We just finished a commercial film production and thought I share some insights on why we have chosen to shoot this with the GH4. Our key requirements have been

1. 10Bit 4k capability (greenscreen project!)
2. Light weight (we had challeging camera angles and limited budget for rigging => e.g. birdeye shots with shitty rig)
3. Long battery life (we didn't want to add external battery solutions => our rig had very low weight limitations)
4. Problem free (e.g. no overheating)

So after long discussions choosing between Sony A7s II and GH4, we decided to use the latter one and I don't regret this decision.

We had a lot of challenges but they have not been regarding camera choice, more related to the customers corporate colors (yellow turning green in shadows) and lighting the massive greenscreen. The only real challenge on the GH4 for us was the shitty HDMI port but we solved that with adding a Zacuto Port Protector (without that, it would have been a nightmare!).

But judge for yourself, feedback welcome! (note: the project required massive effort in post production)

Not sure if anyone else has encountered this, I've done a quick search and come up with nothin...

I've been using the atomos assassin with my GH4, and noticed that the footage from the assassin is slightly more contrasty/darker than footage recorded internally. I assume it's something the GH4 is doing, because it only seems to happen with V-LOG, not with standard. (I couldn't really be bothered checking with all the other colour modes...)

Here's a clip of me A/B-ing it on a premiere timeline with the scopes up. V-LOG, then standard. https://www.dropbox.com/s/hiugamp6hfbved4/gh4-assassin-contrast-level.mp4?dl=0

(obviously I don't own a colour chart, a set of pencils was the bet I could manage...)

This was recorded 8-bit, as it was the only way I could record both at the same time, but it happens with 10-bit too. At 4K as well as HD. Both the assassin and GH4 are running the most up-to-date firmware, as of Jan 2017.

Did I mess with some settings somewhere? Is my camera haunted? Is this something other people have noticed?

It doesn't actually bother me that much, I guess this is just a "what's up with that?" kinda question. So yeah. What's up with that?

Merry Christmas!

Power just add a sata power plug , or make an female to female sata power cable.

We used a lot of lenses, from Voigtlander and Panasonic to Samyang with SpeedBooster XL, passing through some Chinon and Fujian 25mm C-Mount, allways with SLR Magic anamorphic adapters, we wanted the unsqueezed look.

Have a look.

PS: the aerial footage was done with a Phantom 3

Also, i am using Filmconvert (GH4+VLOG) to grade. The WB parameter (in Film Convert) is an offset rather than a setting in my past experience. Would it then actually wreck my clip if i dialed the Film Convert WB parameter over to 3200K from it's default position on Daylight if the footage was shot on 3200K too?

Bure real theater could

http://mixonline.com/news/dolby_atmos_platform_2304/

I'd like to open this thread to share experience. Specially on the gh4 workflow with vlog.

Included:

Ninja Blade

Carrying Case

2 Hard Drive Cadies

Atomos Dock

Car Charger

EU Plug adapters

Lens Hood

Battery

Atomos HDMI to Mini-HDMI cable

Feel free to reply with any questions or concerns. Will accept paypal verified address only, price includes shipping.

Now the first question I need to resolve, is do I get just a monitor by itself (such as one of the SmallHD monitors) or get a combined monitor/recorder (such as from Atomos).

Currently my situation is I'm using a Nikon D5200 plus a BMPCC that has just arrived with future upgrading plans of maybe perhaps getting a Panasonic GH4 in a few months from now. (slim possibility it might be instead a Sony A7S, or even a Samsung NX1. Could even be something that hasn't be released yet! I'm in no rush, I'll wait and see) So whatever I'm picking should be suited for what I've got now (& in the near future).

Am thinking I've narrowed down my decision to Ninja Blade vs Ninja 2.

I'm leaning towards getting the Atomos Ninja Blade (it is worth it over the cheaper Ninja 2???), for a few reasons (let me know if they're good reasons or not! I'm just presuming here): a) I'm thinking using SSDs could be better than SD cards in the BMPCC (though not being able to record CinemaDNG raw to SSD is a pity) b) having the ability to tag good/bad takes on set with AtomosOS seems like it could be a big time saver when doing rush edits. c) no time recording limit with the Nikon D5200 (if I got just a monitor, I expect I'd then get a Blackmagic Design: HyperDeck Shuttle as well. Well, or maybe maybe wait a few months to see if NikonHacker removes the recording time limit on the D5200)

But on the flip side the Ninja 2 is significantly cheaper.... so I wonder, is the older Ninja 2's screen satisfactory for pulling focus or is the Blade's high resolution screen going to be a huge bonus here?

