Does Atomos' free CinemaDNG RAW upgrade mean trouble for the Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro?

Looks like the $5995 Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro is no longer the only way to get 4K RAW (with built-in ND filters) for less than $6000.

As of March 27th, 2017, when the free Atomos Shogun RAW upgrade becomes available for download, shooters can also record 4K RAW with a $3999 Sony FS700 and a $1795 Atomos Shogun Inferno.

Nice run-through of Atomos CinemaDNG RAW workflow with Resolve and Adobe CC in this video from Atomos and Sony:


For a total cost of $5794, the FS700/Inferno combination not only costs less than the URSA Mini Pro - it also delivers 240 fps RAW slow motion at 1080p (the Blackmagic maxes out at 120 fps).  

Plus, the FS700's base ISO is 2000 (S-Log2), compared to the URSA Mini 4.6K's ISO 800.

The FS700 also includes a battery - and the Inferno provides an SSD storage solution - which means no expensive external battery solution, CFast 2.0 cards or $599 SSD adapter required.

To be fair, adding in the $945 price of DaVinci Resolve Studio (included with the URSA) makes the total price of the two alternatives about the same - but doesn't erase the FS700's low light and slow motion advantages.

For current FS700 owners, this is almost a no-brainer - and for shooters thinking about stepping up to 4K RAW, this is a great new option.

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How to Record 4K with the Sony A7s - Without Waiting for the Atomos Shogun!

A lot of the excitement surrounding the introduction of the $2498 full frame video-centric "4K" Sony A7s at NAB a few months ago was a little muted when we discovered that the camera could only record 4K externally. But, we were told, the new $1995 Atomos Shogun 4K HDMI recorder was coming soon - and for just $4500, we would have an awesome 4K low light machine.

Well, filmmaker Yoshihiro Enatsu was unwilling to wait. He lashed up a $280 Blackmagic Design 4K HDMI-6G SDI converter and an $1895 Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Studio Pro, and created this incredible 4K video:



The setup is a lot bulkier than a Shogun, but the results speak for themselves. If you need 4K full frame right now, can get AC power into the field - and you don't want to spend the money for a $3495 Aja Ki Pro Quad - this looks like a workable solution.

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Record 10-bit 4:2:2 ProRes with a $295 Atomos Ninja Star Recorder and $160 Atomos CFast 1.0 Card!

When Atomos announced their new 1080p ProRes recorder, the $295 Ninja Star, at NAB 2014, it was seriously overshadowed by all the hype surrounding their new 4K HDMI recorder, the $1995 Shogun. But, over the last few months, excitement has built over the Star - principally because of its price point.

But the catch has been Atomos' choice of the Star's recording medium - CFast cards, the 2.0 versions of which have been priced in the thousands of dollars. But Atomos has just fixed that with the announcement of an Atomos-branded CFast 1.0 card.

Here's the announcement from Jeromy Young (CEO and founder of Atomos) to Nate Weber over at newsshooter.com - shot last week at CineGear 2014 in LA (I wanted to drive down, but the CEO here is cutting back on my expenses :)):





This is really exciting news. Until now, the least expensive "field" recorder has been the bulkier $327 Blackmagic Hyperdeck Shuttle. I put "field" recorder in quotes because powering the Hyerdeck requires an AC outlet or generator.

The Ninja Star, on the other hand, will be just $295 and battery powered - with HDMI pass-through; an audio level monitoring display, a time remaining indicator and large, readable controls.  With a $159 64GB CFast 1.0 card, you'll be able to record 10-bit 4:2:2 Pro Res to a CF card for a total of $455!  For those who don't need the monitor built into the $695 Atomos Ninja 2, that's a big deal.

The other exciting news in the video is Atomos' custom micro HDMI to micro HDMI cable. With this cable, Panasonic GH4 shooters will be able to record 1080p 10-bit 4:2:2 ProRes straight to a tiny external recorder without the additional hassle and weight of a micro HDMI to HDMI adapter.  This will be ideal for aerial or run and gun shooters, who need a compact and lightweight solution.

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