GH4 Tablet as Field Monitor

H

hanguolaohu

Active member
Anyone know of a way to use an iPad or Android Tablet as a live view field monitor? I'm familiar with Camranger which uses Wi-Fi and costs $300. There is DSLR Controller, which requires a jailbroken iPad and only compatible with Canon cameras. I'm looking for a way to simply connect an HDMI-type cable to the lightning or USB-C connector of the tablet. I'm not sure why field monitors are so expensive and yet less resolution than an iPad.

Thanks!
 
Check out the Aputure FineHD. It was just released back in December 2015 and has a 1920*1200 screen for less than 200$ for the standart version and 270$ for the kit version
 
Also check out the Ikan DH5 and of course the Blackmagic Video Assist. Field monitors are no longer lower resolution than tablets. Those two combined with the Aputure FineHD offer some interesting choices for a fullHD monitor.

Aputure FineHD is insanely cheap for an 8bit 1920x1080 monitor.
Ikan DH5 is one of the lightest and less cumbersome monitors I have ever seen and also 8bit 1920x1080.
Video Assist may not be the best quality panel but its 1920x1080 and is also a ProRes recorder that records 10bit video to SDHC cards. Costs a little bit more because of this but then its two tools in one.

Using a tablet as a field monitor will always be a crude hack. If you really need a field monitor I don't think the cost of them is too high to justify not getting one. Plus a tablet has a limited battery with little hope of tapping into a power source or swapping batteries. The tablet will never have any field monitor tools either such as focus peaking, histogram, false color, zebra or punch in. Good luck adjusting the RGB colors on a tablet as well. What you see is what you get. Using a tablet as a field monitor is not a DIY budget hack but a really sad crude substitute for the real thing.
 
legi008 said:
Check out the Aputure FineHD. It was just released back in December 2015 and has a 1920*1200 screen for less than 200$ for the standart version and 270$ for the kit version
Click to expand...

where can you buy this? Ive searched and found a suspicious site and the price was way higher than $270
 
Agreed @legi008 + @Thomas Smet. The Aputure VS-2 FineHD is probably my best bet, and certainly the best value for the buck. I still have this burning desire to use my iPad as an additional monitor though. Anyone with experience with DSLR Controller? Seems so cool...
 
Didn't Manfrotto release some iPad holder and APP for Canon and Nikon?

The iOS SDK, does allow for an video feed to be sent into the iPAD via the lighting port (see the DJI Phantom\Inspire and OSMO as examples)

However I don't think its a HDMI feed, its 720p but unsure on the format.
 
If you can swing it, by all means get a proper field monitor. On Android tablets that support USB host mode/OTG, you can use an app like qDSLRdashboard and a USB OTG cable to make make your tablet function like a field monitor. Bear in mind that there will be a lag in the video feed, along with numerous other drawbacks.
 
For full disclosure, I can't really speak from experience, as my Kindle doesn't support USB OTG.
Some issues will be: Lag in the feed (which makes it hard to pull focus), tablet will only display about 15 FPS, apps are only available for a few camera brands, apps usually lack most features found in field monitors (zebra stripes, false color, histogram, zoom, LUT, focus peaking etc). I think you'ed have a very hard time trying to get it working with an iPad (if it's even possible), as Apple usually locks down their devices much more than Android ones.
 
Are you looking for additional functionality like false color and vector scopes or do you just want a bigger screen than what's on the camera? If the latter, wifi connection between an ipad and gh4 works very well.
 
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