Atomos Samurai Blade Quick Start Manual

Getting started:

Battery:

We recommend that you charge new batteries befo re using them.

To begin, connect battery to charger and commence charging.
While charging, the red light will illuminate. When the red light turns
green, the battery is 100% charged.

Assemble Master Caddy:

Fix the Hard Disk or Solid State Drive into the Master Caddy as
shown (right). Align screw holes on all three pieces and assemble
completely. Insert screws last.

Handle the HDD or SSD with care

Touch screw holes or metal shell first. Avoid contact with circuit board
and connectors. Refer to manual if unfamiliar with handling ESD

sensitive devices.

Format HDD/SSD:

Once your drive is inserted into the caddy, format it in your Samurai
Blade recorder by selecting the BLUE arrow next to Recording
Time Remaining, Press Format HDD/SSD and follow the on-screen
instructions. For more information refer to the User Manual.

1

2

HDD/SSD

2.5 inch Hard Disk Drive [HDD]
or Solid State Drive [SSD].
For recommendations refer to:

> www.atomos.com/support

Checklist:

You will also need:

HD-SDI Cable/s

The Samurai Blade has standard BNC connectors, supporting
SMPTE standards 259M, 292M and 296M. Any make of HD/SD-SDI
cable that supports these standards can be used.

❏ Samurai Blade

❏ 1 x 2-Cell Battery

NP-570 Compatible 2600mAh

❏ Single Battery Charger

+ Power Supply Unit

❏ Master Caddy Docking Station

USB 3/2, 2.5” HDD/SSD

❏ 9V AC Battery Eliminator

110-240V AC for AC operation

❏ 1 x D-Tap Adaptor

❏ LANC/Serial Loop Cable

2.5mm split to 2 x 2.5mm jacks for LANC
and Loop LANC operation

❏ 2 x Master Caddies

❏ QuickStart Guide

Download the full Samurai Blade User Manual

www.atomos.com/support

Activate Avid DNxHD® if required

www.atomos.com/activation

Register now to extend your warranty
to 3 years from date of purchase

www.atomos.com/registration

Atomos Samurai Blade ~ QuickStart Guide

Important: Insert screws last and DO NOT over-tighten the screws
or proper alignment of the Master Caddy can not be guaranteed.

atomos.com

Notice

Copyright © 2013 ATOMOS Global Pty Ltd (‘referred to as ATOMOS’). 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 / ATOMOS are registered trademarks of ATOMOS Pty Ltd. 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 (1 Year Standard/3 Years if registered)

ATOMOS warrants that:

• themainproduct, notincludingtheIPSscreen,or anyexternalaccessories,willbe freefrom

defects in materials and workmanship for a period of 1 year from the date of purchase; or 3 years
upon completion of product registration at www.atomos.com

• theTFT/LCD, batteries,batterycharger,HDD/SSDdockingstation, caseandmastercaddieswill 

be free from defects in materials and workmanship for a period of 1 year from the date of purchase

regardless of registration.
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:

• AfailuretocomplywiththethencurrentoperatinginstructionsissuedbyATOMOS;

• 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;

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.

Online: www.atomos.com | Atomos KnowledgeBase: atomos.activehosted.com/kb

Warranty & Conditions

Atomos Samurai Blade ~ QuickStart Guide

© ATOMOS Global Pty. Ltd. trading as ATOMOS under license. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Atomos reserves the right to change or alter any product specifications without notice.

Master Caddy Docking Station

To access and edit your recorded material:

Connect the Master Caddy Docking Station to a Mac

®

or

Windows

®

editing workstation via USB 2.0 and/or USB 3.0

compatible port/s.

When using USB 2.0, you may need to connect the second
USB power cable on the dock to a second USB 2.0 port. This
will ensure enough power for the drive when using USB 2.0.

Ready to edit:

Next, eject the Master Caddy from the Samurai Blade and insert
it into the Docking Station. After a short wait your recorded
video will become accessible as a standard external disk (Native
ExFAT / FAT32 formatted drive/s also supported).

Connect & Edit

For more detailed instructions and important up-to-date information regarding

the Samurai Blade please download the complete Samurai Blade User Manual

www.atomos.com/support

The Samurai Blade is controlled by
a simple user-friendly touchscreen
interface. Pictured left are the main
controls seen when the Samurai Blade
is first powered up and there is a video
input connection.

Pay special attention
to any items on screen
which are marked by a
small blue arrow.

