The screen itself is a WLED panel, which is a marketing term to say LED panel, so blacks should be nowhere near an OLED panel.
If you click on each tool in the menu, you can turn it on/off and adjust its settings. For each tool, you have various settings, including color, strength, magnification ratio, and so on.
However, if we do some maths: the LEYE II draws around 3W max, a Canon LP-E6N battery has an 1800 mAh capacity and a 7.2V voltage, so you should get a little over 4 hours of runtime (V x Capacity / P = 7.2 x 1.8 / 3) with one battery, which is fantastic.
Fig.1: Waveform plot of the Z CAM E2 cinema camera at ISO500 using Z-LOG2 ProRes HQ – about 11 stops can be identified above the noise floor.
All in all, I’ve not been overly impressed by this monitor as I’m used to much higher-end monitoring options. However, every time I had complaints about the Black Mini, I always came back thinking, “well, it’s $89, so it has some caveats, but it’s usable.”.
The PortKeys LEYE is not the company’s first try at making an EVF. Indeed, last year, they released the OEYE-3G EVF with SDI/HDMI input ports and a very high 1080P resolution.
I think that this smart move from Atomos will allow the E2 to become even more popular amongst independent filmmakers looking for a lightweight camera package capable of shooting high-quality images.
possibility of taking you to major trade shows like NAB in Las Vegas, IBC in Amsterdam, … if we are really happy with your work and if you work well under time pressure (we always take some selected team members to shows around the world).
News, reviews, tutorials, how-to’s, you name it – CineD.com is a leading force in the filmmaking tech world and we are forever and always in need of knowledgable team members who also enjoy to write about their passion.
But, you’ll have to handle all that extra tripod weight on your back, the unbalance, and the Flexloader L will flip over when you put it on the ground. Also, it’s not very practical to access the bag’s camera compartment.
The monitor mount is not the greatest I’ve ever seen, some parts are made of plastic, but it gets the job done as the monitor is pretty lightweight.
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.
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).
This monitor has its limits for sure, but it is an excellent monitor if you want to step up your game and start working with a product that offers professional monitoring tools.
CVP offers free LUMIX 25mm f/1.7 lens (!) and free 3-year Panasonic LUMIX warranty. CVP also offers G9 in a set with the LUMIX 12-60mm f/2.8-4 lens for an incredible price.
The HS7T can be powered by two hot-swappable Sony L-Series batteries or via the 4-pin LEMO input (DC 7.4~24V). Moreover, the monitor can supply power for any wireless video transmission system attached to the back: a helpful feature when trying to keep the monitor setup clean and compact.
To know more, you can check some of our previous articles – news post with specs, Johnnie’s review, or Philip’s 75-minute review. In this bundle, you will get the camera body, Atomos Ninja V (which can record 12-bit ProRes RAW with this camera), and SmallRig 3007 Cage.
The same type of battery can be used for the Portkeys BM5 monitor as well which is a big plus, and I needed all the spare batteries for the monitor, as its power consumption was quite high.
In a lot of ways, the Portkeys PT5 reminds me a lot of the SmallHD 501, which is still to this day my favorite 5″ on-camera monitor. It’s compact, lightweight, with good battery life, and it just feels like it’s part of your camera. The good thing is that the PT5 is a fraction of the SmallHD 501’s price, and it even has a way better battery life, but it doesn’t have SDI input/output ports. So you can’t have the cake and eat it too.
Also, it gets very very hot and is quite power hungry. I used the “low” setting for the internal fan to avoid picking up the sound on video.
But best of all, if you get a pair the Teradek 4K Monitor Modules (one TX and at least one RX) and an ARRI camera (available now) or a RED camera (software update coming soon), you will be able to fully control the camera from your wireless monitor. This is a huge win for high-end drone pilots, shooters in remote locations, or DPs who just wants to drop their ISO or change ND from video village.
CVP Buy link: Panasonic LUMIX G9 Camera Body Was: €1,100.86 Now: €941.78 (Savings: €159.09, Free accessories, Free 25mm f/1.7 lens, and Free 3-year warranty).
you’re still getting based on the reach of your “old” articles if you continue to write regularly for the site, it’s all very transparent – loyalty is welcome and awarded.
Once you short press the power button, the monitor takes around five seconds to boot up until it is operational, which is pleasant.
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.
From what I saw, it looks like the system is very responsive and not laggy at all. This is good news for all RED Komodo users, who now have another affordable option for wireless camera control via an onboard camera monitor.
Most of the time, you can’t use a probe or spectrophotometer to adjust your on-camera monitor. It means that you’ll have a hard time trying to calibrate it correctly by hand with only a few built-in picture adjustment tools at your disposal in the menu system. In short, on-camera monitors must be as good as possible out of the box with minimal color adjustments needed by the end-user.
