Make sure to check our hands-on and footage article as well as Philip Bloom’s two hour in-depth review of the camera. This bundle will get you the camcorder body with Sony 120GB XQD G-Series memory card and a spare Sony BP-U60 56Wh battery (another battery ships with the camera already).
The FX9 is Sony’s new full-frame cinema camera. Announced in September 2019, it offers solid 10-bit internal recording modes, very good autofocus, audio, internal eND, and more.
payment is based on the amount of articles written and on success and reach (not a full time employment, it’s supplemental income but has the potential to become a considerable sum that you can profit from long-term).
On the PortKeys LH5P, there are one HDMI input port and one HDMI output port. The monitor supports a maximum input resolution of DCI 4K at 24p, 4K UHD at up to 30p, and FullHD at up to 60p. I tested all three with a Panasonic GH5 and did not get any issues, may it be on the input or output side.
The Chinese manufacturer PortKeys is starting to be well-known for making affordable monitoring solutions for filmmakers with a lot of built-in monitoring and camera control features. We first heard about the company with the fully-featured BM5 monitor that can control your camera, then more recently the LH5H that is HDMI-only which we are currently reviewing – stay tuned for more info about it.
And this is the feeling you get, colors are not off, but you can make them better by adjusting the contrast a bit and the chroma/tint settings by plus or minus two/three. If you have an i1 Display Pro prob, you can even re-calibrate your LH5P yourself later down the road if needed.
The monitor comes with a wipe cloth and a USB disk. More accessories are available to purchase separately, including a safety box, an anti-fall rubber protection bracket, a sunshade, and a handy pan/tilt arm to mount it on top of your camera.
The monitor mount came in two parts. The round piece’s screws had threadlocker which makes removing them really hard, but you have to do it to assemble the monitor mount together.
The Portkeys PT5 is passively cooled, so it does not have a built-in fan. Also, it means that the monitor doesn’t make any noise when it is on.
Having excellent and accurate monitoring tools to evaluate what you’re shooting is great, but the image quality of a monitor is more crucial. Not all monitors are created equal, and the quality of the display behind them may vary significantly.
Portkeys recently released an updated version of its famous BM5 monitor that can control your camera: the Portkeys BM5 III WR. This new model features a bigger 5.5″ display with a maximum brightness of 2200nits. It has a built-in Bluetooth module to control your camera, and an implemented wireless camera control for the RED Komodo. Let’s take a closer look at it!.
On the right side of the Portkeys PT5, you’ll find an On/Off switch, a 5V USB Type-A port, and a 7-24V power input port. So you can power the PT5 in a lot of different ways:.
Finding more information about PortKeys as a company is a little tricky as we haven’t been able to locate much information on the web about them, but the EVF does look promising at first glance.
To make things even more secure, there is even a side of the battery with a cut-out. I have no worries about inserting the batteries inside the handle or the battery charger.
A good monitor is nothing without great monitoring tools. These tools allow you to judge your exposure, focus, white balance, and so on. This is useful so you can make creative decisions and adjust your camera settings.
The PortKeys KeyGrip has been shipping for a couple of months now, and filmmakers have been complaining about the lack of a power switch button. Indeed, there was no battery switch, which means the KeyGrip was draining power if you didn’t remove the batteries from the handle.
As I already mentioned, there is a built-in Sony NP-F style battery plate at the monitor’s back. I did a quick battery life test with a Sony NP-F970 battery at maximum brightness (1700nit). I got away with around one to one hour and a half battery life.
I used the Volta Cinema Top Handle during seven full productions days, it held all its promises, and it’s been a joy to use. It’s a nine out of ten usability score for me, because the one thing that I am missing is a battery indicator on the handle to see the battery state with a push of a button.
I had to read instructions to find simple functions. For example, when you’re on the Function page, I activated the Frame Guide tool by tapping on the screen and activating it on the side. Then, I could not find where to adjust the settings and aspect ratio of that tool.
By shopping at our partner’s store, you are supporting CineD through our buy links, as we get a small affiliate commission (at no extra cost for you) when a purchase is completed. Let’s take a look at the deals!.
proficiency in filmmaking – you know your stuff in one or more areas of filmmaking (producing, editing, directing, cinematography, post-production …).
Now, this was a major deciding factor for me to take the Z CAM E2 cinema camera on my trip – 4k DCI ProRes HQ in a small but durable package – despite the risk of taking a new, unknown camera with me I just couldn’t say no.
The Z CAM E2 cinema camera is a great new addition to the line of micro four thirds cameras, and got so many things right in the first place – first and foremost the image (audio via the 3.5mm input leaves a lot to be desired though).
Sony a7 III is currently considered by many as the best Sony mirrorless camera for video. Its 24MP full-frame CMOS sensor performs really well in low light and its 693-point hybrid AF system also works well for video shooting. The camera can record up to UHD 4K30p video with HLG & S-Log gamma picture profiles. For more information about the camera, go ahead and read Johnnie’s Sony a7 III review.
However, and this is something to keep in mind while you’re reading this entire review, the is only $89, and it’s an entry-level on-camera monitor. At this price point in the filmmaking world, you usually can’t buy many products, especially monitors or products with any electronics inside.
