In a move that is certain to make certain filmmakers’ mouse-clicking-buy-finger itchy, Atomos just announced that they are releasing a free firmware update to one of their most popular products, the Shogun Inferno.
Although it sounds like it, the Shogun Inferno is not a ’90s video game. It is part of a suite of Atomos products which — combined with DSLR and digital video cameras — significantly increase their video capabilities and post-processing possibilities for filmmakers, without breaking the bank.
The significant part of the this firmware update is that the 5.7K video captured by the Shogun Inferno will be recorded using Apple’s ProRes RAW codec. This is a big deal, because ProRes RAW — released by Apple earlier this year — makes the workflow of RAW video processing easier and quicker even when processing HDR high-resolution video.
This update focuses on a specific camera: Panasonic’s AU-EVA1 5.7K Super 35 Handheld Cinema Camera. The EVA1 5.7K is — as its name indicates — capable of 5.7K ProRes Raw due to its super-sized image sensor. That’s an image resolution of 5730 by 3016 pixels! But the camera is only capable of natively recording at the down-sampled resolution of 4K, or 4096 x 2160 pixels. That means the camera is reading 17.2MP worth of data in each frame it takes, but only records 8.8MP, resulting in a down-sampled image that does benefit from having started at a higher native resolution, but still suffers in losing data.
What the Shogun Inferno does is piggyback onto your DSLR or pro-video rig — such as the EVA1 — adding to the capabilities of the camera by accessing and processing the data straight from the sensor. Also, having a super-bright 7.1″ screen, the Inferno allows for real-time feedback on how the final video will show. This makes the cinematographer much more likely to be able to get the exposure and color-grading correct in-camera, smoothing and shortening the workflow process.
In this new (and free) firmware update, Atomos made the Shogun Inferno able to capture the full high resolution and dynamic range that Panasonic’s AU-EVA1 is capable of. After attaching the Shogun Inferno, the data captured from the sensor is shunted directly to it, allowing the full data set of 17.2MP to be taken advantage of.
The firmware update is available at Atomos’ website, here, and the release notes accompanying the update are available here.
Adorama is now selling the Shogun Inferno bundled with the Panasonic AU-EVA1. Included with the bundle is an Atomos accessory kit, which includes two extra batteries, a fast charger, a D-Tap-to-DC cable, four Master Caddies, a USB drive docking station, and an HDR sunhood. The Shogun Inferno can also be purchased alone (remember, it’s compatible with lots of other cameras, not only the EVA1, though 5.7K capture is only available now on the EVA1).