When it comes to the E2, the added benefit of this connection, is the ability to record ProRes RAW directly on the Atomos Ninja V. (At this stage, there is no word from Atomos if ProRes RAW recording will be implemented on other members of the E2 family of cameras).
Phil also tested the Sensor Calibration (Black Shading) with the Komodo. Black Shading is basically a sensor and pixel check while generating a calibration map to counteract a sensor’s inherent fixed pattern noise. For RED DSMC2 cameras it was roughly 1 minute per “K” for calibration (8 minutes on RED Monstro 8K). RED Komodo 6K is faster in this regard – Sensor Calibration was done in less than 1.5 minutes.
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.
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.
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.
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.
This style of cameras usually comes with lots of external ports, and the Z CAM E2 is no different. There is a 10-pin LEMO port for timecode sync, as well as a 2.5mm LANC jack. In terms of audio, there is a 3.5mm mic output plus headphone jack and a 5-pin LEMO port for a dual channel XLR microphone.
What is unique with the Volta Cinema Top Handle is that it is the first design I saw where you could swap batteries to use it infinitely if you have enough batteries. With very little information available on the Internet and no reviews yet, we reached to the company to see if it holds all its promises.
You are limited to a single 7-24V Lemo port for power and some may miss having a battery option. After a quick run-through the menu/UI seems especially intuitive and the peaking seemed great.
However, for the past four years, I finally found some solutions that work for me. I purchased and used Manfrotto rolling bags – including the Pro Roller Bag 70 and Reloader Air-55 Pro – and they’ve been real workhorses. They’ve been a joy to use and what carries all my camera equipment 99% of the time. The Windows vs. macOS debate is as big as the backpack vs. rolling case one, but both solutions have pros and cons.
There are quite a few 5”/5.2” on-camera monitors available on the market, at various price-point. It doesn’t make sense to compare the LH5P to some of the big boys like the SmallHD 503 Ultra bright that retails for eight times the price of the PortKeys.
Pretty much every tool you need is here to judge your image, except Zebras and a Vectorscope, but that’s already decent for an entry-level on-camera monitor.
Waveform plot of the Xyla 21 stepchart: about 10 stops of dynamic range can be identified. Strangely, the noise floor is cut off by the way how Z-Log2 is implemented – not good.
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.
The concept of a handle that can power your camera is not new, with products like the Soonwell PH70. However, I’m not too fond of products that have built-in batteries. It means that once you run out of battery, you have no way to pop a fresh battery pack and continue shooting. It’s a no-go for me in professional shooting conditions.
But, as usual at CineD, we review every product equally and point out the things that can be improved. I have no doubts that the products and accessories will continue to get better over time.
Panasonic sells the same camera as G85 in the USa and G80 in Europe, so don’t get confused. This set with the LUMIX 12-60mm f/3.5-5.6mm lens offers great value for the price. B&H offers free accessories (spare battery, memory card, and camera bag) with the purchase. CVP offers free LUMIX 25mm f/1.7 lens (!), and free 3-year Panasonic LUMIX warranty.
A monitor of this size and weight makes a lot of sense to use with a small and lightweight battery, like a Canon LP-E6 pack, which is around 50 grams. Indeed, for example, a Sony NP-F 970 battery is 350g, which is twice the monitor’s weight; it looks a bit ridiculous. Also, Canon LP-E6 batteries are the same I use to power my Canon EOS R. I only have to use and carry one type of battery on set.
So, who is this monitor for? I guess the Black Mini is perfect for YouTubers or content creators who are mostly shooting inside. Also, if you’re doing many live streaming events and need a fast/affordable program monitor, it could get the job done.
The design of the is quite simple, even though it has strong bezels around the display. The monitor’s dimensions are 5.12 x 3.35 x 0.71in / 130 x 85 x 18mm for a weight of 196g / 0.43lbs. It is not the thinnest nor lightest monitor, but it is okay.
The biggest benefit for me is that the Volta Cinema Top Handle removes weight from your rig and keeps it well balanced. Indeed, Sony NP-F batteries at the back of a monitor tend to be clumsy and not heavily enjoyable to shoot with. With this top handle, you feel lighter and gain freedom.
If you are tempted by the price to use it as a cinema camera be aware that the rolling shutter means that you cannot shoot handheld footage without a stabilized lens. It’s an absolute must in that scenario.
The R5 is the other one of Canon’s two newly introduced mirrorless cameras. With its 45 MP full-frame sensor, it offers 8K30p RAW internal video recording as well as 4K60p in 10-bit – both with no crop and with AF.
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