Given the value of 36 ms, I was wondering how it can do 29.98fps at 4K – I measured the rolling shutter at 29.98fps and got a result of 31.3 ms interestingly. So obviously the readout speed changes with the different modes.
Also, the barrel connector should be replaced by a 4-pin power input at the back of the unit, next to the SDI input. Talking about the SDI input: the viewfinder should support resolutions up to 1080p60 via the SDI Input.
All the other features and specifications, including the display/monitoring tools/mounting points – and so on – will be identical.
I’ll say it again: this is an $89 on-camera monitor, so don’t expect it to survive a drop at home nor monthly rentals to professional filmmakers. It gets the job done for owners/operators, but that’s it.
Indeed, the Volta36 batteries are 36Wh/5A batteries; that’s a lot of juice in such a small package. In the graph above, you can see the capacity to weight ratio compared to other battery solutions.
The Z CAM E2 is a very compact and lightweight cinema camera that we discovered during NAB 2018. Here is a quick summary of the features and what this small camera is capable of:.
Not all monitors are created equally, and the quality of the display behind them may vary significantly. A great on-camera monitor must be as color accurate as possible and as close to “what you see is what you get” as possible.
Portkeys is a Chinese company that released a full lineup of affordable on-camera monitors and viewfinders with an impressive price/feature ratio in a couple of years only. If you’ve never heard of them before, you can take a look at my in-depth review of the Portkeys LH5P here.
The has a glossy and quite reflective screen and is not very bright, so if you plan on using the monitor outside, the included sun hood will come in handy.
On the left side, there is a standard ARRI Rosette, the USB port, and the On/Off switch. At the bottom, you’ll find two 1/4″ holes for mounting purposes, and the diopter adjustment dial.
The Chinese camera manufacturer Z CAM has made quite an impression on us when we reviewed their flagship model Z CAM E2. Now we have the much more affordable sister cam Z Cam E2C cinema camera in our hands – has it inherited some of the strong features? Read on ….
These dummy batteries are off-the-shelf and not made by Volta Cinema directly. Several models are available, including D-Tap to Sony FZ100, Sony FW50, Panasonic DMW-BL19e, Sony NP-F (the plate is from Atomos), Micro USB for the Tilta Nucleus, as well as custom ones.
The addition of this plate easily turns the F7 PRO into an affordable, compact director or 1st AC monitor. Furthermore, the vertical position of the NP-F style plate can be adjusted by loosening two screws in order to adapt to a wider variety of systems.
Sony: A9, A7 II, A7 III, A7 IV (from their website – yes, this camera doesn’t exist yet!), A6000, A6300, A6400, A6500, RX100, RX02.
The biggest improvement over the original F7 is on the back of the monitor: a Sony NP-F style battery plate can now host and power a wireless video transmission system compatible with this type of batteries.
The top flap features three meshed pockets: two small ones (12.5 x 11cm/4,92 x 4,33in) at the top and a large one at the bottom (23 x 17cm/9 x 6,7in).
And now comes the fun part! Like its big brother the BM5 II, the PortKeys LH5H is capable of controlling your camera. Above is a list of all compatible cameras, and the features you can control via the LH5H.
Panasonic S1 is a very capable full-frame mirrorless camera. It can record internally at up to 4K 60fps in 8-bit and output 4:2:2 10-bit signal externally. For more information about the camera please check our Panasonic S1 review and the revisited V-log upgrade review.
Canon EOS C300 Mark III has also been announced this year. It is a sucessor of one of Canon’s most popular cinema cameras ever – the C300 Mark II. The new generation offers an uncropped 4K120p video on the Super35 sensor as well as modular design, internal ND filters, and Dual-Pixel AF.
Another feature is a gigabyte ethernet connection for control of the camera and live streaming. The WIFI (with the included antenna) of the cam allows the use of the Z CAM app that features a full-screen image view – essentially, if you accept some lag (see the video above) you can use your smartphone as a monitor.
In short, the display is not stellar by any means. But again, if you look at things with a price/performance ratio in mind, it’s definitely acceptable if you’re starting out after a few tweaks.
On the left side, the P6 features two HDMI ports (input/output) that accept 4K signals. Also, in the middle of the HDMI ports, there is a 3.5mm headphone jack output. At the bottom of the monitor, there is a DC 7.4-24V barrel input/output port that you can use to power the monitor or power your camera. Finally, there is a USB-A port for future firmware upgrade, loading your own LUTs, or charge your smartphone (5V output).
The batteries have two power connectors (plus and minus) used to charge them and connect to the handle’s pins. Also, there are small coded pins, so you can’t insert the battery inside the handle or charger in the wrong direction.
What do you think of the PortKeys Bluetooth Module? Do you think it is useful for the BMPCC 4K/6K cameras? Do you already have the PortKeys BM5 monitor? Let us know in the comments!.
However, comparing the E2 to other cinema cameras in this sensor class the competitor BMPCC4k cannot be neglected. The BMPCC4k is significantly less expensive, has a large build in screen (5”) and allows internal ProRes as well as 12bit RAW recording (Blackmagic raw). Also, Blackmagic managed to squeeze out 0.8 stops more dynamic range.
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