This upcoming week, many people will be receiving the first batch of Sony a7S III orders. Ahead of all this excitement, Atomos has released new firmware for the Ninja V.
The Atomos Ninja V is the company’s popular 5-inch external recording monitor, and is now capable of handling the Sony a7S III’s 16-bit raw output. The Ninja V can record 4K30p in Apple ProRes RAW for wide flexibility in postproduction. The recorder will convert the camera's 16-bit linear raw output into 12-bit log files which is "visually indistiguishable" and has less demanding data rates. When raw output is overkill, it’s perfectly capable of capturing the a7S III’s 4K60p 10-bit ProRes 4:2:2 log video.
This firmware version does have a few limitations to be aware of when paired with the a7S III. First, Atomos stated that “larger recordings on a 2 TB SSD may occasionally not play back correctly on the Ninja V,” however the recorded file is safe and unaffected. Next, they point out that the “Ninja V may not recommence recording automatically when momentarily losing video signal lock due to a faulty cable connection.” Finally, and probably the most pertinent to users, “white balance and ISO adjustments are currently not available in Final Cut Pro X” for Apple ProRes RAW recordings. Atomos said in their release notes that this would be remedied in future firmware updates coming to the Ninja V and a7S III camera body itself.
The AtomOS 10.54 firmware update for the Atomos Ninja V is available to download now on their website. More information can be found on the Atomos Ninja V compatibility page.
