I Just Assassinated My A7S – Atomos Ninja Assassin First Look
Out of the box, I am amazed. Plug it in, mount and format a new SSD cartridge, connect the cable. Fiddle a bit searching the nasty Sony Menu system to finally figure out the A7S will only output 4k UHD over the HDMI port if you have it set to MOVIE mode on the top dial. Manual doesn’t work, go figure…
There were no instructions needed to get setup and going. For those not familiar with the Ninja family, there is Quick Start guide included as the only documentation onboard. The included AC Adapter was greatly appreciated while initial battery charging took place. With it, I was able to explore my dimly lit office learning the basics of how to use the new Atomos Ninja Assassin. The lack of a battery and charger puzzled me at first, and then I realized Atomos sells one of their own, the Power Station Video. One set of larger batteries that power both my camera and the Atomos Ninja Assassin external recorder, and other USB power consuming electronics. Smart idea, I hate packing around a whole pocket full of different batteries. And a pocketful you will need too if you reuse the Sony NP550 batteries from the older Ninja 2. The recording time I found on the Assassin was only about 15 mins per battery. Atomos must know this, because for a limited time, Atomos is running the following promotion here in the USA:
OFFER
When registered owners of the Atomos Ninja 2, Ninja Blade, Samurai Blade, Ronin or Shogun purchase a Ninja Assassin from authorized resellers during September and October 2015 they will be eligible to claim a FREE Power Station Video valued at $395 USD.
TERMS & CONDITIONS
- Promotional dates: September 1st to October 31st 2015
- Must be an existing, registered owner of the following eligible Atomos monitor-recorders registered in the past3 years; Ninja 2, Ninja Blade, Samurai Blade, Ronin, Shogun.
- One claim per customer
- Promotion only available through authorized Atomos resellersSUBMITTING A CLAIM
- Provide the serial number and DID number of your registered eligible Atomos monitor-recorder to the authorized reseller at the time of purchase of your Ninja Assassin
- The reseller will send through the details along with Ninja Assassin proof of purchase to marketing@atomos.com to confirm details
- On approval the Power Station Video will be shipped to the reseller for pick up.
It is hard to beat free goodies, especially when they are as useful as this one appears to be. A Simple enough upgrade. Move up to a Ninja Assassin, they give you the power pack for your camera and their Ninja Assassin. More capabilities, and a real nice way to say thank you to prior owners like myself. Atomos, you guys are a class act all the way around, and with the best products for my run and gun workflow.
For any of you also considering purchase of an Atomos Ninja Assassin, my good friend Karen McHugh just returned from a long medical leave to her post at Samy’s Camera’s go to gal for everything Pro photography gear related I need. She would love to become yours as well. Contact her online at the email address below, or drop into the Fairfax store and say hello. And be sure to tell her Chuck sent ya, it will get you an even bigger warm smile.
Karen McHugh
Samy’s Camera Professional Division
431 S. Fairfax Avenue
4th floor
Los Angeles, CA 90036
323 938 2420 ex 1209
323 937-2919 fax
323 359 6219 mobile
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Atomos full press release follows for your information:
Ninja Assassin delivers 325ppi monitoring functionality and the 7” size needed to truly master 4K, it’s the only true 10-bit 4:2:2 professional recording solution for Apple, AVID & Adobe workflows and all with a price & weight amongst the lowest on the market – Ninja Assassin is available today from Atomos’ extensive reseller network.
Melbourne, Australia – 1st September 2015: In 2014, Atomos revolutionised the HD to 4K transition with the announcement of Shogun. Now, with their commitment to delivering powerful creativity weapons for professionals, they bring you the Ninja Assassin.
The Ninja Assassin extends the legacy!of the Atomos Ninja line up in to the realms of 4K UHD and 1080 60p. Combining professional 4K/HD recording, 7″ 1920×1080 monitoring, advanced playback and editing in a compact, lightweight, affordable add-on to existing DSLR, Mirrorless and Video, Cinema cameras.
The Ninja Assassin boasts the screen size, screen resolution, advanced recording capability and scopes of the premium Shogun model, but forgoes the 12G/6G/3G-SDI connectivity, RAW recording functionality, in-built conversion, Genlock and balanced XLR audio connections. The main benefit – a 10% weight reduction to an incredible 430g and an incredible $1295 price point including Soft Case, SSD Caddy and AC Adaptor. This firmly targets 4K DSLM cameras such as the Sony a7s and a7RII, Canon XC-10 and Panasonic GH4 bypassing their known limitations such as compressed MPEG/h.264 recording, 4:2:0 color compression, 30-minute time limits and the disadvantage of monitoring on a small 3” screen.
“The Ninja Assassin eliminates creative barriers and unleashes the true power of the worlds best sensors into the hands of creative pro’s over one single HDMI cable. We are truly proud to deliver professional monitoring, video production tools and recording capabilities to assassinate camera limitations,” said Jeromy Young, CEO and co-founder of Atomos. “Seeing an image on the Assassin’s 7” screen and feeling the low weight is when you truly believe it’s the only choice for 4K high-res production,” added Young.
The Ninja Assassin has HDMI focused audio/video connections and ships with a brand new vibrant red Armor Bumper for increased protection. The Shogun of course is still the flagship product for high-end production that require SDI Raw, Balanced XLR, Phantom 48V and HDMI/SDI conversion.
Ninja Assassin Key Features:
• Record more accurate, higher resolution colors (4:2:2, 10-bit) direct to visually lossless editing formats (the only brand to do both Apple ProRes and DNxHR).
• No Record time limits – Recording externally to the camera puts an end to the traditional 30-minute recording barrier and allows larger media capacity.
• Professional shot setup you can trust on a calibrated high resolution 7″ monitor with over 320 pixels per inch.
• Anamorphic de-squeeze, the perfect companion for Panasonic’s GH4 and affordable Anamorphic lenses/adaptors.
• Easy to use professional monitoring tools including Focus Peaking Assist, 1:1 & 2:1 Zoom with silky smooth image pan & scan, False Color (skin tones), Zebra and Waveform/Vector Scopes for in-depth image analysis.
• Go back in time with Pre-Roll cache recording, up to 8 seconds of HD or 2-3 seconds of 4K so you’ll never miss that shot
• Video Time-lapse with up to 10 different sequences, speed ramp and scheduled start and end times over 24 hrs.
• 3D LUT’s allow you to create a specific signature look or even recreate classic film stock instantly, with 50:50 split / LUT on / LUT off view, you can compare effects and make creative decisions on the fly.
• Playback for instant review and editing on the fly with a choice of 10 tags in both record and playback mode. Our NLE support means that whether you are Mac, PC, Apple, Avid or Adobe we support you.
Please see Ninja Assassin Product Sheet for a full range of specs and features (to follow soon).
The Ninja Assassin is available in stores now (September 1) for a MSRP of:
US: $ 1295 ex. TAX
EU: € 1295 ex. VAT
GBP: £ 899 ex. VAT
AUD: $ 1899 Inc. GST
