Skip to main content
No Film School
Login
No Film School
  • Popular
    • 1. How M. Night Shyamalan Has Been Self-Financing His Films to Great Success +2,804 views
    • 2. How the Infinite-Generating AI Version of 'Seinfeld' Got Transphobic +1,338 views
    • 3. Learn How To Analyze Movies With This Cheat Sheet +4,257 views
    • 4. Where to Watch All the 2023 Oscar Nominated Short Films +4,099 views
    • 5. What Does the Ending of 'American Psycho' Mean? +22,407 views
  • Topics
    • Newest in Screenwriting This is How ‘Ringing Rocks’ Writer/Director Tackles the Anxieties of Filmmaking
    • Newest in Directing This is How ‘Ringing Rocks’ Writer/Director Tackles the Anxieties of Filmmaking
    • Newest in Distribution & Marketing Where to Watch All the 2023 Oscar Nominated Short Films
    • Newest in Movies & TV How the Infinite-Generating AI Version of 'Seinfeld' Got Transphobic
    • Newest in Marketplace & Deals 3 Tools to Rig Your Camera and Make It Production Ready
  • Cinematography & Cameras

Atomos Announces Their Brand New 4K Recorder, the Light & Affordable Ninja Assassin

  •   Shares
By Sponsored Content
September 1, 2015
Atomos first caught our attention with their line of HD to 4K recorders, like the Shogun. Today, they've announced something that's a real kick in the head -- the Ninja Assassin.

The Ninja Assassin has a lot to offer filmmakers using all types of cameras, including DSLR, mirrorless and video cinema cameras. It delivers 325ppi monitoring functionality, 7” screen size, 1920x1080 resolution, a 10% weight reduction (15 oz.), and is a true 10-bit 4:2:2 professional recording solution for Apple, AVID, and Adobe workflows. This means that many of the limitations we see from cameras, like compressed MPEG/h.264 recording, 4:2:0 color compression and 30-minute time limits, are bypassed using the Ninja Assassin. And all this at an affordable price point of $1295.

It’s the ideal size for 4K monitoring and considering its light weight and affordability its perfect for indie filmmakers (a7s, a7RII GH4), corporate video teams and anyone looking for an easy solution within a small budget.

From Atomos CEO and co-founder, Jeromy Young:

 The Ninja Assassin eliminates creative barriers and unleashes the true power of the worlds best sensors into the hands of creative pro’s over one single HDMI cable. We are truly proud to deliver professional monitoring, video production tools and recording capabilities to assassinate camera limitations. Seeing an image on the Assassin’s 7” screen and feeling the low weight is when you truly believe it’s the only choice for 4K high-res production.

Features

  • Record more accurate, higher resolution colors (4:2:2, 10-bit) direct to visually lossless editing formats (the only brand to do both ProRes and DNxHR).
  • No Record time limits – Recording externally to the camera puts an end to the traditional 30-minute recording barrier and allows larger media capacity.
  • Professional shot setup you can trust on a calibrated high resolution 7" monitor with over 320 pixels per inch.
  • Anamorphic de-squeeze, the perfect companion for Panasonic’s GH4 and affordable Anamorphic lenses/adaptors.
  • Easy to use professional monitoring tools including Focus Peaking Assist, 1:1 & 2:1 Zoom with silky smooth image pan & scan, False Color (skin tones), Zebra and Waveform/Vector Scopes for in-depth image analysis.
  • Go back in time with Pre-Roll cache recording, up to 8 seconds of HD or 2-3 seconds of 4K so you’ll never miss that shot
  • Video Time-lapse with up to 10 different sequences, speed ramp and scheduled start and end times over 24 hrs.
  • 3D LUT’s allow you to create a specific signature look or even recreate classic film stock instantly, with 50:50 split / LUT on / LUT off view, you can compare effects and make creative decisions on the fly.
  • Playback for instant review and editing on the fly with a choice of 10 tags in both record and playback mode. Our NLE support means that whether you are Mac, PC, Apple, Avid or Adobe we support you.

