SmallHD 502 Hands On Review

waistdeep said:
My main issue is:
-We collectively need to develop a LUT that calibrates the monitor. There are no controls in the menus to adjust the picture. Out of the box the image is too saturated (slightly warm) and the blacks too crushed, as an easy look at PLUGE bars will tell you. SmallHD told me that I should use a probe and Lightspace to create a color correcting LUT. As I don't have access to these, I would like to inquire and or suggest a group buy of a 502 calibration. Once we bring one monitor to a shop, create a LUT, and distribute that LUT, all our monitors should essentially be calibrated, more or less. I'm aware this isn't a professional monitor, but I would feel more confident eye-balling frames if we could calibrate it.
Click to expand...

Well for this to happen everybody would need to have an i1D3 probe (or something similar) then SmallHD should provide offset values for it using a good reference spectro. Then you can buy a 3 day licence of Lightspace and calibrate it. But just to be clear, calibrating isn't such a simple task and if you haven't done it before it can be a steep learning curve. But I am also sure a step by step guide could be created for novice user.

In any case, SmallHD could also provide a 1D LUT that would sort out the gamma issues. This is not an ideal solution as every panel is slightly different but if everybody is experiencing similar issues then it could help. Also I am surprised the monitor isn't calibrated at all at SmallHD or that it doesn't offer any image controls??
 
KINOKS said:
Well for this to happen everybody would need to have an i1D3 probe (or something similar) then SmallHD should provide offset values for it using a good reference spectro. Then you can buy a 3 day licence of Lightspace and calibrate it. But just to be clear, calibrating isn't such a simple task and if you haven't done it before it can be a steep learning curve. But I am also sure a step by step guide could be created for novice user.

In any case, SmallHD could also provide a 1D LUT that would sort out the gamma issues. This is not an ideal solution as every panel is slightly different but if everybody is experiencing similar issues then it could help. Also I am surprised the monitor isn't calibrated at all at SmallHD or that it doesn't offer any image controls??
Click to expand...

All displays drift a bit, so we'd haveto calibrate ours to get truly correct color. I'm planning to invest in a Calman this summer, which I believe can output a correction LUT that we could use on our 502s, but I don't know how accurate it would end up being for someone else's 502. I think that environmental factors like temperature affect how monitors drift out of sync, but I'm not certain, and hardly an expert. :)

That said, I'm liking my 502 except for battery life. The batteries take longer to charge than to run down, which means needing quite a few to keep the monitor running, unlike with the V-mount batteries for my camera; each 90wh Blueshape battery lasted longer than it took to recharge the other, so I didn't need a third.
 
Duol said:
What type of LP-E6 batteries do you use with your 502 ? Do you know if generic batteries work (Phottix, aboutbatterie, ChiliPower...) ?

With my DP6, my Panasonic Generic batteries don't work and I have to use real Panasonic batteries !

Thanks
Click to expand...
I have three different brands and they all seem to work fine. One disappointing thing is the battery life indicator doesn't work on the 3rd party batteries I have. I ordered Wasabi ones recently since they do have the chip in them to see if they work. It drives me crazy when the monitor just dies without warning. I wish it could just read voltage and give a flashing warning like the 7Q+ but SmallHD says it's using the chip in the LP-E6 battery. I'm not interested in paying $60 per Canon brand LP-E6. Anyone else try different brands that do give battery life on the 502 and does the Canon versions really work? I dont have any to test
 
I have canon , offbrand and Ansman, all work, none work for long enough. rigged my own 12V in with a butchered dummy batt.

S
 
I'm even having problems getting accurate readings from the Canon LP-E6 batteries. Sometimes it gives no reading at all on one side of the battery compartment.
 
greenheron said:
I'm even having problems getting accurate readings from the Canon LP-E6 batteries. Sometimes it gives no reading at all on one side of the battery compartment.
Click to expand...
I just tried Wasabi that do work with Canon cameras and they dont give any battery level indication at all. I think the firmware is buggy because the Canon versions should work at least SmallHD says that's the case.

It would be helpful if you could let SmallHD know this so they can fix it. Having the 502 just die while using it isn't cool.
 
Erik Naso said:
I just tried Wasabi that do work with Canon cameras and they dont give any battery level indication at all. I think the firmware is buggy because the Canon versions should work at least SmallHD says that's the case.

It would be helpful if you could let SmallHD know this so they can fix it. Having the 502 just die while using it isn't cool.
Click to expand...

Especially since those batteries power the 502 for such a short period. I'm only getting around 2-3 hours with two batteries starting at full charge on my 502, while I can run my Cion for nearly four hours on a single Blueshape 90wh v-mount. And it only takes 2.5 hours to charge the Blueshapes, and it seems to take at least 2.5 hours to recharge these crappy Canon batteries.

