Noob question about Atomos products with an old Sony HVR-V1

T

tomyoung

New member
Quick version: my Sony V1's tape mechanism is actually broken but the camera otherwise works fine. If I use an Atomos Ninja (either Star or 2), does it just take the feed from the camera with all the bits as shown on the LCD screen? Because it's going to show the no tape icon in that case. I'm presuming the Ninja is cleverer than that but can't find any reliable info on this online.

Longer version: I'm doing this partly to keep a second camera in my arsenal (I've upgraded to a Blackmagic) but also because I'd been looking into audio options and seen the expense of good mics, decent pre-amps etc etc and was slightly despairing, before realising that I could just use my V1 and sync in post (which I've actually done before on a couple of projects). A minor pain, but from what I gather, just getting a decent mic and outputting it straight into the Blackmagic gives poor results. The cheapest pre-amps are several hundred, so I figured why not breathe new life into my V1 (which still gives good results all round) and keep the camera side of it too? Interested in opinions on this choice.

One last quickie - is the only advantage of the Ninja 2 over the Star that is outputs to a HDD? The Star actually looks neater and more compact, and I'm happy to record onto cards, it just looks like the cards are stupidly expensive, which kinda negates the fact the Star is a lot cheaper than the Ninja 2...

Anyway thanks in advance for any advice.
 
tomyoung said:
Quick version: my Sony V1's tape mechanism is actually broken but the camera otherwise works fine. If I use an Atomos Ninja (either Star or 2), does it just take the feed from the camera with all the bits as shown on the LCD screen? Because it's going to show the no tape icon in that case. I'm presuming the Ninja is cleverer than that but can't find any reliable info on this online.

Longer version: I'm doing this partly to keep a second camera in my arsenal (I've upgraded to a Blackmagic) but also because I'd been looking into audio options and seen the expense of good mics, decent pre-amps etc etc and was slightly despairing, before realising that I could just use my V1 and sync in post (which I've actually done before on a couple of projects). A minor pain, but from what I gather, just getting a decent mic and outputting it straight into the Blackmagic gives poor results. The cheapest pre-amps are several hundred, so I figured why not breathe new life into my V1 (which still gives good results all round) and keep the camera side of it too? Interested in opinions on this choice.

One last quickie - is the only advantage of the Ninja 2 over the Star that is outputs to a HDD? The Star actually looks neater and more compact, and I'm happy to record onto cards, it just looks like the cards are stupidly expensive, which kinda negates the fact the Star is a lot cheaper than the Ninja 2...

Anyway thanks in advance for any advice.
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sorry to hear about the cam. how much would it cost to fix it?
 
Thanks. I've contacted a company and am waiting to hear back but quotes I see flying round are anything from £300-£500. Just seems to me I might as well move to a tapeless solution anyway given that sort of cost, which makes sense from many points of view.
 
Any recorder will record whatever you embed in the hdmi or sdi stream. You can turn on/off on screen data in output streams in most cameras' settings. The star records to coast, the ninja to ssd. They both are going to have costs but the ssd's should be cheaper in the long run.
 
I assumed you've tried connecting it to any monitoring source and you still get the no tape logo. If that's the case and there's no way to override that logo off from the output then your Atomos is going to receive it. You could just decide to mattebox any project off the cam to elude the logo and continue using it's preamp
 
I've figured out the work your workflow dilemna and assuming you dont mind lugging around your V1u. Also keep in mind I'm a good audiophile and my audio mixing is good. Ideally when it comes to discreet and low noise electronics Sony will beyond definitely have a upper hand than Blackmagic anyday, especially when it comes to audio input electronics. I never record to camera and sync is never a problem. I prefer high end pre's and great DA decks and mixers to record on field. I've never used the V1u but I would analyze the audio headphone out and crank thr max volume up on some Beyerdynamic headphones or any flat neutral headphone monitors. To good thing about analog is there's good noise that provides presence so don't worry about some noise from a good preamp source. That can be fixed in post. Now, find a good portable 24/96 or 192khz portable recorder. Read the reviews about the line in input noise or rather its DA. Dont spend on anything more than 200bucks. I use the Olymous LS100 and its a phenomenal device. So bright, flat, and accurate. Better than Maudio, Tascam, Zoom, etc fat that price point. Find a used one. then get a good quality 1/8th cable to dual (stereo) quarter inch jacks and feed it. The neutrik inouts have a better path than the 1/8th input in on most field recorders. You should be good to go. Also your mics should make a difference. I Have 3 Rode NTG3's and they work great with just the Olympus LS100. So clean.
 
Thanks for all the replies. Demoboy: The Olympus LS100 looks good but the best price I can find (new) in the UK is about £250. To be honest though, given all the problems people seem to have with budget choices like the Zoom H4n it looks worth it. Would it work well with NTG2s?

Sounds like the Atomos is out with the V1 meanwhile (not worth it literally just for the audio, with a visual feed that has a tape error, NB it blinks in the middle of the screen so can’t be matted off), and repairing the tape mechanism just isn’t worth it I don’t think, so some sort of separate audio solution looks like the best plan at this point, and I’ll just have to see what my V1 can get on ebay for parts and spares. Probably not a lot!


 
tomyoung said:
Thanks for all the replies. Demoboy: The Olympus LS100 looks good but the best price I can find (new) in the UK is about £250. To be honest though, given all the problems people seem to have with budget choices like the Zoom H4n it looks worth it. Would it work well with NTG2s?

Sounds like the Atomos is out with the V1 meanwhile (not worth it literally just for the audio, with a visual feed that has a tape error, NB it blinks in the middle of the screen so can’t be matted off), and repairing the tape mechanism just isn’t worth it I don’t think, so some sort of separate audio solution looks like the best plan at this point, and I’ll just have to see what my V1 can get on ebay for parts and spares. Probably not a lot!
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I forgot to mention, if you can find a used M-Audio MicroTrack II for just 50quid you should do it. In that time they only focused on the DA and Line In, whereas most field recorders today market the built in mics, and most of the Line-in marketing isn't mentioned nor would they feel the need to mention those poor signal paths. The preamp stage and noise cancellation of the HVR-V1 will sound better than the line input off the Zoom H4n. I would check out BH Photo's used section from time to time. They ship internationally as well. Used purchases will even have leniency through customs as BH are really good with that protocol.

Also, and sadly, many recording enthusiasts fail simply on the cable stage. The best insulated cables and noise reduction cables really make a difference in the analog stage. I've seen knuckle heads literally use cheap hosa cables Marantz and Nagra devices! hello!

If you get a used MicroTrack II go for it. There's enough headroom in there to get a really nice image of sound in post at 24/96. Check your levels to as to which devices produces less noise. So you can decide to not crank all the way on your Sony pre and boost the gain on your MicroTrack or vise versa. You should get a to a common ground on both devices for optimal recording and make sure +48 switch is off on the MicroTrack II.
 
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