C300: Monitor options for the C300 MKII how about the SmallHD 502? Still a good option?

C

cane141

Well-known member
I have a few shoots to wrap up still on the C300 MKII and thinking about better options for monitoring than the native video/audio unit.

Anybody have any recommendations, the SmallHD Focus looks good but it's going be awhile before it's out I guess and the 503 seems waay to pricey.

501 or 502 look like the way to go but if anyone has any good suggestions on this setup or similar that would be ACE!

I've ruled out the 701/702 as want to keep small and light and feel the Atomos recorders are a bit bulky also.

Also is there a way to power it via the camera batteries somehow or will I need to v-lock d-tap?

Thanks for your help!
 
cane141 said:
I have a few shoots to wrap up still on the C300 MKII and thinking about better options for monitoring than the native video/audio unit.

Anybody have any recommendations, the SmallHD Focus looks good but it's going be awhile before it's out I guess and the 503 seems waay to pricey.

501 or 502 look like the way to go but if anyone has any good suggestions on this setup or similar that would be ACE!

I've ruled out the 701/702 as want to keep small and light and feel the Atomos recorders are a bit bulky also.

Also is there a way to power it via the camera batteries somehow or will I need to v-lock d-tap?

Thanks for your help!
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I have a C300 Mark II as well and recently got a 502.

I had tried the 702 Bright earlier in the year but returned it. The color was pretty bad and the SDI port did not work out of the box.

I have seen the 503/703 monitors in person but didn't want to spend that much money. Also, didn't trust that they would be good out of the gate given my experience with the 702 Bright.

The 502 is very good. Pretty much an industry standard. The C300 Mark II screen is better than the Mark I's but it does run a bit magenta/pink overall. The C300 Mark I's screen ran very blue. You can get a sense of the 502 vs the C300 Mark II's screen here: https://www.instagram.com/p/BT7_OWOD3OT/ .

I also have a Marshal 7" with HDMI & SDI. Its color is very good but it is about 4 yrs old and is starting to develop issues along the edges of the screen.

You cannot power the 502 via the camera battery.
 
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NorBro said:
The FOCUS is already shipping...
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Thanks for the links, they look interesting. I checked the SmallHD Focus on BH but it still says "preorder" and on the SmallHD website doesn't look like it's shipping until July 19th
 
Jon Roemer said:
I have a C300 Mark II as well and recently got a 502.

I had tried the 702 Bright earlier in the year but returned it. The color was pretty bad and the SDI port did not work out of the box.

I have seen the 503/703 monitors in person but didn't want to spend that much money. Also, didn't trust that they would be good out of the gate given my experience with the 702 Bright.

The 502 is very good. Pretty much an industry standard. The C300 Mark II screen is better than the Mark I's but it does run a bit magenta/pink overall. The C300 Mark I's screen ran very blue. You can get a sense of the 502 vs the C300 Mark II's screen here: https://www.instagram.com/p/BT7_OWOD3OT/ .

I also have a Marshal 7" with HDMI & SDI. Its color is very good but it is about 4 yrs old and is starting to develop issues along the edges of the screen.

You cannot power the 502 via the camera battery.
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Looks good Jon, interesting about the color shift. 502 sounds pretty promising then.
 
The 502 is 1080 and the focus 720 I think - you may not be able to focus with the focus therefore?

The 502 is good once you get around the gotchas - I ended up with a dummy battery to vlock arrangement

I did break the SDi though and have not had good follow up from smallhd - I just use hdmi now which is annoying
 
cane141 said:
Thanks for the links, they look interesting. I checked the SmallHD Focus on BH but it still says "preorder" and on the SmallHD website doesn't look like it's shipping until July 19th
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So what usually happens at B&H/Adorama after a new super hot product is released is the first batch goes pretty quickly and it goes on a temporary backorder.

You'll see notes like --- "New Product - Coming Soon", "On Backorder", "More On The Way", etc.

I saw it in stock at both about a week or so ago, and was very close to buying one, but didn't and the next day they weren't available at either.

On the SmallHD website, they are probably giving that date to cover themselves as well as they are most likely making/expecting more soon and are still fulfilling orders.

So I guess it's a moot point because although they are shipping, they might be tough to find right this second, ha.
 
cane141 said:
I have a few shoots to wrap up still on the C300 MKII and thinking about better options for monitoring than the native video/audio unit.

Anybody have any recommendations, the SmallHD Focus looks good but it's going be awhile before it's out I guess and the 503 seems waay to pricey.

501 or 502 look like the way to go but if anyone has any good suggestions on this setup or similar that would be ACE!