I'm probably just going to get one of the dummies and run it off of a D-tap. The LP-6 batteries don't last long enough to be worth the bother.
 
Tamerlin said:
Especially since those batteries power the 502 for such a short period. I'm only getting around 2-3 hours with two batteries starting at full charge on my 502, while I can run my Cion for nearly four hours on a single Blueshape 90wh v-mount. And it only takes 2.5 hours to charge the Blueshapes, and it seems to take at least 2.5 hours to recharge these crappy Canon batteries.

I'm probably just going to get one of the dummies and run it off of a D-tap. The LP-6 batteries don't last long enough to be worth the bother.
Click to expand...
For cameras that have the D-TAP option thats a great solution. I'm running several different setups and non have D-TAP as an option. I'm stuck with the LP-E6. I'm okay with it but I hate not knowing when it's going to expire. I have enough to think about while on a shoot. You know what I mean?
 
Erik Naso said:
For cameras that have the D-TAP option thats a great solution. I'm running several different setups and non have D-TAP as an option. I'm stuck with the LP-E6. I'm okay with it but I hate not knowing when it's going to expire. I have enough to think about while on a shoot. You know what I mean?
Click to expand...

Yes, I do. Bummer that there are so few alternative options to power thse little monitor. It's beautiful when it's turned on and receiving a signal, but once the batteries die, it's just a mirror. I had a couple of situations over the weekend when the monitor cut out right after the director called "Action!" during a hand held shot... so I had to just hold as still as possible and hope, because i didn't have any other mechanism to see the frame without interrupting the shot.
 
I got a dummmy batt, added a 12v in and now can run mine from small Sony batts at the back of my rig, or Dtap, or a single LPE6 if I need to unhook for a bit.

S
 
I actually have a 702, but yes, the image onscreen and the image a monitor are definitely way different. Blacks are crushed, oversaturated. Can someone point me in the right direction for creating a proper calibration LUT for this thing? I've requested this several times from SmallHD and they've done nothing.
 
I just received my SmallHD 501 monitor and I decided to get a pair of Wasabi BTR-LPE6-JWP batteries.
But they take at least 2 hours each to charge and then after only 15 minutes, they're nearly drained. I think something is seriously wrong.
I've had Wasabi batteries in the past that proved reliable, but not these.

Can any one who has used the SmallHD 500 or 700 series monitors tell me what batteries work best/are most reliable with these tiny monitors.
What brand should I stick to? Also, what are the longest lasting batteries I can mount on the 501 monitor?

My SmallHD 501 also gets extremely hot after only 10 minutes use, so I'm not sure if that's normal either. Could it be something defective in that unit that is causing these batteries to drain so fast? Thanks in advance for any feedback.
 
Nicholas Natteau said:
I just received my SmallHD 501 monitor and I decided to get a pair of Wasabi BTR-LPE6-JWP batteries.
But they take at least 2 hours each to charge and then after only 15 minutes, they're nearly drained. I think something is seriously wrong.
I've had Wasabi batteries in the past that proved reliable, but not these.

Can any one who has used the SmallHD 500 or 700 series monitors tell me what batteries work best/are most reliable with these tiny monitors.
What brand should I stick to? Also, what are the longest lasting batteries I can mount on the 501 monitor?

My SmallHD 501 also gets extremely hot after only 10 minutes use, so I'm not sure if that's normal either. Could it be something defective in that unit that is causing these batteries to drain so fast? Thanks in advance for any feedback.
Click to expand...
I use Wasabi batteries and they seem to be fine. 2 hours is way long long for charging. You might have bad batteries or your charger isn't working right. I would try another charger first.

The monitor does get hot. I was worried about that too when I got mine but it's normal and doesn't overheat.
 
Nicholas Natteau said:
I just received my SmallHD 501 monitor and I decided to get a pair of Wasabi BTR-LPE6-JWP batteries.
But they take at least 2 hours each to charge and then after only 15 minutes, they're nearly drained. I think something is seriously wrong.
I've had Wasabi batteries in the past that proved reliable, but not these.

Can any one who has used the SmallHD 500 or 700 series monitors tell me what batteries work best/are most reliable with these tiny monitors.
What brand should I stick to? Also, what are the longest lasting batteries I can mount on the 501 monitor?

My SmallHD 501 also gets extremely hot after only 10 minutes use, so I'm not sure if that's normal either. Could it be something defective in that unit that is causing these batteries to drain so fast? Thanks in advance for any feedback.
Click to expand...

i have the same wasabi batteries and it lasts waay more than that. though i pplug 2 batts at the same time
 
I had those batts and they worked on a canon charger but not a third party charger.. total chaos for any one assisting me.

"yep do the charging please.. but charge the canon batts on the non canon charger and the wasabi batts on the canon charger"

Just so much simpler to power from a 12v source and only use 5d batteries for a 5d.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top