GH4 Best 5-7" monitor for under $300?

Keep in mind the MustHD 5.6" version (yes the M601) is 6 bit color and only 500:1 contrast. This is a more dense panel since the pixels are so tiny. Many of these 5.6" panels make sacrifices to get the pixels that small. Even the SmallHD DP6 (5.6" version) only had 6 bit color and 500:1 contrast. 5.6" monitors just don't seem to have very good panels right now. Not sure if it is because the denser screens are gobbled up by the mobile market or it just costs too much to make a 8 bit monitor with 800:1 contrast at this density with any decent level of ROI.

The 7" MustHD is 8 bit and 800:1 contrast so in theory a much better panel at displaying colors and values. To be honest these specs don't really mean much however. My Lilliput 5D version also lists 800:1 contrast and it is impossible to get any decent color or exposure on that thing. Works fine to help with focus but it isn't a great monitor. My biggest fear buying another monitor is that other then the slight bump up from 102x600 to 1280x720 that the color and values will be just as bad. My friend who bought the 7" MustHD also has the same Lilliput model I have and he said it was a night and day difference between the two. Not sure if the MustHD is up to 100% professional standards but it sounds like it is clearly a better monitor.
 
I put up with a horrible Lilliput monitor for about 2 years, then finally spent the cash and bought a 7 inch Marshall V-LCD70MD a couple of years ago, and now I have a MustHD M701 coming later this week. ( I wanted the MustHD as a back-up monitor, and I am curious to see how the image compares to my Marshall. The Marshall has generally good color response but is still a bit off on specific shades of colors. The OLED on my GH4 looks bang on all the time. I wonder if this is true with OLED monitors in general ? )
 
I've been looking at an external monitors and narrowed it down to purchasing a Smallhd DP7 (b-stock on sale right now at smallhd.com), the Ikan VK7I, or the NEWAY CL76HO-X. I know the Ikan and Neway are the same monitor, any recommendations? Thanks
 
Myself and others would appreciate any feedback or reviews of the monitor once you receive it since there are little to no user reports out there of this specific monitor.
 
Finally had a chance to go to my friends house and played with the MustHD 7" monitor. OMG this thing is amazing! It is in a class way above many other affordable monitors. The build quality puts the Lilliput to shame alone. My friend managed to get an almost perfect color match to the screen on his GH4 which is very impressive for a monitor at this price or even higher. The beautiful 8bit color IPS panel is in a totally different league to other monitors I have seen. The clarity of the screen was almost perfect. Even the menu and display graphics from the GH4 output were pixel perfect.

I will be ditching my Lilliput and buying a MustHD 7" as soon as I can. I wasn't going to bother with another monitor since I already have one but the MustHD was really that good.

I should note I expect the SmallHD 8bit IPS monitor to be just as good so if you have the cash you can't go wrong with the SmallHD either. If money is a concern I honestly think the MustHD may be just as good. In fact they likely could be using the same OEM panels. The SmallHD does have more software options built in but if you mainly need a stellar screen for focus, framing and finessing then the MustHD works very well.

The little external remote for the MustHD is amazing. My friend attaches his to one of the handles of his shoulder rig. He then programmed one of the buttons for 1:1 pixel mode which switches instantly back and forth as he shoots without ever having to move his hand. Very slick little tool. The HDMI locks on the MustHD are plastic but they firmly lock the HDMI cable to the monitor. Another feature well worth the money.

Didn't try focus peaking as I'm not a fan of it. Focus peaking will never be an exact science and is about as accurate as autofocus so I don't trust it. My friend feels like he doesn't even need it because the screen on the MustHD is that good. For really critical focus he just uses the 1:1 mode.

Only negative my friend had of the monitor was that the buttons presses on the monitor and the external controller do make a sound. How severe that sound is depends on the situation I guess.
 
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I went to the MustHD site and chatted with a rep... asked about waveform... he said "Sorry, doesn't have that function!".
 
Im looking for a 5" screen as I feel 7 inches is a little too big on a rig. Must HD told me they are releasing a new/ updated 5.6" IPS monitor with colour peaking at the end of the month. Not sure what other improvements they will make.......

Shopping around, for the money I don't think anyone comes close to MustHD.
 
Thomas Smet said:
Finally had a chance to go to my friends house and played with the MustHD 7" monitor. OMG this thing is amazing! It is in a class way above many other affordable monitors.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've had my M701 for a couple weeks now and it's the best lower cost monitor I've seen yet. The image is similar to my 7 inch Marshall that costs twice as much. I haven't had a chance to do any tests yet, but I will once the FeelWorld monitor arrives. ( some time in the next 3 weeks ) The only immediate drawback with the MushHD monitor is the weight when compared to my Marshall, it feels like it's at least a third heavier than the Marshall. I am very curious to see what the image on the FeelWorld monitor is like.
 
vtwiz said:
Im looking for a 5" screen as I feel 7 inches is a little too big on a rig. Must HD told me they are releasing a new/ updated 5.6" IPS monitor with colour peaking at the end of the month. Not sure what other improvements they will make.......

