Review Archives – J R Martin Media Inc

A look at the new Canon 7D Mark II, the new Atomos Ninja Star Pro Res recorder and how they can be used together to shoot Pro Res HQ 4:2:2 or 4:2:2 footage. Also how the Ninja Star can be used with the Sony A6000 to get equally great video with a relatively small package and price.

Technology, when it comes to photography, film and video, never ceases to amaze me. Advances in equipment and resources over the past forty-five years boggles the mind; if you consider what technology existed for professional production back in the 1970’s. If I had all this wonderful, relatively modestly priced gear back when I got out of film school… But that’s another story.

This story is about the new Canon 7D Mark II, the Ninja Star and the Sony A6000.

First Canon’s new 7D Mark II is a significant upgrade from the 2009 7D. It’s an amazing tool for both still photography and video production. As an owner of the original Canon 7D I thought long and hard about whether to upgrade to the 7D Mark II at about $1799 for the camera body. All my EF lenses are compatible with the new camera so I only need the body. I did consider a Canon 5D Mark III and/or it’s anticipated upgrades due out soon. But there is a big price difference.

I use the 7D for still photography and video. The still photography quality is excellent and the video is good. But I always felt the camera was primarily suited for still photography. Even after a firmware upgrade allowed the audio to be manually controlled, the camera sound recording was only suitable for a scratch track or home movies. But acceptable audio may be recorded externally working double system. With the right rig some decent documentary footage could be shot.

While waiting for the new Canon 7D Mark II to come out I bought a Sony Alpha a6000. This is an amazing, mirrorless DSLR (interchangeable lenses) that is very small but big on quality with 24.3MP APS-C Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor. It produces high-resolution photographs and full HD movies in low light with ISO sensitivity up to 25,600. Street prices for this camera with a lens are around five to six hundred dollars. The camera has complete manual or automatic shooting options and records HD 1080 Progressive or Interlaced footage at a number of frame rates. Great camera for shooting stills or video without attracting attention, however, audio still needs to be recorded on an external device like the Zoom H1, available for $99. This small digital recorder can be mounted on the camera’s hot shoe or handheld. One problem with mounting a recorder or microphone on a DSLR is it will pick up camera sounds like servomotors, auto focus and sounds made while zooming.

The Sony A6000 uses micro four-thirds lenses like the Black Magic Pocket Camera but the a6000 has a Sony E mount. An adapter can be purchased to convert the Canon EF mount to the Sony A6000, however, some functionality may be lost depending on the lens. The a6000 will also work with the Ninja Star.

I decided to buy the Canon 7D Mark II after looking at the specs and reviews of the camera. It seemed like it would be great for all types of production including still photography and digital video. One important aspect of the camera is the uncompressed output from the HDMI port on the camera.

My earlier experience and knowledge of the original Canon 7D was helpful, but more of an introduction to the Mark II. The little booklet that comes with the camera is a quick start guide but it’s necessary to download the User Manual from Canon to get really familiar with all the features and functions of the camera. You can set it on “Auto” and basically “point and shoot,” but that would be a waste of the amazing amount of potential the Canon 7D Mark II offers.

The Canon 7D Mark II is built to allow the shooter all kinds of options that can be programmed or accessed easily on the fly. The super 35mm, APS-C-sized 20.2MP CMOS sensor, and dual DIGIC 6 image processors make this DSLR well suited for all types of production. The Canon 7D Mark II has a 65-point all cross-type phase-detection Auto Focus (AF) system and Dual Pixel CMOS AF technology. This is ideal for accurate focusing for both the optical viewfinder and live view shooting. Live view shooting on the 3.0” LCD monitor is available for both still photography and video. It records full HD 1080p/60. Movie formats: H.264, .MOV, MP4 are all compressed formats. The HDMI output is uncompressed.

Photographs may be shot in .JPG and/or Raw. The compressed video (.MOV) quality is excellent and can be imported directly into Final Cut Pro or other editing software. With a high native ISO speed of 16,000 (expandable to ISO 51,200) you can shoot in very low light situations. There are white balance options, manual aperture, shutter options and menu options for the in camera video and the HDMI output. The camera has audio in and out as well as a built-in microphone. There are excellent in-depth reviews of the Canon 7D Mark II features online including B&H Photo.

Initial test shooting of stills and video (using double system sound) went well with a one-person handheld rig including a Zoom H1 recorder for the audio. The camera is easy to handhold even with one hand, but using a zoom lens and holding a recorder can be difficult. Mounting the H1 recorder on the hot shoe is an option if you turn off the Auto Focus. There are brackets that are available that allow the offset of the microphone or recorder. This may help to stop the recording of camera and lens focusing sounds. Disabling auto focus options in the camera menu can minimize the clicking the lens makes trying to focus on something. One option, for picking up ambient sound working hands free, might be to wear a lavaliere microphone and connect it to the camera or the recorder to pick up ambient sound away from the camera. Double system, recording audio separately, using a sound recordist, is the best idea.

Both the Canon 7D Mark II and the Sony Alpha a6000 are excellent cameras for certain applications. They produce stunning results and have advanced features on their own. Still if there is away to kick up the video quality and get uncompressed ProRes 4:2:2 footage, it seems a good idea. Up until recently one way to do this was to buy an Atomos Ninja 2 monitor/recorder for $695.00. The Ninja 2 is a fine device and can be used with many cine cameras including the Canon C100. But Atomos has come out with another smaller device without a monitor for $295 that is perfect for a DSLR like the Canon 7D Mark II, the Sony Alpha a6000 and a number of other cameras. (Other cameras supported)

The Atomos Ninja Star Pocket-Size ProRes recorder and deck is a great addition to the Canon 7D Mark II if you want to get professional HD ProRes footage to edit. Here are the basic specs:

Records 1080p 10-Bit, 4:2:2 via HDMI
ProRes HQ, 422, and LT Codecs
Micro HDMI Input & Loop Output
Stores to CFast Cards
Audio Line-In
Audio Level Indicators
Battery Life & Time Remaining Indicators
5 Hour Battery Life
Mounting Plate with 1/4″-20 Thread Holes
Lightweight at Only 4.6 oz

There are a number of settings that need to be correct on the Canon 7D Mark II before it will work correctly with the Ninja Star. The Ninja Star recognizes the Time code of the HDMI footage coming from the camera. So you need to have the Time code turned on and running. In addition the Record Command setting under Time code must be on. If all the menu settings are correct you can control the start and stop recording from the 7D Mk II start button.

Field Test Making a Short Documentary.