Atomos ATOMSMB001 User manual

Atomos Samurai Blade

User Manual

EDITION 1: JUNE 2013

Have you registered your Samurai Blade yet? Upgrade to 3 year warranty now.

Website: www.atomos.com | Sales: sales@atomos.com | Support: support@atomos.com

Contents Safety Instructions

Contents

Warranty & Conditions .............................................................................1

Introduction

1. What’s included

2. What you also need

Spinning Disk Drives (HDD)

Solid State Drives (SSDs)

Mechanical Shock and Vibration

Backing up and archiving

Standard 1/4” Camcorder Mount

3. Mounting disks in the Master Caddy

4. Connecting and powering up

Batteries

Power ON/Power OFF

5. Samurai Blade connections

6. Master Caddy and Screw Mounts

Master Caddy / Screw Mounts / Modularity

7. Using the Samurai Blade

Using the Samurai Blade

Category 1: Operating Settings

Category 2: Shot Setup & Monitor Tools

Category 3: Main Controls, REC, PLAY & MENU

Home Screen / Menu functions

File Naming / Date & Time / Display Options / Screen Lock

Batteries Screen / Auto Switching / Manual Switching

Storage Capacity Indicator / Formatting HDD/SSD / Unit Name

Audio In / Audio during playback

8. Monitoring and Recording

Before recording / Choosing your recording format

Monitor Assist

Focus Assist / Zebra / False Colour

Blue Only / Grid Lines / Focus Assist Settings

SmartLog

Exporting .xml

File Recovery

9. Timecode

10. Pulldown

11. Playback & Playout

exFAT / FAT32 disks

Playback controls

Loop mode

12. Connecting and Editing

Connect to Input

exFAT compatibility

SmartLog with FCPX

13. External Power Supply

14 . Using Connect Converters

15. Software Upgrades

Updating AtomOS (Firmware)

16. Technical Speciﬁcations

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HD-SDI Cables

Connect to Input

SmartControl / 6 ways to start recording

Waveform Monitoring

Luma Overlay / RGB Parade / Vectorscope

Organising material on disk

Anti-shock technology

NLE Support

Transferring ﬁles

Importing / Import into Final Cut Pro

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The Samurai Blade is designed to a high standard but there are some things you should be aware of to prolong the life of the unit and for your own safety.

Batteries and power supplies

The battery supplied with the Samurai Blade is a powerful professional device, designed to retain enough energy to supply the Samurai Blade for hours. You should avoid short-circuiting the battery connections because this can cause a high current to ﬂow which can damage the cells and even pose a ﬁre hazard. For example, you should not carry batteries in a bag or pocket where they may contact other metal objects such as coins.

The power supply and battery charger included are intended for use with the Samurai Blade only. Keep the power supply, plug and cable away from water and unplug from the mains electricity socket when not in use.

Disconnect power supplies before cleaning the Samurai Blade or its components.

Using the Samurai Blade safely

Although the Samurai Blade is very lightweight compared to all the devices it replaces, it is still a solid object that could cause injury if misused.

• Always make sure that the Samurai Blade is mounted securely and is

unable to fall onto anyone nearby. This is especially important when there are children present who might be tempted to pull on cables.

• Always ensure that cable runs to the Samurai Blade are clearly visible and

do not present a trip hazard.

• Do not place on uneven or unstable surfaces.

• Do not insert anything but Samurai Blade Master Disk caddies in the Master

Disk slot on the side of the Samurai Blade.

• Do not touch the Samurai Blade’s screen with sharp, metallic or abrasive

objects.

• The Samurai Blade can become warm or hot with prolonged use. Do

not place it in contact with your lap or any part of your body where such warming could cause discomfort or injury.

• Do not expose to strong electrical or magnetic elds.

• Do not expose to or use near liquids, rain or moisture.

• Do not dispose of the Samurai Blade or its batteries in municipal waste and do

not incinerate it or its batteries, but follow local regulations for safe disposal

Care of disk drives

Spinning disks and SSDs are very sensitive to damage from static electricity. Please observe all the usual precautions when handling them.

Please see the section Mechanical shock and vibration later in this manual for information about how to handle and care for your disk drives.

