has anyone tried recording any video with the HDMI port onto a hyperdeck shuttle with a SSD?
curious if anyone has and how editing or color grading footage from it went?

I never tried, but found some footage at vimeo.

You'll end up with the same 8bit footage from the same sensor. Only the
codec is a little better, so that senes with a lot of fine structure and movement
will be a little better. But most of the time you'll barely notice the differences...

Yes I have used the Ninja 2 with the EA50 and have recorded to DNxHD 220. The workflow is much simpler in Avid Media Composer as opposed to the native AVCHD. The Ninja will record to ProRes also for FCP users.

While the images may generally look the same there is a significant advantage to using the external recorders if you are going to be doing a lot of work in post such as colour correction - the image just holds up better.

Here is a good comparison video that Ian Morris put up on Vimeo that shows a side by side comparison:
NEX-EA50 AVCHD vs. ATOMOS NINJA 2 on Vimeo

I have a Ninja 1...I record to ProRes 422 HQ, the Ninja 1 adds pulldown but I just reverse telecine it with compressor and I'm ready to rock. Like previous posters have said, the real benefit is from scenes with a lot of detail and the image will hold up better in post. For me, it's a faster workflow to reverse telecine the footage than to transcode AVCHD. Just my .02.

I have done similar with footage from the VG20 using the Black Magic Hyperdeck Shuttle II. As noted, when I shoot 24p, the camera is adding pull down to meet HDMI output specs. The recorder is recording 60i which can then be converted to 24p in post.

With the VG20 lack of level and saturation control, I find the resulting footage to be easier to color correct and/or grade. Though I haven't set out to prove it empirically, I also have a feeling that the resulting footage appears to have a wider dynamic range. Had I not just gotten my Black Magic Cinema camera, I would probably have been exploring this more.

Hi - been a while since I posted - we've been incredibly busy with the EA50's in corporate land. Very, very pleased with the output and edit workflows within the business (all PC-based editing, Vegas and Avid plus others). We are using nanoflash with the EA50's with excellent results. We go to high bitrate 4:2:2 .mxf where we need to and, yes, the joy is in grading and pulling keys. I did a very close check to test whether the HDMI port was actually delivering 4:2:2 and it is - colour resolution matches pixel for pixel. OK, the EA50 is not pixel perfect because of the sub-sampled sensor so when you zoom in there is a bit of mush in comparison with, say, a high end broadcast Sony camera (e.g. F5 etc.) - but the colour sits accurately over the pixel array.

We've had some very challenging, badly lit, cheap location green screen stuff to get keys from and the results have been way more than acceptable.

That's not to say that the AVCHD is rubbish. Far from it - I'm constantly amazed at how efficient the compression is - and we only use nanoflash when the job needs it - otherwise native AVCHD whenever possible.

Best, Neil

wow thats awesome, thank you all so much for the feedback. i think after 1 year after this cameras announcement i may finally be ready to take the plunge.
preparing in 2 weeks to make the purchase.

price just dropped another $50 at B&H...$3,149 now...I just bought mine a few weeks ago at $3,199...they were kind enough to refund me the difference when I inquired.

I'm wondering how you attach the flash recorder, esp. the BM hyperdeck shuttle, to your camera and how they get connected with power.
Can you show some pictures?

THX

It's not a shuttle but might serve as a solution as well to attach:

Adding a wireless receiver | Sony nex ea50 user blog (http://sonynexea50.wordpress.com/2013/03/08/adding-a-wireless-receiver/)

price just dropped another $50 at B&H...$3,149 now...I just bought mine a few weeks ago at $3,199...they were kind enough to refund me the difference when I inquired.

now its $2,999.00 so thats better :-)