C100: C100 With Ninja Star

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Dafilman21

Carbonite Member
I am picking up a Ninja star for a shoot this weekend and wanted to know how people almost 2yrs in with the combo feel about it.
 
I have a Ninja Blade and I never shoot without it! The main reason I use it is..... no transcoding (is that the right word?) So easy to just take out the hard drive and load everything instantly to the computer. I'm at the mercy of those who have said the image is better with Pro Res. Lots of videos on the subject.

I also like the monitor it looks like an iPhone 6.
 
Michael Thames said:
The main reason I use it is..... no transcoding (is that the right word?)
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I thought needing to transcoding AVCHD was a thing of the past (unless you're using an old computer, I guess). I'm on a three year old PC laptop and have never needed to transcode and another C100 guy I shoot with is on a Mac and never needs to transcode. Workflow from memory cards into Premiere is super simple; copy, paste, import, done.

I guess I don't know many people using Final Cut; I thought Final Cut had gotten past transcoding as well.
 
Eric Coughlin said:
I thought needing to transcoding AVCHD was a thing of the past (unless you're using an old computer, I guess). I'm on a three year old PC laptop and have never needed to transcode and another C100 guy I shoot with is on a Mac and never needs to transcode. Workflow from memory cards into Premiere is super simple; copy, paste, import, done.

I guess I don't know many people using Final Cut; I thought Final Cut had gotten past transcoding as well.
Click to expand...

Yea, but I always was in the habit of using MPEG Streamclip to transcode MTS. to Pro Res. The Ninja is Pro Res.
 
Michael Thames said:
Yea, but I always was in the habit of using MPEG Streamclip to transcode MTS. to Pro Res. The Ninja is Pro Res.
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Why do you need Pro Res, though? AVCHD edits fine on my computer, personally speaking.

I mean, if you need 4:2:2 for broadcast, or want a slightly better image with a bit more post flexibility, then I understand the point of recording externally. But to do it mainly to improve speed of workflow I don't understand as at least with my workflow with recording internally I can't think of a way things could be more simple. Recording externally would slow things down since the files sizes are 5-10 times larger and would take longer to transfer, backup, etc.
 
I never go to a shoot w/o my Ninja Star anymore. I mount it to the top of the handle on the back 1/4-20 with a cinevate universal accessory mount (you can find it on amazon, b&h, etc). With the mount hanging down it puts the ninja star right above the EVF. It's also very comfrotable hand-held or on a shoulder rig without messing up your weight distribution.

Personally, even if I have to shoot long interviews for the web I at least record in LT as I have noticed a small color shift in skin tones. Also as FCPx is my main editor, I would much rather deal with ProRes than AVCHD any day of the week. The one thing I will say is don't bother with the standard ProRes 422 flavor. Not sure why, but myself and the majority of the people on the internet, noticed at times a decrease in quality (albeit marginally) where as HQ and LT show an increase over AVCHD. HQ more so than LT obviously.
 
Eric Coughlin said:
Why do you need Pro Res, though? AVCHD edits fine on my computer, personally speaking.

I mean, if you need 4:2:2 for broadcast, or want a slightly better image with a bit more post flexibility, then I understand the point of recording externally. But to do it mainly to improve speed of workflow I don't understand as at least with my workflow with recording internally I can't think of a way things could be more simple. Recording externally would slow things down since the files sizes are 5-10 times larger and would take longer to transfer, backup, etc.
Click to expand...

There are lots of comparison videos out there showing the better quality of MPEG Streamclip over H.264 and AVCHD.

I don't do broadcast, I just want a better image. I'm not saying the only consideration is speeding up the workflow.
 
TSDavis said:
I never go to a shoot w/o my Ninja Star anymore. I mount it to the top of the handle on the back 1/4-20 with a cinevate universal accessory mount (you can find it on amazon, b&h, etc). With the mount hanging down it puts the ninja star right above the EVF. It's also very comfrotable hand-held or on a shoulder rig without messing up your weight distribution.

Personally, even if I have to shoot long interviews for the web I at least record in LT as I have noticed a small color shift in skin tones. Also as FCPx is my main editor, I would much rather deal with ProRes than AVCHD any day of the week. The one thing I will say is don't bother with the standard ProRes 422 flavor. Not sure why, but myself and the majority of the people on the internet, noticed at times a decrease in quality (albeit marginally) where as HQ and LT show an increase over AVCHD. HQ more so than LT obviously.
Click to expand...