The Ninja Assassin is shipping now for $1295. If you interested in getting one of your own, click here to find a retailer near you.

And to celebrate the launch of the Ninja Assassin, Atomos is offering registered owners of the Atomos Shogun, Samurai Blade, Ninja Blade, Ninja2, and Ronin a free Power Station Video valued at $395. However, you're only eligible to claim one if you purchase a Ninja Assassin from September 1st to 31st October, 2015. Terms, conditions and process for the claim can be found here.     

Source: 
Atomos Ninja Assassin
Atomos
Atomos 4K Recorder
Ninja Assassin
monitoring
4k recorder
Atomos Ninja Assassin

Read More

Movies & TV
Netflix Cancels Two Completed Movies

Netflix Cancels Two Completed Movies, But They're Not Pulling an HBO Max

Editing & Post-Production

Is the New Dell 6K UltraSharp 32 a Modern Alternative to Higher-End Reference Displays?

Cinematography & Cameras
Canon camera new sensor

What Canon’s Sensor With 24.6 Stops of Dynamic Range Really Means for Filmmakers

More inCinematography & Cameras

Film tech deals of the week Feb. 6

3 Tools to Rig Your Camera and Make It Production Ready

Oscars 2023 Best Cinematography

What the Cameras of the 2023 Academy Awards Reveals About the Future of Hollywood Movies

'Top Gun Maverick' VFX shots

We Need to Talk About the 2,000+ VFX Shots in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’

Your Comment

42 Comments

Wow. I'm getting one. Yes, please

September 1, 2015 at 6:53AM, Edited September 1, 6:54AM

6
Reply Share
Share this answer:
Scott Cassidy
Director
129

High-res touch-screen 7 inch monitor with a 4K recorder built-in seems like a bargain at $1295. Thank-you Atomos.

September 1, 2015 at 7:01AM, Edited September 1, 7:01AM

3
Reply Share
Share this answer:
Guy McLoughlin
Video Producer
32372

Why price is cheaper than Shogun? Does it have XLR input?

September 1, 2015 at 7:04AM

18
Reply Share
Share this answer:
avatar
redboxfilms
indie production house
119

No SDI support or Raw capability seems to be the main if not only difference. Absolute steal for what it is.

September 1, 2015 at 7:34AM

0
Reply Share
Share this answer:
avatar
Jamie Cooper
DP / Cinephile
134

No XLR inputs too

September 1, 2015 at 7:43AM

7
Reply Share
Share this answer:
Sentry
115

Here's something better - and it's probably why Atomos came out with the Assassin:
http://www.videodevices.com/products/portable-video-recorders/pix-e

September 1, 2015 at 7:58AM

5
Reply Share
Share this answer:
Ed Wright
Director, DP, Writer
354

I was also on board with getting a pix-e when it came out...functionally they seem quite similar, but pix-e seems more rugged and button friendly whereas the shogun has 7". I am wary of reviews of the shogun mentioning its plasticky nature.

September 1, 2015 at 10:30AM, Edited September 1, 10:30AM

0
Reply Share
Share this answer:
avatar
Andy Zou
Producer
Filmmaker / Creative Director
235

I doubt it, Kaster... That Blackmagic recorder only does 1080p. This is a 4K recorder. They aren't really competitors at all.

September 2, 2015 at 11:46AM

0
Reply Share
Share this answer:
avatar
David West
Filmmaker
1387

Looks cool, would consider it, but I'm a little disappointed at the lack of coverage by NoFilmSchool of the Video Devices 4K recorders, and also any honest critique of Atomos products, namely the reflective screen in daylight, which on the Shogun makes it nearly unusable. Had to go to my A7s screen to get the shots I needed. I rely on NFS as one of a few primary sources of gear info, and the absence of articles about other competitors to the Atomos products is noticeable. Sponsors and such are vital to NFS, I realize, but I'm not sure my eyes will keep coming to NFS if coverage is incomplete.

