I need an external recorder for my FS5 – any recommendations or anything to steer clear from?

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Favourite External Recorders?

Marcus, Filmmaker

I need an external recorder for my FS5 – any recommendations or anything to steer clear from?

My favourite external recorders are the Atomos Shogun and the Apollo from Convergent Design. As for which is better or ‘best’ it probably is the Atomos Shogun (latest version of which is the ‘Shogun Inferno’). The reason being is that by-and-large, Atomos products tend to be hassle free. They take HD-SDI signals from Canon, Sony and Panasonic cameras and the actual monitoring screens are wonderfully bright from Atomos. As someone who deals in video equipment I find it a bit annoying that there’s a new Atomos product every year (and the martial arts references can be confusing to an old codger like me!) but they do make products that work and work very well. The Apollo is also a wonderful tool as it also boasts a VERY handy switching tool in that you can live mix up to 4 x channels from a portable, touch screen, 7” monitor/recorder. Amazing! The downside to the Apollo is the paid-for upgrades. Having to spend ￡￡￡’s on upgrades after already spending ￡￡￡’s is not everyone’s idea of technical excellence but don’t let me put you off – a handheld external recorder that can also double up as vision mixer is a wonderful thing indeed! The other option for a quick and easy tool is from Blackmagic Design who not one but two options for you in the form of a 5” HD monitor / recorder and a 7” monitor / 4K Recorder. For just a few hundred pounds you get a monitor that records 10bit Apple ProRes (or DNx…your choice!). Whatever you decide, please do your research as there aren’t many external recorders that do absolutely everything you might want them.

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