Half Off on smallHD Focus 5 Wireless Monitors *Today Only/B&H Deal Zone*

I nearly jumped, but given the reviews and my experience with Smallhd falling apart, i am hesitant. Still, crazy deal.

You have experience with that monitor? Seems there are some that work flawlessly, which makes the deal very tempting.
 
James0b57 said:
I nearly jumped, but given the reviews and my experience with Smallhd falling apart, i am hesitant. Still, crazy deal.

You have experience with that monitor? Seems there are some that work flawlessly, which makes the deal very tempting.
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I have not used the wireless Focus, but I have, I believe, seven smallHD monitors, including three Focus 5's that I love(2x SDI OLED's and 1x HDMI OLED), so I did jump on the wireless Rx model. I have a Teradek 500 XT Tx/Rx set, already.
 
Run&Gun said:
I have not used the wireless Focus, but I have, I believe, seven smallHD monitors, including three Focus 5's that I love(2x SDI OLED's and 1x HDMI OLED), so I did jump on the wireless Rx model. I have a Teradek 500 XT Tx/Rx set, already.
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Makes a ton of sense if you already have the 500 XT.

I’m gonna reach out to a director friend and see if he likes it.

How is the 5” real estate for you?
 
A super handy piece of kit, however the middling 720p resolution, small 5" screen and underwhelming brightness make it hard to jump on. A 2000 Nit 703 version would absolutely be useful though.
 
Grug said:
A super handy piece of kit, however the middling 720p resolution, small 5" screen and underwhelming brightness make it hard to jump on. A 2000 Nit 703 version would absolutely be useful though.
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The Cine 7 Rx and Tx units are on sale too. Just not 50%

Directly on the Smallhd website.

I had been eyeing the Red/Arri control kits. Which are also on sale.
 
James0b57 said:
Makes a ton of sense if you already have the 500 XT.

I’m gonna reach out to a director friend and see if he likes it.

How is the 5” real estate for you?
Click to expand...

Grug said:
A super handy piece of kit, however the middling 720p resolution, small 5" screen and underwhelming brightness make it hard to jump on. A 2000 Nit 703 version would absolutely be useful though.
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My go-to on-cam monitor used to be my DP7Pro OLED's, but after using the Focus 5 the first time, it became my go-to, mostly because of it's smaller size and easier/more elegant mounting and powering solution(the OLED's are 1080P, though)(and I still carry BOTH in my cam support bag). Yes, the Rx model is 720P and LCD, BUT this is a small, light-weight and streamlined one-piece producer/director/client type wireless monitor. I think it will be perfectly fine for its intended purpose. It's brighter than my OLED's and I've used them outside. Critical technical decisions probably aren't going to be made off of it. Although this may give me something that I've wanted for well over 15 years: a small wireless monitor that I could walk around with and adjust lights or objects in the shot when you can't or can't easily see your main production monitor.
 
How well do the focus 5’s callibrate or out of box look? I’ve only seen the 702HB, Cine7, and 503HB, of the more recent offerings.

Cine7 seems like it could calibrate nicely, but i hadn’t the chance yet. And the 503 i use more like a framing device when operating and only making very general judgements on exposure and colour. I suppose we could get use to it, but that takes weeks of constant use.
 
Out of the box with the factory calibration LUT on, they(the OLED versions) look good, if maybe just a little dark. You are supposed to be able to auto calibrate them with a proprietary version of an Xrite probe, but I don't have one and apparently they have been discontinued(not sure what that means, exactly. Did it not work well or did just no one buy it?).

*edit* After looking at B&H, apparently the system didn't work well. Out of the nine reviews, six were either 1 or 2 star reviews and the majority of those were 1 star.
 
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Run&Gun said:
Out of the box with the factory calibration LUT on, they(the OLED versions) look good, if maybe just a little dark. You are supposed to be able to auto calibrate them with a proprietary version of an Xrite probe, but I don't have one and apparently they have been discontinued(not sure what that means, exactly. Did it not work well or did just no one buy it?).
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All i know is the monitors would often crash when trying to calibrate, and some people complained there wasn’t enough colour patches to get a good result.