Shopping around, for the money I don't think anyone comes close to MustHD.
Click to expand...

I also wanted to go the 5.6" route for size and weight reasons but even the highest end 5.6" monitors sacrifice quality. They tend to be 6 bit panels with lower brightness and contrast levels. I'm a bit more concerned about quality and accuracy then size and weight and have shifted my view back to going with a 7" monitor. I finally feel like I have a solid setup for a 7" monitor with my Honu cage and a l bracket to mount the monitor to. A freak storm wouldn't even be able to detach this monitor from my camera now.
 
The Feelworld FW759 monitor arrived today, and I am shocked at how fast it got here. 8 days to go from China to Toronto, Canada on $5 worth of shipping. Amazing.

...So how does it compare ?

It's really good. For a 7 inch 1280x800 pixel IPS monitor that cost me $130 US to buy, the image is outstanding.

If I were to rate the image from my $800 Marshall V-LCD70MD monitor as 100, I would rate the $370 US MustHD M701 monitor as 80, and the $130 US Feelworld FW759 monitor as 70.

From my quick test I could find one small issue with the FeelWorld monitor...

- The contrast image control does almost nothing to the image, so I have it set to 10 which is close to it's lowest setting, but even at this low setting the contrast of the image looks "normal".


PROs and CONs for the FeelWorld FW759 monitor

PROs

- Sharp and bright image
- Very good image quality ( outstanding considering the low price )
- Has a sharpness control ( the MustHD has it too, but not my Marshall, I like the image best with sharpness at 10 )
- Very fast to sync with my GH4 camera ( much faster than the MustHD monitor, and maybe faster than the Marshall )
- Excellent RED focus-peaking ( very easy to tell what's in focus )
- Four function buttons on the front face ( easy to turn functions on or off with a few taps )
- Easy to navigate menu functions ( limited features, but they function quite well )
- Very compact and light weight
- Fantastic value for the low price ( eBay link to where I purchased mine below )

CONs
- Very limited image contrast control ( not a huge deal, but I wish it was more effective )

Here's where I bought my monitor...

stockinau (2753) : Feelworld FW759 7'' 1280x800 HD IPS Monitor
 
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Well, this has all been.....veeeery interestink. (For those old enough to remember Rowan and Martin's Laugh-Inn.)
 
TheDingo said:
The Feelworld FW759 monitor arrived today, and I am shocked at how fast it got here. 8 days to go from China to Toronto, Canada on $5 worth of shipping. Amazing.

...So how does it compare ?

It's really good. For a 7 inch 1280x800 pixel IPS monitor that cost me $130 US to buy, the image is outstanding.

If I were to rate the image from my $800 Marshall V-LCD70MD monitor as 100, I would rate the $370 US MustHD M701 monitor as 80, and the $130 US Feelworld FW759 monitor as 70.

From my quick test I could find two small issues with the FeelWorld monitor...

1- The built-in audio speaker squeals when I plug-in my GH4 camera, so I might open up the monitor to chop off the speaker wires to disable the speaker. I can't find an audio level control for this speaker.

2- The contrast image control does almost nothing to the image, so I have it set to 10 which is close to it's lowest setting, but even at this low setting the contrast of the image looks "normal".


PROs and CONs for the FeelWorld FW759 monitor

PROs

- Sharp and bright image
- Very good image quality ( outstanding considering the low price )
- Has a sharpness control ( the MustHD has it too, but not my Marshall, I like the image best with sharpness at 10 )
- Very fast to sync with my GH4 camera ( much faster than the MustHD monitor, and maybe faster than the Marshall )
- Excellent RED focus-peaking ( very easy to tell what's in focus )
- Four function buttons on the front face ( easy to turn functions on or off with a few taps )
- Easy to navigate menu functions ( limited features, but they function quite well )
- Very compact and light weight
- Fantastic value for the low price ( eBay link to where I purchased mine below )

CONs
- Horrible audio squealing from the built-in speaker ( there must be a way to disable this without having to plug in headphones )
- Very limited image contrast control ( not a huge deal, but I wish it was more effective )

Here's where I bought my monitor...

stockinau (2753) : Feelworld FW759 7'' 1280x800 HD IPS Monitor
Click to expand...

Well, now I'm excited.

I would reach out to Feelworld directly about the speaker issue. They seem to be pretty responsive, at least their sales team was.

Did you get every accessory with that eBay seller? The battery plate, hotshoe mount, sunshade, etc?
 
I finally figured out that there is an almost undocumented speaker volume control that sorts out the audio squeal issue, so other than a weak contrast control this is a killer little monitor. I would have no problems using this monitor for paid work.
 
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