Thank you for this, I planned on shooting in LT for this weekends shoot anyway.
 
did anybody had some pain with the micro HDMI plugs / cables . I mean, while doings some pretty moving run and gun shoots.
 
MicroHDMI is not my favorite connector but actually I feel it fits more "snug" than the full size HDMI does. There's a company that makes an HDMI port that has a security screw, kind of like VGA or DVI cables did, that the C100 supports. I haven't purchased one yet but one day I'll get around to it.
 
Dafilman21 said:
What are you guys using to mount it to the camera?
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Hi Dafilman,
I think you definetely should go to this other thread:
Ninja Star and the C100: Forever together?
1.gif

Take a look particularly at hte way slavikb use to mount it. It seems very smart to me...
 
Eric Coughlin said:
I thought needing to transcoding AVCHD was a thing of the past (unless you're using an old computer, I guess). I'm on a three year old PC laptop and have never needed to transcode and another C100 guy I shoot with is on a Mac and never needs to transcode. Workflow from memory cards into Premiere is super simple; copy, paste, import, done.

I guess I don't know many people using Final Cut; I thought Final Cut had gotten past transcoding as well.
Click to expand...

I already heard that it's quite simple with Premiere. But sometimes, I'm not in charge of the editing part of the job, and if the companies I work for use Final Cut or Avid, they're far from happy to see all the time consuming and storage place transcoding my rushes will take...
So if somebody knows a way to work with AVCHD on these NLE more simply, feel free to say it! It will spare the need to buy an external recorder. the other thing is, the Ninja Star isn't versatile: it doesn't record DNxHD.
So I'm forced to rent bigger external recorder and my rig is no more a run'n gun one...
 
I love the idea of the Ninja Star but I shoot a lot of LONG interviews, sometimes 3-4 hours for documentaries and the cost of the cards for the Star is prohibitive for a lot of them. I use the Ninja Blade, mounted with an adjustable arm I bought at Filmtools to my 15mm rods on my baseplate. Yes, weight distribution is little off for shoulder mount but the majority of my shooting is from tripod so I can deal with it when I do go handheld. The Blade is one of the best pieces of gear I have ever bought, shooting Prores HQ makes my clients happy (A LOT of green screen) and ease to cloning the drive versus messing with a bunch of cards makes my life simpler. I highly recommend either the Star or the Blade with the C100, Atomos makes good stuff. My only real complaint with the Blade is that the sunshade is useless. I have to tape on two feet of Cinefoil to make it usable in bright daylight. My Small HD DP6, OTOH, has the best Neoprene sunshade on the market. If only Atomos would have made something functional like the Small HD sunshade! The Cinefoil sunshade works great but as you move and carry the camera around on multi-day projects, the Cinefoil gets mashed and wrinkled, small holes show up that I am always trying to block with gaffer tape, etc. It's not a pro solution.
 
puredrifting said:
the sunshade is useless
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Ran into this yesterday, mounted the Ninja onto my Ronin M handlebar, and the sunshade was crap.
Maybe something like a hoodman for a slightly larger screen might slide over the Atomos sunshade with a couple of velcro dots, pop on for sunny days and work better?
 
Matt Turner said:
Ran into this yesterday, mounted the Ninja onto my Ronin M handlebar, and the sunshade was crap.
Maybe something like a hoodman for a slightly larger screen might slide over the Atomos sunshade with a couple of velcro dots, pop on for sunny days and work better?
Click to expand...

Worth a shot! It's hard to believe that for such an otherwise brilliantly engineered and executed product, they dropped the ball on outdoor shooting with the "close to useless" sun shade. Cinefoil works great for a one day shoot but it's a PITA to rig, it's unprofessional looking and it's fragile. I was hoping the Blade was popular enough that someone would just go ahead and make one 6-8" deep with the same holes that would fit into the present useless shade's mounting holes. But so far, zero have appeared. If the Star's cards were cheap, I think it would be better overall solution than the Blade but the cost of the cards compared to SSDs for the Blade, no comparison.
 
I have used the Ninja Star twice now and I have no complaints. The only reason I didn't go for the Blade is because I have pre-ordered the BMD Video Assist.
 
Okay so I decided since I just ordered a Ronin-M that I am going to return the star and get the Ninja2. Is the monitor portion on the ninja2 superior to the LCD on the C100?
 
NOOOO! A big NO. The Ninja 2 monitor is garbage in my opinion. If you are getting it for monitoring capabilities please reconsider. I bought the ninja 2 a few years ago and absolutely hate it as a monitor.

I hear the Blade is the way to go between the two.
 
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