Atomos Ninja Phone Turns Your iPhone into a Monitor and ProRes Recorder
By Jennifer P
In his PetaPixel blog post, Jaron Schneider introduces Atomos’s latest innovation, the Ninja Phone, designed to enhance iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max devices for professional video recording. The Ninja Phone functions as a 10-bit video co-processor, enabling filmmakers to monitor and record high-quality footage from HDMI-equipped cameras directly onto these iPhones.
While theoretically compatible with any smartphone or tablet, the initial release of the Atomos Ninja Phone is specifically tailored for Apple’s latest iPhone models due to their capability to handle ProRes encoding. Atomos highlights the synergy between their ProRes expertise and Apple’s advanced hardware, particularly praising the iPhone 15 Pro’s OLED display.
The Ninja Phone encodes HDMI signals from professional cameras to ProRes or H.265 formats, both at 10-bit quality for optimal HDR results. The encoded video is transferred via USB-C to the iPhone’s port, leveraging the iPhone’s powerful A17 chip to decode and display the footage in high resolution on its impressive OLED screen.
Atomos emphasizes the significant display improvements over traditional camera screens, boasting a 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio, Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG support, with 11 stops of dynamic range and a peak brightness of 1,600 nits.
Controlled via the Atomos Ninja Phone app from the Apple App Store, the system integrates seamlessly, making the setup feel like a unified device. The app also supports vertical video modes for social media creators.
Atomos stresses low latency and high data rates, critical for professional workflows, and supports external iPhone accessories via a USB-C hub. However, one limitation of the Ninja Phone is its maximum recording resolution of 1080p Full HD, chosen to maintain low latency and high data rates.
In summary, Atomos’s Ninja Phone introduces a powerful tool for content creators, enabling professional camera monitoring and recording directly onto iPhone 15 Pro devices, offering superior display quality and streamlined integration for filmmaking and content creation.
Read the full article by Jaron Schneider for PetaPixel HERE
Learn more about Atomos Ninja Phone HERE
Learn more about Atomos HERE