AJA Ki Pro Mini vs. Nanoflash

[wbrock001]

Hi Everyone,

So it seems the nanoflash finally has some competition. The AJA is limited to prores but for $1000 less than the nanoflash, its looking pretty sweet with analog audio inputs too! By the way, how does the quality of the Ki Pro Mini's analog audio a/d converters compare to the likes of Sound Devices 702? Anyone have any insight? Thank you in advance!

Bill

 

[arniepix]

Here's my $.02.

Convergent is a very small company that works very hard to create well designed products. They have limited resources for support & quality control. The NanoFlash products are a very clever & well though out competitor in the compact recorder market place. The higher bit rate options deliver pretty good image quality for the price you pay for the Nano.

AJA is a much larger & very well established company that works very hard to create well designed and well manufactured products. They have top notch quality control and customer service that's rivaled by few companies. The full grown Ki Pro is already a very widely used product, and the ProRes family of codecs has already become widely recognized for image quality & are becoming widely adopted for shooting & editing.

 

[Stephen Mick]

Here's my $.02.

Convergent is a very small company that works very hard to create well designed products. They have limited resources for support & quality control. The NanoFlash products are a very clever & well though out competitor in the compact recorder market place. The higher bit rate options deliver pretty good image quality for the price you pay for the Nano.].

This is complete bunk.

Unless you have first-hand experience or inside knowledge of Convergent's quality control and support programs, be silent. I have experience with both, and honestly, they are both first-rate.

 

[wbrock001]

I have NO doubt, both are awesome and off the charts in quality and customer service...I remember when C-D was working on the nano and how responsive they were...but for me using Apple, the analog inputs and saving $900...that's pretty cool. But if you work in a mixed PC and Apple environment the nano is probably a little more convenient since you're not locked into prores.

But here's another thought, if the a/d's and analog circuitry in the ki pro mini are as good or nearly as good as the sound devices 702...could the ki pro mini also be a standalone 2 track audio recorder? For just a smidge more than the basic SD 702, with the benefit of excellent video...might be a viable option?

 

[Fohdeesha]

Really wish the folklore about prores on windows was gone. Apple has had a prores decoder out for windows for about 2 years now. You can drop prores clips onto the timeline of any windows editor that supports quicktime! Performance is no problem either, can play/edit 4:4:4 hq prores 1080p on my intel i920 in cs5, (if you're working with 4:4:4 stuff just make sure you have a pretty fast disk aray, but I doubt you will be)

You can edit prores on windows all day long, import clips right from the aja! just cant EXPORT to prores in windows.


As for the decision, tough choice. All very high quality! You're right, good to have choices and competition in this type of market. I'd personally go with the pro mini, seems like a very well thought out device, xlr inputs switchable from line to mic to mic +48v is really awesome in my book.

 

[Dan Keaton]

Dear Friends,

Disclaimer: I am the Director of Sales and Marketing for Convergent Design.

I welcome the recent competition from AJA and I intend to be respectful of their company and product line.

I would like to congratulate AJA on introducing the Ki Pro Mini at an attractive price.

But, there are many differences between the Ki Pro Mini and the nanoFlash, and after careful analysis, we feel that the nanoFlash holds up well to the competition, and once media and batteries are puchased, the lowest overall cost solution for high-quality recording.

Once one takes into consideration the cost of media, the maximum uninterrupted record time, the cost of batteries, the frequency of firmware upgrades, the new features that have been added for free over time, the flexibility and the versatility, and our 24/7 customer support, we hope many will choose the nanoFlash.

While the nanoFlash presents a un-unassuming exterior, the technology inside is very advanced.

For example, the nanoFlash only requires a 400x CompactFlash card, for recording up to and including 220 Mbps. And even lower performance, lower cost cards 133x cards may be used for Broadcast Quality.

The Ki Pro Mini requires a much more expensive 600x CompactFlash card for 220 Mbps.

Today's Price (November 22, 2010) for a 64 GB 600x card for the Ki Pro Mini is $520.21.
Today's Price for a 64 GB 400x card for the nanoFlash is $165.85.

And the nanoFlash achieves Broadcast Quality at only 50 Mbps which allows a maximum uninterrupted recording time of 5.3 hours.