Probably the biggest point of confusion I have between the two is how the Ninja Blade and Ninja 2 run different version of Atomos OS (with the Blade having the newer version of course), as I can't seem to clearly find any info on what specifically is the benefits of that. (such as around workflow around tagging clips on set and then in post)

Thoughts/criticism/suggestions? I'm all ears!

Here are the links to parts I used:

CAGE: http://www.ebay.com/itm/FHUGEN-HONU-V2-0-VIDEO-CAGE-Kit-with-Top-Handle-HDMI-Clamp-for-GH3-GH4-A7-A7R-/231302638084?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35dab62a04

SIDE RAIL CLAMP: http://www.ebay.com/itm/281056066980?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

2 PACK OF LONG 1/4"-20 SCREWS: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=920351&gclid=CPqemNGJ1cACFYk7Mgod2EoAfw&is=REG&Q=&A=details

2 LONG BRACKETS: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1062515-REG/desmond_d3d_3_mini_stereo_camera_bracket.html

I'll admit that this isn't ideal if you need to mount a microphone, but if you're going handheld for video only it's sturdy as hell.

I have been scouring the site for relevant information, but am gathering it in drips and draps, so I thought I might as well start a new topic.

I am thinking of getting an external recorder for my GH2 (i know, I am late to the game), but have read that some recorders don't work with GH2. But first, allow me to establish some background info I know (but stand corrected). GH2's output wasn't clean till Panasonic upgraded firmware to v1.1. 25p is now clean, and Atoms Ninja website has published instructions on how to integrate GH2 into the recording workflow. Testers have reported clean footage, but some testers claim that red channel is still jaggy (the extent of which i have not seen). Then I read that Black Magic Hyperdeck does not recognise GH2 output as true HDMI; some testers have reported unusable footage(?). In any case, whether 25p or not, the recorded output has been reported to be "interlaced" on the Ninja.

Now I have also read that GH2 with hacked firmware v1.1 yields aberrations, such as colour shifts, inaccurate gamma, ghosting(?) when recording onto the Ninja. Could someone pl verify this? Does hacked firmware not work?
I am on the brink of buying a Ninja, but thought I should look before I leap. Appreciate all yr kind views.
Cheers

I am selling my new Atomos Ninja Blade which is about 3 weeks old. This was bought for a multi shoot project and now no longer need it. There is a slight cosmetic mark in the bottom left hand corner of the case, which I have been told will cost $50 USD to replace. It works flawless and the waveform and the ability to record direct to Prores is amazing. The images out of a 5D MKIII being uncompressed 10bit looks so much better than the crappy internal H264. I highly recommend this monitor.

Price is $1000 inc postage.

Kind Regards,

Stu

So I wonder, can I do anything to see if I can get the drive working again? Any software, tips? I should mention that I'm a Mac user... And if not, is this a problem with the 330 drives then? If so, any tips on ones that doesn't do this? Because I can not have this happen again on a shoot!

Atomos, the creator of the award-winning Ninja and Samurai field recorders, will be previewing the next major release of their unique operating system – AtomOS 3.0 - at NAB 2012, Central Hall C3, booth C6647. This simple firmware update adds groundbreaking functionality to their 10-bit field recorders, at no extra cost.

"One of the key new features of AtomOS 3.0 is SmartLog – the ability to mark in and out points and tag clips using XML metadata so that you can effectively make a pre-edit on your Ninja or Samurai before you even get to the edit suite. Everything you log – good shot or bad shot, for example - shows up in your NLE. This is a huge timesaver and yet another example of how Atomos is innovating to make end-to-end production easier." said Jeromy Young, CEO and Founder of Atomos.

SmartControl was designed specifically for use in James Cameron's Deep Sea Challenge. It allows start/stop/pause to be triggered on any number of Samurais interconnected via their LANC port. This allows control of any deck, even legacy video equipment, from the Samurai and control of the Samurai from any PC or Mac device - great for custom video installations, or simply to control recording remotely.

AtomOS 3.0 also incorporates precision monitoring aides such as Focus Peaking, Zebra, False Color and Blue-Only. "Now there's no need for an external monitor", added Young. "We're responding to customer feedback by giving even more functionality, but at no extra cost".

Other new enhancements included in this major update are automatic file recovery in the event of power failure, auto-record when an input is detected, Loop Playback and iPhone/iPad/Mac/PC recording support – a great feature for gaming and app software companies to record and demonstrate in superb quality how their app or game works.

Originally developed in collaboration with Apple, the Ninja and Samurai field recorders allow the recording of pristine, 10-bit uncompressed images straight from your DSLR or camcorder directly to Apple ProRes or Avid DNxHD.

Pricing and Availability
AtomOS 3.0 is a free firmware update for existing Ninja 2 and Samurai users and will ship 30 April 2012. See http://www.atomos.com for details.