that fact. =) (And enjoy the higher resolution - Smaller monitors don´t have NATIVE 720P support ^^.)

  • peaceonearthpeaceonearth

    I got the Samurai Blade yesterday and I have to say that I am quite disappointed of the monitor. I had a side by side comparision with the Samurai and the difference is not that big. Both have a kind of milky and glossy screen which is not suitable for shooting in daylight outdoors. The Blade is sharper and has more details, vectorscope is a nice feature but hard to see in bright daylight even with a hood. Up to now I didn't find an overlay setting in which you see the vectorscope with the marking lines and the full content of framing both. Samurai monitor is even a little brighter than the Blade monitor.

    So my first impression: it's first of all a recorder and not suitable to subsitute a field monitor. Hard to decide whether 200€ is worth the difference to the Samurai.

    here's a side by side on the FS700, but it's inside my studio and on the photo it looks better than in reality

    image

  • plegilinkplegilink

    That's disappointing to hear as I have one on pre-order, where are you located that you received yours already? How does it rate as a field monitor replacement for indoors work, particular for focus, and how good is the colour reproduction compared to the original Samurai? Thanks

  • OBgeneOBgene

    new Ninja Blade ....very cheap http://www.redsharknews.com/production/item/1497-could-this-be-the-next-dslr-revolution-hint-it-s-not-even-a-camera

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    The industry standard Atomos HD monitor-recorders hit a record low price point with Ninja 2 dropping from $695 to $295 and both the Ninja Blade and Samurai Blade falling from $995 to $495.

  • rNeilrNeil

    So apparently the non-4K monitors/recorders aren't selling as well as they used to? Or they're trying to flush out supply while they can ...

  • _OZ_OZ

    @rNeil

    Makes sense. The features and pricepoint for the better recorder monitors are really too low to be able to ask for $995 for previous gen recorder/monitors. Look at the Pix-e5h from Sound Devices. It's a beast for $1195 (hdmi only)/ $1,395 (sdi). It records 4k, has an incredible screen, Sound Devices reputation for being bullet proof, and for $349 adds Sound Devices level audio pre's.

    Black Magic has a $495 monitor recorder(1080p) coming as well (although scopes are limited).

    It's a damn good problem to have...for us.

  • rNeilrNeil

    @_OZ

    Yea. Good problem for us. ;-)

    I'm still shooting the trusty GH3 and satisfied. (Didn't say thrilled, but it's good enough to not justify another couple grand for another body.) So ... a good external recorder for ProRes or DNxHD at only $295 ... that is getting tempting. Even while I'm quite pleased with the CL76-HO field monitor I got through here. Getting away from the in-cam Sd card would be nice. Or at least, having two sources. And not using either the AVCHD (a bit noisier) or MOV choice of the GH3.

  • jjj_ri_usajjj_ri_usa

    Great tempting prices! And I, too, am still milking my GH3, waiting for a GHx with 4k@60fps. But, the issue with these (now) really low priced devices is that they can't record 1080p at 60 fps. Still, the EVF on the GH3 sucks, and it sure would be nice to have focus peaking. For $295 it is very tempting, but...I often rely on 60p interpreted as 24p to get nice smooth 2.5x Slow Motion 'for free'. I would miss that using one of these recorders. Hmmmm. Life is one huge trade-off. The advantages of one of these may now be worth the substantially lower price! Hmmm.

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