Hey Jake with B&H and I’m here to talk about the Atomos Ninja V.
In short, what we have here is a 5’’ inch display monitor AND recorder.
That is entirely encased within a lightweight and portable aluminum or Aluminum Chassis.
It has HDMI 2.0 Input and Output making it capable of recording 4K 60p at 10 Bit 422,
which is the equivalent of its big brother the Ninja Inferno. The Ninja V is powered
by a single slot Sony L Series Battery, which is not included. The preferred media is Mini
SSD because they fit snuggly into the unit. However, you can use regular size SSDs but
they will add about an inch to the side of the unit.
The New and improved Menu System, located on the bottom of the screen, is faster and
smarter. You can now turn features on and off with ease because you no longer have to
dig through menus that obstruct your composition.
The Ninja V also features AtomHDR so when you capture footage in Hybrid Log Gamma (or
HLG) this monitor will actually display it properly, so you can preview your HDR footage
while you are out in the field. With AtomHDR you can monitor up to ten stops of dynamic
range of your camera's LOG image. Most conventional monitors can only display six or seven stops,
which is fine for standard footage; but a Log image will look overly flat. It is also
superior when monitoring with a loaded LUT, which can clip your highlights and mask shadows.
Full LUT support is built in for most, if not all, camera models, as you can see listed
here
That’s a lot of LUTs.
If you have a particular LUT that you yourself created and you really, really, like it, then
you have the ability to upload your own LUTS as well and monitor them at your leisure.
As I’ve described, the Atomos Ninja V is pulling double duty, so let’s discuss the
benefits of each:
The Ninja V will record high-resolution 4K footage in DCI or UHD formats up to 60 fps,
including 24 and 25 fps for a more film-like aesthetic.
All recordings are stored as high quality
Apple ProRes or Avid DNxHR files with 10-bit 4:2:2 chroma subsampling. A variety of bit
rates are available to fit your project and storage needs.
Both ProRes and DNx are edit-friendly, requiring no conversion in post-production
to ensure smooth playback and compatibility with most common video editing software, which
is most likely Premiere Pro.
Let's be honest, that's what I use.
The Ninja V features a bidirectional high-speed video port, hidden on the back where you mount
the battery, which leads me to believe that in the future, we could see some expansion
modules to increase the Ninja V's capabilities and most people are speculating that it could
be SDI compatibility.
The Ninja V features a 5" IPS LCD screen that is illuminated by a bright 1000 cd/m² LED
backlight, making it possible to view in daylight without requiring a hood. Which is huge.
Plus, the screen is also color calibrated from the factory to ensure accurate image representation.
Log and HDR signals can be difficult to monitor with conventional equipment. Though, with
the Ninja V's built-in HDR signal management functions, the log signal can be converted
to the PQ standard for compatibility with existing consumer and professional HDR equipment.
This is pretty cool. Anamorphic de-squeeze.
The Ninja V supports Anamorphic de-squeeze, allowing you to comfortably view anamorphic
footage with a squeeze of 2x, 1.5x, 1.33.
We demoed this with the Panasonic GH5 and an Anamorphic Lens from SLR Magic!
Of course, we can’t forget about audio, although you should probably just record to
a separate external device; it’s good practice.
But, If need be there is an audio input/output via HDMI
or you can add external audio via the 3.5mm Line In/Mic In port.
You can also output audio using headphone jack for convenient audio monitoring.
Goes without saying, the Atomos Ninja V is an impressive unit at an affordable price
point. This monitor/recorder could easily work with any mirrorless camera system. The
new NIKON Z 6 comes to mind because you could output that 10-bit 4:2:2 signal in N-Log,
and then match that up with the High ISO performance, man that’s gonna look really nice.
Or the Panasonic GH5s will output a 4K 60p
at 10-Bit 422 in V-log or HLG mode another perfect match.
Or heck, any of the Sony Alpha Series cameras like the A7RIII or A7III.
No matter what you shoot or what camera you shoot with, the NINJA V is going to make your
shooting experience easier with those professional monitoring tools and thanks to those dope
recording capabilities your footage is going to look, so choice. (Ferris Bueller anyone?)
This is Jake with B&H. Just keep shooting!