Atomos makes its entry into HDR

Atomos has surprised us by announcing the new Shogun Flame and Ninja Flame, specially designed for HDR (High Dynamic Range) production. Thus, they make a grand entrance into the world of HDR, since until now there was no field monitor of reduced size that allowed to see this type of material from the shooting.

These two 7″ recorders/monitors have a resolution of 1900 x 1200 and are capable of displaying 10 stops of luminance with 10-bit color depth. They record on SSDs in both 4K and HD in Apple ProRes and DNxHR (4:2:2) files, making it easy to move to post production without transcoding.

The Flame series can achieve up to 1500 nits, a much higher brightness level (compared to, for example, the 400 nits of the Ninja Blade) that allows a fairly reliable approximation of what will be seen in post-production. Even so, thanks to the existence of the “High Bright” mode, users who want to work in SDR (Standard Dynamic Range)/ Rec. 709 will be able to do so without any problems, even varying the brightness level according to ambient light conditions.

It remains to be seen if this is simply a monitor with higher luminance levels for use on set or if it is truly HDR production ready, incorporating EOTF 2084 PQ and HLG.

They use a technology called AtomHDR to perform image processing so that they correctly reflect the brightness and detail of log signals from Sony, Canon, Panasonic, ARRI, RED and JVC cameras.

The Ninja Flame has only an HDMI connection, while the Shogun Flame also has SDI (including bi-directional SDI-HDMI conversion). Other differences between the two are the Shogun Flame’s ability to capture RAW from the Sony FS700 and FS7 cameras, as well as the Canon C300 MK II and C500; and the balanced audio inputs.

Both allow video recording, XLR audio, linear timecode and genlock.

In addition, they have a dual interchangeable battery system (without turning off the recorder) that allows continuous power supply and a high-speed battery charger.

The two recorders are scheduled to be released next week, the Shogun Flame for $1,695, and the Ninja Flame for $1,295.