Has anyone setup a Ninja 2 with the FZ1000 I can get it to record only selecting the record button on the ninja 2 (cant get it to work from the record button on the camera)
The main question is i don't mind it recording to the ninja 2 bypassing the record button on the camera just want to know if it is recording 422 doing it this way

Whether you press REC on the Ninja touch screen or start recording via HDMI trigger will have no bearing on the quality or format of the recording. HDMI trigger is only supported by certain cameras, most do not work. And of course that option must be selected in Ninja 2 menu as well.

Thanks

Hi Mark

Did you have any success using the Ninja 2? I want to use a Ninja and feed it via the bypass to a Broadcast Pro encoder to stream events as the FZ1000 cannot output HDMI and record to the card at the same time. When you use the FZ with the Ninja do you simply leave it in standby mode and then focus/frame and when you are happy start recording via the Ninja? It would be nice to have the FZ1000 LCD available all the time and if you push the shutter button the screen goes black but I'm pretty sure it's still sending out a signal on the cable in standby as well. Is that correct???

I ended up just recording to the Ninja 2 direct (not recording to camera) the only problem was the battery lasts about one hour so i just purchased Panasonic AC Adapter DMW-AC8 for G and FZ-series adn Panasonic DC Coupler DMW-DCC8GU9 for GH2 / G5 / FZ200. I am waiting for a battery pack I ordered online to suit, it is for Cree Bicycle Headlamp, Replacement 9000mAh 8.4v 6 x 18650 Battery Pack

Thanks Mark

So when you connect the HDMI cable to the Ninja, can you leave the camera in standby mode (ie: just switch it on) and then use the Ninja to record ...does it blank the LCD or do you have that to be able to frame and focus.

Hi Chris, pretty sure the screen remains active.
Will check with my ninja star hooked up tonight. Get back to u with results.

Thanks Mark

So when you connect the HDMI cable to the Ninja, can you leave the camera in standby mode (ie: just switch it on) and then use the Ninja to record ...does it blank the LCD or do you have that to be able to frame and focus.

The camera does stay on does not go blank, still see all through camera while recording to ninja 2.

Yep, what Mark said! Just turn off sleep mode, in Economy setting and you have full control of all menu settings whilst it's recording to ninja.

Hi Guys

Very much appreciated and the extended battery pack is a great idea if you had to record long non-stop events too!! Last question? Do you guys turn the OSD items off ...Mark was talking about OSD on his Sony being an issue and being recorded onto the Ninja2 ... Easy enough to do that on the FZ1000... !

Did you discover how to turn off all the icons on the Sony Mark, Just for interest???

Thanks again for your help .. I need the Ninja as I want to record what I'm filming but also send HDMI out to a Livestream Broadcasr Pro encoder and the FZ1000 cannot record and send out an HDMI signal at the same time and I don't really want to spring for a GH4 and lenses at this time.

I turned the display off on the fz1000 when recording to Ninja 2 and I fixed the problem on my Sony nx3 thanks to Rolf on the Sony fx3 forum on Facebook all I had to do was to change the menu from display all to display lcd only now the display information can be on the lcd but it is not recorded to the Ninja 2

Awesome guys! The input is again greatly appreciated!! Yep I also need to look into the extended battery thing. I do like to stay portable so a decent Li-Ion battery pack would be great. The Ninja has a good recording time so why not the camera too??

I'm assuming that the power unit and coupler for the GH2 is the same as the FZ200 and FZ1000? The batteries are the same as they only changed the battery pack when the GH3 came out ...I found an AC adapter and coupler that looks like it will be OK on eBay but specs say GH2 nothing about FZ200 or 1000 ..Are there any local people who sell them without paying a fortune for the Lumix branded one?? In Oz the dealers want $29 for the coupler and $99 for the charger!! On eBay you can get the whole lot for a GH2 for under $20!!

I bought a used Ninja 2 last week in what the buyer said was "as new" condition" ...apart from a charger that only outputs 4.9 volts and two generic batteries plus no AC adapter the whole bits and pieces were wrapped in newspaper so the box and manual has obviously long gone and it unit is very well used ..I cannot get it to see my HDMI input on my FZ1000 ...My TV sees it no problem and my Livestream encoder works well with the camera ...I have tried turning off the Viera Link and it makes no difference at all. I guess I have to assume now that the unit is faulty??? Did anyone else have to do anything drastic to the FZ1000 settings to get it to work with the Ninja 2???

I think this needs to have a "Return Item" transaction on eBay initiated???

Hey Chris, make sure it's in AVCHD rec. mode, not MP4.
See how that goes!!!!????

Thanks Jack

What would be the difference? I'm sending HDMI directly from the sensor? MP4 works on my TV and on my Livestream Encoder ... Is Atmos that fussy???

