REVIEW: AJA Ki Pro Mini

Studio Monthly by David Leitner

This ProRes Recorder/Player Is Like an HDCAM Deck in the Palm of Your Hand

Industry infatuation with Apple’s ProRes continues to build, from ARRI’s adoption of ProRes for its Alexa digital cinema camera to AJA’s unveiling at IBC last September of its latest ProRes field recorder, the Ki Pro Mini.

ARRI’s Alexa, of course, is a pacesetter that captures 1080p to Sony SxS cards in all four 10-bit ProRes 4:2:2 codecs—422, LT, 422, and HQ—as well as 12-bit ProRes 4444 for RGB.

But it was the original AJA Ki Pro announced at NAB 2009 that blazed the path to recording directly to ProRes, which Apple debuted way back in 2007 as an advanced intermediate codec for editing and post.

In testing Ki Pro for a review back then, I remember trying to shake my incredulity that an Apple codec could be a good choice for high-end video recording in the field. What a difference eighteen months makes. read more...