SDI Cables

Please remember that SDI cables use locking connectors and will not simply pull out if they are jerked or tripped over. They are therefore a signiﬁcant trip

hazard, and also a hazard to your equipment, which may be damaged if the

cables are misused.

User Manual Conventions

To keep things simple but clear, we’ve only adopted two conventions in this manual:

A helpful tip, suggestion or something to note because it’s not obvious at ﬁrst

Monospaced text indicates a menu or touch action

Warranty & Conditions

Notice

All rights reserved. All information in this document is subject to change without notice. No part of the document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, without the express written permission of ATOMOS. A reference to ATOMOS includes its related entities, subsidiaries and parent company.

Trademarks

Samurai Blade and ATOMOS are registered trademarks of ATOMOS, Apple, the Apple logo, AppleShare, AppleTalk, FireWire, iPod, iPod Touch, Mac, and Macintosh are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Final Cut Pro, QuickTime and the QuickTime Logo are trademarks of Apple Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.

International Hardware Limited Warranty

ATOMOS warrants that:

• the main product, not including TFT/LCD, or any external accessories,

will be free from defects in materials and workmanship for a period of 1 years from the date of purchase, the user may upgrade to a 3 year

warranty upon registering their product at www.atomos.com

• the TFT/LCD, batteries, battery charger, HDD/SSD docking station,

Master Caddy and Carry Case will be free from defects in materials and workmanship for a period of 1 year from the date of purchase.

This warranty is exclusively for the beneﬁt of the original purchaser and is not assignable or transferable.

If during the warranty period the product is shown to be defective ATOMOS may at its option:

a) replace the goods or supply equivalent ones, b) repair the goods, c) pay the cost of replacing the goods or of acquiring equivalent ones and d)

paying the cost of having the goods repaired;

The customer must notify ATOMOS of any defect in the goods in writing prior to the expiry of the warranty periods set out above. The customer will be solely responsible for returning the goods to ATOMOS or its authorized distributor. Upon acceptance of a warranty claim by ATOMOS, where ATOMOS repairs or replaces the goods, it will be responsible for reasonable shipping costs incurred in sending the goods to the Customer, provided that customer is located in a country in which ATOMOS has an authorized distributor or repair centre or agent.

Warranty Exclusions

This warranty applies only to defects in workmanship and does not cover defects caused by:

• Neglect;

• Improper or negligent acts or omissions;

• Unauthorised repairs or attempted repairs;

• Tampering with or modication of the goods;

• Connection to incompatible equipment or power sources;

• Exposure to water or weather;

• Exposure to magnetic elds or corrosive liquids or substances;

• Physical damage EXCEPT AS STATED IN THIS WARRANTY, ATOMOS, IT’S VENDORS,

AGENTS, RESELLERS AND DISTRIBUTORS DISCLAIM IN THEIR ENTIRETY ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ALL WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE REMEDIES OUTLINED IN THIS WARRANTY ARE THE EXCLUSIVE REMEDY A CUSTOMER HAS ARISING FROM DEFECTIVE GOODS WHICH ARE SUBJECT TO THE WARRANTY.

ATOMOS DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE GOODS WILL OPERATE IN A MANNER WHICH IS ERROR FREE, OR UNINTERRUPTED. THE GOODS ARE NOT INTENDED TO BE THE PRIMARY OR ONLY DATA STORAGE DEVICE FOR DATA – CUSTOMERS ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR BACK UP AND PROTECTION OF DATA.

Software License Agreement

IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ CAREFULLY. THIS IS A LICENSE AGREEMENT. This ATOMOS software, related documentation, any included sample images and other ﬁles (the “Software”), is protected by copyright laws and international copyright treaties, as well as other intellectual property laws and treaties. The Software is licensed, not sold.

This End User License Agreement (“EULA”) is a legal agreement between you (either an individual or a single entity) and ATOMOS with regard to the copyrighted Software provided with this EULA. Use of the Software provided to you by ATOMOS in whatever form or media, will constitute your acceptance of these terms, unless separate terms are provided by the software supplier, in which case certain additional or different terms may apply. If you do not agree with the terms of this EULA, do not download, install copy or use the Software. By installing, copying or otherwise using the Software, you agree to be bound to the terms of this EULA. If you do not agree to the terms of this EULA, ATOMOS is unwilling to license the Software to you.

