Convergent Design nanoFLASH

Well, the nanoFLASH from Convergent Design has been on my shopping list since the purchase of my Sony PMW-EX3 September last year. The nanoFLASH only started shipping June this year and has had quite a few free firmware updates since then enhancing this solid state HD / SD or HDMI Recorder / Player which creates visually loss-less Quicktime and / or MXF files stored on affordable Compact Flash media. Additional firmware updates are in the pipeline to improve this incredible product even further.

Convergent Design nanoFLASH

Before anyone asks why I haven’t got a Convergent Design Flash XDR which is a stunning piece of kit, I explain here. It’s just way to BULKY for my style of shooting. Whereas the nanoFLASH is it’s little brother. The diminutive in its size (4.2” × 3.7” × 1.4” / 107mm × 94mm x 36mm) of the nanoFLASH makes it very easy to mount on any professional camera. It weighs less than 1lb / 400grams which only increase’s the overall weight of the rig by a negligible amount. However, despite its small form factor the nanoFLASH punches well above its weight and has quite a comparable list features that are found on the Flash XDR.

The nanoFLASH differs from the Flash XDR in that offers a HDMI In / Out and has only 2 Compact Flash Slots, instead of the 4 that are on the Flash XDR. Furthermore, the nanoFLASH doesn’t provide a professional balanced analogue audio input or output. It instead uses, up to 8 channels of quality audio embedded in the HD-SDI / HDMI stream. The audio levels are displayed on the LCD panel. Users can optionally input analog audio (stereo unbalanced line, stereo unbalanced mic or one balanced mic) via the 3.5 mm jack. Audio monitoring is available via a headphone output. All audio is recorded at 24-bit, 48KHz sampling.

The nanoFLASH utilises the very high quality XDCAM HD 422 CODEC (Sony) at 50 / 100 Mbps (Long-GOP) or 100 / 140 / 160 Mbps (I-Frame-Only). Quicktime and / or MXF files can be played / edited in Avid, Final Cut Pro, Edius, Vegas (My preferred NLE) and Premiere (restricted usage) without transcoding or re-wrapping. HD / SD-SDI and HDMI I/O ports support 1080p 30 / 25 / 24, 1080i 60 / 50 and 720p 60 / 50 video formats. The nanoFLASH can also be used as an HD / SD-SDI to HDMI or HDMI to HD / SD-SDI converter.

Much like the Flash XDR, you can start and stop recording using either; the control buttons, your camcorder’s record button or via an external remote.

The nanoFLASH is ideal for using in extreme conditions as it doesn’t have any moving parts. The very low power consumption of less than 6 Watts assures long battery life, which is great for in the field use. Furthermore, the nanoFLASH has a very wide power input range from 6.5 to 19.5V making it compatible with most power sources.

Convergent Design nanoFLASH

Over the last few months many new features and capabilities have been added to the nanoFLASH such as;

• XDCAM optical support; our MXF files can be directly transferred to XDCAM optical media for archival and play-out on Sony HD decks
• 280 Mbps I-Frame and 180 Mbps Long-GOP modes; for master-quality video
• MPG file support which can eliminate the lengthy video renders associated with DVD and Blu-Ray authoring
• 3:2 pulldown removal which extracts the 1080p24 frames from a 1080i60 input
• Time-Lapse recording, capture one frame at any interval from once a second to once a day, at the very high-quality level of 280 Mbps
• PreRecord Cache of 7 seconds (for bit-rates of 100 Mbps and less); great for wild life and nature shots
• Qualification of 64 GB Compact Flash cards, users can enjoy 5.5 hours of 50 Mbps recording on a single load of two CF cards.
• ASI Encode and Decode for streaming MPEG2 over SDI coax; great for live news
• Full SD-SDI support, including playback over SDI
• Jam-Sync
• 2X/4X/6X Playback speeds

Special Note: Some of these new features will be part of a firmware update expected this week.

Over the next few months Convergent Design plan to add the following features and capabilities to the nanoFLASH;

• 8-Channel Audio support, including the ability to add analog audio to embedded audio sources
• Loop Record, for 24/7 operation in which the box automatically overwrites older footage
• Redundant Record which creates two identical masters
• Over / Under crank
• Hot Swap of Compact Flash cards
• Delete last clip
• Creation of up to eight profiles which pre-define all operating parameters, including metadata values
• GPS logging, which writes the coordinates into the video stream, including the ability to accurately time-sync to GPS time
• Wireless playback control for presentations, trade shows, etc.

The biggest advantage I can see with the nanoFLASH is the ability to shoot at higher bit rates and the increased colour space from 4:2:0 to 4:2:2. For me this offers the facility to shoot broadcast quality with my Sony PMW-EX3. The other major advantage is just how well the images from the nanoFLASH hold up in post. The higher bit rates mean there is a benefit from the virtual elimination of motion-artifacts, mosquito noise and keying problems. At 100 Mbps or above you really can a huge difference which allows editors like me to grade the material much harder before seeing signs of degrading.

Now that I have a nanoFLASH hooked up on my Sony PMW-EX3 I’ll start putting it through its paces. As I do I post my thoughts, musings, successes and failures of getting this awesome piece of kit integrated with my work flow! So stay tuned! I have included a few nanoFLASH resources below!

Happy shooting,

Paul

Here’s a few related links that you might find useful

Symbiosis is the European Distributor for Convergent Design

Siren Technology is a UK Supplier of Convergent Design Products (It’s not on their website yet but ask for Simon and he’ll sort you out)

Convergent Design Official Website

PDF Factsheets | Convergent Design nanoFLASH

Introductions to the Convergent Design nanoFLASH

Convergent Design nanoFLASH FAQs

Convergent Design nanoFLASH Manual

Convergent Design nanoFLASH Video (well worth watching if you’re interested in a nanoFLASH