Why Atomos Shogun 7 is the best on-camera monitor-recorder you can buy
This is a product to put on a pedestal: The Atomos Shogun 7!
Displaying true HDR has always been a problem with other Atomos monitors. Sure they got brightness, but that's certainly not HDR. Then came the Shogun 7 with its 360 zone backlight allowing for true blacks!
Unboxing
Atomos' packaging has always been concise. Thus the Shogun 7 is no exception. There's the monitor, an AC adapter, and a 2.5" SSD/HDD caddy. Batteries can also be stored in the package as well.
Looking at both the Shogun 7 & the Shogun Inferno and they are visually similar. Connectivity is a seperate HDMI in/out port, quad links 4 x 3G/6G SDI , and 4 x 3G-SDI, 2 x 12G single link SDI. Outputting is also possible with a 12G SDI with two ports. But don't try to use all at the same time.
The unit will cater for up to eight channels of audio over HDMI, and twelve over SDI at 48KHz 24-bit resolution. There is also a two-channel XLR in/out socket, although you will need a separately available adaptor to take advantage of this. Lastly there's a 3.5mm headphone out.
Simon Wyndham (Red Shark author)
Weight is similar to the Shugon Inferno as well without batteries. The display is also 1920x1080p.
When it's on
The difference between the Shogun 7 and Inferno with its image quality is beyond belief. Using the AtomOS 10 operating system, this unit was so much more vibrant and capture the true image fully.
The Shogun 7 will auto-recognise a lot of input types. For example it will take the HLG output straight from a Panasonic S1 and display a true HLG HDR output. Depending on your camera it will also account for any log style input as well by setting it to one of the available presets, and you can configure it with any 3D LUT you want to upload to it. At present the Shogun 7 will cater for the specific outputs of everything from Sony SLog, Panasonic V-log, Nikon N-log, RED LogFilm and a whole lot more besides, as well as camera specific colour gamuts.
Simon Wyndham (Red Shark author)
The Shogun 7 can record to ProRes, ProRes RAW, DNxHR/DNxHD, and CinemaDNG. Thus making it a part of the other Atomos monitors. There is also a pre-record button - 8 second in HD & 4 seconds in 4K modes.
Picture & HDR
Simon Wyndham from Red Shark described this best.
The difference between the Shogun 7 and the older Inferno is pretty marked when you view the two side-by-side. Taking the HLG output from a Panasonic S1 for instance shows the differences instantly. Both units can take an HLG signal, and both have great colour, although the 7 is capable of showing 105% of DCI P3. However the dynamic range capabilities of the Shogun 7 are instantly noticeable with the deepness of the shadow areas and blacks making the same areas on Inferno look grey and washed out by comparison. This isn't to say that the Inferno is rubbish by any respect. It's an exceptional display. But the new display technology in the Shogun 7 is very clearly a step change forward, and this shows in the specs, with the Inferno capable of displaying around 10 stops of realtime DR compared with 15 stops for the Shogun 7.
Simon Wyndham (Red Shark author)
With appropriate viewing conditions, the Shogun 7 shows the full DR capability on whatever camera is being used. Even bright sunlight doesn't hamper its ability. Though it is recommended to stay in a shaded area for the best used of its HDR features.
Yet once the quality is seen, it'll be hard to go back to anything else... even in the midst of bright sunlight.
The 7" displays isn't for everyone. But it certainly is portable, feasibly stored, and light weight.
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