Touch these items to
access or cycle through
the available options.

For example, touching
the Video Input Format
or blue arrow at right
will cycle through all
available input formats.

Atomos Samurai Blade ~ QuickStart Guide

CAUTION: The Samurai Blade is constructed from aluminium which acts as the unit’s heat sink. In high or extreme temperatures / climates, the metal
chassis may feel slightly warm / hot to touch. This is completely normal and does not in any way effect the overall functionality of the Samurai Blade.

Touchscreen / User Interface

Battery number 1

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

Tally Light

Flashes red when recording.

Battery Latch

Connect & power-up

Attach Battery:

Attach the supplied battery to the Samurai Blade.
Make sure to use the battery slot marked with
the number “1” as this is the primary battery. If
you purchase an additional battery, it should be
connected to the other, secondary slot.

The Samurai Blade utilises only one battery at a
time. This way a battery can be removed, charged
and replaced during operation. Refer to the User
Manual for more information.

IMPORTANT Samurai Blade can only power up /
turn on from the primary battery position.
[Battery Slot #1]

Power up using
battery slot 1 ONLY

Push latch to release battery

Video Input

Connect camera using HD/SD-SDI cable

Headphone

Line Out Volume

Cut and Tag

Favorite/Reject

Monitor Assist Functions

Waveform Monitoring

Video Output

Connect 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

On/Off & Screen lock

Briefly press the circular button on
the side of the Samurai Blade to
power-up the unit. To shut down,
depress button for at least 4 seconds
(until unit turns off)

When in operation, a single press
of the power on/off button will lock
the display and controls. A second
press will enable the display and
controls again.

Audio Channels

and Levels

Rec / Play / Menu Timecode and

Record Trigger

Vectorscope

Continuous Power

Battery Indicator

Time

Remaining

Recording

Quality

Recording

Format

Video Input Format and

Pulldown Status

Tag for Favourite: Touch once
to set the IN point. Touch
again to set OUT point.

Tag for Reject: Touch once to
set the IN point. Touch again
to set OUT point.

Atomos Samurai Blade ~ QuickStart Guide

Waveform & Monitor Assist Functions

Playback & Edit: One-touch Review

Record

Main Interface:

Monitor Assist Menu:

Playback Interface:

Record:
Press to start/stop recording

Record Trigger: set by supported
camera/or rolling timecode trigger

OR

Waveform Monitoring

Monitor Assist

Cut and Tag

Audio Level

Audio Metering

Play: Enter playback mode

Focus Assist

TIP: Touch the centre of the screen
to remove all overlays

TIP: Touch the centre of the Samurai Blade screen to remove
all overlays. Touch the screen again to restore previous
screen/overlays and playback controls.

Timeline / scrub bar

TIP: Each touch of an icon toggles
the controls on/off

Monitor Assist Settings: Touch to
reveal Focus Assist Options (Color/
Mono/Outline) and Zebra (%)

Return to main page

Safe Areas/Grid Lines

Note: Tagging available while
recording and monitoring

Zebra Pattern

False Color

Blue Only Exposure

Use transport controls or touch anywhere on the
timeline to scrub to a section for review. Check
recorded shots diuring playback using WFM and
Monitor Assist tools.

Move frame by frame to select cut and tag In and
Out Points, marking them as favorite or reject. Once
cut and tag is complete, export an XML project for
instant timeline assembly and editing.

Playback & Review on large monitor/s:

Recorded footage can also be played from the
Samurai Blade’s HD/SD-SDI Out. This is ideal for large
screen client viewing, feedback and editing on location.

Menu: Device settings / options

Set Loop In / Out point

Loop: Loop playback

Previous / Next Clip

Clear Tagging

Jump to beginning / end

Frame by frame RWD/FFWD

Play: Press to play clip

Super RWD/Super FFWD

Menu

04:08:01:2304:08:01:23

Favorite

Reject

Waveform Monitoring Menu:

Luma Parade

Touch the Waveform Monitoring
icon to reveal WFM functions

Touch the Monitor Assist icon
to reveal the Monistor Assist
functions

Return to main page

Waveform Monitoring Settings:
Touch to reveal Position/Dynamic
Range/Opacity controls

While waveforms or vectorscopes
are active, touch the bottom right
hand side to toggle between 1/4 view,
1/3 view and full screen mode.

RGB Parade

Vectorscope

Vectorscope Zoom

1 3 5 7 9 11 A

Timeline showing tagged footage