With 10-bit Color Processing and 1500-Nit Displays, New Monitor-Recorders Promise a Brighter Future

Atomos announced the Shogun Flame and Ninja Flame, new seven-inch 1920×1200 field monitor/recorders designed for HDR production. 

What does that mean? Atomos says the new Flame series monitors display 10 stops of luminance with 10-bit color accuracy, and they record 4K and HD to Apple ProRes and DNxHR files. Even when shooting SDR/Rec. 709, Atomos notes, the Flame series displays boast 1500 nits of brightness in "High Bright" mode, making them easier to see in outdoor lighting conditions (compare to a reported 400 nits of brightness from the Ninja Blade), plus the hot-swappable dual-battery system (enabling continuous power as fresh batteries are swapped in) and high-speed battery charger borrowed from Atomos' HD-only recording systems.

The Flame series uses something called the AtomHDR engine to accurately process images to correctly reflect the brightness of log-encoded camera signals, supporting log formats from Sony, Canon, Panasonic, ARRI, Red and JVC. Atomos also claims the 10-bit color processing "all but eliminates" color banding.

Both the Shogun Flame and Ninja Flame record 4K and HD to 10-bit 4:2:2 ProRes or DNxHR/DNxHD files on SSDs. The Ninja Flame ($1,295) is HDMI-only, while the Shogun Flame ($1,695) adds SDI (including bi-directional SDI-HDMI conversion), recording raw camera output to ProRes/DNxHR with supported Sony and Canon camera models, balanced XLR audio i/o, and linear timecode and genlock. 

The Shogun Flame is slated to ship the week of March 28; the Ninja Flame is due the week of April 11.