September 1, 2015 at 7:10AM, Edited September 1, 7:10AM

5
Reply Share
Share this answer:
Mark Fenton
Media Specialist
103

I couldn't agree more. Here's something better: http://www.videodevices.com/products/portable-video-recorders/pix-e

September 1, 2015 at 7:57AM

0
Reply Share
Share this answer:
Ed Wright
Director, DP, Writer
354

I'm excited about the Video Devices products as well, but what I most look for from sites like NFS is unbiased reviews and comparisons. If the Assassin ends up being a better product for my needs, it is about $200 cheaper, more or less, after all the needed accessories.

September 1, 2015 at 8:39AM

0
Reply Share
Share this answer:
Mark Fenton
Media Specialist
103

Hum...
http://nofilmschool.com/2015/04/sound-devices-5-7-inch-pix-e-series-1080...

September 1, 2015 at 9:16AM

1
Reply Share
Share this answer:
hippase
111

Yeah yeah yeah we got your endorsed message by now.

September 1, 2015 at 4:30PM

0
Reply Share
Share this answer:
Jeroen de Cloe
99

Sponsored post yo!

September 1, 2015 at 9:42AM

0
Reply Share
Share this answer:
avatar
Cian Brennan
173

i like this site: but these guys are shoe salesmen and stenographers. i've been staring incredulously at the piece of dogshit NLE ppro 2015 --- every day since it's release, the reviews have gotten nightmarishly worse: it's virtually unusable --- and something you might think would spark some critical / objective review by this site. but forget it ... they're just a sales catalogue.

September 2, 2015 at 8:28PM

0
Reply Share
Share this answer:
avatar
stephen knifton
owner / creative director
559

Keep in mind now that this exists, the Shogun unit price will drop to around 1500-1300 and you could just get the original for the same price... I'm still not really sure why they made this. I own the Shogun and this sucks for me :(

September 1, 2015 at 8:16AM, Edited September 1, 8:27AM

0
Reply Share
Share this answer:
avatar
Graham Uhelski
Director of Photography/Video Editor
498

I like that they've offered a cheaper option for those of us that don't need the heavy duty stuff (by which I refer to 4k raw etc). Another plus, UI is the same. I wonder if there's still the same issues around Sony 4k that the Shogun had?

September 1, 2015 at 9:39AM, Edited September 1, 9:39AM

4
Reply Share
Share this answer:
avatar
Facundo Rodrigo Campos
Wearer of Multiple Hats
342

I'm confused - this completely bypasses your camera's output capabilities? Does the Shogun do that, too? I thought cameras are still stuck with output capabilities no matter the recorder.
Does this mean you can get 10bit 4:2:2 out of the c100 Mkii?
I see the a7s in their video, but I was under the impression that camera still only outputs to 8 bit color space. If this truly surpasses that...that's pretty huge.

September 1, 2015 at 10:11AM

0
Reply Share
Share this answer:
avatar
Ben Meredith
Cinematographer/Filmmaker
1399

Camera internal recording tends to be 8-bit, 4:2:0 chroma. But for some reason (still working on why), cameras tend to send out higher information over HDMI - for example, the A7s will send out a 4k 4:2:2 signal (still 8-bit, I think) over HDMI but can't record that internally. But the 8-bit signal will be recorded in 10-bit color space - that doesn't create new color information, but it does allow more depth in color grading your footage (I think of it as "9-bit" color depth).

I had a Ninja 2 and loved it, but I couldn't afford a Shogun - I think the Assassin is for me.

September 1, 2015 at 10:24AM

0
Reply Share
Share this answer:
avatar
Michael Head
Director, DP
135

Hm, yeah I mean that definitely makes sense I was just confused about the 8bit to 10bit mainly for the a7s. Crazy - this seems like a really great recorder.

