smallhd 502/702 calibration/settings?

J

Josh Bass

Veteran
Hey all. I saw th B&H sale on the Smallhd 702 Bright but couldnt bring myself to get it. Main issue is that even with backlight down all the way it still makes everything look “overlit” indoors. I’ve read on other boards to try brightness and contrast at 30 (I’m assuming that was with backlight down all the way but maybe not); tried that recently on a shoot with colleague’s cam and it resulted in a very mushy grey image, almost cinestyle/log-looking. Has anyone calibrated with a probe? Or other recommended settings? I know most folks say they dont judge the exposure etc. off thr picture itself but via scopes. That’s nice for maybe the overall exposure but people absolutely do tweak their edge lights fill etc. by the monitor’s image so I’d like it to be accurate or at least much closer.

I DID get the 502 and have not found the perfect peaking/focus assist settings that make it sharp enough to focus quickly but allow you to see when focus is JUST BARELY off. Anyone recommend settings on that monitor?

Thanks.
 
I have the new 502 Bright, & SmallHD/XRite Color Probe, but even with the backlight turned all the way down the Monitor is still a bit too bright indoors. Decided to keep the setup as the 502 Bright does work well in direct Sun, & “good enough” indoors.
 
Could something like a piece of ND gel over the screen serve to make the "bright" monitors more accurate indoors?

- Greg
 
Unfortunately its not just that it looks too bright, its that the blacks look lifted, like eveything’s overlit. Also highlights can appear blown out when theyre not, so nd gel woudnt help with those issues.

I dont know. Maybe folks get used it. Throws me. Wish I combine the “look” of the Odyssey with the sharpness of the smallhd.

What sharpness/peaking/focus assist settings have you found that keep you honest on the 502?
 
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When shooting with my 702 Bright I just always keep in mind that everything will look about a half a stop over or so and expose accordingly (and use the waveform to double check). When I'm on my C200 I'll reference the camera's LCD to see what's really there. I've gotten used to it, but have to constantly remind gaffers, producers, whoever else might be looking over my shoulder to look at the camera LCD if they're wanting a fully accurate preview.
 
Spoke with a SmallHD engineer during CineGear about the 502 Bright (even with it’s backlight set to zero) being a bit washed out when working in subdued light, & he suggested turning down the brightness in the menu settings. Unfortunately SmallHD’s stand was outdoors so I could ‘t effectively test that option while I was there.

Wonder if a exposure compensated LUT would help with monitoring when working with Log?
 
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Cant speak to but tried some of the suggestions I read here and on another forum about settings on a colleague’s 702. Didnt really seem to work in my opinion, just made the image dark and muddy. There maybe some magic combo of backlight/brightness/contrast settings but I’d have to spend some time with one of those monitors to find it.
 
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