Sound Devices retire their Video Devices brand.

As for the future of external recording..

Id see them as useful for multicam..
Record up to 4 cameras and have a load of XLR in too.
Get one massive file.
Not a box that would sit on the camera.

Or

Id like something like the R7 sony recorder.. a cube.. itegrating recorders with a (big) screen doesnt really work as part of an ergonomic camera setup.
 
Curiously, I disagree with a lot of folks here. I now have two Pix-E5's, one Convergent Design 7Q+ with raw licenses, two Atomos Ninja V's and a Samurai Blade.
I find that since most biggish cameras for serious production need monitors, that a recorder monitor like the Pix is a great convenience. I get backup proxies and a punch in focus check easily.
Since I wear glasses thanks to my aging eyes, I don't have to take a pair off each time I look through a scope or readjust the scope when another operator is using it.
Further, the small mirrorless market definitely does need external monitor's or even benefits when I attach a Ninja V to a gimbal for instance.
I just bought the 7Q+ at a cut rate recently because it had raw licenses integrated into the package. This means that I can now shoot Arriraw on an Alexa Classic for added value, both in terms of resolution and color depth.

The biggest bugaboo for Atomos has been the lack of color depth. Most of their recorders were only capable of doing 10bit 422HQ. Even though I think this is really enough, and as a colorist, I should know, the truth is that it is nice to have 444 or 12 bit. I see how Prores RAW will be helpful to expand their feature set, but I am a bit concerned that it's implementation may go the way of Blu-Ray because of internal conflicts in the industry.
 
There are a lot of uses for monitor/recorders other than on a camera rig that I think folks here aren't considering. I bought my Shogun for use with a Gh4, but now rarely use it on-camera. In the past month I've used it multiple times to capture the output of a switcher on multi-camera event shoots and to grab HDMI output of a laptop for a training video. It's seen use as a playback device for sending pre-recorded video to screens at events. In a pinch I've even used it as an SDI/HDMI cross converter.
Understandably these uses are a much smaller market than shooters using them on a camera-rig, but there are definitely people out there using these devices for things other than on-camera recording.
 
Yes. I love my Pix E5... have been bummed there will be no more upgrades ... but it does quite a lot of what I need it to do - even when not recording. It allows me to always have a LUT applied on playback when using my FS7 with client monitor situation (camera does not playback with LUT unless you are burning it into recording). It's worth it's weight for the punch-in zoom, scopes (love the 4 way option), LUT support and cross conversion of SDI/HDMI outputs. I feel the recorder portion is a huge bonus - and as has been pointed out - it can record both proxy files and HQ files simultaneously. Lastly, it's built to last and runs a long long time on 2 batts.
 
Yes, the Sound Devices saw the writing on the wall. CF 2.0 cards were good enough to record compressed Raw on C200 and the CFexpress can record at up to 8 GB/s, which will be enough even for the 8K cameras.

https://www.engadget.com/2019/02/28/sony-cfexpress-cards-blistering-speeds/

Monitor companies are not out of the woods either, as the new foldable OLED screens might be coming in the OEM form ... especially if Samsung took up the camera business again. (they won't)

PS. My theory is that the external recorders were a way for the cartel to avoid the restrictions it imposed on itself. "I agreed not to have the internal 10-bit but I can't control what Atomos, CD, Video Devices, BMD are doing". The recorder use, as mentioned above, will probably remain on the multi-camera shoots.
 
They should have an internal storage in addition to the external options. You are righto
 
James0b57 said:
They should have an internal storage in addition to the external options. You are righto
Click to expand...

What benefit do you see to from internal storage? It would increase the cost of the device and it's less flexible and upgradable than the current "add your own media" options, right?
 
I like the idea of “grab and go” cameras. Cameras you never have to think twice about. Having even minimal internal storage means that there will ALWAYS be a way to record.
 
Chmiola said:
What benefit do you see to from internal storage? It would increase the cost of the device and it's less flexible and upgradable than the current "add your own media" options, right?
Click to expand...

It's, at least, a secondary/backup drive. Right now, the lowest priced SSD's go for about $.12-$.15 (that's 12-15 cents) per Gigabyte and they should be perfectly capable of the H264/H265 recordings. Additionally, they're unlikely to suffer from the mechanical wear and tear of the cards and the card slots while their read/write durability/number of cycles is likely to last far longer than the physical camera itself.

On a consumer camcorder/P&S/bridge level product, a 512 GB chip can hold a huge amount of photos and a reasonable amount of compressed video.
 
James0b57 said:
I like the idea of “grab and go” cameras. Cameras you never have to think twice about. Having even minimal internal storage means that there will ALWAYS be a way to record.
Click to expand...

Provided you remembered to transfer your previous footage before shooting something new. Removable memory storage makes life a lot easier when you have enough storage to shoot for days. ( especially if you have to hand-off the footage at the end of the shoot )
 
TheDingo said:
Provided you remembered to transfer your previous footage before shooting something new. Removable memory storage makes life a lot easier when you have enough storage to shoot for days. ( especially if you have to hand-off the footage at the end of the shoot )
Click to expand...

So, better to have both.
 
This would only work for low data rate cameras.

Because even if you had a reasonable size of 128 GB internal storage, you'd fill up your space within 10 minutes or so of shooting DCI 4K/60p at higher rates. Then there are higher resolutions and 4K/120p in the near future. I guess 4K/24p/25p could be manageable.

I'd definitely see the internal memory being used in emergency situations.
 
It would be primarily an emergency situation thing. But can also come in handy for more than that. But storage has become cheap enough to include it in cameras for a small cost. I would love to have it. I have been burn by external media and human error to see the benefits of additional internal sotrage. Itnis just to small a financial cost to not includenit on professional gear these days.
 
You'd also have to consider the relationships. Who would make it for whom?

Companies work together and some rely on others.

If Canon or Sony or Panasonic make their own internal media for their cameras then they are affecting others (if it matters)...or same with choosing one company to work with.
 
China and BM will make them. Maybe Fran and Cinemartin will revive. ;)
 
NorBro said:
This would only work for low data rate cameras.. .
Click to expand...
Samsung NX1 recorded at 80 Mbps in H265 and that was .... when I was still a DVXUser newbie. 80 Mbps is 36 GB/hr, according to some file size calculator I found online a minute ago.

Plus there are newer and more effective codecs than H265 (which got gobbled up in licensing battles and law suits). AV1 claims a 20% file size reduction from H265, which would make it about 30 GB/hr. On a 512 GB memory chip, this would be some 17 hours at a ProRes Standard quality. Samsung allegedly will offer a 1 TB SSD on their $2,000 Fold as an option.
 
Yea, consumer low data rate cameras...

That's not going to happen with cinema cameras; would be looking at 800+ mbps with higher framerates, and especially with any potential internal RAW options.

$20 SDXC cards can now hold like 2-3 hours of 100mbps 4K footage, so not sure any company would even bother with it.

Phones are for millions and millions of people. Internal storage is much more appropriate.
 
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