How do you like your DP4 EVF?

Get A Whole New Perspective

Get A Whole New Perspective

First off - I'll have to admit I mainly use my DP4 with my 5D2 (even though I've also used it successfully on other cams) - but that being said, it has really changed the way I work.

Sure you can say the first generation eyecup wasn't all that brilliant. But the way SmallHD went about the feed back from their costumers is one of the main reasons I like doing business with them. They fixed the problem - offering the new and much improved version of the eye cup in a very reasonable bundle upgrade. Their customer support is really second to none I've come across.

I really like the size of the monitor/EVF - the EVF attachment is a little on the heavy side, but it actually brings a nice gravity to the 5D2, when working hand held without a rig. But mostly I use it configured as a monitor. This really work for me. Doing a lot of documentary work, this allows me to keep an eye on the surroundings while focusing and framing easily on the go. The size - just between for instance the Zacuto and the DP6 - keeps my rig compact, while still giving me a much better sense of the impact of my framing (which is a huge thing for me) than my prior solution with the Z-finder. It has really changed the way I 'see' my shots.

The image is very crisp and clear. The monitor is 1080P-ready - and I find it to be very true in terms of color and exposure.

I'm using a Switronix PowerBase to run my rig, so this also makes the DP4 very light as I don't need to power it with the quiet heavy canon batteries.

I also has some nice firmware tools for exposure and sharpness (I agree with Tom Lenham, it's a little too dark), for instance, but I must admit that I rarely need to use them for ideal focus or exposure - the screen really conveys a realistic image.

I love the versatility it gives me in different scenarios - as a EVF, on or off-rig monitor, as a reference monitor for producers or clients, this little unit gives me every option I need. I can even loop though it a bring in a larger monitor as well (or an extra DP4:-) Of course it has also allowed me to bring my camera back on line, as I don't need to off set the screen on the camera (as with my Z-finder). But any monitor solution will do this for you. My neck is eternally grateful.

I think I was originally one of the first shooters to get the DP4 outside US (I live in Denmark, Europe) - I had been anticipating it's arrival as I was on the verge of a major documentary project, that needed better monitor opportunities than the live view on the 5D2. Their customer support was overwhelmingly helpful getting it across in time - and I have honestly not regretted my choice for a single frame. Being an independent photographer/director every dollar (or 'kroner' as we call them:-) count in my gear budget. It's very competitively priced and comes with a ridiculously amount of accessories. At first it looks somewhat more fragile than the Zacuto EVF, but I've found it not to be the case having had my share of on-the-road incidents. Maybe I've been lucky, but should I need to replace it I would go with the DP4 again.
 
The only issue I have had, was the rubber eyecup on the DP-4.....which kinda works....and then it drops off.
Otherwise, the DP-4 and DP-6 are terrific, backed by the very best customer support. Most impressed with every detail of their service and willingness to learn from the market and discuss improvements, etc...
 
I own both the DP6 and DP4. My 8" Panasonic stays in the truck and will soon be up for sale. I fell in love with these monitors right off the bat. Great image quality, good pricing, great customer support. I don't have any experience with the Z-Finder so can't make comparisons there. I wear reading glasses 1.75 and don't have any issues with viewing. I use the focus assist regularly giving myself a quick confirmation of the focus that I easily pull from viewing the monitor. I favor zebras over false color and don't use that function very often. These monitors are light weight and are just a joy to have on the rig.
 
SmallHD are a rarity in this industry. They make great products and really stand by them. Ive had nothing but first class treatment if I've ever needed anything repaired (my fault every time) and they really listen to their customers and respect your input and feedback. can't think of another gear company (and i have a LOT of other gear) that i can have a first name basis email with the guys that DIRECTLY design the stuff. DP4 is a great pick as its not just a good EVF but its an excellent monitor in its own right. The size is bloody perfect for a DSLR camera top monitor even without the loupe. I find i don't need a histogram or stop as i trust the image i get on the monitor to be completely WYSIWYG, totally trusting the exposure with a really simple false colour mode if i need to double check anything. The peaking function is fricken awesome and makes focus dead easy.

oh and re the eyecup yes the old design kinda sucked but they make a new design that is much better, fits standard chamois covers and NO WAY is ever gonna fall off. integrated canon battery plates are beautifully designed and hdmi loop through rocks. The loupe itself is perhaps a little heavy but i find it fine for my 46 yr old eyes without a diopter and i couldn't use an LCDVF loupe for that very reason. Oh and a note re the little too dark comment, i did agree this was the case on earlier firmware .. must say the new firmware is bloody spot on! what i see in the monitor is what comes off the card!

