Atomos launches support for ProRes RAW plug-ins

Atomos has taken the wraps off immediate support for Apple ProRes RAW plug-ins, allowing camera manufacturers to provide their own ProRes RAW processing pipeline.

ProRes RAW is often widely regarded as the universal RAW video format, and now it is probably taking a step closer to being so in all real world scenarios as well. With the introduction of plug-in support in the current release firmware for Ninja V, Ninja V+, and Shogun Connect, camera manufacturers can provide their own unique processing, in a completely confidential way, by writing a single ProRes RAW plug-in.

ProRes RAW becomes, in effect, the conduit for their custom processing, carrying the unique characteristics of any camera, sensor, processing, and lens combination into post. ProRes RAW plug-ins will be supported in Final Cut Pro as well as many third-party applications that have licensed the ProRes RAW SDK, such as NLEs and colour correction applications.

The process is billed as straightforward: users simply install the camera vendor’s ProRes RAW plug-in and Final Cut Pro will automatically show all the new enhanced features of the supported camera. Using a ProRes RAW plug-in enables camera-specific adjustments such as custom white balancing, noise reduction, demosaicing, lens distortion correction, and more.

Canon is the first (and currently only) camera maker to deliver a ProRes RAW Plug-in under this scheme, with the EOS R5, R5 C and R6 Mark II cameras outputting RAW to an Atomos monitor-recorder, either the Ninja V, Ninja V+, and Shogun Connect.

Atomos supports over 50 camera models recording ProRes RAW from the camera’s RAW output over SDI or HDMI, so is rather well placed to record this new enhanced metadata standard. 

“This new feature for the ProRes RAW ecosystem is absolutely going to change the way people think about recording ProRes RAW,” said Trevor Elbourne, Atomos CEO. “For the first time the filmmaker literally gets the best of all worlds: shoot in ProRes RAW with the option to immediately apply camera-specific processing, use standard processing, or customise individual parameters to their own taste. You have to ask yourself: why wouldn’t you shoot in ProRes RAW?”