Nauticam ATOMOS SHINOBI Monitor Underwater Housing – A Review

Using a monitor on your underwater housing is fun and easy but it is foremost a huge help to improve your shots. Not only if you are a videographer – but most certainly also as a photographer. We would imagine the Atomos Shinobi monitor is the new go-to monitor for all people who want to have a nice big picture when they are doing stills or videos underwater.

The Atomos Shinobi 4K HDMI and Shinobi SDI are fantastic monitors, that have a very bright 5.2″ screen with a dynamic range of 10 stops. So you can expect extremely sharp and crystal clear images. Unlike Ninja V, the Atomos Shinobi monitor is not a recording monitor (no hard drive on that one).

The price is going to be a little over 2.000€ (including the monitor), which is about half the price of the existing small HD system. And it is only about twice the amount a good 45° viewfinder costs. Compared to a viewfinder, the monitor allows you to have a big overview and a better view of your images. Therefore, you are going to do much better when it comes to composition.

Whereas the viewfinder can only be used for macro when your head is very close to the camera housing, the monitor allows you to move freely without having sore arms afterward. So, shooting macro has never been easier…

Review of the Atomos Shinobi Monitor Underwater Housing

In the past, HDMI cables were fragile and would often break when you are not careful, but Nauticam has solved the cabling problem pretty well. Nauticam has made a system that is friction-free and you do not have to bend the cables to connect everything. The cables not only have the right dimensions, but they are also heavy-duty and will not break easily. That’s a big plus!

After opening the housing, just use the HDMI cable to plug it into the monitor. The Shinobi is easily mounted in the housing, dropping in without trays or other mounting accessories, and is held in place by two rotating locking levers. After locking the housing, make sure you apply some vacuum to it.

When used with the included Vacuum Valve, the system gives real-time feedback about the watertight integrity of the housing through an easily visible multi-color LED on the top of the housing. Access to the touchscreen controls of the Shinobi is handled via a series of buttons and a selector knob beneath the screen of the housing. So, the housing offers lots of possibilities to control the monitor, with increased functionality and possibilities.

We would recommend mounting the monitor on your underwater housing like that: Use the arm ball that is included in the housing package and add another arm ball to your underwater housing. Connect them both with a long Nauticam clamp. A bulkhead goes directly into the housing. Nauticams complete bulkhead and cable system will ensure durability and easy mounting on your housing. Find out more about the Atomos Shinobi monitor underwater housing from Nauticam in the following video:

Exposure tools:

The Shinobi exposure guides include a Waveform for luminance, RGB Parade for color balance, and Vector Scope for hue and saturation. These tools, especially useful for the underwater filmmaker, allow accurate and fast judging of exposure, even in the most uncooperative lighting scenarios.

Focus tools:

Critical focus can be achieved using various peaking tools. Focus Peaking Color displays the original color image with the sharpest areas outlined in a selectable color. Whereas Focus Peaking Mono provides the same overlay but on a monochrome image. Focus Assist Outline shows only the false-color outline on a black background of the sharpest areas.

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What’s in the box – Atomos Shinobi Monitor Underwater Housing:

• Nauticam Atomos Shinobi monitor underwater housing
• 25096 SDI cable in 0.75m length (pre-installed)
• M25-M16 Step Down Adaptor (pre-installed)
• 25625 M16 Vacuum Valve II (pre-installed)
• Mounting ball (pre-installed)
• Monitor hood
• 25058 M16 SDI Bulkhead
• 25060 SDI cable in 0.3m length (for connection from camera to underside of SDI Bulkhead)
• 90137 Housing O-ring, lubricant, O-ring remover
• CR2032 Battery (for moisture alarm and vacuum system)
• Allen Wrench Set
• Padded Travel Case