Broadcast Quality on the Ki Pro is 145 Mbps or higher and is limited to an uninterrupted recording time of 45 to 57 minutes.


And with the nanoFlash one can use Hot Swapping to achieve a much longer recording time or the ability to start editing while still recording, a very desirable feature.

Powering the nanoFlash is easy as it draws under 6 watts, this allows a small, lightweight, low-cost battery to power many cameras and nanoFlash together.

Powering the Ki Pro Mini, which itself requires 16 to 18 watts, plus a camera, requires an expensive Pro battery and charger.

Any initial price advantage of the Ki Pro Mini is immediately lost when media costs, battery costs, and charger costs are taken into consideration.

The nanoFlash is ideally suited for use with the soon to be released Panasonic AF100/AF101/AF102 as well as many other cameras.

Here is a list of advantages of using a nanoFlash.


nanoFlash Advantages / Unique Features


· Most efficient CODEC:
...Very Low Noise Sony XDCAM 422 HD Codec;
...18 to 280 Mbps, I-Frame Only or Long-GOP
· 4:2:2 Broadcast Quality at only 50 Mbps
· Very high quality at lower bit-rates: 100 Mbps 4:2:2 Long-GOP
· Longest Uninterrupted Record Times of any professional recorder
· Best Media Management
...o Very Long Uninterrupted Record times (Supports Spanning of Cards and Hot Swapping)
......§ 15 hours @ 18 Mbps (Proxy Mode)
......§ 5.3 Hours, Uninterrupted, at Broadcast Quality (50 Mbps 4:2:2)
......§ 1 Hour at Maximum Quality (280 Mbps 4:2:2)
...o Lowest-Cost CompactFlash cards: 133X (for 100 Mbps), 400X (for 220 Mbps)
...o 600x speed CompactFlash cards not needed, except for 280 Mbps
...o Affordable Nexto Drive (500GB HDD) for field backup
...o Supports multiple files for safety
...o Hot-swapping (Current in our Public Beta, Production Level release coming soon)
· Longest Battery Life: 6W Max Power, 5 to 19.5V Range
· A lightweight and low-cost battery can typically power a camera and nanoFlash simultaneously.
...(Certain cameras do require Pro Batteries.)
·Industry Leading Size, Weight (0.85 Pounds, 385 grams), and low Power Requirements
· Completely Silent - No Fans
· Full Support For PSF, Converts PSF to Progressive for recording, Progressive to PSF for playback
· Comprehensive Support for various frame rates including True 24p, True 30p and True 60i.
· E to E Direct Support
· 3:2 Pulldown Removal
...Example: 1080p24 over 60i -> 1080p24, for both SDI and HDMI
· Time Lapse: one frame/second up to one frame/day
· Pre-Record Buffer (up to 7 seconds) – Great for wildlife
· Over/Under Crank (Variable Frame Rate) with all cameras: 1080p and 720p
· Universal NLE Support: MXF/MOV/MPG files, no transcode, Play directly off CF card
· MPG file format speeds DVD and Blu-Ray creation; Renders Blu-Ray files in real-time
· Most flexible recorder – numerous trigger options, internal/external TC, etc.
· Comprehensive software tools / plugins for viewing / converting files
...o MOV ↔MXF Converters, XDCAM Viewer, Calibrated Software Decoder
...o Cineform support coming soon, currently in Pubic Beta and working
· Simplest Mounting: Built-In Tripod Mount (1/4”-20)
· History of continuous upgrades:
...o Seven Major, Free Firmware Updates since Aug 2009
...o Next Release, currently in Public Beta, to include: Canon MXF support, Record Trigger Delay,
.....Hot Swap, Image Flip/Flop (Now in Public Beta)
· Field Proven in mission critical applications
...o Over 2300 units in the field
...o Extreme environments – desert, humid jungles, balloons @ 100K feet,
.....underwater, arctic cold, race-cars, helicopters, jets, acrobatic planes,
.....(-30 to 65 C operating range)
· Upgradeable to 3D, without loss of investment
· 24/7 phone support – Knowledgeable support when you need it
· Available today – Currently In-Stock