can you record 10bit 422 ProRes with Atomos Ninja Flame via HDMI from the Sony A7s2?

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Nicholas Natteau

Veteran
I have a Sony A7S2 and I just ordered the Atomos Ninja Flame for monitoring and exposing. Does anyone know if you can record 10bit 422 ProRes via the Sony A7s2's micro HDMI port? I'm confused because I can see the ProRes 422 recording options listed in the Atomos Ninja Flame. But I heard that the Sony A7s2 micro HDMI port is limited to 8bit 420.

Thank you in advance for letting me know.
 
Sony HDMI out is 8 bit 4:2:2. Much better than 4:2:0, but not 10 bit. You can still record it in 10 bit though. It helps in the post grading process since you make changes in 10 bit resolution.
 
The image will record as 10 bit 422, but as was just mentioned, the camera only spits out 8 bit 422, which is still a great boost.
 
Hi razz16mm, I'm just a little confused. If there is no way to get 10bit out of the Sony A7s2 into the Ninja Flame? How would it be possible to record in 10bit then?
 
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So then even though the Ninja Flame is set to record in ProRes 4K, I will still end up with banding occurring in my ProRes file because the image coming out of the A7s is 8bit?
 
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Nicholas Natteau said:
So then even though the Ninja Flame is set to record in ProRes 4K, I will still end up with banding occurring in my ProRes file because the image coming out of the A7s is 8bit?
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Pretty much everything consumers view is 8-bit. If you expose right in camera you won't get banding with 8-bit. 10- or more bits provides more room in post to fix issues from the shoot (including very high dynamic range shots).
 
Banding can be caused by low bit depth (8-bit instead of 10-bit) but I believe the real reason, most often, is bad compression
 
Banding, bit depth and compression.

Banding, bit depth and compression.

Samuel H said:
Banding can be caused by low bit depth (8-bit instead of 10-bit) but I believe the real reason, most often, is bad compression
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It is really important to be specific when talking about banding: banding in footage coming out of camera VS. banding appearing during the color grading process. Banding seen in footage out of camera would indeed likely be a compression artifact. Banding that appears in post during the grade would be due to bit depth. You really need to think about what you want to do in post to answer the question as to whether bit depth is important to you. If you are taking footage out of camera with little manipulation in post, by all means 8 bit would be fine. But if you want to adjust things in post, color grading for mood for example, you need 10 bit minimum, otherwise banding will appear when you try to adjust things. Canon C100 outputs 8 bit, and I think it looks great -- just dont try to grade it. I have a problem with Sony A7 series because I am not crazy about the color out of camera, yet they only do 8 bit so it is hard to grade.

Panasonic GH4 is the only DSLR I have used that outputs 10 bits. Anyone know if there are any other?
 
I've also read that before, and I think it was from another user.
I don't know much about the Panasonics, though.
 
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