1. Eligible licensees. This Software is available for license solely to purchasers of the ATOMOS Samurai Blade, who have purchased a unit manufactured by ATOMOS Samurai Blade and purchased through an ATOMOS authorized reseller, with no right of duplication or further distribution, licensing or sub-licensing.

2. License Grant. ATOMOS grants you a personal, non-transferable and non-exclusive right to use the copy of the Software provided with this EULA. You agree you will not copy the Software except as necessary to use it with the ATOMOS Samurai Blade. You agree that you may not copy the written materials accompanying the Software. Modifying, reverse engineering, translating, renting, copying, transferring or assigning all or part of the Software or any rights granted hereunder, to any other persons or reverse engineering the hardware on which the Software runs, is strictly prohibited. The software is license, not sold. You acknowledge that no title to intellectual property in the Software is transferable to you. You further acknowledge that title and full ownership rights to the Software will remain the exclusive property

of ATOMOS and/or its suppliers, and you will not acquire any rights

to the Software, except as expressly set forth above. All copies of the software will contain the same proprietary notices as contained in or on the Software. All title and copyrights in and to the Software (including but not limited to any images, animations, video, audio, text incorporated), the accompanying printed materials, and any copies of the Software are owned by ATOMOS or its suppliers.

3. Reverse engineering. You agree that you will not attempt, and if you are a corporation, you will use your best efforts to prevent your employees and contractors from attempting to reverse compile, derive circuits, modify, translate or disassemble the Software and/or the Atomos Samurai Blade in whole or in part. Any failure to comply with the above or any other terms and conditions contained herein will result in the automatic termination of this license and the reversion of the rights granted hereunder by ATOMOS.

ATOMOS reserves the right to terminate this license without prejudice to any additional recourse ATOMOS may have against you if you violate any of its terms and conditions.

Registration + Warranty Upgrade

Atomos Samurai Blade – User Manual Edition 1: June 2013 1

Introduction

Thank you for choosing the Atomos Samurai Blade: your 10-bit HD-SDI Recorder/Monitor/Player. It’s the most compact portable recorder available, with extremely long battery life, a high-resolution screen, waveform monitor and vectorscope.

Samurai Blade preserves the pristine uncompressed video quality from your camera’s sensor by directly encoding it into Apple ProRes

(optionally) Avid DNxHD® as it records to HDD/SSD, making it instantly

compatible with your NLE timeline. The Samurai Blade’s revolutionary ‘Sensor-to-NLE’ workow is the fastest and best quality available today!

With the plummeting price of hard disk storage, the 2½” disks used by the Samurai Blade are very cheap; the cost of storage is no longer an issue. Buying a disk for the Samurai Blade is just like buying a tape – except that with a disk you will have instant “non-linear” access to your video.

The Samurai Blade’s one-touch IPS ‘SuperAtom’ screen interface is

intuitive and simple to use. There are no complicated menus or difﬁcult to ﬁnd functions – everything you need is instantly accessible from the

home screen. Refer to ‘Using your Samurai Blade’ for more information.

Software updates for your Samurai Blade will be issued regularly. Registering your Samurai Blade now will ensure you are kept abreast of any updates. Software updates and information will also be available at:

www.atomos.com/support

We hope you enjoy your Samurai Blade!

Your Samurai Blade comes with a standard 1 year warranty on all parts and accessories. You can upgrade to a 3 year warranty on the main Samurai Blade Unit alone (excluding IPS screen) by registering your Samurai Blade online at www.atomos.com/registration This will enable us to let you know about updates to the product and other important information surrounding your purchase.

Special thanks to Atomos user Dave Newton for kindly giving us permission to use his footage for the screenshots.

Atomos Samurai Blade – User Manual Edition 1: June 2013 2

1. What’s included

We try to provide you with as complete a package as possible: you don’t

have to add anything except 2.5” storage media (you can buy additional packs of empty Master Disk Caddies from your Atomos Reseller) and some accessories to suit your set-up, like HD-SDI cables and tripod screws. All other parts necessary to use the Samurai Blade are included.

