Atomos Ninja Star

My 130 g external HD recorder arrived today. It's the Atomos Ninjat star – it records full 4:2:2 10 bit in ProRes format.

For videographers 10 bit is a giant advantage over 8 bit recording in the same way that a RAW image will beat a JPEG for still photographers. You get 1024 levels per channel instead of 256 allowing for artistic postprocessing that would otherwise be impossible.

The Panasonic Lumix GH4  will produce real 10 bit data on its built-in HDMI port – but it will not record it internally. The Ninja Star provides a fantastic solution  at a weight that's drone friendly.

The GH4 is a finicky 10 bit producer. Conveniently, Atomos has produced a nice video that explains the intricacies. 

Unfortunately, the first unit I've received is exhibiting problems.  All indicators show that the Star is working, has video lock, and is successfully writing to the CFast card. However, after a single recording – the star appears to  crash. It no longer responsds to button input and the recording files are zero length.

I contacted Nathan at their technical support desk. He unequivocally said that it's broken – and that they will hot-swap with a new one.  I will post an update on the progress.