Convergent Design Nano w/camera mounting options

Convergent Design Nano w/camera mounting options

Wow, am I happy with my PMW-350 camera.  A large part of that is the ability to use my Convergent Design Nano to up the recording bit rate and color spacing.  Without the Nano I would not own this camera I would have purchased the F800.

PMW-350 w/Nano in the Field
PMW-350 w/Nano in the Field

The Nano is a small Compact Flash card recorder (4 7/8” x 3 ¾” x 1 3/8”) and light 0.85 pounds.  But packs a punch when it comes to delivering exactly what CD states, and the results I have found over the last 5 months more then prove it to me.

The size and weight makes mounting the Nano on the camera easy.  Westside AV Studios built the mounting plates for my EX1 and PMW-350.  I highly recommend them for mounts, cables, and great advice from Olof Ekbergh the owner.

PMW-350 top of Nano mount
PMW-350 top of Nano mount

The processor in the XDCAM F700 and F800 are fantastic and make both cameras stunning.  The Nano has two of the same processors to offer bit rates and color spacing for cameras with HD-SDI or HDMI out.  The chip size in the camera will make a difference in your results.  I use the Nano on the EX1, PMW-350, and have tried it on the Canon HF10.  The bigger the chip the better your results so on my 2/3” PMW-350 it performs like a F900 only better making this combination a winner.  I have also been very happy with the results on the EX1.

The Nano takes 4.2.2 uncompressed signal from the camera and used its two processors giving you a huge array of options so you by pass the processor in the camera.  You still have to record to the cameras media so the camera records.  Great for checking out the difference but once you start using the Nano you will no longer use the media recorded from the camera.

Nano mount on PMW-350 w/optional side arms
Nano mount on PMW-350 w/optional side arms

The media the Nano records to is Compact Flash Cards.  You need large and fast cards and a lot of them.  You will spend about $1800 to buy the cards you need.  The Nano cost is $2,995.  So with a few options you are spending about $5,500 which is worth every penny if quality matters to you and your clients.  To find out what cards work you need to go to CD site since this info is updated often.  I use Sandisk Extreme 60MB/s 32GB and the Nano holds two cards.  Recording times vary with bit rates but my two 32’s at 100Mbps is about 80 minutes.

Nano on EX1 in WhiteCap Video Studio
Nano on EX1 in WhiteCap Video Studio

So you say, “What client takes CF cards”.  Well I do not deliver on CF cards.  The clips on the Nano are your choice of .MXF or .MOV.  If you use .MOV CD has a free utility that wraps in .MXF so you have both options this way.  With .MOV I just drop the clips into Final Cut Pro.  Then off the XDCAM 422 50Mbps timeline send it to Sony Optical Disk with proxies and media data, hard drives, DVD, Blu-Ray, or how ever the client needs the media delivered.  If you do not edit the clips more then simple cuts the above 50Mbps bit rates stays the same on output.  If you do edit in more detail you have XDCAM 422 50Mbps out which is a broadcast standard.

I will have a blog post coming soon on the Sony U1 Optical disk recorder an amazing piece of gear, and a must if you own a Nano.

If you have made it this far reading you will know that 4.2.2 vs. 4.2.0 color spacing is a huge difference and IMHO worth the cost of the Nano, the bit rates are bonus.

Nano on EX1 shooting time laps at sunrise
Nano on EX1 shooting time laps at sunrise

So what is this bit rate I am talking about?  Well my EX1 & PMW-350 both have native 4.2.0 35Mbps Long-GOP.  The bit rate is the amount of information per second that is recorded.  So if you look at what is considered the sweet spot with the Nano 100Mbps compared to the 35Mbps from the camera that is a ton on information.  The higher bit rates help motion footage dramatically.  While shooting from the helicopter 35Mbps vs 100Mbps looks like two different cameras and it really is with the Nano.  With 280Mbps I-Frame I do not see much of a difference over 100Mbps Long GOP.  Long GOP is amazing at 50Mbps and up bit rates and you will need 3x the bit rate in I-Fame to match Long GOP.

Nano/PMW-350 shooting time laps at sunset
Nano/PMW-350 shooting time laps at sunset

With the Nano your options (keep checking since CD is always upgrading the firmware free) are:

4.2.2 Long GOP 50-180Mbps

4.2.2 I-Frame 100-280Mbps

Other great features:  very low power draw 5.6 watts maximum, and 0.2 watts on standby.  Audio is also recorded.  Nice little LCD screen and very easy menu system.  Free firmware updates monthly.  Great and I mean great customer service.

This is a must for anyone using a camera that records 4.2.0.

Don`t copy text or photos!