SmallHD FOCUS announced ($499)

It looks like a nice product, but priced too high at $499 IMHO.

For $795 you can buy a 7 inch Atomos Ninja Flame which allows you not only to monitor but also record up to 4K@30
 
Cary Knoop said:
It looks like a nice product, but priced too high at $499 IMHO.

For $795 you can buy a 7 inch Atomos Ninja Flame which allows you not only to monitor but also record up to 4K@30
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Or the 5" BMD Video Assist which records HD for the same price.

This monitor is about more than that however. It is about a small compact and light monitor vs a 7" recorder. This new monitor can also supply power to a camera so it also doubles as an external battery.

I do agree however that the market for monitor only solutions is going to get very interesting. We have so many options now that also provide recording and they don't use crappy displays either. This smallHD is going to have to be one heck of an accurate display panel to justify buying it.
 
Thomas Smet said:
This smallHD is going to have to be one heck of an accurate display panel to justify buying it.
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SmallHD offers top quality monitors so I have no doubt this monitor is excellent, but the question is can they compete in the small monitor market by offering a 5 inch version.
 
Daylight viewable and power to the camera, it everything Sony shooters need to shoot 4k internally with the A7rII, A7sII, A6300 and A6500 since the LCD dims so much its almost invisible. And of course one of the major complaints about Sony's are the battery life. And the crappy resolution when zooming to check focus. Not surprised the demo on the website has the monitor on the A7.

But with other options that record, this one seems like a tough sell. I'd like one since recording externally on the A7's and A6500 really offers no benefit unless you want a more edit friendly codec. But there are some pretty good options for just monitoring at just a couple hundred $$$.
 
UI looks great. I'm waiting on more specs & power draw. If it is good resolution (and picture) and low power, then it can be a good sell over the recorder / monitors.
 
If this monitor is similar to SmallHD's other Daylight Viewable monitors it may be useful for framing, & focus (this the name), but less good for monitoring in more subdued light. Used a 702 Bright a handful of times, & it worked well outdoors even without a hood, but indoors it was hard to get a feel for the image.
 
Bern Caughey said:
If this monitor is similar to SmallHD's other Daylight Viewable monitors it may be useful for framing, & focus (this the name), but less good for monitoring in more subdued light. Used a 702 Bright a handful of times, & it worked well outdoors even without a hood, but indoors it was hard to get a feel for the image.
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Can you elaborate a bit Bern? Is this because it was giving you a false sense of exposure in the shadow areas due to the sheer brightness?

I'm wondering why the manufacturers can't just build in a simple toggle between outdoor mode and indoor mode. Nits calibrated for indoor use and nits for outdoor use. Or, is the panel itself the culprit and incapable of making the switch?
 
Last time I used the 702 Bright was probably a year ago, so perhaps it's performance has improved, but back then even with the brightness dialed down the image didn't feel right, & in subdued light the color/contrast did not match the ARRI's EVF, AC's 7Q, or any of the larger monitors we had on-set. DIT said it was a pretty common complaint.
 
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Chad's Mini Review of the SmallHD Focus Monitor:

I just got it a couple days ago, and I like it and will keep it, but my feeling so far is that it's not bright enough for outdoor use. I just tested it in late afternoon sun and I couldn't see the image well. Relying on it's focus assist and zebras I was able to get focus and exposure well. With the sun behind me I got a great reflection of my face (much brighter and more clear than what the camera sent to it), and with the sun in front of me I got a great reflection of the sky. A matte finish screen protector would have been nicer than the mirror they included. I hope maybe I am able to turn the brightness up, but all I see is a backlight control, and that's at 100%. I fear it's as bright as it's going to get - someone educate me if I'm wrong. Using it on top of my GH5, the GH5's LCD is as bright as this. I also don't see a battery indicator, so I would be guessing how much life I have left.

I'm not trying to be a negative nelly here. I guess I just thought 800 nits would be brighter. I shoot aerial video using an iPad that is 400 nits, but with a big sun hood and a matte screen protector. 400 nits is not near enough, but doable the way I have it. I figured that twice as bright would knock it out of the park.

I disagree with Bern in that I think the opposite. I like it indoors, and don't love it outdoors. It is better than the 3" LCD on my camera.

I really like the mounting arm that attaches to the camera's hot shoe. It's small and light. I got the Panasonic power kit, and that works great. I need a battery indicator though. The software tools are great! Very intuitive and helpful. I'm purchasing the 20.00 sun shade. It's not very large though. I'm thinking I'll be attaching more DIY shade, and using the SmallDH one for it's solid mounting.

If anyone else has opinions, please share them. I want to like this more, but I don't want to dissuade anyone from getting it, because it is pretty cool. It's just not perfect.
 
800, 1000 maybe even 1500 NIT is not enough for me. I tried the 503 (what is it, 2200 NIT or something) and it was fine outdoors in direct sun on the water. The rest of my experience with SmallHD sucked.
 
I have had the monitor since late summer. I like it a lot. I agree with the opinions here: it is not good outside. I also have the 702 Brite. I use it with a hood, and it still is just okay in terms of Ext brightness. The one thing with both monitors is that I wish there were presets to adjust the screen for inside and outside use without going into a menu. I find it is a bit too bright in the studio, with the brightness all the way down, and not bright enough outside. Other than that, it works great. It does have a battery indicator, as I can check the status of my Sony battery clipped on the back. The 2 best parts of it for me is that it powers the GH5. No more GH5 battery changes - and the Sony batteries last a long time. Also, I can enlarge the screen quickly to check focus. Of course you can do that on the GH5, but I never have to worry about disrupting camera settings.

6 Panasonic GH5 Rig.jpg9 Panasonic GH5 Rig.jpg
 
One thing that helps with Exterior Daylight shooting is making a LUT that let's the focus puller or cam op see the frame. Only the brightest bit of exposure are seen in daylight settings. I dealt with this on a recent shoot, and anytime the exposure was slightly to the left, I had to through a cloth or hood up to see what was happening.

I feel the waveforms were good for judging exposure, but when it comes to operating or pulling focus, I had to make a LUT to see into the midtones and shadows.
 
I found the way to turn on the battery indicator, but it's only showing voltage rather than percent, and I have no idea what voltage is half full, quarter full or empty.
 
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