What's a great 7" on-camera monitor these days?

Jaime Valles

Jaime Valles

Veteran
I'm looking for a great, sharp, bright 7" monitor to use with my cameras. I want to see focus clearly, and maybe have it show LUTs for client review. Ideally it would have HDMI and SDI inputs, and use Sony NP-F style batteries. I don't need it to also be an external recorder, just a monitor is great. SmallHD seems popular, but reviews on B&H aren't the best. Price is not my main concern here. I want a quality image and solid build that won't fall apart in a few weeks.

What are you using these days?
 
I keep going back to the Infernos when I need one.

People question the build, but I've never had a problem with them since the original Shogun in 2014.

Its UI and LUT workflow is my favorite part about it. (For $999, you have a lot of features.)

They have an updated model but haven't tried it.
 
I've been looking for something similar for my clients and am having trouble deciding between the Portkeys HH7 (1200 nit, LUT support, NPF batteries, but you need a special adapter to power the camera via d-tap or other power) and the Feelworld P7S (2200 nit, NPF batteries, SDI input and output, but no LUT support).

I've been using a Portkeys high bright monitor on my C200 and it's a game changer, so that's a feature I don't want to be without anymore.
 
A lot of ppl I know are grabbing those Feelworld monitors but I don’t really know anything about them myself. Just an enthusiastic AC hyping how high quality, affordable, and light weight they are.
 
The older Feelworlds were pretty bad. The new ones are surprisingly excellent. Certainly as good as any of the (albeit older) SmallHD monitors I've owned. Build quality will not stand up to being dropped. However, the P7S is aluminum, not plastic. I ended up finding one on eBay for $315 so I jumped on it.
 
Does anybody know of a rubber protector for the Feelworld? It looks like a decent option, but I'd like to get some protection. (ok, ok, forget the jokes. Get your mind out of the gutter)
 
Paul F said:
Does anybody know of a rubber protector for the Feelworld? It looks like a decent option, but I'd like to get some protection. (ok, ok, forget the jokes. Get your mind out of the gutter)
Click to expand...

Smallrig has monitor cages for some of the common SmallHD, Feelworld, Atomos, etc monitors. I've seen a couple in person. They're not like a Pelican with a monitor window cutout, but they are something: https://www.smallrig.com/cages/monitor-cage.html
 
I have the Atomos Shinobi these days and FWIW, it's the same. If I dropped it onto concrete or asphalt, it would be history I'm sure.
I almost bought the PortKeys BM-5 instead because of its beefier all Aluminum build, but the lighter weight and better menu controls of the Shinobi won me over. We'll see how long I can use it without dropping it.

That's cool you can get a Feelworld that cheap with a metal body, kind of amazing.
 
puredrifting said:
I have the Atomos Shinobi these days and FWIW, it's the same. If I dropped it onto concrete or asphalt, it would be history I'm sure.
I almost bought the PortKeys BM-5 instead because of its beefier all Aluminum build, but the lighter weight and better menu controls of the Shinobi won me over. We'll see how long I can use it without dropping it.

That's cool you can get a Feelworld that cheap with a metal body, kind of amazing.
Click to expand...

Pretty much any monitor would be. If I dropped either of my smallHD DP7Pro OLED's or my Focus OLED, I wouldn't expect them to survive that kind of treatment. Now my OLD smallHD DP6's or Panasonics, I think I like the chances of survival, within reason.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions!

The PortKeys HS7T looks really good, except it doesn't have a battery level indicator! I wonder if I can make it work despite that...

The Feelworld Ultra Bright also looks good (and 2200 nits!) but no LUT support...

Talk to me about SmallHD monitors. On B&H I see some fantastic reviews, but also some terrible ones. I'm OK paying for the SmallHD 702 Bright if I know it works well.

I'm also open to one of the Atomos offerings, even though I don't need an external recorder. It just seems like a waste paying for the recorder part when I only need the monitor, but if it works great, then whatever.

Any other thoughts?
 
Last edited:
IMO, it's actually a waste the other way around since the prices could be so close.

I understand purchasing a monitor for exact reasons (maybe it's super thin or surrounded by metal or has this and that), but if you're flexible and the price doesn't matter and you will be spending $600-$700-$800 then why not just purchase a fully-loaded monitor with recording?

The recording can be super useful when you least expect it. The hardware can even unlock the extra potential of other cameras you may find yourself renting or dealing with out and about. Flipping through LUTs on the UI in front of clients never fails to impress people (seriously, lol).

As far as SmallHD, they've been around for a while and have good monitors, but the prices can be high. Personally, I used the 502 a few times and always disliked the joystick.

I really love touchscreens and the Atomos is like an iPhone.
 
Jaime Valles said:
Thanks for all the suggestions!

The PortKeys HS7T looks really good, except it doesn't have a battery level indicator! I wonder if I can make it work despite that...

The Feelworld Ultra Bright also looks good (and 2200 nits!) but no LUT support...

Talk to me about SmallHD monitors. On B&H I see some fantastic reviews, but also some terrible ones. I'm OK paying for the SmallHD 702 Bright if I know it works well.

I'm also open to one of the Atomos offerings, even though I don't need an external recorder. It just seems like a waste paying for the recorder part when I only need the monitor, but if it works great, then whatever.

Any other thoughts?
Click to expand...

I’m in the ‘I like smallHD’ camp, mostly. They’ve had some bad monitors that I didn’t like, like their 17’s... But all of the ‘on-camera’ monitors that I’ve owned have all been great. The now ancient DP6 was awesome in its time, after you “calibrated” it(own 2). The old, long discontinued and ‘ahead of its time’ DP7Pro OLED is still ‘the tits’ and my favorite. After they were dropped from the line-up, I actually bought Charles Papert’s that he was selling, so that I had a second(still own both). And I recently added a Focus OLED SDI which I really like, as well. It’s obviously smaller than the DP, but it’s much quicker to rig and place, because of the tilting bracket. No screwing around with Noga arms.
 
The monitor/recorder could give you an on set proxy file to easily start editing, and a RAW master file for later. Just something to consider.
 
Greg_E said:
The monitor/recorder could give you an on set proxy file to easily start editing, and a RAW master file for later. Just something to consider.
Click to expand...

That would kind of depend on what you're feeding it. Personally speaking, my on-camera monitors are usually fed a "dirty" signal with info. Although with some cameras, you can fairly easily toggle the overlays on & off and others it's a more involved menu dive.
 
True about the dirty feed, and I was thinking that the in camera might end up as proxy and the monitor records the RAW since that is how many have to be done.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top