Cool, well, i think i got my buddy to buy one, i’ll hit him up and see if he bit. Seems like a great tool to stay on top of the action. There is always a bigger 1080 or 4K monitor available for more crucial decisions. This thing is so light weight. It seems awesome.
 
I just found out Shape is making NP-F batteries too. Those may be the ones to get. They are cheaper than Hawkwoods, and likely better than the Anton Bauer NP-F’s.

Basically, with the wireless and monitor, i’d imagine this thing will burn through an NPF quicker than just a monitor.
 
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Even though i am sure SmallHD is still run by many of the same people, i do miss when they were that small company based in Durham.

We’ll see how this little Focus Bolt performs, and at least Vitec has a service office in Chatsworth if it isn’t working. So, low risk, high reward. It is one of those items that is easy to get a director or producer to pay for, because it is for them. I’ve never had a director or producer pass on a witless monitor because it costs money.
 
I have two CoreSWX FlatPacks already. The sHD spec's are 11.2 wH and CSWX calls the battery "near 60 wH". So basing it on 60wH's each, you should get at least ~5 hours(5.35)(Core claims 6 hrs in their video) per battery. That should be enough for most production days, maybe with a little to spare.
 
Totally forgot about those flat packs! Thanks!

If smallhd had made an OLED focus bolt, i would have jumped on that, as it is 1080 and OLED. But this one seems perfect for a director just wanting to see the action. Better than a video tap feed on a film camera, haha. But i told my buddy if he doesn’t like the Focus Bolt, i’d buy it off him.

Oh, does the Swcore flatpack trap heat? Or does the monitor stay cool? With the Bolt wireless running, these little things can get hot.
 
James0b57 said:
Even though i am sure SmallHD is still run by many of the same people, i do miss when they were that small company based in Durham.

We’ll see how this little Focus Bolt performs, and at least Vitec has a service office in Chatsworth if it isn’t working. So, low risk, high reward. It is one of those items that is easy to get a director or producer to pay for, because it is for them. I’ve never had a director or producer pass on a witless monitor because it costs money.
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Yes, when I heard Vitec was buying them, I was bummed, because I had seen what happened to some of the other companies/brands. But the few times I've had to deal with them directly since, it's been fine. Although I haven't tried any back and forth email exchanges at 10 or 11 o'clock at night since they were bought out, but I'll still give them the benefit of the doubt, for now.
 
James0b57 said:
Totally forgot about those flat packs! Thanks!

If smallhd had made an OLED focus bolt, i would have jumped on that, as it is 1080 and OLED. But this one seems perfect for a director just wanting to see the action. Better than a video tap feed on a film camera, haha. But i told my buddy if he doesn’t like the Focus Bolt, i’d buy it off him.

Oh, does the Swcore flatpack trap heat? Or does the monitor stay cool? With the Bolt wireless running, these little things can get hot.
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OLED would have been nice. Especially since most of the rest of my monitors are OLED.

They're supposed to be designed to not interfere with the cooling and rear vents, but I've never really paid any attention the few times I've used them.
 
Ok, well, at $90 they look like a great deal comparatively.

Hawkwoods has a 74wh one in the more normal form factor, but is $150 ish.
 
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Run&Gun said:
OLED would have been nice. Especially since most of the rest of my monitors are OLED.

They're supposed to be designed to not interfere with the cooling and rear vents, but I've never really paid any attention the few times I've used them.
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So, in the last 10minutes of the sale, I caved in and got one. I have been trying to get away from smallHD for my personal use, but this thing is just too good of an idea for a "director's" monitor. And that price by todays standards was kind of unreal. The merging of brands is the best part of the Vitec take over. Interchangeable parts, etc.

I have yet to get the Bolt 500 to go with it, but will be getting one soon. Just sorting out all the things I need to have in line when things open up, and give myself some room for purchase options. Didn't want to let that deal pass up.

Bt since I won't have access to the wireless functions right away, would love to hear your feedback when yo get to try it out over the coming weeks.
 
Yeah, it was one of those 'too good to pass up deals'. Mine should be here tomorrow, so I'll probably be able to check it out tomorrow afternoon or evening.
 
Oh awesome, really looking forward to that. Here on the west coast, i have a week to wait for shipping.
 
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