Here’s the complete list

• Samurai Blade recorder/monitor

• 2 x empty Master Disk Caddies + 8 screws for xing disks

• Master Caddy Docking Station with USB 2 & 3 Cable (not pictured

here - see page 31)

• AC Adaptor for Samurai Blade

• Single Battery Charger including AC power adaptor

• 9V AC Adaptor for Battery Charger (110-240V for AC operation)

• 1 x Atomos 7.4 V 2600mAh Battery

• 1 x D-Tap Adaptor

• 1 x 2.5mm ‘Y’ adaptor cable for LANC loop-through

• Samurai Blade QuickStart Guide (not pictured)

Atomos does not sell storage and your package will not contain any spinning disks or SSDs. You can buy these locally to keep running costs as low as possible.

We recommend drives, please refer to Part 16 (Technical Speciﬁcations) of this manual. For the most up-to-date information please visit:

http://www.atomos.com/discovery-what-drives/

Contents may differ from those shown here.

Atomos Samurai Blade – User Manual Edition 1: June 2013 3

2. What you also need

Spinning Disk Drives (HDD)

These are the raw storage medium for Samurai Blade. You can use either traditional “spinning” disks, or the new solid state ones. Choose 2 ½” spinning drives if your Samurai Blade is going to be attached to a tripod or if it is not going to be subject to excessive vibration. For harsher conditions, choose a solid state drive.

Which drives should you use?

There are so many drives available, and newer models appear all the time. We are not able to test all drives but here are some guidelines.

Speed and reliability are the main factors. Here are a few things to bear in mind:

• Disk drive data rates tend to be given in megaBYTES per second, and codec data rates are normally given in megaBITS per second. It’s very easy to get confused. But there’s no need to be, because all you have to do to convert megabits to megabytes is divide by 8. So if you’re recording at 220 megaBITS per second, that’s going to result in 220/8 megaBYTES per second, which is 27.5 megaBYTES per second.

• We recommend at least 7200 RPM drives. Just remember that the higher the bitrate of the codec you’re using, the faster the drive needs

to be.

Atomos regularly test hard drives – please check this link before purchasing drives: http://www.atomos.com/discovery-what-drives/

Solid State Drives (SSDs)

These are Flash memory devices that come in the same form-factor as 2 ½” disk drives, and they are fully supported by the Samurai Blade. See the section below about when you should consider using SSDs.

(but they would probably be OK if cushioned against the body of the camera operator) and we would not advise using mechanical disks if there is a likelihood that they might be dropped onto a hard surface.

Here are some things that you should bear in mind when using spinning disks:

• Even though spinning drives can withstand substantial shocks when

they are not in use, they are more vulnerable when running. Harsh treatment that may not actually damage the drive may interrupt recordings at a much lower level of severity. We recommend that you experiment with your drives by testing them in the conditions that you normally work in.

• Spinning drives have a gyroscopic effect that you will feel faintly if you

rotate the Samurai Blade up or down or from side to side. They are

particularly sensitive to this type of motion. If you do this too quickly

while the drive is spinning, you may get a small gap in your recording.

• Be very gentle when changing batteries if you are recording. Practise

this manoeuvre so that you are able to do it smoothly. It is always better to do this in-between takes.

• Do not bang or jolt the Samurai Blade while recording. Gentle and

cushioned movement may be OK.

• You will nd noticeable differences in the ability of drives to withstand

shock and to continue recording during vibration and movement. As we receive reports of drive durability and reliability, we will post them on www.atomos.com

• Your Samurai Blade is able to detect when the drive is under stress and

it will recover from any break in a recording by waiting until the drive is ready to continue, and then resuming from that point. If frames have been dropped because of shock or vibration, a “Skippy” Kangaroo symbol will appear on the home screen on the Samurai Blade, just above the disk capacity indicator. This means that you will not normally have to restart the Samurai Blade, even if a recording has been interrupted by mechanical disruption to the disk drive. (see Recording and Monitoring: Atomos Anti-shock Technology for more information)

Taking into account most usage scenarios, we think that mechanical disks will be suitable in the majority of cases. Spinning disks are most sensitive when they are rotating. It is obviously best to avoid dropping them but many disks now have a “drop detector” that will lock the most fragile mechanical parts in place and protect them from surprisingly hard knocks. We recommend that if you want to experiment with this, you do

so with a drive that doesn’t contain the day’s shoot!

