nanoFlash Mounted On EX1

[Mike Schell]

Here's a couple of shots of the nanoFlash mounted to the Sony EX1. One of our early adopters found a tripod (1/4-20) to hot-shoe adapter (from nebtek.com), which provides a simple mount to virtually any camera. The SWIT S-8U62 battery (swit.com) provides power for the camera and the nanoFlash (via a D-Tap connector).

The low-weight (under 1 lb / 400 g), low-power (under 6 Watts) and small size (see photos) of the nanoFlash makes this combination very workable in almost any application, including run-and-gun shoots.

The measured run time for the EX1 + the nanoFlash, using this SWIT battery is just over 3 hours, recording at the visually lossless 100 Mbps 4:2:2 (XDCAM HD 422 CODEC).

Hardware checkout of the nanoFlash was completed yesterday. We are expecting production ready boards and cabinet by mid-May and volume shipments in June.

Best-
Mike Schell
Convergent Design

 

[nsoltz]

Looks good, Mike!

Looking forward to seeing how it mounts on EX-3

Ned

 

[Steve Shovlar]

Looks fantastic.

 

[MitchLewis]

Sweet! It would work even better mounted to the rear cold shoe mount on the EX3. Send me a Nano Flash and I'll be happy to take some beautiful photos of this combination for you. hehehehe

 

[Jason Davenport]

Sorry if this is rhetorical, how again is audio captured.

 

[Mike Schell]

Sorry if this is rhetorical, how again is audio captured.

Uncompressed, 24-bit, embedded over HD/SD-SDI. But, stay tuned as we may have additional options.

Mike Schell
Convergent Design

 

[Jason Davenport]

Ah yes, forgot about SDI embedded audio. Can't wait till June. Thanks for getting back.

 

[chagchag]

Sorry if this also is rethorical, but can you over/undercrank with the nanoflash?

Also, is the outs only carrying a signal if it has an "in" of the same format? IE, will I get HDMI out with SDI in?

 

[Mike Schell]

Sorry if this also is rethorical, but can you over/undercrank with the nanoflash?

Also, is the outs only carrying a signal if it has an "in" of the same format? IE, will I get HDMI out with SDI in?

Over/under carnk will not be supported initially. However, we believe this capability can be added later via a firmware update. I cannot make a 100% guarantee, without further studies, but I can say it looks very likely.

Both the HDMI and HD/SD-SDI outputs are "live" simultaneously. So you can select either the HD/SD-SDI or HDMI input and both outputs are simultaneously available. The nanoFlash actually senses if a cable is connected to the HDMI/SDI ports and automatcially powers down the port (if no cable is connected) to conserve battery life. Additionally, you can program the nanoFlash to automatically go into standby mode (power = 0.1W) on loss of the HD/SD-SDI input (this capability is unfortunately unavailable for HDMI sources). But, standby mode can dramtically increase battery life.

Mike Schell
www.convergent-design.com

 

[robbz]

Mike is this going to support both 1080p and 720p at 24, 25, 30, 50 and 60 frame rates?

Cheers

 

[Mike Schell]

Hi Rob-
We will support 1080p30/25/24 and 720p60/50. Our hardware can support 720p30/25/24, but so far none of the editing apps support these frame rates.

Mike Schell
www.convergent-design.com

 

[planetweckesser]

Simultaneous Record to SDHC/SxS media + Nanoflash

Simultaneous Record to SDHC/SxS media + Nanoflash

Mike

From what I can gather from the EX1 operating manual one can record to the SxS or SDHC cards (with adaptor) at the same time one is recording output from the SDI to the Nanoflash - is this correct?

 

[Mike Schell]

Mike

From what I can gather from the EX1 operating manual one can record to the SxS or SDHC cards (with adaptor) at the same time one is recording output from the SDI to the Nanoflash - is this correct?

Yes, this is certainly possible and provides an automatic backup on the SDHC cards), albeit at a lower quality. Using this mode, you can set up the nanoFlash to start and stop recording based on pressing the record button on your EX1. The nanoFlash is triggered via incrementing time-code, so you will need to set your EX1 in record-run time-code mode.

The nanoFlash can also be configured to enter standby mode (0.1W power) when ever you shut-off your EX1. The nanoFlash requires approximatley 3 seconds to go from standby to full-power mode.

Mike Schell
www.convergent-design.com

 

[robbz]

Thanks Mike, given that the NanoFlash isnt yet released, how long after release do you envision being able to over and undercrank on the Nano? I do music video's and its quite important for me.

Cheers

 

[GuyB]

Hi Rob-
We will support 1080p30/25/24 and 720p60/50. Our hardware can support 720p30/25/24, but so far none of the editing apps support these frame rates.

Mike Schell
www.convergent-design.com

I am pretty sure Liquid supports 720 24/25/30p

Given JVC HD100 series shoot only 720 25/30p (& have done so for a few years now) I'm suprised you say no NLEs support these frame rates.

 

[chagchag]

Hi Rob-
We will support 1080p30/25/24 and 720p60/50. Our hardware can support 720p30/25/24, but so far none of the editing apps support these frame rates.

What? I edit 720 25p all the time. Both in Final Cut Pro and Sony Vegas...

 

[Mike Schell]

Thanks Mike, given that the NanoFlash isnt yet released, how long after release do you envision being able to over and undercrank on the Nano? I do music video's and its quite important for me.

Cheers

We are investigating the code to do the over-crank / under-crank now. I would estimate a summer 2009 introduction of this feature, based on our work load. We want to complete interval recording, time lapse and standard definition support, then we can jump on the over/under crank.

Best-
Mike Schell
www.convergent-design.com

 

[Mike Schell]

I am pretty sure Liquid supports 720 24/25/30p

Given JVC HD100 series shoot only 720 25/30p (& have done so for a few years now) I'm suprised you say no NLEs support these frame rates.

Hi Guy-
It is true we could support 720p 30/25/24 using an HDV level CODEC (20/25 Mbps 4:2:0). But I think most users want the 50/100 Mbps 4:2:2 CODEC support. I don't think 720p30/25/24 is supported with this CODEC (also known as the XDCAM HD 422). But I certainly could be wrong.

Best-
Mike Schell

 

[chagchag]

Hi Guy-
It is true we could support 720p 30/25/24 using an HDV level CODEC (20/25 Mbps 4:2:0). But I think most users want the 50/100 Mbps 4:2:2 CODEC support. I don't think 720p30/25/24 is supported with this CODEC (also known as the XDCAM HD 422). But I certainly could be wrong.

Best-
Mike Schell

Well, XDCAM EX 35Mbps works, though it's still 4:2:0


However, you should concider that it's quite common to use proxies when editing high bitrate footage, and for onlining and effects (where we actually reap the benefits of higher chromasampling and bitrate) one usually converts to uncompressed, DPX etc.

I would say NLE support is GREAT, but not as important when going for high-quality bitrates. I mean, we don't edit the native R3D files of the RED, so having the option of 720 25p would be quite useful even if the current NLE's don't support it.

 

[Mike Schell]

OK, I agree. We certainly can add the 720p30/25/24 at 50/100 Mbps 4:2:2 in MXF file format. We were already planning to add low rate (18 Mbps) 4:2:0 recording for proxies. In this mode, we should be able to support all the various formats without NLE restrictions.

Mike Schell