I'm going to send it back anyway .. it was supposed to be in "as new" condition and I paid $423.00 for it which is close to new price. The charger is buggered, the unit is scuffed and marked ..it has two generic eBay batteries .. the so called "new' unit has no box, no manual and missing AC adapter too ...It was packed in a cardboard box and each bit was wrapped in newspaper ... All sounds a bit suss for a new condition item don't you think???

Yeah does sound a bit wrong for a new unit. I'd be a bit p***ed if it was me.
Can't get my "Ninja Star" to accept MP4 from the FZ100s, don't know if the Ninja 2 is as fussy.

Thanks Jack

I try that this morning. Yeah he is "claiming" it's as new yet the charger is buggered too ...He also said he paid over $800 for it so it's a bargain!!

Weird about the input as it's from the sensor ... MP4 works perfectly on everything else I have tried!!

Hi Chris, I have the same setup ninja only works when Panasonic FZ1000 is set to record AVCHD. I only had to plug the camera in into the input HDMI connection on the Ninja 2 and I was up and running. I purchased a genuine Atomos cable, but any cable HDMI should work, I used a standard HDMI cable when recording to my Sony NX3. I Also I changed the focus method back to 49 point as you suggested all is good again, thank-you.
I must of been really lucky (for a Change) I purchased 2 off Ninja 2 from two different sellers on Ebay both in Australia one in February and the other in May this year both new one cost me $325.00 the other $292.90 including freight when i received from sellers both still sealed in original plastic.

Most important forgot to say I have to take the SD card out of Camera to get it to display and record to the Ninja 2 have Timecode set to - camera trigger = HDMI and Source =HDMI

The only time I have seen these units for around $800 is back in 2013. See Atomos Ninja2 Review (Function, Feature and Menu operation) - YouTube at the 1.05 he quotes $695.00 USD
Did you receive a SSD hard drive as well in the price?

Hi Mark and Jack

Thanks for all the help ..Yep it has to be in AVCHD for some reason not MP4 .. Funny my Broadcaster Pro accepts the HDMI in MP4 no issues. Just busy fighting with this seller about a charger which doesn't work and two supplied batteries (Sony generics ) that seem bum too. I think at the very least he owes me a new charger and batteries to replace the garbage I paid for. Yes although it's not "as new" I did get a Sandisk 120GB SSD and that seems to work OK but even on a Sony charger the batteries die after a few minutes!!

Keep you posted if I have any more issues as you guys seem to be the experts!!!

Hi Chris, the Ninja 2 only normally comes with one battery and its generic brand. I just got three spares for $57.00 on eBay Ozzie supplier. and the hard drives I got from B and H was cheaper including freight from the states, I am no expert just had to find out by asking people. I think as I get older I am not to proud about asking if I don't know the answer." So what I am Stupid" just tell me how to fix it

Thanks Mark

That's me too!!! Well using another Sony battery I got it all to work fine so far ... Is there a big difference running ProRes HQ against ProRes 422 ...on the 120GB drive I get 1h 20 on the HQ setting and 2h on the 422 setting. I can live with both however!!

I'll ask questions once I have done some tests ..just got to figure where to mount it as I have an XLR audio unit under the camera so mounting the Ninja in between makes it pretty high!! I might look at a side mount bracket to keep the height down

All your advice is much appreciated

Hi Chris

What audio unit do you use under the camera? i bought a Tascam D60 a while back only ever used it once as and external unit with my Rode NTG3 do you notice the difference usually I have been using a Rode videomic pro on the camera straight into the camera.
I only use the 422 settings the main difference is the file sizes you wont notice much differance in picture quality between the camera on AVCHD and the Ninja 2 set to 422 but when you zoom into there is more detail and also if you use green screen you wont have as much trouble with colour if there is something in the shot with blues not as much artifact

Hi Mark

First of all I have one more issue! I don't seem to be able to get anything out from the HDMI passthru socket so it feeds my Encoder ..which says "no HDMI input" ... Is there anything one needs to setup to get this working or is causing the output to be blocked? Have you used the HDMI out? I'm wondering if it is active in standby mode or do you have to be recording?? Any bright ideas from you or Jack??? It's my last obstacle!!!

OK after trying a whole bunch of XLR adapters I found the Saramonic AX107 to be perfect!! it sits between the tripod and camera and has tons of features too... really worth looking at and half the price of the Beachtek units ! Under $200 and awesome controls including headphone amp, phantom power and dual input levels (0 and +20db) as well as line inputs and neat level peaking leds and a nice LCD display too!!

Hi Chris
Bearing in mind I am using the Ninja Star, my HDMI out, is sending a signal to my TV whist the camera is in standby mode. This is when the Ninja is recording and when the Ninja is in standby.

