Portable monitor or EVF for my 5D III video setup

[AbrahamoLincolni]

Can anyone recommend a portable monitor or EVF to use with my 5D III for filming?  Also, when you recommend one please give reasons why you think it's good or better than the competition.

[AkiraDaarkst]

30 minutes ago, AbrahamoLincolni said:

Can anyone recommend a portable monitor or EVF to use with my 5D III for filming?  Also, when you recommend one please give reasons why you think it's good or better than the competition.

Do you have specific requirements such as resolution, screen size, brightness levels and whether they need to be able to record video too?

 

For a basic monitor, I recommend the SmallHD 500 series sidefinder kit.  It comes with a 5" 1080p resolution monitor, takes Canon LP-E6 and Sony NP batteries, has both SDI and HDMI in/out (the 502 model), supports custom LUTs.  Costs somewhere between $1200-$1500 depending on the specific model of the monitor.  Can double as a monitor and a viewfinder with the sidefinder.  The SmallHD monitors are built to be very tough.

http://store.smallhd.com/products/500-series

 

I own the bigger brother the 702 Bright.  The 500 and 700 series are very similar, the main difference is the size.

 

 

 

 

[AbrahamoLincolni]

On 12/13/2016 at 7:31 PM, AkiraDaarkst said:

 

Thanks for this, sorry I didn't reply sooner.  I was in a place without a good internet connection.  The SmallHD 502 looks like a fantastic monitor.  What would you recommend if I wanted a monitor with a recorder?

[AkiraDaarkst]

2 hours ago, AbrahamoLincolni said:

Thanks for this, sorry I didn't reply sooner.  I was in a place without a good internet connection.  The SmallHD 502 looks like a fantastic monitor.  What would you recommend if I wanted a monitor with a recorder?

Have you looked at the Atomos monitor/recorders?  With a 5D mk III, if you're going to use it for cinematography it will be worth getting something like an Atomos Ninja Blade.  It doesn't have the FHD resolution screen of a SmallHD monitor or the more expensive Atomos Ninja/Shogun Flames but it will still record ProRes and DNxHD.  Else get the Ninja Flame.

 

You can also consider the Odyssey 7Q+ from Convergent Design but it's more expensive.

[AbrahamoLincolni]

20 hours ago, AkiraDaarkst said:

Have you looked at the Atomos monitor/recorders?  With a 5D mk III, if you're going to use it for cinematography it will be worth getting something like an Atomos Ninja Blade.  It doesn't have the FHD resolution screen of a SmallHD monitor or the more expensive Atomos Ninja/Shogun Flames but it will still record ProRes and DNxHD.  Else get the Ninja Flame.

 

You can also consider the Odyssey 7Q+ from Convergent Design but it's more expensive.

Thanks mate.  I'm looking at the Atomos recorders.

[AkiraDaarkst]

23 hours ago, AbrahamoLincolni said:

Thanks mate.  I'm looking at the Atomos recorders.

If you have a limited budget, you can also think about buying the Black Magic Design Video Assist.  However I feel that their screens are not as good as Atomos and the focus assist features like peaking also shows around the UI which it shouldn't be doing,

[zdog16]

I bought a used Atomos Ninja2 for $200 and it works great. It's much thicker and heaver than the Small HD monitors but for the AppleProRes recording its worth it. I think that it's a better solution than the BlackMagic monitors since it can record to a desktop SSD/HDD rather than an SD card. It makes importing in post so much easier both because it's faster and because I usually have a second camera shooting to SD and I can import both at the same time. 

[AkiraDaarkst]

20 hours ago, zdog16 said:

I bought a used Atomos Ninja2 for $200 and it works great. It's much thicker and heaver than the Small HD monitors but for the AppleProRes recording its worth it. I think that it's a better solution than the BlackMagic monitors since it can record to a desktop SSD/HDD rather than an SD card. It makes importing in post so much easier both because it's faster and because I usually have a second camera shooting to SD and I can import both at the same time. 

You're right that something like a Ninja 2 would be cheaper, or Ninja Blade which costs the same price as the 5" Video Assist would be better because the Atomos recorders use SSD drives.

 

However, the BMD Video Assist use the same type of batteries as the Canon 5D mk III.  The Canon LP-E6 batteries.  Secondly the bit rates and resolution of the 5D video features do not exceed what can be captured with a fast SDXC memory card.  And thirdly, even the 5" Video Assist has both HDMI in/out and SDI in/out.  The Ninja 2 is HDMI only and so is the Ninja Blade.  OK this third point might not matter for DSLR shooters since DSLRs are going to offer HDMI out only.

 

But in the end it's a matter of preference and for a 5D mk III shooter, I think a Ninja Blade will be better than the Video Assist.

[AbrahamoLincolni]

Now you guys have got me thinking.  Do I buy something like a $200 Atomos Ninja or buy a SmallHD 502.  For the price of the 502 Sidefinder kit I think I can get a Ninja Flame that is also capable of recording 4K and I do think about getting a camera capable of filming in that resolution.

[AkiraDaarkst]

19 minutes ago, AbrahamoLincolni said:

Now you guys have got me thinking.  Do I buy something like a $200 Atomos Ninja or buy a SmallHD 502.  For the price of the 502 Sidefinder kit I think I can get a Ninja Flame that is also capable of recording 4K and I do think about getting a camera capable of filming in that resolution.

It's up to you to decide.  How sure are you that you will get a 4K camera?

[AbrahamoLincolni]

15 hours ago, AkiraDaarkst said:

It's up to you to decide.  How sure are you that you will get a 4K camera?

Thats a good question.  I am still thinking about it.  What are some good 4K cameras available on the market?

[AkiraDaarkst]

23 hours ago, AbrahamoLincolni said:

Thats a good question.  I am still thinking about it.  What are some good 4K cameras available on the market?

Depends on your budget and what you want to actually do.  You have options like Panasonic GH4, G7 types of cameras, Sony A6300/A6500, several camcorders that shoot 4K, cine cameras like the Ursa Mini, etc.