Mechanical Shock and Vibration

Hard disks are precision mechanical devices that need to be handled carefully. You will be using the same type of drives that are normally used in notebook computers, and you can use this as a guide to whether you need to use mechanical drives or Solid State ones for any proposed projects. If you think a particular usage scenario would be suitable for a notebook computer, then it will probably be OK for a mechanical drive inside a Samurai Blade. If you think the drive inside your notebook might

suffer damage, then don’t use a mechanical drive.

We can’t give rigid guidelines because there are so many different kinds

of drives, each with different mechanical properties. You may even ﬁnd variations between drives of the same type.

What we have found is that mechanical drives are suitable for most

purposes that don’t involve harsh vibration or mechanical shocks. They

will be perfect for tripod-mounting, and also for the majority of hand-held work. We would advise against hard-mounting them on moving vehicles

Backing up and archiving

Remember that no storage medium, including tape, optical disks, spinning disks and ﬂash memory, is completely immune from failure. You should bear this in mind when deciding how to manage your recorded content. At the very least, you should consider the

consequences for you and your business if your storage medium were

to suffer from a sudden failure, and you should back up your content accordingly. Hard drives that you can use for archiving are becoming increasingly affordable. You may ﬁnd that it is completely feasible for your

to keep your master Samurai Blade disks on a shelf (just like tapes!), and,

as a backup, store copies on large hard drives, RAID arrays or Network Attached Storage (NAS).

Atomos Samurai Blade – User Manual Edition 1: June 2013 4

2. What you also need

HD-SDI cables (not included)

HD-SDI cables are robust physically and electrically: you should rarely have problems with signal transmission unless your cables are either damaged or too long. Please remember that HD-SDI cables use locking connectors and will not simply pull out if they are jerked or tripped over. They are therefore a signiﬁcant trip hazard, and also a hazard to your

equipment, which may be damaged if the cables are mishandled.

If the HD-SDI cable is removed while recording the “Skippy” image will also be displayed. To remove touch Skippy and he will disappear ready for his next notiﬁcation.

Refer to page 25: Atomos Anti-skip Technology for more information about “Skippy”.

Standard 1/4” Camcorder Mount

This must ﬁt a standard 1/4” screw mount. Select the type that best suits your application and conditions.

Atomos Samurai Blade – User Manual Edition 1: June 2013 5

3. Mounting disks in the Master Caddy

Mounting drives in the Master Caddy

This is simplicity itself. Just insert the disk into the caddy, and secure with four screws. The caddy is light and the disk just needs to be held

securely. Don’t over-tighten the screws. There are no connections to

make because pushing the caddy into the Samurai Blade or the Docking station makes all the connections for you.

The Master Caddy can’t be inserted the wrong way round. Always make

sure that the disk connector faces the slot in the Samurai Blade. You

have to be quite rm to push the Master Caddy into place, but don’t push too hard, just in case something isn’t set up or aligned properly.

There is very little that can cause problems and the most likely thing is

that the Master Caddy isn’t properly ush with the drive inside. A quick

visual check will conﬁrm this.

Carefully assemble the

Master Caddy and disk

Spinning disks and SSDs are very sensitive to damage from static electricity. Please observe all the usual precautions when handling them, especially DO NOT EVER touch the exposed SATA connector as static electricity may be harmful to your disk.

Insert screw

Align all parts

Insert screw

Ensure all 3 parts aligned

and insert 4 x screws (supplied)

Do not over-tighten screws or alignment can not be guaranteed.

We suggest squeezing the corners

together near the screw you are tightening for optimal ﬁt.

Atomos Samurai Blade – User Manual Edition 1: June 2013 6

4. Connecting the Samurai Blade and powering up

Battery

The Samurai Blade is a battery powered device, and has a special feature to ensure that you never have to interrupt a recording to change a battery. We will come to this shortly.

Like all batteries, you will need to take care of them. Make sure that you

don’t short circuit the connections because this can result in very high

currents that can damage the cells and could pose a ﬁre hazard.

Charge new batteries before using them, using the battery charger supplied.

Batteries do not charge in a linear way. At ﬁrst they charge very quickly, and then the rate slows down to a trickle. While charging, one or more red lights will blink. When 90% charge is reached, all the lights will ﬂash. It is perfectly OK to use the batteries at this point and we recommend stopping at this stage for the longest battery life. If you leave the batteries on charge after all four lights are ﬂashing, the charger goes into trickle charging mode for the ﬁnal 10%. Eventually, when trickle charging is complete, and the batteries are at 100% charge, all the lights will go out.