Cant remember if there were any settings to set that up, pretty sure it should just pass thru!!!!!!!?????

Thanks Jack

That's what I thought! If I plug my cam into my encoder it works fine ...if I plug into the Ninja 2 and then out from the HDMI output it finds nothing .... apparently it happens with some external monitors too ... This is really becoming a pain!!! Gosh if I can't get the passthru to run then things are bad!! Getting ready to put the Ninja back on eBay and go the simple route and record with my second FZ1000 on a tripod sitting next to the main one that is doing the streaming video.

Hi
Sorry can't help with this one haven't used pass through did you try the forum for the Ninja, here is link
Ninja (http://forum.atomos.com/forumdisplay.php?3-Ninja)

Thanks for that Mark

Sadly they closed the forum down in February so only archived posts are left up until they close it permanently. I figured, like Jack that the passthru was just a physical connection out but apparently the unit also processes the video first and some have reported that they cannot get an HDMI monitor to work at all! I guess that makes it unusable for me sadly ...Everything else works very well, pity, but the reason I bought it was to be able to stream and record at the same time. Oh well I put it back on eBay .. lots of interest shown already with auction starting at $299 since it does have two Sony 4400mah batteries and a Sandisk 120GB SSD as extras. I just bit the bullet with the faulty charger and used a new one I had here.

It is still a killer device if you do things like long dance recitals or concerts as it does defeat the FZ1000's 30 minute record limit by using it in standby.

With regards to the focus mark on the recording, I also noticed yesterday that if you refocus (I have the AE lock button assigned to focus) after a zoom, the green focus marks show up on the recording and also the little exposure level icon bottom centre also appears until it's off the screen after a few seconds. Bear that in mind if you are using the Ninja and need to refocus

With regards to the focus mark on the recording, I also noticed yesterday that if you refocus (I have the AE lock button assigned to focus) after a zoom, the green focus marks show up on the recording and also the little exposure level icon bottom centre also appears until it's off the screen after a few seconds. Bear that in mind if you are using the Ninja and need to refocus

Can you clarify that? Are you talking about on screen displays showing on the recorded file?
Can't see it on my recordings to the NInja Star. I just use the half press on the shutter button for re-focusing during recording.

Hi Jack

For convenience I have focus also assigned to the AE button at the back so it's easier to do a refocus if someone moves ... on the HDMI output I did notice that the green rectangles that pop up to say they have found something to focus on appeared on the output footage but only while the button was pressed...it went away quickly after that but at the same time the little +- exposure icon also comes up at the bottom centre of the screen too and takes about 10 seconds to go away ... this also happens if you half press the shutter button. Does your camera not do that??? My focus squares disappear the moment I have focussed but the little icon stays much longer .... Check your camera as I'm interested!!

Hmm, very interesting and a little bit scary.
I will rig it up tonight and go thru the settings, see if I can get this to show up on my recordings.

Or I could just wait till the next Wedding shoot!!!!???
It would definitely happen then!

Thanks Jack

What you need to do to is set up your screen so it's definitely icon free and then half push the shutter so the camera focusses on something. You will see the green focus rectangles disappear as soon as you let go the shutter button but the little exposure icon that comes up bottom centre stays on for quite a while before it disappears ... I don't even know why that icon comes up when you refocus because you are only refocussing not setting exposure.

Maybe you are right and it doesn't appear in the HDMI stream at all ...surely someone would have noticed if it did spoil the footage .... Mark was also concerned about the custom focus square (if you set it) that takes ages to go away ...maybe if you have a chance could you check that too and see if it's on the HDMI output or not??

Having a play with it now, just passing thru to the TV.
Will report back!

Nothing! I always have as much info as possible up on the live view. But doesn't show at all on the HDMI out screen.
No exposure icon comes up, at all, except on the camera's live view screen.
HDMI Info Display (Rec) set to off.
Viera Link on or off, no difference.

That's great

I'm sure Mark will read this but if you set the focus option to custom square, does it come thru on HDMI? Mark had a problem with the custom focus square coming on and staying on for around 30 seconds??

I must check if my streaming encoder also doesn't pass on the icons ... Thanks Jack, great test!!

[QUOTE=Chris Harding;1916546]That's great

if you set the focus option to custom square, does it come thru on HDMI? /QUOTE]

What are you calling "custom square"? Is that in the 49 area, or custom multi settings?
Tried all those.
Maybe I'm missing something.

Hi Jack

Custom 1 Area ... it puts a square in the middle of the screen as a single focus point and by rotating the wheel you can adjust the size ..it's really useful when you are doing shoots of a person standing at a lectern as it only grabs focus inside the square .. with the 49 point focus the camera can easily focus on the background so the square makes sure only the person is in focus.