Anyway to each their own when it comes to gear you can make anyone like any particular brand over another but smallhd get my money
 
Last edited:
I'm looking to buy an EVF. SmallHD EVF seem to be a good deal from the many reviews in this thread. However, I have found from this very good video review on vimeo that suggested otherwise. The exposure and color accuracy of the SmallHD is not on par with the Zacuto EVF. Anyone who has both Zacuto and SmallHD care to comment?

http://vimeo.com/35183323
 
Hi, I have used them both, I had the Zacuto one for about 5 months and the Small HD for about 8 months now. I've used them both on a 5D Mark II, T2i, GH2 and Fs100. I think that the Small HD is better for several reasons, first of all it feels and looks much better built than the Zacuto, the Zacuto one is all plastic and not of the nice kind, second, color wise I find that the Small HD is way better, what ever you see on it is what you get on the card, also the support and firmware updates are amazing, the guys at Small HD really care for their customers and go over board to make them happy. There sure were some issues with the first eyecup, but they found out and fixed it and I´m almost sure they made no profit when they sold us the new eyecup / better plate combo for 39 dollars, shipping included. An added benefit is that is you lift up the loupe its a pretty decent sized monitor, while the Zacuto one is really small to be used as a monitor. The only "inconvenience" is that it is bigger than the Zacuto, but it fits perfectly on a backpack with our gear. I use the Zacuto Viewfinder a lot on our DSLR's and I think it is a great product (expensive, but good) and so are their rigs which we also own, but on the EVF, Small HD is a better fit for us, and it also is cheaper than the Zacuto Flip one.
 
I see that SmallHD and Zacuto are equally excellent in customer services. So I don't think it matters which company you buy from.
What I'm concerned about is the accuracy of the color and exposure of the EVF. Some of you wrote that the DP4 EVF color and exposure is accurate but the video review I posted earlier has clearly shown otherwise. Unless some panels of SmallHD are better than the others.

I'm not concern if the SmallHD isn't accurate straight out of the box, so long there are options to calibrate it. However, it seem that even with the various color setting in the SmallHD, the reviewer has problem calibrating it close to what she wants

So my question. Is Zacuto EVF handling of color and exposure truly better than the SmallHD EVF?
 
So far, I had exstensive experience with both Zacuto and SmallHD EVFs.... As much as I did not like Zacuto for my F3, I found it very, very useful on a month long (30 days of shooting across Canada) shoot with my 5D... On the other hand, dp4 was a perfect match for F3 from the day one. I never had an issue with fine focusing with it. I never had proble setting exposure or white balance using it as reference. Shooting in bright sun light? Yes, I had a light spot due to direct sun exposure, and smallHD was so prompt in sending me a replacement unit. Since than, knowing this "danger" I am much more careful in dealing with it when shooting outdoors. Now, it comes natural as anything else (just like putting French flag on a matte box in harsh light...) so I don't consider it "issue" any more. I am very happy with design and finish of the product. Comparing to ALL other monitors I used, SmallHD takes the cake! It is a pretty little thing...
After getting it, it took a little thinking on how to mount it on F3, but very soon I came to my perfect personal set up with using two noga type 7" arms that are "permanently" attached to my camera rig (one close to the front of the camera, on the rails next to the matte box- shoulder mount EVF position, other just above the built in LCD on the top of the camera on Berkey plate- tripod mount EVF position). Both arms are small enough to stay mounted all the time, I even have a two HDMI cables "installed" around the camera body so I can hook up EVF in both positions in minutes. I choose to have 16x9 cinelock for fast mounting EVF to noga arm to reduce time of mounting it on a go...
All together, I am very satisfied with SmallHD dp4. Perfect addition to my gear...
 
In my experience, I tried going with a cheap monitor from Jag35 (http://jag35.com/products/monitor/jag35monitor.html) for less than $300. You get what you pay for.

Then I bought the DP6 and then bought the DP4 EVF. Yes the customer service is great, but what really made me decide was 2 things. 1) Price, cheaper than the Zacuto and 2) the size of the screen on the DP4.

When i received the DP4, the construction was as solid as the DP6 and the EVF was well made and I loved the magnets that keep the EVF in place when not in use. I don't know much about the false color as some do, but I do like the focus assist. Either way, I am happy with the purchase unlike the Jag35. I have no problem admitting a piece of crap when I bought one, but SmallHD is not. They do respond quickly to emails and have had the 2 issues I had (due to my fault in the firmware upgrade) solved.

I'd buy from SmallHD again no problem.
 
Ok guys, I hope I'm wrong but there are too many users with only 1 post praising SmallHD EVF that make me begin to feel a bit skeptical.

To have a peace of mind, I decided to make a trip to my local rental house to compare both EVFs for myself.

My findings,

- The Zacuto is definitely more accurate than the SmallHD in terms of color and exposure. No contest here. No amount of tweaking in the DP4 setting helps. We did a HDMI loop out from both EVF to a broadcast calibrated monitor.

- I'm aware that the SmallHD uses more battery juice due to it's bigger screen size but the worrying thing is the EVF gets a bit hot after using it for awhile.

I think the video review of the 2 EVF is very accurate and useful and I've placed my order for the Zacuto EVF. Thanks for all the help guys.
 
Tarkovsky said:
Ok guys, I hope I'm wrong but there are too many users with only 1 post praising SmallHD EVF that make me begin to feel a bit skeptical.

To have a peace of mind, I decided to make a trip to my local rental house to compare both EVFs for myself.

My findings,

- The Zacuto is definitely more accurate than the SmallHD in terms of color and exposure. No contest here. No amount of tweaking in the DP4 setting helps. We did a HDMI loop out from both EVF to a broadcast calibrated monitor.

- I'm aware that the SmallHD uses more battery juice due to it's bigger screen size but the worrying thing is the EVF gets a bit hot after using it for awhile.

I think the video review of the 2 EVF is very accurate and useful and I've placed my order for the Zacuto EVF. Thanks for all the help guys.
Click to expand...



Great!
As I mentioned before: both EVFs are good for they do. They could be both GREAT with some particular improvements for each of them... I never put both EVFs next to each other in lab environment to compare them as you did. I took them both out of the box and in to the field for practical use. Heating of the dp4 is not an issue. It will not get more warm than your camera if you use them together. Monitor itself is far from your face due to hefty loupe so heat is not an issue, again.
Color: in dp4 defense, colors on it are closer to camera's LCD than Zacuto. Camera being Sony F3. Focusing was easier (for me) with dp4 because of a bigger monitor.

Here is my Sony F3 "porn" gallery with images of my set up "evolution". You can see how mounting of the EVF changed as I was looking for my perfect set up.

http://sisoje.zenfolio.com/p576232443


As far as Zacuto, I love it for 5D work. Simply, it makes it a smaller package and more compact. Especially for handheld (not rigged) work. Focusing with 5D and Zacuto is a breeze... If the opportunity comes along to use 5D for a longer project as I did before, I would get Zacuto.
I hope you made the best decision for your self. Once you start using Zacuto, give us the feedback...
 
Last edited:
Tarkovsky said:
Ok guys, I hope I'm wrong but there are too many users with only 1 post praising SmallHD EVF that make me begin to feel a bit skeptical.

To have a peace of mind, I decided to make a trip to my local rental house to compare both EVFs for myself.

My findings,

- The Zacuto is definitely more accurate than the SmallHD in terms of color and exposure. No contest here. No amount of tweaking in the DP4 setting helps. We did a HDMI loop out from both EVF to a broadcast calibrated monitor.

- I'm aware that the SmallHD uses more battery juice due to it's bigger screen size but the worrying thing is the EVF gets a bit hot after using it for awhile.

I think the video review of the 2 EVF is very accurate and useful and I've placed my order for the Zacuto EVF. Thanks for all the help guys.
Click to expand...

I agree with the first time posters.
The heat thing is a nonissue. Never gets to hot to not function correctly.

I have the DP4 and I like it a lot. New eye cup solved the falling off issue. I use the EVF every time I use the AF-100.
I watched the video review and don’t understand why she didn’t calibrate the DP4 in the review. She shows how to do it but doesn’t perform it. Strange. I’m going to calibrate mine today and see if it’s set up right. I haven’t had any color issues so I never did the calibration.

I’ve never used the Zacuto EVF so I cant comment on it. The main reason I went for the SmallHD was it’s a bigger and served as a second monitor as well as an EVF.

One thing that hasn’t added up is battery life. I have after market 5D batteries when used in pairs they don’t last for five hours. I go through 3 sets in a full day. I think I will bring the backlight down and see if that helps.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top