Before any type of disposal the battery should be discharged completely. Tape the contacts with electrical tape and package so as to prevent contacts accidentally coming together at any time. Incineration must be performed by an approved and permitted waste treatment facility that handles lithium ion batteries. If you are not sure if your waste facility can handle lithium ion batteries, contact them and verify if they are permitted or not.

Battery number 1

Gently slide down into battery slot/s and lock into position.

Push latch to release battery

Always use battery slot primary battery and the Samurai Blade will not start without it.

Battery slot No.2 is the secondary or back-up battery and is not marked. Once the Samurai Blade has been started from battery slot No. 1, it will

operate on battery slot No. 2 alone. No. 1 is only required for start up.

To attach the battery, gently slide it down into the slot and lock into position. To remove a battery, push the latch to release it. Each battery has its own latch, which is located to the right of battery No. 1 and to the left of battery No. 2 as you look at the back of the Samurai Blade. Pull the latches towards the batteries to release them.

Samurai Blade batteries and modular accessories (Connect Converters, etc) are held in place very tightly because they are on the outside of the device and there has to be no possibility whatsoever that they could work loose, so you will have to be quite ﬁrm with the battery latches. We suggest that you familiarise yourself with the force required to remove the batteries and accessories so that you can do this quickly in the ﬁeld. Make sure that you hold the top and the bottom of the battery or accessory module when sliding it off to avoid dropping it when it is released from the main unit.

The Samurai Blade features an Atomos technology called Continuous Power which used battery looping. When power is running low on one battery, the Samurai Blade will automatically switch to the second battery, you can remove one of the batteries and replace it with a fully charged one. Samurai Blade will continue to operate as you do this. You can continue this process indeﬁnitely.

for the ﬁrst battery. This is effectively your

The Samurai Blade may be powered from NiMH & Li Ion 14.4V battery systems. Battery adaptor required.

Atomos Samurai Blade – User Manual Edition 1: June 2013 7

4. Connecting the Samurai Blade and powering up

Turning ON power to the Samurai Blade

The start button is located on the right hand side of the unit (as you look at the screen). Momentarily press the circular button on the right side of the Samurai Blade as you look at the screen to power up the unit. After a couple of seconds you will see the Atomos logo, and then the Samurai Blade Home Screen.

Tally Light

Flashes red when recording.

Battery Latch

Turning OFF power to the Samurai Blade

To turn the unit off, touch menu on the home screen, and then press the red Power

touched to indicate activation of the button. The unit will then power off. You can also do a forced power down by depressing the on/off button for four seconds.

Four seconds can seem like a long time! We’ve made it this way to make absolutely certain that the Samurai Blade can’t be turned off accidentally.

o icon for 4 seconds the icon will go white when

5. Samurai Blade connections

+ forced

power

down

Turning OFF power via touchscreen (preferred)

power o

Video Input

Connect to camera using HD/SD-SDI cable

Master Caddy Slot

Simple, locking

HDD/SSD system.

HD-SDI in: The video input to the Samurai Blade is HD-SDI. This is the

connection that is used to record to the Samurai Blade’s storage media.

HD-SDI out: This is for connection to an external monitor or other

device with an HD-SDI input. It carries a delay-free loop-through of the incoming signal in record and standby mode, and the playout signal when the Samurai Blade is in playout mode.

LANC Remote: In addition to direct control through HD-SDI, you have

the option of controlling the Samurai Blade remotely using the LANC remote control protocol. The Samurai Blade has a LANC input and a

2.5mm ‘Y’ adaptor cable is included to allow you to connect LANC-

controllable devices.

Video Output

Connect to external device via the HD/SD-SDI cable

LANC Remote

Optionally control the Samurai using LANC remote control connected here (use a 2.5mm TRS/ 3-pin plug )

Share remote control with other devices (loop thru ) by connecting them to the second LANC connector cable

Audio

Stereo Line In or Headphones

Audio: The Samurai Blade can record 12 channels of digital audio

embedded in the HD-SDI signal. There is a 3.5mm Stereo Line-in socket for recording audio in sync with incoming video. Depending on your setup, you may ﬁnd that this gives you better results than the microphone on the camera.

