Settling down with the nanoFLASH

Well, after a huge sigh of relief Thursday I am starting to try out all the settings my nanoFLASH has to offer. I know I have already said in my last post, but I just wanted to say it again here. The way that Convergent Design responded and resolved my issue was fantastic. Right with that aside lets get down to the nitty gritty of a working nanoFLASH.

Convergent Design nanoFLASH

I suppose the first thing I noticed about the replacement nanoFLASH was that it came on as soon as it had power. My initial though was, oh no, what now! However, I have since discovered that this is not a fault but intentional.

The disabled on / off switch

All units shipped from October 2009 onwards have had the on of switch disabled or removed. In my case it was disabled. I think that’s better than a removed button. This way you don’t create a dust trap or away that moisture can get inside the unit. The original faulty nanoFLASH I had, the on / off switch was enabled and I was just getting used to that. Mind you I’m sure I’ll cope, heh! Convergent Design had disabled the on / off button in response to multiple user requests, who claimed that they kept turning their nanoFLASHes off by mistake. So I suppose that this is a good thing.

nanoFLASH Firmware

The first nanoFLASH I had was running on firmware 1.0.64 when it arrived and due to the fault I never got to try that firmware version out. However, my new nanoFLASH arrived with the 1.0.112 firmware version installed. I have tried this one out quite extensively and I like it. I mentioned in my post entitled ‘Convergent Design nanoFLASH’ about the features of this firmware.

On the 25th November Convergent Design unveiled there latest firmware 1.1.150. This incorporates many new features. Here’s a quick summary of the features I like;

Added 280 Mbps I-Frame only bit rate
Added compatibility with XDCAM Optical Equipment (50 Mbps bit rate only)
Qualified more Compact Flash cards: SanDisk Extreme 32 GB, SanDisk Extreme Pro 32 / 64 GB, PhotoFast 533x 32 / 64 GB and a few more
Improved write and read performance to all Compact Flash cards
Added HDMI input colour setting menu option, default is full (for camera sources) or legalised (for computer or game box video sources)
Added increased fast forward rate options: now 2x, 4x, or 6x. A progress bar on the LCD screen indicates selected speed. Maximum possible rates are dependent on card speeds and bit rate
Generally:
> to 50 Mbit bit rate: max rate = 6x (SanDisk Extreme 3: 4x)
> 100 Mbit: max rate = 4x (SanDisk Extreme, Extreme 3: 2x)
> 140 / 160 Mbit: max rate = 2x (SanDisk Extreme 3: 1x)
> 220 / 280 Mbit: 1x only
Added warning to LCD screen if input is lost (and subsequently recovered ) at any time during record. An ‘intermittent source’ message will stay on screen til power is removed from nanoFLASH.
Changed ‘PSF In’ and ‘PSF Out’ menu descriptions to; ‘Record PSF->Progressive’ and ‘Play Progressive->PSF’ with the same functionality in both.
Repaired audio problem in Sony Vegas with nanoFlash MXF files. Previously, audio channel 2 in MXF files would sometimes go awry within Vegas.
Repaired intermittent audio/ video sync problem.
Repaired intermittent bug when coming out of time lapse mode, which had the unit stuck in I-Frame recording mode
Repaired bit rate display during playback
Enabled max file size setting in time-lapse mode to range from 2% to 100%
Repaired time-lapse recording, in which previously an occasional frame would be dropped
Reduced stop time using remote tally to about 1 second (hold remote tally button at least 1 second during record to stop)
Removed latency in analog audio output

That’s one heck of a firmware update and Convergent Design are now working on the December Firmware Update!

I have updated to firmware 1.1.150 and all works well. Convergent Design has incorporated some very nice features in this version as I mentioned above. I do know that in the Decembers release CD will include ‘Hot Swapping’ which will be awesome. Another feature I am waiting for is over and undercranking which I am led to believe will be incorporated in the January firmware release.

Download the latest ‘Convergent Design nanoFLASH Manual [Version 1.1.150 25-Nov-09]’.

I now am able to monitor the video and audio from the camera now as I have purchased a full HD Monitor that can input and output 1080p through HD-SDI. I will be doing a review of this monitor as it is ideal for use with the nanoFLASH. The monitor is the SWIT S-1070H 7″ LCD Monitor. I have it set-up to be power via a D-Tap or Sony the BP-U30 / BP-60 batteries.

I’ll get some images up of my nanoFLASH Rig once I have it all figured out. Also I am hoping to add a few Sony PMW-EX3 / nanoFLASH test shots and footage up on my YouTube Channel and Vimeo Channel in the next few days. More than likely due to bad weather these shots will be in my office or editing suite.

I’ve already had a few emails asking if the nanoFLASH works straight out of the box. The answer is a resounding yes, but…

…always a, but isn’t there. You do need to purchase the following additional items; on-camera power cable, a video / audio cable and some compact flash cards. Let look at each in turn;

Powering the nanoFLASH

There are so many ways to do this and depending on the camera you are using will help determine what suit you best. Convergent Design can help you with any special requirements but here are the most common ones;

4-pin Hirose to D-Tap
4-pin Hirose to XLR

I have heard by the grapevine that Convergent Design has also introduced their own small battery pack that’ll last about three hours.

Video / Audio Cables

You will need to purchase either a HD-SDI cable or a HDMI cable in order to connect your camera to the nanoFLASH.

Compact Flash Cards

Here is a list of compact flash cards that you can use with the nanoFLASH (you must have firmware version 1.1.150 installed to use some of these cards and / or bit rates).

SanDisk Extreme III 32GB / 16GB / 8GB Compact Flash Memory Cards for bit rates up to and including 180 Mbps
SanDisk Extreme IV 16GB Compact Flash Memory Cards for bit rates up to and including 280 Mbps
SanDisk Extreme 32GB Compact Flash Memory Cards for bit rates up to and including 280 Mbps
SanDisk Extreme Pro 64GB / 32GB Compact Flash Memory Cards up to and including 280 Mbps
Delkin UDMA 16GB Compact Flash Memory Cards for bit rates up to and including 180 Mbps
Lexar 8GB / 16GB 300x Compact Flash Memory Cards for bit rates up to and including 280 Mbps
PhotoFast 64GB / 32GB 533x Compact Flash Memory Cards for bit rates up to and including 220 Mbps
PhotoFast Plus 32GB 533x Compact Flash Memory Cards for bit rates up to and including 280 Mbps

For those of you who don’t know, the nanoFLASH comes with the following items;