34 TVBEurope The Workflow The rise of the recorder
External recording used to mean a line out to a tape deck. Now it involves a host of peripheral options that are as integral to the shot as the camera itself. David Fox examines some of the top external recording solutions and their implications for the future of image capture
SALES OF external recorders have rocketed over the past few years, as they have become smaller, lighter and more capable. Atomos, the market leader, has now sold more than 30,000 units across all of its products. Its low prices are a major factor in this success, making its recorders a must- have for DSLR users, but the appeal of the on/off-camera recorder is much wider than this. The market for its HDMI- based Ninja 2 is currently 60% DSLR users, 20% buying it for new cameras and 20% using it to upgrade old cameras, while the SDI-based Samurai Blade is 30% DSLR (it can do HDMI via a convertor), 40% new, 20% older, and 10% switchers. Some 4K cameras need
external recorders to cope with the high resolution, such as Canon’s C500, or Sony’s PMW-F5 (which uses Sony’s own AXS-R5 RAW Recorder to record RAW 4K at up to 120fps). “I think the real revolution is
the external device being capable of more than the camera is,” says Atomos’ CEO, Jeromy Young. “This is a simple equation: cameras have a lot of heat. The more the data the more the heat. Separating recording from the sensor and making it external means we can pipe more data and record higher quality than the internals of the camera, resulting in better image quality from your camera. “It’s also about the use of commodity computer storage as media, something that not only
Button: “4K will have a huge impact on the external recorder market”
“I hate calling them recorders because actually it’s only a quarter of what they do” Jeromy Young, Atomos
Young: “The real revolution is the external device being capable of more than the camera is”
saves money but allows for a tape- like ‘keep the original’ workflow that we all loved about tape,” he adds. “Computers solved high data rates and large storage years ago and that lends itself to recording
computer friendly codecs like Apple ProRes and Avid DNxHD.”
Why go external? “No one simply shoots with a camera any more. We use camera systems and we need to be aware of the post paths for the finishing of our projects. A proper recorder is flexible enough both to capture from the
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different cameras one might use as well as output the different formats post may require,” says Mitch Gross, director of communications, Convergent Design. “It is not enough for a tool to serve a single function. Cameras seem to have more devices and contraptions hanging off them everyday. A high-end recorder that also functions as a reference-grade monitor and is still small and light and power-friendly enough to be mounted on a camera serves to help a cinematographer in his work, not hinder it.” “I hate calling them recorders because actually it’s only a quarter of what they do,” adds Young. “It’s not just the recording, but also the monitor and deck functionality.” It was only when Atomos addressed all of the functions required by cameramen (including peaking and waveform monitoring) that the sales really took off. “Audio monitors are also important and we have truly gone to town on the accuracy and functionality,” he claims. “However in essence these devices are a bridge from production to post production so the real value actually happens after the camera, and in our case on the set with cut editing. It’s all about the increased speed and quality of workflow and that’s what our customers understand.” Codex VP for Market
Development, Sarah Priestnall, says reliability, size and workflow are the key drivers for external recorders: “Recorded data is the equivalent of a film
www.tvbeurope.com December2013
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