Our European partner online shop CVP based in the UK decided to celebrate the site relaunch with us and they prepared some great special deals exclusively for our readers. We asked them to include current popular cameras in the bundle so that all the offers are relevant.
You got it; both monitors are very similar, so what’s new? One of the biggest caveats of the LH5H is its full-plastic construction. The PortKeys LH5P is built with aluminum alloy, which makes it more resistant to field life. Also, it looks slightly thinner than its predecessor, but the LH5P is heavier at 250g vs. 170g for the LH5H.
DC 7-24V barrel and 5V USB Type-A ports on the device’s right side to power the EVF externally.
For a while now I have been following the development of micro four thirds cameras. To be specific, I bought my first one exactly 10 years ago, the Panasonic LUMIX GH1.
Last but not least, the bag comes with a 5-year warranty. You’ll need to register and activate your warranty on Manfrotto’s website. The company’s customer service is incredible, and you can trust their warranty.
Indeed, 1/4-20″ with locating pins mounting points are not “industry standard,” but 3/8-16″ with locating pins are. But, again, to me, Atomos did it right with their Ninja V/V+, and a lot of camera monitor manufacturers should follow the trend.
On most on-camera monitors (the ones that are not OLED), if you crank up the brightness to its maximum setting, the display tends to lift the image’s black parts. In short, blacks are not black anymore, but more on the grey side, and the picture becomes a little washed out.
Various picture profiles available including Rec.709 / Z-Log2 / FLAT / HLG.
The LH5P has a claimed maximum brightness of 1700 nit, which is, like any monitor with a brightness over 1500nit, perfectly daylight-viewable. The monitor has a contrast ratio of 1000:1, and the panel itself is 10-bit (8+2 FRC), so not “true” 10-bit.
The EOS R is the first full-frame mirrorless camera from Canon. It features the new RF lens mount, and 30.3MP CMOS sensor along with a DIGIC 8 image processor. It tops at UHD 4K30 for video recording and the sensor also facilitates Canon’s great Dual Pixel AF system – probably the best autofocus system for video right now. The camera can shoot in Canon Log gamma for higher dynamic range and it can output 4K 10-bit 4:2:2 over HDMI.
Canon: 1D X Mark Ⅱ, 5DS, 5DS R, 5D Mark Ⅳ, 5D Mark Ⅲ, 5D Mark Ⅱ, 6D Mark Ⅱ, 6D, 80D.
Optimize the camera control interface and functions: improve the aperture display accuracy of BMPCC4K/6K. Fixes an issue where the BMPCC 4K resolution cannot be switched to 4K 2.4:1 4096×1720.
It is powered via a single Sony NP-F style battery, and you can use the power output of the BM5 to feed your camera via a dummy battery. Also, you can power it with an external battery by using the Lemo port on the monitor.
According to VIDEOGEAR, the Black Mini draws less than 6W of power. To give you a rough idea, as these results can vary a lot depending on the age/state of your battery pack, I did a quick test with a fresh Canon LP-E6N battery pack (14Wh). I got away with a little more than 3 hours of battery life at the maximum backlight setting. These results are great, and it’s decent battery life for an on-camera monitor powered by a small battery.
We are using a new test method based on a high frequency, quartz & microcontroller based strobe light at 300Hz. As the sensor readout happens from the top to the bottom, we are getting a sequence of black and white bars from the strobe.
You got it; I love when I’m working with and not against an on-camera monitor. A third-party monitor should feel like a natural addition to your rig and not an add-on that you don’t want to bring/mount on your camera.
Panasonic LUMIX G80/G85 Camera with 12-60mm Lens and Accessories Set – $300/€83 Discount Plus Free LUMIX 25mm f/1.7 Lens, Free 3-Year Warranty.
One of the only things that could be improved on the BM5 II that I have is the overall UI, which feels a bit outdated. The new PortKeys LH5H features a new UI that looks much better and more intuitive. On the left and right sides of the monitor, you’ll find various customizable shortcuts to your favorite monitoring tools. The display itself is tactile, so you can activate/disable functions quickly without having to go inside the menu.
As I mentioned, the Portkeys PT5 does not have any physical buttons, and all the navigation is via the touchscreen. I’m glad there are only pages, as it is relatively easy to operate and understand, but there are also some drawbacks like the numerous fingerprints the screen will accumulate.
