Ninja 2 with FZ1000

Jack Walsh · June 13th, 2016, 05:57 PM

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.

Chris Harding · June 13th, 2016, 06:53 PM

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!!

Mark Owens · June 13th, 2016, 07:36 PM

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

at the 1.05 he quotes $695.00 USD
Did you receive a SSD hard drive as well in the price?

Chris Harding · June 13th, 2016, 09:35 PM

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!!!

Mark Owens · June 13th, 2016, 09:46 PM

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

Chris Harding · June 13th, 2016, 10:51 PM

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

Mark Owens · June 13th, 2016, 11:03 PM

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

Chris Harding · June 14th, 2016, 12:57 AM

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!!

Jack Walsh · June 14th, 2016, 05:44 AM

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!!!!!!!?????

Chris Harding · June 14th, 2016, 05:55 AM

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.

Mark Owens · June 14th, 2016, 10:14 PM

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

Chris Harding · June 14th, 2016, 11:49 PM

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

Jack Walsh · June 15th, 2016, 06:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Harding

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.

Chris Harding · June 15th, 2016, 06:19 AM

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!!

Jack Walsh · June 15th, 2016, 05:55 PM

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!

June 13th, 2016, 05:57 PM	#16
Jack Walsh Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Valentine NSW, Australia Posts: 91	Re: Ninja 2 with FZ1000 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.

June 13th, 2016, 06:53 PM	#17
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: Ninja 2 with FZ1000 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!!

June 13th, 2016, 07:36 PM	#18
Mark Owens Regular Crew Join Date: May 2012 Location: Newcastle, Australia Posts: 56	Re: Ninja 2 with FZ1000 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? Last edited by Mark Owens; June 13th, 2016 at 09:34 PM.

June 13th, 2016, 09:35 PM	#19
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: Ninja 2 with FZ1000 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!!!

June 13th, 2016, 09:46 PM	#20
Mark Owens Regular Crew Join Date: May 2012 Location: Newcastle, Australia Posts: 56	Re: Ninja 2 with FZ1000 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

June 13th, 2016, 10:51 PM	#21
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: Ninja 2 with FZ1000 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

June 13th, 2016, 11:03 PM	#22
Mark Owens Regular Crew Join Date: May 2012 Location: Newcastle, Australia Posts: 56	Re: Ninja 2 with FZ1000 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

June 14th, 2016, 12:57 AM	#23
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: Ninja 2 with FZ1000 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!! Attached Thumbnails Last edited by Chris Harding; June 14th, 2016 at 04:24 AM.

June 14th, 2016, 05:44 AM	#24
Jack Walsh Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Valentine NSW, Australia Posts: 91	Re: Ninja 2 with FZ1000 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!!!!!!!?????

June 14th, 2016, 05:55 AM	#25
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: Ninja 2 with FZ1000 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.

June 14th, 2016, 10:14 PM	#26
Mark Owens Regular Crew Join Date: May 2012 Location: Newcastle, Australia Posts: 56	Re: Ninja 2 with FZ1000 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

June 14th, 2016, 11:49 PM	#27
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: Ninja 2 with FZ1000 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

June 15th, 2016, 06:19 AM	#29
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: Ninja 2 with FZ1000 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!!

June 15th, 2016, 05:55 PM	#30
Jack Walsh Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Valentine NSW, Australia Posts: 91	Re: Ninja 2 with FZ1000 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!