Just a few hours ago earlier today, acclaimed US-based gear maker Convergent Design announced the release of firmware update 2015.8 for their flagship Odyssey7Q+ 4K recorder/monitor enabling High Speed Apple ProRes recording directly in Apple ProRes in 4K/UHD up to 60p and in HD up to staggering 240p. According to the manufacturer “at the moment, no other device can record HD Apple ProRes at 240 frames per second – no camera, no standalone recorder, no computer capture card. The advanced processing power of the Odyssey7Q+ & Odyssey7Q and computing skills of the Convergent Design engineering team have set a new bar in video recording.”
High Speed Apple ProRes will initially be offered for the Sony FS7 (with XDCA Extension Unit) and and the Sony NEX-FS700. The Odyssey RAW Bundle ($995 from Convergent Design) is required to access the high frame rate data from these cameras. In free firmware updates, Convergent Design will add high frame rate support for more cameras with appropriate outputs.
Once again, with this firmware Convergent Design prove the Odyssey7Q+ is the perfect companion to the Sony FS7/FS700 cameras, as the competition from Atomos and Video Devices at the moment tops out at 4K/30p in ProRes from just about any camera. The former is yet to enable 4K raw recording from the Sony FS cameras, while the PIX-E5/E7 from Video Devices do not have any Raw recording facility at all. This nevertheless does not make them any less capable of being awesome monitors or recorders, but currently the Odyssey7Q+ can extract the most out of the Sony FS7 and FS700, which in my opinion absolutely needs the Odyssey7Q+ as without it, it’s not able to record 4K at all.
Sony FS7 customers will have to purchase the Odyssey7Q+ RAW BUNDLE as well as the XDCA-FS7 extension unit to benefit from the high-speed firmware upgrade in this firmware. The beauty of this update is that you can save quite a bit of disk space by recording 4K Raw super-sampled to 4K ProRes in 60p for some uber slow-mo, and of course 2K Raw to 240p ProRes.
The new recording options in the 2015.8 firmware are:
- FS7/FS700 – 4K Raw to 4K Prores up to 60p
- FS7/FS700 – 4K RAW -> UHD Apple ProRes, 50p & 60p added
- 2K RAW HS -> HD Apple ProRes, 100p, 120p, 200p, 240p
Additionally, with the Odyssey RAW Bundle, the Odyssey7Q+ and Odyssey7Q will be able to record 4K & QHD RAW from the upcoming Canon EOS C300 Mark II camera.
Here’s how to setup the FS700 to record 240p ProRes via Convergent Design.
NEW FEATURES (Odyssey7Q+)
Canon XC10 Support
UHD Apple ProRes 23.98p, 25p, 29.97p UHD->HD SuperSample to Apple ProRes 23.98p, 25p, 29.97p (Camera trigger & HDMI timecode in HD Only)
NEW FEATURES (Odyssey7Q+, Odyssey7Q)
FS7/FS700 High Speed RAW -> Apple ProRes Support* [MORE INFO]
FS7/FS700:
- 4K RAW -> 4K Apple ProRes, 50p & 60p added
- 4K RAW -> UHD Apple ProRes, 50p & 60p added
- 2K RAW HS -> HD Apple ProRes, 100p, 120p, 200p, 240p
- (Only one SSD can be mounted for recording 2K HS Apple ProRes)
- (Only Odyssey int. TC supported (Seed, Time-of-Day DF & NDF)
FS700 only:
- 4K RAW Burst -> 4K Apple ProRes, 100p & 120p
- 4K RAW Burst -> UHD Apple ProRes, 100p & 120p
(*Requires Odyssey RAW Bundle or Sony FS RAW Option)
Canon C300 MKII RAW Support
- 4K RAW recording up to 30p
- QHD RAW recording up to 30p
- 4K RAW -> 4K Apple ProRes up to 30p
- QHD RAW -> UHD Apple ProRes up to 30p
(*Requires Odyssey RAW Bundle or Canon RAW Option)
NEW FEATURES (Odyssey7Q+, Odyssey7Q, Odyssey7)
Vectorscope
- Analog or Digital
- Trace Trace display in green or colour (true CbCr)
- Variable Zoom 1.0x – 15.0x (Finger Drag left-right)
- Zoom Presets 1,2,5,10,15x (Finger Drag up-down)
FIXES & IMPROVEMENTS
- FIXED Audio issues in 1080i59.94 playback
- FIXED 4K to 2K/HD Downscale Line at the bottom of image.
- IMPROVED Color Bars
- IMPROVED Odyssey Menu Font
For more information and to download firmware update 2015.8 (which is free) head over to Convergent Design. You can read about the last two firmware updates on the Odyssey family recorders here and here.
B&H Links:
Odyssey7Q+ OLED Monitor & 4K Recorder with Two 256GB Convergent Design SSDs – $2,295
Sony NEX-FS700R Super 35 Camcorder (Body Only) – $4,999
Sony PXW-FS7 XDCAM Super 35 Camera System (Body Only) – $7,999
Sony XDCA-FS7 Extension Unit – $1,999
Adorama Links:
Convergent Design Odyssey7Q+ $2,295 (includes 2 x 256GB SSDs)
Sony PXW-FS7 4K Camera – $7,999
Sony XDCA-FS7 Extension Unit – $1,999
Sony NEX-FS700R Super 35 Camera (Body Only) – $4,999
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate partner and participant in B&H and Adorama Affiliate programmes, we earn a small comission from each purchase made through the affiliate links listed above at no additional cost to you.
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Thank you for this wonderful tutorial! I followed it exactly, but when I hit S&Q to get to 2k Super slow the 7Q+ says “No Input” do you have any advice for me on this issue?