Today, the question came across my desk: with Nikon’s D800 Firmware Update (v1.01A, 1.02B), how does this work with the Atomos Ninja? More specifically; with the updates, is the Ninja able to record the D800’s signal at 1080p23.98 with/without a CF card installed?
Well, after running the update on our D800 and testing it in our Ninja 2, I can tell you this first-hand: it won’t…… if you try to do it manually. With the D800 connected to the Ninja 2 via HDMI (with all recent firmware updates installed), the Ninja is able to recognize 1080i59.94, or 1080p29.97, but not 1080p23.98.
Below I’m attaching a couple of quick snaps from my iPhone, showing the difference: with the D800 connected, the Ninja has the option to run as a monitor (and record, when a drive is installed) when the setting is 1080i59.95. It also works at 1080p29.97. As soon as it’s changed to 1080p23.98, those fields are no longer lit on the Ninja.
After this, I reviewed the D800’s HDMI out settings, and it only lists 1080i as it’s top output resolution.
So, how do you get 1080p23.98? First off, this trick works with or without a CF card in the D800. All you need to do is visit the HDMI Output menu above, and set the D800 to “Auto”. This enables a handshake between it and the Ninja. Then, on the Ninja’s main menu, tap the resolution until it gets to 1080p23.98. Congratulations, your D800 is now passing 1080p video to the Ninja!
Additionally, the D800 WILL send embedded audio over HDMI to the Ninja, unlike the Canon 5D MarkIII (as of this writing), making this a great solution!
Questions? Please feel free to leave them in the section below!