I've ruled out the 701/702 as want to keep small and light and feel the Atomos recorders are a bit bulky also.

Also is there a way to power it via the camera batteries somehow or will I need to v-lock d-tap?

Thanks for your help!
Click to expand...

If you can possibly wait another 2-3 weeks I would definitely preorder the Focus (and I mean it, I did!)

The Focus is much cheaper ($500 vs $1179) and much brighter (800 vs 400 nits) than the 502.

The only "disadvantages" are lack of SDI (potentially significant but the long cabling advantages of SDI don't really matter for an on-camera monitor) and the lower resolution (which doesn't matter on such a small screen, the Focus is still 294 PPI, which is high enough resolution to be impossible/difficult to discern a single pixel with the naked eye).

Good luck with whatever you decide to do!
 
I've had the 502 for a few years and have used it a lot. I don't think I've left for a shoot without it since I got it. It's nice on a stripped-down C300 mkii setup with it on the camera's hotshoe as a lighter & sharper alternative to their monitor unit, but also useful rigged up for shoulder mount or on a noga arm.

The build is fairly good although it's definitely taken some wear and tear... bits of the grey plastic are now coming off. The battery life with the Canon batteries isn't amazing though... I usually take 4/5 to get me through a shoot.

The brightness is a bit lacking in bight light and honestly the Focus probably wins it for this alone. I'd say if you can live without SDI then the Focus is the one to get, especially considering the price.
 
mrtreve said:
I've had the 502 for a few years and have used it a lot. I don't think I've left for a shoot without it since I got it. It's nice on a stripped-down C300 mkii setup with it on the camera's hotshoe as a lighter & sharper alternative to their monitor unit, but also useful rigged up for shoulder mount or on a noga arm.

The build is fairly good although it's definitely taken some wear and tear... bits of the grey plastic are now coming off. The battery life with the Canon batteries isn't amazing though... I usually take 4/5 to get me through a shoot.

The brightness is a bit lacking in bight light and honestly the Focus probably wins it for this alone. I'd say if you can live without SDI then the Focus is the one to get, especially considering the price.
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Thanks for the info, I already went for the 502 field monitor bundle when it was on sale at B&H and although I know the Focus would've been a better purchase I had to jump before travel job got in the way and figured it would still be useful in the long run.

I also bought the WC nato rail and top handle so I could break the camera down more and just use for minimal setup when needed, works nice.
 
mrtreve said:
I've had the 502 for a few years and have used it a lot. I don't think I've left for a shoot without it since I got it. It's nice on a stripped-down C300 mkii setup with it on the camera's hotshoe as a lighter & sharper alternative to their monitor unit, but also useful rigged up for shoulder mount or on a noga arm.

The build is fairly good although it's definitely taken some wear and tear... bits of the grey plastic are now coming off. The battery life with the Canon batteries isn't amazing though... I usually take 4/5 to get me through a shoot.

The brightness is a bit lacking in bight light and honestly the Focus probably wins it for this alone. I'd say if you can live without SDI then the Focus is the one to get, especially considering the price.
Click to expand...

How did you record sound in this configuration? (I'm getting the Focus and am curious about my options as far as using it instead of the canon monitor)

Thanks!
 
cane141 said:
Thanks for the info, I already went for the 502 field monitor bundle when it was on sale at B&H and although I know the Focus would've been a better purchase I had to jump before travel job got in the way and figured it would still be useful in the long run.

I also bought the WC nato rail and top handle so I could break the camera down more and just use for minimal setup when needed, works nice.
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Sweet, you won't regret it. I have a WC evf mount that I use with it too. I bought the Sidefinder a bit after the monitor but never use it... I'd skip that if you get tempted lol.
 
mizzar said:
How did you record sound in this configuration? (I'm getting the Focus and am curious about my options as far as using it instead of the canon monitor)

Thanks!
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I've only used this when not recording audio. It's quite a stealthy setup to steal some b-roll with a small IS prime like the 35mm f2.
I suppose you could use a Rode Videomic or similar into the mini jack that's on the camera body perhaps, but for serious audio I use the monitor unit.
 
mrtreve said:
I've only used this when not recording audio. It's quite a stealthy setup to steal some b-roll with a small IS prime like the 35mm f2.
I suppose you could use a Rode Videomic or similar into the mini jack that's on the camera body perhaps, but for serious audio I use the monitor unit.
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If i know I'm shooting interviews on the day then I'll always rig it with the monitor unit but a lot of jobs don't require audio so I like going stealth mode.
Also I don't know if you guys have seen the MA-400 which is just the audio unit which might be another way to go if you prefer the external monitor
 
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