Advice needed considering a field monitor

[Shirota Screen]

Good day fellows,

 

I'm currently seeking for some advice regarding a field monitor for my Sony Alpha 6300 

 

Details

• Body: Sony Alpha 6300 
• Budget: roughly 400€ 
• Will be used for filmmaking 
• 4k video 
• slog2 ( if this info is necessary ) 

Requirements: 

• Batteries should be included (seen too many where one must spend ~ 100 € for batteries on top) 
• Overall satisfying display quality 
• Availability of an adapter in order to mount it to a gimbal (Zhuyin Crane V2)

After my first research I came across this: Sokani Monitor, however it appears to be not available anywhere in EU 

 

Thank you in advance  

 

[yaya1]

Do you want it to have 2160p resolution?

[Shirota Screen]

1080p should be fine. Don't really mind the downscaling since I'm using a 1080p monitor at my editing rig anyway 

[thekillergazebo]

I’ve not used a field monitor, but have you considered using your phone or tablet with the Sony app as a field monitor? The app allows you to move the focus point and view what your doing in a larger format. I’m not sure if that’s something that would fit your needs alone.

[Shirota Screen]

Thanks for the suggestion. 

 

I tried that a few times however the delay as well as the laggy image is just not acceptable in my certain situation 

 

On top of that it does not allow to record in slog2 

[Cooloff]

Wait, so you want your monitor to record slog2 or do you want it to display an approximation of what it would look like? I believe it's called Log assist?

I'm afraid either one is probably out of your price range... Here's one with Log assist

[Shirota Screen]

Just a screen that can display the recorded footage. Since the Sony Alpha 6300 can record "native" slog2 footage there is no need for a separate recording device. 

 

Done some research as well and found this one for instance LINK

 

Can someone explain what are the most remarkable differences between a monitor at the pricing of 600$ compared to a e.g. 200$ one? I highly doubt it's just the display.

 

Edit: Ouch 750 € here in EU 

 

 

 

[Rhiannonithi]

I'm only replying because I was intrigued by your profile illustration, but I have a friend who might be able to help you out since she works as a DOP.  Let me message her and see what she has to say.  I don't know much about camera gears as much as her.

[LaFemmeEnVert]

If you're interested in getting a good field monitor for your camera then there are a few models I can recommend in the budget end of what is available and you only need a most a 5 inch size monitor

1- Blackmagic video assist £330

2- Smallhd focus £500 for a bundle with essential accessories

 

There are cheaper ones you can find on places like ebay and amazon but i dont recommend them.  Why is something that cost like £500 better than something that costs £200?  because of the features and some part due to brand name

 

Video assist

- supports both hdmi and sdi connections and signal pass through

- can record video signal to memory card

- can load luts

- but unfortunately the experience of many of my friends with this screen is there is a color cast so we don't use it for judging color accuracy of the scene

- not as bright as the Smallhd and not good enough for using in bright daylight

- dual battery support so you can daisy chain batteries and keep the device turned on continuosly

 

Smallhd focus, Smallhd is currently a big name in the industry of field monitors

- cannot record video like the video assist from Blackmagic

- but brighter screen so you can monitor the camera in daylight

- screen has less color cast and the focus assist exposure assist features are better implemented than blackmagic

- hdmi only because is designed for dslr shooters

- built like a tank figuratively speaking but Smallhd does stand by the durability of their products

- can load luts and capture still frames so if you need to redo a shoot you can make sure everything is positioned correctly

- single battery only but you can order with support for different types of batteries like canon, nikon, panasonic, sony and on their website they claim it can also provide power to the camera

 

check their specs and features on the web.  if you don't need the level of what these monitors can do you can always find a cheap Ikan or Feelworld or Came-TV monitor that is like £100-£200 somewhere on ebay or amazon

 

mounting these monitors on your camera or rigging you can use clamps and arms.  there are many available on the market.

[Shirota Screen]

Holy moly thanks a lot

Can you perhaps give me a link for the " Smallhd focus £500 for a bundle with essential accessories"? 

Just keep finding those ridiculous € prices which are way above 700€ 

 

[LaFemmeEnVert]

In the uk where I am currently living and working there is a store called CVP.  since your camera is a Sony buy the Sony bundle.  you will have to pay for extra batteries and other accessories

https://cvp.com/catalogue/search/smallhd+focus

know that if you buy a good monitor you can keep using it for years if you change cameras.  think of it as an investment.

Edited February 9, 2018 by LaFemmeEnVert

[Shirota Screen]

Thanks a lot, 

 

but overall this solution seems to interfere with my tight budget : ( 

 

However, I found an offer from eBay who sells a second-hand Sony CLM v55 for about 150€

 

What are your opinions regarding the Sony CLM v55 ?

Compared to the FHD5 it does not offer the so-called SLog mode. Does this mean it lacks the ability to display slog footage or restrict me to record in another picture profile? 

[LaFemmeEnVert]

I can tell you that Sony monitor is a good monitor but is not 1920x1080 resolution.  try to see if you can find someone selling a Smallhd DP4 monitor or a 5 inch marshall which are a whole lot better., but if you only want a monitor to give you a stable view of your shot when the camera is moving around on your steadycam any monitor will do the job.  the ones we talked about earlier have more features that you likely will find using the monitor even when the camera is not on a steadycam

[LaFemmeEnVert]

forgot to tell you about slog.  i don't know what you understand or mean when you say it doesnt offer slog mode.  from what I understand it doesn't matter the profile or log you apply in camera.  the monitor will display the image signal it receives.  but log profiles look pale and boring.  so on some monitors you can apply a lut to make the boring slog image look nicer.  if the monitor doesn't let you load custom luts for preview or have built in luts to compensate for the log image then you will only see the boring log image on the monitor.  i don't know the Sony 6300 but some cameras you can still record in log profile but send out a lut applied image to the field monitor for preview purposes. see if you can do that on your camera if the monitor doesn't support luts.  some cameras also let you use a log profile for filming but also apply a custom lut file to be baked into the footage so that the recorded file image is not boring like a pure log footage but also doesn't have to look the same color as a standard profile.

 

sorry if my replies are slow and for my lack of proper spelling or punctuation.  the router at my home appears to be on its last legs and needs to be replaced soon I suppose or someone is trying to piggyback on my wifi signal and my computer is slow because the drives are almost full

[Shirota Screen]

Ok thanks a lot for your help  

 

Prbly gonna save up for the smallHD focus one since this seems to be the best solution in all regards 

[Rootzy]

The cheaper field monitors don't support 4k input, the build quality is not great and they don't have many assist features.

 

Whereas more expensive monitors have better build and mounting quality, and have more features like touchscreens and lots of assistive features like focus peaking, false colour and the ability to apply LUTs

[LaFemmeEnVert]

20 hours ago, Shirota Screen said:

Ok thanks a lot for your help  

 

Prbly gonna save up for the smallHD focus one since this seems to be the best solution in all regards 

The Focus is a good choice and is designed for people who use dslrs or any photo camera that can record video and has hdmi out.  Smallhd is doing a giveaway for the next few weeks of this monitor, try it and you might be lucky.

https://www.smallhd.com/community/focus-giveaway