You can activate numerous monitoring tools at the same time to help you. I’m not sure if i’s a bug or something regular, but you can “only” activate two scopes at the same time between Luma Histogram, Luma Waveform, and RGB Waveform. You can’t start all three at the same time. However, you can activate two scopes and peaking/guides/grids at the same for example. All in all, monitoring tools are fine.
A monitor is a monitor, no matter its price, and I treat every product the same, so let’s get started!.
Inside the small pockets with tripod logos, you’ll find straps that attach to their respective rubber hooks.
These theoretical tests don’t have much sense to me as you usually don’t always shoot at full brightness for this amount of time without switching off the monitor, but it gives you a rough idea. In “normal” real-life shooting conditions, I found the battery life to be pretty good.
If that wasn’t enough, it also has recording capability and Bluetooth connectivity. Compatible with virtually every input and setup, it even allows you to control internal features like shutter speed and focus when used with certain camera models.
Inside the main compartment, you’ll find two central dividers that measure the Flexloader L’s interior length. The Flexloader L also comes with eight small dividers.
The new Z CAM E2’s will be available in October 2019. To me, pricing is impressive, for cameras with that many features:.
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.
B&H Buy link: RX100 III Camera Kit with Accessories Was: $748.00 Now: $598.00 (Savings: $150.00).
I got away with around 3 hours of battery life at the maximum backlight setting. To me, this is a decent battery life for an on-camera monitor powered by a small battery. However, if you do the maths, a big Sony NP-F970 battery could theoretically run the PT5 for more than 12 hours!.
The batteries are best isolated from one another when traveling as long as there are other metallic components in the compartment. We haven’t yet experienced a short after months of use. They have short circuit protection, but as you know, in case it does happen it requires the user to connect them to the charger in order to restore them.
Top: four customizable function keys, a power switch, and four buttons to access and navigate inside the menu.
To give you a rough idea, the PT5’s maximum brightness is slightly over the Canon EOS C70’s display, which is also hard to view in bright daylight conditions.
According to Manfrotto, the Flexloader L can take up to eight lenses, a DSLR/DSLR with grip or Cinema Camera, a 16-inch laptop (27 x 2.5 x 46 cm/10.63 x 0.98 x 18.11in), a gimbal, a tripod, and more. So you got it; this backpack can take a lot of stuff. That also means carrying a lot of weight on your shoulders, but we’ll talk about that in detail later.
If you have never heard of VIDEOGEAR, don’t worry, because neither did I prior to testing their monitor. Also, there is very little information on this company on the Internet as they don’t even seem to have a website or utilize social media. The company only sells its product on various marketplaces such as Amazon.
RED Komodo with the new Laowa 9mm T2.9 lens. Image Credit: Phil Holland.
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).
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 Portkeys PT5, 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 Canon EOS R and a Canon EOS C70 and did not have any issues, may it be on the input or output side.
Last but not least, Portkeys implemented wireless camera controls for the RED Komodo. This means that, compared to the SmallHD Focus Pro, for example, you don’t need an extra cable to communicate between the Komodo and the monitor.
But Tudor didn’t stop here. He worked hard on its product and idea to refine the design, improve features, and launch it on its own a couple of months later, in August 2020.
The F7 PRO is an HDMI-only monitor. The HDMI input and output support 4K signals up to 60fps.
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.
B&H Buy link: Sony a6500 Camera Body with Free Accessories Kit Was: $1,198.00 Now: $998.00 (Savings: $200.00).
EOS R’s smaller brother – the EOS RP – is now also on sale during Black friday. As a bonus within this accessory kit on B&H you will get a SanDisk 32GB SDHC memory card, and a shoulder bag.
As you can tell, these are minor issues and not a dealbreaker. Manfrotto did a great job at improving their camera bag lineup and they’ll have a hard time competing with themselves for the next generation.
I’ve used bags, cases, rolling bags, and fly cases from various types and many different brands. The quest to find the perfect storage/carrying solution that combines build quality, storage capacity, total package weight, and functionality is endless.
Material Possession ltd, the company behind Volta Cinema, is a relatively new film industry player. The British company is run by Tudor Chirila, which first launched a non-successful crowdfunding campaign for the version of its Top Handle back in November 2019.
B&H Buy link: Sony a6000 Camera with two lenses and accessories Was: $998.00 Now: $598.00 (Savings: $400.00).
As you can see, the P6 is fully packed with all the essential tools. The only drawback of PortKeys’ monitors is the user interface, which is not the most intuitive near beautiful out there, but it gets the job done.
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.