Just wondering what people's luck with the Ninja-2 with those Cameras
Lumix GH2
Lumix GH3
Nikon D600
Nikon D800

As I remember hearing there were issues with Nikons and the GH2 and the original Ninja.

Also how nice is DNxHD from the Ninja-2? I'm using CS6 on a PC so I'll prefer to use that over Apple Prores.

That's a really big question. You could start by reading this page at Atomos:

H1 - Does Ninja range work with DSLR cameras? - ATOMOS (http://atomos.activehosted.com/kb/article/input-sources/dslr-cameras/does-ninja-work-with-dslr-cameras)

After additional reading the answer is no for The Panasonics and not well for the Nikons (well it works but there are glitches). Looks like Atomos needs to talk with camera makers or get the cameras in their hands before releasing a product that does what it says it will do with the cameras that say they can output HDMI.

To be fair to Atomos, or indeed any independent HDMI recording device the problems are generally caused by the camera manufacturers instigating unwanted features on the HDMI stream. As I understand it Atomos are in regular contact with camera manufacturers trying to get them to improve their offering, but getting this right isn't a priority for them. After all, as far as the camera manufacturers are concerned you can record on the internal card.

I agree, but at the end of the day Atomos release marketing video and literature stating (quite matter of frankly) that there Ninja-2 worked with those cameras.

Hi Graeme,

Ditto on Duncan's comments. If a camera doesn't put out a clean, full-resolution HDMI signal, what is Atomos to do about it? It can only record what it gets over the HDMI cable, and if that signal is non-standard or has info overlays embedded in the picture, that is the fault of the camera vendor.

I think it is safe to say that ALL "camcorders" with HDMI out work with Ninja. As a rule, camcorders (Sony, Panasonic, Canon, etc.) all put out a clean signal - never heard of one that did not. It is the DSLRs that are highly problematic, as they were designed as STILL CAMERAS and proper HDMI video output was not judged that important by the engineers apparently.

The GH2 and D800 are supposed to work, if menus are set up correctly for proper output -

H3 - Panasonic GH2 - ATOMOS (http://atomos.activehosted.com/kb/article/input-sources/dslr-cameras/panasonic-gh2)

H4 - Setting up a Nikon D800 to work with the Ninja-1 and Ninja-2 - ATOMOS (http://atomos.activehosted.com/kb/article/input-sources/dslr-cameras/h4-seeting-up-an-nikon-d800-to-work-with-the-ninja-1-and-ninja-2)

Regarding the question about ProRes - it works perfectly well for editing on a PC. Just note that a PC cannot export back to ProRes (without jumping through some hoops). But editing is no issue at all.

Thanks

I've been working with the Ninja 2 on both the D600 and D800. Both work fine. Not only that, Nikon just released a firmware upgrade that shows 100% of the image shot on the D600. Previously, the image was 96% small and you had to increased the size in post.

Dave Burckhard
PicturePoint On-line