For years many creators have been asking Atomos for a monitor without a recorder Well that day has finally come. The new 5″ Atomos Shinobi has landed and is priced at $399US. Yeah, that’s not a typo. This makes the new 5″ monitor a real value play. The Ninja V retails for $695.00 so if you don’t need a recorder you can save a cool $300 bucks.
The Atomos Shinobi was designed with YouTubers, vloggers and photographers in mind that use cameras without a flip out screen or just want a bigger screen with better outdoor performance and onboard tools. One tool is has that the Ninja V doesnt is image mirroring. Very helpful when shooting yourself.
The Shinobi is a 5.2” 1000nit anti-reflection uni-touch IPS panel with the resolution of full HD 1920 x 1080 /427ppi. It is capable of receiving a 4K signal and displaying it in full HD through the HDMI input. The Shinobi, unfortunately, doesn’t offer HDMI out.
To keep the weight and cost down the monitor uses a Polycarbonate ABS construction as opposed to aluminum like the Ninja V. The Shinobi is basically the Ninja V without a recorder and some different features. The lightweight design comes in at 200g versus 320g of the Ninja V.
on the left side are an HDMI 1.4 input and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Perfect for those cameras that don’t offer them.
On the right side of the Shinobi is an SD Card slot to load LUTS. The Shinobi allows you to load up to eight custom LUTs at any time via the SD Card Slot. Under the SD Card slot is a wired remote terminal input.
To keep the Shinobi balanced on the camera the battery slot is located in the middle of the monitor. Without the need to power a recorder the Shinobi uses less power meaning longer run times. The monitor uses the Sony type NP-F battery.
Battery life based on 7.4v
2600mAh – 2hrs 30m
5200mAh – 5hr +
7800mAh – 8hr +
I see an interesting oval shape on the back right side as well. Could this possibly be for an SDI terminal in a future release?
For mounting the Shinobi has a 14/20 on the top and bottom. The bottom tap doesn’t have the anit-twist ARRI accessory tap like the Ninja V.
While it is stated as a 10-bit panel it isn’t a true 10bit. It is an 8+2 FRC. This is more of a technicality as using the 8+2 FRC scheme delivers virtually no different than a true 10-bit display to the human eye. It’s a little secret sauce to get a 10-bit representation with an 8-bit panel. This isn’t new and has been incorporated with many other brand displays. A true 10-bit display is very expensive.
The Shinobi ships precalibrated to Rec.709 and can be recalibrated with an Xrite i1 Display Pro Calibrator and USB to Serial cable. This is a plus as SmallHD requires a proprietary Xrite i1 Display Pro Calibrator.
The Shinobi screen is rated at 10+ stops of dynamic range from Log/PQ/HLG signals. Combined with Atomos HDR monitoring features, the Shinobi simplifies the complexities of shooting Log and HDR, helping you to replicate post-production workflows at the moment when it matters most.
Supported Formats
HDMI 2ch. 24-bit 48kHz input
- 4K 4096 x2160 – 23.98p, 24p, 25p, 29.97p
- UHD 3840 x 2160 – 23.98p, 24p, 25p, 29.97p
- HD 1920 x 1080 – 23.98p, 24p, 25p, 29.97p, 50p, 59.94p
- HD 1280 x 720 – 50p, 59.94p
Onboard Tools
Shinobi has the AtomOS 10 platform and is packed with an extensive suite of scopes and one-touch operations. It’s nice to not have to tap more than once to get a tool to open.
Shinobi included monitoring tools on release
- Focus
- Framing
- Exposure
- Image Mirroring
- Focus Peaking
- Zoom 4:1 / 2:1 / 1:1
- Zebra
- False Color
- Frame Guides
- SMPTE Safe Area
- Waveform,
- RGB parade
- Vectorscope
- 3D LUT implementation (upload .cube files via SD Card)
- Anamorphic de-squeeze 2x, 1.5x, 1.33x
Atomos Analysis
Atomos understand how important it is to see what you’re actually shooting at all times. With the new Analysis feature, you can now simultaneously see what you are shooting, view a waveform, histogram, and vectorscope, without the scopes covering the image.
Real-time LUTs preview
Apply and compare looks for post-production in SDR or HDR from your favorite LUTs for your camera or from your post team for consistency across shoots. The Shinobi allows you to load up to eight custom LUTs at any time via the SD Card Slot.
HDR Monitoring (Gamma)
- Sony SLog / SLog2 / SLog3
- Canon CLog / CLog2 / Clog3
- ARRI Log CEI160 / LogCEI200 / LogCEI250 / LogCEI320/LogCEI400 / LogCEI500 / LogCEI640 / LogCEI800 LogCEI1000 / LogCEI1280 / LogCEI1600
- Panasonic Vlog
- JVC JLog1
- RED Log3G10 / RED LogFilm
- FujiFilm F-log
- Nikon N-Log
- PQ10k
- HLG
HDR Monitoring (Gamut)
- Sony SGamut / SGamut3 / SGamut3.cine
- Canon Cinema / DCI P3 / DCI P3+
- Panasonic V Gamut
- Arri Alexa Wide Gamut
- Rec709 / BT.2020
- JVC
- RED WideGamut / RED DragonColor / DragonColor2 /
- RED Color2 / RED Color3 / RED Color4 /
Longer battery life
Without the need to power a recorder the Shinobi uses less power meaning longer run times. The monitor uses the Sony type NP-F battery.
Battery life based on 7.4v
2600mAh – 2hrs 30m
5200mAh – 5hr +
7800mAh – 8hr +
Includes
The Shinobi includes ¼”-20 screw mounting options on top and bottom, making it compatible with most cameras, smartphones or HDMI-ready devices – and ready for use with AtomX accessories.
Compatible Optional Accessories
Power Kit: 2 x NP-F Batteries, 1 x Charger, 1 x Power supply
AtomX 5” Cage for Shinobi (by SmallRig)
AtomX Sunhood for Ninja V
AtomX Screen Protector for Ninja V
AtomX 10” Arm & Quick Release Plate (by Lanparte)
Xrite i1 Display Pro Calibrator and USB to Serial cable
AtomX 5” Accessory Kit
At just $US399, the Atomos Shinobi is very competitively priced. Its main competition looks to be the SmallHD FOCUS 5″ at $474US. Full HD monitors are becoming less expensive and pretty good as well but with the inexpensive or should I say cheap versions the tools and the software are horrible. If all you need is a monitor then yes you can get a very inexpensive model but for me the tools are essential and the Atomos Ninja V really improved the toolset and how they work. The Shinobi inherits this plus a really nice display at an affordable price.
The Shinobi is already in stock at dealers like Abelcine & B&H.