September 1, 2015 at 12:09PM

0
Reply Share
Share this answer:
avatar
Ben Meredith
Cinematographer/Filmmaker
1399

This is not an accurate statement. 8-bit will be 8-bit. You can't pull color space information that doesn't exist. The main benefit is the 4:2:2 for more information retained in compression. Recording 8-bit output via 10-bit will just get you 8-bit that is a larger file size.

September 1, 2015 at 12:38PM

1
Reply Share
Share this answer:
avatar
Joseph Arant
Writer
531

See that's exactly what I thought. In their promo, though, it shows the a7s outputting "10bit" as they say, although to my knowledge that camera only outputs 8bit color space. So it just threw me off. Maybe it was a mistake on their end.

September 1, 2015 at 1:02PM

0
Reply Share
Share this answer:
avatar
Ben Meredith
Cinematographer/Filmmaker
1399

Correct!

And to make matters more complex, The GH4 does send an external signal of 10 bit, which should together with 4:2:2 result in a nice gradient roll off, but is still looking 'video-ish' because the camera has only 10 bit stops of dynamic range.

I bet a 15 stops sensor with a 4:2:0 8 bit codec would look much better.

September 1, 2015 at 4:34PM

9
Reply Share
Share this answer:
Jeroen de Cloe
99

ok ... sooooooooooo ..... with the new v-log firmware for the gh4 ... should we theoretically be able to output 4'2'2 at 10 bit, without the 'videoishness' due to the expanded dynamic range of the v-log ?

September 4, 2015 at 9:44AM

0
Reply Share
Share this answer:
avatar
stephen knifton
owner / creative director
559

Notice I said in my post that recording 8-bit color in 10-bit colorspace "doesn't create new color information" - however, instead of having (as a very loose, general, and not mathematically accurate description) two 8-bit steps of color difference between red green, in 10-bit colorspace your coloring program can act like there is ten steps of color difference between red and green. Shooting, it will still be 8-bit, but you'll have a bit more flexibility in post in that it will behave more like (but will not really be) 10-bit. Hence my "9-bit" description.

September 3, 2015 at 8:25PM

0
Reply Share
Share this answer:
avatar
Michael Head
Director, DP
135

"The camera can read out its entire sensor fast enough to output 8-bit 4:2:2 4K video over HDMI at up to 30p."

http://www.dpreview.com/articles/5952269437/sony-announces-alpha-7-serie...

September 1, 2015 at 1:13PM

0
Reply Share
Share this answer:
avatar
Joseph Arant
Writer
531

Yes, 4:2:2 8 bit on the Sony a7s. I'm referring to the video above, :44 second mark, it shows the a7s with messaging that it is outputting a 10bit signal.

September 1, 2015 at 1:21PM

0
Reply Share
Share this answer:
avatar
Ben Meredith
Cinematographer/Filmmaker
1399

I'm happy to be wrong on this one, but either it's false marketing, or maybe there was a firmware update that made it a 10bit output (if that is even possible), or some kind of device wizardry that I am not privy to...

September 1, 2015 at 3:58PM

0
Reply Share
Share this answer:
avatar
Joseph Arant
Writer
531

Oh I could be just as wrong! But I definitely hope it's device wizardry...lol.

September 1, 2015 at 5:15PM

6
Reply Share
Share this answer:
avatar
Ben Meredith
Cinematographer/Filmmaker
1399

Official word on this...

Hi Joseph,

If the camera is outputting 8bit, then you will not see an improvement in the image quality. You are correct in stating that you will essentially have an 8bit image wrapped in a 10bit file.

Regards,

Adam Badlotto
Support Representative
Blackmagic Design Inc.

October 6, 2015 at 7:51PM

0
Reply Share
Share this answer:
avatar
Joseph Arant
Writer
531

Great job on the video Abandon Visuals! Edward killing it as always with his shots and effects.