Mark mentioned that when he used that , the square itself appears on the Ninja footage for around 30 seconds then it goes away. It doesn't happen with the 49 point focus selected, only the Custom 1 Area

Hi Chris, back again for your help, can you turn off the sleep mode on the camera, i have looked at the manual but cant find how to access it. Using camera on my smaller Glidecam 2000 and don't want to have to turn in back on in the middle of shooting all the time because it goes out of balance as soon as camera goes to sleep the lens retracts

Hi Mark

Very simple ... Go into the setup menu (spanner icon) and scroll down from "Format" until you get to the "Economy" setting, hit right arrow on the joysick and there you will find the "Sleep" mode and you can set it to "OFF" However if the camera is recording I don't think it will go to sleep ever but in standby mode and with HDMI mode running it just might so to be safe keep it in the "OFF" setting ... with normal recording to the card at weddings it has never gone into sleep mode with me but in standby it does go to sleep.

Thanks Chris, fixed. what i meant was while running around with camera turned on mounted on the glidecam then going to use it and find it has gone to sleep at that magic moment and have to wait for it to wake up and missed the shot.

Hi Jack

Custom 1 Area ... it puts a square in the middle of the screen as a single focus point and by rotating the wheel you can adjust the size ..it's really useful when you are doing shoots of a person standing at a lectern as it only grabs focus inside the square .. with the 49 point focus the camera can easily focus on the background so the square makes sure only the person is in focus.

Mark mentioned that when he used that , the square itself appears on the Ninja footage for around 30 seconds then it goes away. It doesn't happen with the 49 point focus selected, only the Custom 1 Area

I only ever use the shutter button to set focus, maybe that's a factor.
I've tried all the focus options I can find, doesn't show on recording.................

Thanks Jack

Maybe Mark can confirm what he was doing or his set up because he actually sent me a PM about the square focus square staying on for 30 seconds and I suggested he use the 49 point ... I will also try it over the weekend and see if it appears in my HDMI output??

Any comments on this Mark???

Hi Chris, Sorry so long on reply, I changed to the 49 point all good now recording to ninja 2 got battery pack for camera and just waiting for adapter to suit Panasonic dummy battery the Panasonic power unit and dummy battery are not standard sizes which is a pain I have ordered a couple of cable adapters but if that does not work i will change the plugs on the Panasonic charger.
The power unit you bought online for you camera do you know if the connections are standard sizes 5.5 x 2.1mm plugs

Hi Mark

I didn't buy an adapter as yet so no idea!! The eBay ones seem to be listed as suitable for the GH2 cameras. Which plug is actually not compatible with what? The DC coupler seems to have a female plug and you were talking about using a different battery pack to power the camera I think ...If you have an issue just buy compatible plugs/sockets from JayCar Electronics and cut off the current ones and solder in new ones. You basically need a socket on the coupler and charger and a plug on the new battery pack (or viseversa) so you can unplug the pack from the DC coupler when it starts to go flat and plug it into the charger surely?? Does the actual dummy battery you bought fit into the camera OK???

Hi Chris yes I think I will have to cut the Panasonic connections off and replace with standard size, thanks for the reply

Easiest way and no fuss ! What battery pack did you end up getting and did it work? Pannys are fussy about which batteries work and which don't work or does the DC coupler disable the encoder function in the battery. I'd like maybe a bigger battery pack for long events but in standby the camera seems to easily last 2 hours and more!! Sometimes we are in situations where we simply cannot get to power (like an outdoor event!!

I have updated both my Atomos Ninja 2 firmware to 4.3 and just discovered that when I connect my Panasonic FZ1000 to them now the camera is not recognized anymore, has anyone else had this problem or is there a setting to change?

Hi Mark

Is the camera in AVCHD mode? Mine was not recognised if I put it in MP4 mode which was painful!! I actually sold my Ninja as with the cam in AVCHD mode the Ninja recognised it perfectly BUT the HDMI passthru was not recognised by my Livestream encoder so it went back onto eBay and was sold!!

Too many issues to deal with so I simply record with my second camera which is about the same price as a Ninja anyway!!

Fixed. I reset my camera to factory default and installed 4.2 firmware still same problem traced it back to camera settings had set record to 28m 50p Ninja 2 didn’t like it changed camera setting to 24m 25p all good again reinstalled 4.3 firmware with these setting all good, sorry for the inconvenience something so simple, Ninja 2 works ok with 17m 50i just doesn’t like 50p mode

Great Mark!

It still will not work in any MP4 mode including 4K which really sucks ....Funny thing is my encoder accepts MP4 from the camera but Ninja only wants AVCHD and whatever it spits out of the HDMI passthru the encoder doesn't recognise as valid video ...round and round in circles