You can switch between Analogue Audio Line In and HD-SDI as your audio sources in the user interface, where you can also adjust the analogue audio input level.

There is also a 3.5mm output that doubles as a Line Out or Headphone

Out, which has it’s own independent level control in the user interface.

Atomos Samurai Blade – User Manual Edition 1: June 2013 8

6. Master Caddy and Screw Mounts

Master Caddy Slot

On the left hand side of the unit (as you face the screen) is a slot for Samurai Blade Master Disk Caddies. To insert a caddy, gently push until it clicks into position.

Formatting disks - see page 12

Screw Mounts

The Samurai Blade features standard tripod ¼” screw mounts on the top and bottom of the unit, allowing you to conﬁgure your recording setup various ways (¼” camcorder mount not included in Samurai Blade kit).

Master Caddy

The Master Caddy is hot-swappable, so you can do this at any time –

even while the unit is turned on. But don’t do it while recording or you will

get a corrupted ﬁle that may be unplayable.

Unlike the Ninja-2/Samurai recorders, the Samurai Blade does NOT have a release latch - it is friction-ﬁt. Simply pull the Master Caddy out using the top and bottom tabs on the caddy itself.

Samurai Blade Modularity

The Samurai Blade was designed to be a ﬂexible and modular system. It

doesn’t need any drivers to connect to a computer, you have a choice of

spinning hard disk storage or solid state, and it will work with any battery

system as long as it connects to the Samurai Blade’s NP-type slots, or via

the D-Tap Adaptor.

The Samurai Blade’s battery slots are the key to it’s modularity. They provide secure attachment and continuous power, through Atomos’ loop-

through power system.

The ﬁrst of the modular add-ons to be announced by Atomos are the Connect converters (pictured). More on this in page 34.

¼” Screw mount top

¼” Screw mount base

Atomos Samurai Blade – User Manual Edition 1: June 2013 9

7. Using the Samurai Blade

Using the Samurai Blade

The Samurai Blade is controlled via an intuitive touchscreen interface. Icons and buttons have been designed and laid out in a speciﬁc way to ensure operation is simple and fast.

The HOME SCREEN displays all necessary technical and functional information. Everything important for operation and adjustment is no more than one touch away. Here is how it works:

Waveform Monitoring

Monitor Assist Functions

Video Input Format and

Pulldown Status

Recording

Format

Recording

Quality

Time

Remaining

Continuous Power

Battery Indicator

Favorite/Reject

Cut and Tag

Headphone

Line Out Volume

Audio Channels

and Levels

Rec / Play / Menu

Timecode and Record Trigger

Vectorscope or

Waveform

Touching the center of the screen at any time removes all overlays except any active Shot Setup or Monitor assist functions

that are enabled. This is to allow you to use the Shot Setup and Monitor assist functions at all times while shooting.

Category 1 – Operating Settings

This list of real-time operating settings can be adjusted or toggled WHEN a BLUE ARROW is present. If the Blue arrow is disabled, the setting cannot be adjusted.

1. Video Input

2. Recording Format

Category 2 – Shot Setup & Monitor Assist Tools

3. Recording Quality

4. Time Remaining

5. Battery Indicator

6. Time Code & Record

7. Audio Channels and Levels

8. Headphone/Line Out Volume (Slider only)

This list represents the icons and functions available for Shot Setup and Monitor Assist Tools:

Waveform Monitoring Functions

See page 17

Monitor Assist Functions

See page 19

Smart Log Cut and Tagging

See page 22

Touch these icons to reveal more functional options in a sub-category. Touch the sub category icons to toggle the functions on or off. When a Shot Setup or Monitor Assist function is active, touch the settings icon (as seen below) to reveal detailed settings for each Shot Setup tool. Touch the Home icon (as seen below) to go back to the Home Screen at any time.

Settings icon Home icon

Category 3 – Main Controls REC, PLAY & MENU

The Main Controls of the unit are indicated by large round icons.

To enable recording

See page 15

For instant playback and review To make settings changes See page 28

Atomos Samurai Blade – User Manual Edition 1: June 2013 10

See page 11

+ 26 hidden pages

Atomos ATOMSMB001 User manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual