ikan V5600 5.6" TFT LCD Monitor in-depth review...

KeithAndrews.TV

KeithAndrews.TV

Well-known member
I have been given the opportunity to review the new ikan V5600 5.6" TFT LCD monitor and wanted to get peoples feedback from the site regarding what they would like to see in a review with a monitor of this class.

I will have the monitor for a few weeks and will be using it with my Panasonic AG-HMC150 for most of the test. I will not be testing the monitor with any current hdslr camera due to the HDMI resolution limitation of the cameras.

A link to the monitor I will be reviewing has been included below:

http://www.ikancorp.com/pages/monitors/V5600/index.html
 
looks interesting.. Great price range, but i don't see how a 200:1 contrast ratio will help at all in judging exposure. A histogram would be great.
 
Hey sorry about that. Been busy with a lot of new toys! I have not written up a formal review as of yet, but will be getting to it soon. I can say however, after having used the ikan v5600 for several hours on several shoots, that it performs very well and lasted quite a long time with the supplied Sony L Series battery.

Probably the most notable feature of this monitor is the resolution. The monitor uses a Toshiba panel which displays 600 lines of vertical res, which blows away any other monitor in this size range to date. Plus, because of it's small size, the "apparent" resolution looks greater when compared to a physically larger monitor with the same resolution. It also supports uncorrected 16:9 video, which not many monitors in this size range do.

Other features which are pretty standard nowadays, include the HDMI and component inputs, on-screen 16:9 and 4:3 safe area guides, as well as an AC power adapter. The deluxe kit also includes a nice soft case to keep everything organized and protected during transport. I have also read that ikan has begun offering more battery options to power the monitor. This is a nice bonus for those who have two or more batteries of the same type and want to use them instead of buying completely new batteries.

The one gripe I have with on-camera monitors in general (not specifically with the ikan v5600) is the way they mount to the camera. Every monitor I have seen thus far uses a 1/4 20 thread receiver at the bottom of the monitor which typically connects to some sort of ball and socket shoe mount. This is a very basic solution for on-camera mounting at best. The flaw with this kind of mount is apparent when you try to reposition the monitor. Not only do you have to put the camera down, or lock the tripod head, and use two hands to reposition the monitor, but by doing so you change the cameras center of gravity. For handheld work, this is not a good thing. Think of it this way, after you attach a high-capacity battery to the back of the monitor, the entire monitor package becomes somewhat heavy. Placing it on the top of a small camera like the Canon 5D Mark II, 7D, HVX, HMC, etc... makes the entire camera rig very top heavy and difficult to use/balance. Not only that, but if you don't tighten the ball and socket mount enough, the monitor might collapse onto your camera handle, or toward the lens possibly damaging a component of the camera, or the monitor. This is especially true if you have adjusted the position of the monitor to a viewing angle 45 degress or greater.

I have spoken with many manufacturers, inlcuding ikan, about developing a smaller style monitor yoke that would mount to the camera shoe with a standard 1/4 20 connection. This would allow you to adjust the monitor through the vertical access with just one hand, and would not affect the cameras CG as much as the traditional mount. If you want to see what I mean just take a look at the 17" Yoke that ikan makes:

http://www.ikancorp.com/images/monitors/V17_5_600px.jpg

Hopefully someone will answer the call and produce something similar so that the process of adjusting the viewing angle of an on-camera monitor can be made more quickly and simpler. As for the monitor, I would definitely recommend it, not only for the resolution, but also for the small form factor and battery life. Keep checking back for the full review. I will post it as soon as I get a chance to finish it.
 
Hello Keith,

I just got one of these monitors myself. I have an HVX200. It seems that the monitor does not display any of the information that the LCD and/or eyepiece viewer displays (zoom factor, zebra, focus distance, etc).

Do you know if it is possible to have that info displayed on the iKan monitor? I have a post
to this effect, but I guess no one likes me, there are no replies to the post.

I have not yet put it on my Glidecam set up as yet, but can for see balancing issues.

Thanks, and looking forward to your review.

Eric (aka eholz1)
 
I'm expecting my ikan v5600 to arrive in a couple of days. Thanks for the quick review. It's good to hear some good reviews of it. I've read a few bad ones about the build quality but I'm not planning on dropping mine on concrete so I hope it lasts a while.
 
After using the monitor for a couple of jobs, this is what I've noticed:
The brightness is quite dull which makes it useless for any outdoor shots even with a hood.
The build quality really is quite flimsy. The plastic, especially on the back of the monitor is quite thin and flexes quite easily. Attaching the sony battery adapter directly to it with screws was a no no for me as I'd have to press the battery in pretty hard and the risk of cracking the plastic is too high for me. I used velcro instead.
The ikan battery adapter is equally poorly made. Mine malfunctioned after running two battery cycles through it. It emitted a foul burning smell and no longer delivers enough power to the monitor.
Ikan support seemed terrific at first. I got a reply within 24 hours asking for my address so they could send me a replacement battery adapter. That was 2 weeks ago and they haven't replied to any emails since and no replacement battery adapter in the mail.
Adorama, who I bought the monitor off, are equally unsupportive and poor in answering emails which is a surprise to me.

So my experience with the v5600 is a total disappointment. I wished I'd waited for the new manhatten 7" monitor. I'm going to see if I can return it and get a credit chargeback.
 
Last edited:
bimdas said:
So my experience with the v5600 is a total disappointment.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry your experience has been so negative. It's our goal to have the best customer service, and if we dropped the ball, then please accept my apology and know that I will do my best to ensure your issues are resolved. If the V5600 doesn't suit your needs, perhaps our V8000HDMI might work better. The battery connection is built into the mold of the monitor, so no assembly is required.

Please contact me directly at 713-272-8822 or email me at clint@ikancorp.com so I can assist you further.

Best,
Clint
 
clint@ikancorp.com said:
I'm sorry your experience has been so negative. It's our goal to have the best customer service, and if we dropped the ball, then please accept my apology and know that I will do my best to ensure your issues are resolved. If the V5600 doesn't suit your needs, perhaps our V8000HDMI might work better. The battery connection is built into the mold of the monitor, so no assembly is required.

Please contact me directly at 713-272-8822 or email me at clint@ikancorp.com so I can assist you further.

Best,
Clint
Click to expand...

Well actually, you guys are alright. I got my replacement battery adapter today and the monitor brightness now, compared to using the broken one is like night and day. An email reply would have alleviated any angst but you guys came through. I'm going to put it through its paces again next week and will get see how it goes.

And the velcro is quite handy. I can mount the battery adapter to the back of the rig on the shoulder mount to provide some counter balance or the back of the monitor so this works out better for my use.
 
Hi i'm a lil newbie I have IKAN V8000HDMI How do i connect it to my HVX200A?what wires do i need for HD image from my HVX on the monitor ? and another dumb question how do i connect it to my tv?
 
sonuxxx said:
Hi i'm a lil newbie I have IKAN V8000HDMI How do i connect it to my HVX200A?what wires do i need for HD image from my HVX on the monitor ? and another dumb question how do i connect it to my tv?
Click to expand...

For the HVX use the component connection using the component cable that comes with the HVX (might need to buy 3 BNC to RCA adapters for the monitor if the connection on the monitor isn't already RCA). For TV use either HDMI or component depending on which is available.
 
Thanks very much huy vu yuh don't have the Component cable bought it second hand hard to find 3 BNC to RCA cable Locally prob have to order online.
 
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