Atomos Ninja Portable HDMI Field Recorder, Monitor & Playback Device

Introducing the Ninja.

From Lens to TimeLine - True Nonlinear Production

Enter the Atomos Ninja, ready to rock your digital production world! In the Ninja, Atomos have implemented Apple's ProRes codec and gained Apple's stamp of approval for the quality of their implementation.

The Ninja bypasses in-camera compression to record your pristine, uncompressed images straight from the HDMI connector of your DSLR or camcorder directly to Apple ProRes - while you're recording!

Now there's no need for capture cards or I/O boxes; Final Cut Pro users can just go straight from lens to timeline!

Key Features

• 10-bit High-Definition field recorder with hardware integrated Apple ProRes encoding.
• Portable, lightweight and rugged high-grade aluminium design.
• By-passes in-camera compression to record pristine RAW footage directly to ProRes in real-time through an HDMI connector.
• Enables shot footage to be directly edited in Final Cut Pro without format conversion, capture cards or I/O boxes.
• Active/Passive Dual Battery system ensures that users never run out of power when recording in the field by allowing batteries to be exchanged during use without any disruption to operation.
• Supports 2.5" SATA Hard Disk Drives and Solid State Drives in hot-swappable Master Caddy drive modules providing both high-capacity and inexpensive, and rugged and highly reliable recording media options.
• Compatible with all HDMI equipped consumer and professional camcorders and DSLR cameras.
• Features just four main functions; RECORD, STOP, MONITOR and PLAY.
• Designed with one-touch operation from the 4.3" touch-screen display for clear, simple and intuitive use.
• Built-in display shows print quality video at the recorded/recording frame rate (including 24p support) making the Ninja an exceptional monitoring device as well as a recorder.
• Includes a Master Caddy Dock for connection of Master Caddy recording media to Apple workstations over FireWire, USB or eSATA.
• Media is instantly ready to be edited, even directly from the Master Caddy, or can be offloaded/transfered to direct-attached edit storage or a production SAN, LAN or Archive.
• Includes line level audio input for high-quality audio recording that is superior to the standard recording quality most cameras offer.
• 1/4" headphone output provides audio monitoring level adjustment.
• Features LANC in/out and loop for camera integration and remote operation.

Post Production Quality, 10-bit Recording

The Ninja implements Apple ProRes in hardware to give you real-time, 10-bit recording anytime, anywhere. It takes advantage of low cost, modern technology by utilising HDMI capable pro video and consumer camcorders as well as DSLRs. Record directly to the Ninja on location in super high quality, for the most streamlined, affordable Final Cut Pro workflow available today.

Low-cost, High-Capacity storage

Using flash memory (CF, SD, SDHC) may suffice for stills photography, but it's just not there yet for serious high-definition video production. The professional alternatives (SxS, P2) are too prohibitively priced to just ‘record and forget’. The goal for Atomos was to reduce the cost of recording media so drastically that digital media production could be achieved on a traditional tape-based cost model.

The Ninja uses ordinary, low cost 2.5 Notebook HDD or SSD hard drives. These are housed securely inside the Atomos Master Caddy, which locks inside the Ninja. The drives are hot swappable, which means inserting new drives on the fly is a snap.

Using tried and tested storage guarantees performance and reliability. A 750GB/5400rpm drive holds 8 hours of high quality Apple ProRes footage! Spinning HDDs are for everyday use, in normal conditions, while solid-state SSDs can be used in more rugged locations.

Continuous, Hot-Swappable Power

Powering video devices on location or away from studio environments can be a problem. Atomos decided that two batteries were better than one and designed a unique Active/Passive Dual Battery system that means you need never run out of juice on a shoot. When the active battery is depleted, Ninja automatically switches to the fully-charged passive battery. You can simply swap batteries on the fly without affecting operation, and two batteries are included with every Ninja!

A Pipeline To Your Timeline

The Ninja's tight Apple ProRes integration means recorded footage is instantly and natively editable in Final Cut Pro. No need to waste time transcoding or converting from other camera formats. Atomos uses standard computer connections: FireWire 800, USB 2/3 or e-SATA to give you total flexibility when connecting to your MacBook, iMac or MacPro. Simply insert your Master Caddy into the Master Caddy Dock provided and you are editing instantly. You can also, of course, transfer the footage to your central SAN or LAN.

Record and Store

Keep your pristine footage in the Master Caddy on the shelf for archiving after production. The drives are cheap, the format is high quality and the original recording will always be there for peace of mind. Before Ninja, storing your rushes on the original digital media was unthinkable, now it's a no-brainer.

Simple Operation. Rugged, Portable Design

The Ninja is simple to use, rugged and portable. There are no fiddly buttons, just a crisp, high-resolution touch screen monitor. Ninja has just FOUR main functions: Record, Stop, Monitor and Play. That's about as simple as it can get! The user interface is designed for one-touch operation with every function clearly visible and accessible

The Ninja is designed to sit silently on or near the camera or camera operator, so it's small, light yet tough. Made from lightweight, high-grade aluminium, the connectors, storage and batteries are all easily accessible. Line level audio provides higher quality audio than most cameras offer, and the 1/4 headphone out allows for audio monitoring level adjustment. A LANC loop is included as well to ensure that the Ninja can be operated remotely.

What's Included:

• Atomos Ninja Portable Digital File Recorder
• 2 x Master Caddy
• 2 x Batteries
• AC Charger
• Case