September 1, 2015 at 11:00AM

0
Reply Share
Share this answer:
avatar
Taylor Chase
Videographer / Editor
161

awesome :)

September 1, 2015 at 12:12PM

0
Reply Share
Share this answer:
avatar
Seán Ó Cearrúlláin MSc BSc PMP
Managing Director
181

Is it just me or does the screen looks super reflective? Could be next to useless in moderate sunlight.

September 1, 2015 at 11:59PM

0
Reply Share
Share this answer:
avatar
Logan Fish
Video Journalist, Gulf News
178

I rented it for a project and the Shogun is useless in any kind of sunlight, even in shade on a sunny day. Hope they fixed it on the Assassin, for their sake and everyone who buys it, but it doesn't look that way. The overlays, peaking, false color, etc are definitely awesome however, and indoors the Shogun was great.

September 2, 2015 at 6:35AM

0
Reply Share
Share this answer:
Mark Fenton
Media Specialist
103

There is a sunhood you can purchase, and there's a new matte screen protector available for the Assassin.

Be interested to hear thoughts on how it goes from anyone who buys them.

September 4, 2015 at 4:02AM

0
Reply Share
Share this answer:
Paul Julian
Video & Audio Editor
105

Really new to all of this. Does this mean I can add something like the Ninja to my camera, record to the SSD and then transfer the files from the SSD to FCPX, bypassing my cameras storage capabilities?

September 2, 2015 at 4:06PM

0
Reply Share
Share this answer:
carlton bennett
81

Yes, that's exactly what this does. Of course it gives the added benefits of a calibrated touchscreen display, focus peaking, waveform, 3D lut support, etc, as well.

September 2, 2015 at 8:14PM, Edited September 2, 8:14PM

0
Reply Share
Share this answer:
Jeremiah Kuehne
Filmmaker
1018

Thanks!

September 7, 2015 at 10:50AM

0
Reply Share
Share this answer:
carlton bennett
81

Would be interested to know in depth how it compares to the Shogun?

September 4, 2015 at 8:12AM

14
Reply Share
Share this answer:
Jackie Castellano
Moving image artist
74

I'm confused....I have a GH3 that sends an 8-bit 4:2:0 signal out of it's HDMI. If I record this to the Assassin, what do I end up with. You can't make 8-bit, 10-bit and where would the 2 come from to make the recording 4:2:2? It seems you have to be outputting a 10-bit 4:2:2 signal to begin with.

September 5, 2015 at 11:40AM, Edited September 5, 11:40AM

15
Reply Share
Share this answer:
avatar
Jerry Roe
Indie filmmaker
1538

I know I am a bit late to the party but now that I have one of these puppies (Ninja Assassin) what is the maximum quality I can record out of my RGB 4:4:4 S-LOG enabled Sony PMW-F3 and will some kind of dual link SDI to HDMI converter help? Thanks!

March 24, 2018 at 6:55PM

1
Reply Share
Share this answer:
avatar
Hannes Famira
Professional type designer and filmmaker greenhorn
88

These boards are dead bro, head over to EOSHD for an immediate response...

July 18, 2019 at 10:09AM

2
Reply Share
Share this answer:
avatar
Joseph Arant
Writer
531
How to Make Money as a Cinematographer

How to Make Money as a Cinematographer

Take your career — and your day rate — to the next level. How to Make Money as a Cinematographer is a new in-depth online course from No Film School, available now. Watch the Trailer Here!

No Film School

  • About
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Community Guidelines
  • Terms
  • Privacy
  • DMCA Takedown Notice

Sections

  • Gear Guides
  • Podcasts
  • Popular
  • Topics
  • Pitch to us
  • Boards

Follow NFS

  • circle Facebook
  • circle Twitter
  • circle YouTube
  • circle RSS
© 2023 NONETWORK, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
No Film School