C100: A good run and gun way to mount an Atomos Ninja

Just returned from shooting a few weeks in Africa. Not to derail this discussion but when is someone going to make a third party REAL sunhood for the Atomos Ninja Blade? The one Atomos sells isn't really much of a sunhood with the bottom open and not enough depth to actually shade the monitor in bright sunlight. On this same trip, I had my Small HD DP6 for another camera. I love the neoprene sunhood for the DP6, I really wish someone would make something like that for the Blade. The Blade itself is amazing but using it in bright daylight is a challenge. I ended up gaffer taping CineFoil extensions to the Blade hood but that is a temporary solution to a permanent challenge. Hoodman? Atomos? Any other accessory company? A lot of people own Blades and the other Atomos recorders and need to shoot in bright conditions. We need a solution.
 
Could you maybe add velcro to the existing hood and see if there is a hoodman one that fits the dimensions close? I'm sure a DIY solution will get you going long before someone hits the market with a sunhood specifically for it.

If you bought some neoprene and had a local seamstress sew 3 creases and velcro that might work. I had rigged something similar on a weekend where I was shooting with C300 in sunlight on my shoulder and I went to a local surplus store and found a square leather tool holder that had the same screen dimensions and with a trim here worked like a treat.
 
Atomos Ninja Blade shunshade and high temperature

Atomos Ninja Blade shunshade and high temperature

puredrifting said:
Just returned from shooting a few weeks in Africa. Not to derail this discussion but when is someone going to make a third party REAL sunhood for the Atomos Ninja Blade? The one Atomos sells isn't really much of a sunhood with the bottom open and not enough depth to actually shade the monitor in bright sunlight. On this same trip, I had my Small HD DP6 for another camera. I love the neoprene sunhood for the DP6, I really wish someone would make something like that for the Blade. The Blade itself is amazing but using it in bright daylight is a challenge. I ended up gaffer taping CineFoil extensions to the Blade hood but that is a temporary solution to a permanent challenge. Hoodman? Atomos? Any other accessory company? A lot of people own Blades and the other Atomos recorders and need to shoot in bright conditions. We need a solution.
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I've experienced the same problem when shooting outdoors on a sunny day. I mentioned this to an Atomos rep at the PhotoPlus Expo in New York the other week and he said he also has experienced this problem. I'm sure Atomos will have a better sunshade available in the near future. Did you experience any problems with Blade in hot weather? I've had the Blade give me a no signal error message when it gets hot. The Atomos rep said the Blade will do a thermal shutdown if ambient temperature exceeds 104 degrees. The rep said Atomos' new Shogun monitor has an internal fan and heat sink to better handle high temperatures.

I attended the CCW Expo in New York today and spoke with an Atomos rep. He said the Ninja Blade does not do a thermal shutdown if it overheats. He thought the problem may have been with my HDMI cable. Bought a new HDMI cable with swivel connectors at B&H.
 
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Thanks for the suggestion but I am far too busy to actually fabricate something for it. I will probably just continue to use the Cinefoil with the Atomos hood, it is okay, just not very durable. I don't shoot outdoors that often anyway. It would be nice if the Atomos hood was better though. I have not had any heat shutdown issues but the weather in South Africa this time of year was very mild.
 
I have one and am not very happy with it. It does the job, but the optics are very poor - magnification is a little too strong, corners are horribly blurry, and I actually find it easier to focus without it on. Still, definitely beats the sun hood.

I was considering removing the glass completely, but then I don't think my eyes would be able to properly focus on the screen.
 
Sorry, I was all set to meet Saf, the guy who owns a Grid 5.0, this morning - but he got called out on a last minute shoot and we couldn't make our schedules work. However, he seems quite positive about it and said he'll post his thoughts on here sometime soon.

Ben.
 
The front of the Ninja Blade measures 5-1/4" by 3-3/8". The screen measures 4" by 2-1/4". The diagonal measurement of the screen is 4-1/2", not 5". This Hoodman may work.
 
If it fits, it also addresses the issue of losing touchscreen functionality when using a solid enclosing loupe like the Grid.

I'm away on location for the next couple of weeks, but if anyone takes the plunge and tries one of these in the meantime, please let us know how you get on with it.

Ben.
 
I asked on B&H Photo's page for the Hoodman hood if any people who own it think it would fit on the Ninja Blade. The consensus seems to be that this hood was designed for the fairly thin RED monitor. If I add in the thickness of the Blade, plus even the edges of the Canon battery adapter plates on the back of my Blade, I don't think this will work unless I take it to a seamstress and have then tear out the existing elastic straps and fit some longer ones. Ughh, not a quick and easy fix I am looking for, plus the hood is $70.00 plus probably another $50.00 for a seamstress.
 
puredrifting said:
Not sure if I want to put sticky Velcro all over my Ninja Blade to use it. The price is certainly right, perhaps I will try it, it's too cheap not to. Thanks nutmegger.
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Trouble is, it doesn't give you those all-encompassing 4 sides, into which you can "bury" your face and keep out extraneous light. I really think Atomos dropped the ball with this. I guess a DIY/seamstress solution may ultimately be the way to go.

Ben.
 
bengiles said:
Trouble is, it doesn't give you those all-encompassing 4 sides, into which you can "bury" your face and keep out extraneous light. I really think Atomos dropped the ball with this. I guess a DIY/seamstress solution may ultimately be the way to go.

Ben.
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I agree. I improvised my own out of Cine Foil but the crew at Atomos should take some lessons from the guys at Small HD. The hood for my DP6, made of neoprene and mounting solidly to each of the four corners is genius, it works so well and is so simple.
 
Does the Cinevate Universal mount work if you are using the bigger NP-F970 batteries, or does this push the screen at too much of an upward angle?
 
I bought the Cinevate mount and to be honest, while it looks cool and is a streamlined way to mount the Blade, it doesn't work that well for me for handheld, the screen is too far back on the camera. I end up mounting the C100 on the baseplate and using a detachable arm to mount the Blade to the left side of the camera and using a shoulder rig more. I suppose this would work well for just handheld, holding the C100 in close to the body and looking down a lot but I have had a bunch of projects where I have to track and follow actors in crazy situations, up escalators, hopping in and out of subways and buses, even running and I have to use a shoulder rig to even get usable shots. A gimbal would be ideal but have not tried that yet. The Cinvate mounting method works okay in some instances, like slow, gentle hand held shots where talent is stationary and I am slowly walking around capturing various shots but for real handheld moving shots, this doesn't work for me, it is too far back on the camera body.
 
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