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. Last week, we were the first to report about a new company named PortKeys and their BM5, a field monitor capable of controlling your camera. Ahead of NAB 2019, the company just announced another exciting product, the OEYE-3G EVF. Let’s take a look at this exciting new EVF.
Backlight settings from 0 to 100. During our cinema5D Virtual Show, we caught up with Dan Chung from Atomos to discuss the upcoming Atomos Ninja V and Z CAM E2 firmware updates that will allow ProRes RAW recording over HDMI. The Atomos Ninja V 5″ HDR monitor-recorder has been very popular for Z CAM E2 users because the camera doesn’t have a proper screen to monitor what you’re shooting.
When it comes to storing, transporting, or flying with film equipment, I think the creative world is divided into two categories: those who don’t care and those who are obsessively looking for an even better solution. Needless to say, I fall in the second category. DJI Osmo Pocket – $90/€48 Discount.
Overall, the PortKeys HS7T Metal Edition seems to be designed to meet both focus pullers’ and director’s needs, even though it would have been great to see an even brighter 7” option from this company. We’ll probably have to wait a little longer for that. Meanwhile, the PortKeys HS7T Metal Edition is available for purchase on the PortKeys website. Retail price is $399. In late March we first announced that PortKeys, based in China, was taking the leap into the EVF world with their new OEYE-3G. cinema5D caught up with PortKeys team at NAB 2019 for an inside look into the new 0.7″ 1080P OLED display Electronic Viewfinder. All the details are below including pricing and availability.
PortKeys is mostly known for making affordable products that offer filmmakers an excellent price/features ratio. The PortKeys LH5H came out in July 2020, and its successor, the LH5P, was released in January 2021. This monitor is one of the company’s entry-level products. However, the least we can say is that this HDMI-only monitor is no different from its bigger brother when it comes to features, at an aggressive price-point. When looking at the price of this camera, keep in mind though that you have to rig it up with a monitor and audio equipment – see the setup that I used for the sample footage below.
We hope you see the opportunities and chances of growth this presents if you feel like we’re looking FOR YOU. There is also a nice Z CAM smartphone app available for IOS (Android still in a beta release), which connects to the camera’s wifi and allows access / display / change all settings as well as providing a full screen image preview with little latency.
First and foremost the Z CAM facebook group is worth mentioning, the spirit of conversation is very good and people from Z CAM as well as visitors are helpful, including the CEO Kinson Loo who answers questions very often himself. 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.
PT5 case on the left, BM5 III WR case on the right. * CVP Terms and conditions apply. All products are subject to availability. We reserve the right to withdraw the Promotion at any time without notice. Any descriptions of the promotional product is for illustrative purposes only and there may be small discrepancies in the size and colour of goods supplied.
B&H Buy link: FUJIFILM X-T30 Camera Body Kit with Accessories Was: $899.00 Now: $799.00 (Savings: $100.00). The camera control settings page to control your camera.
PortKeys EVF OEYE-3G – 1080P OLED – First Look. 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.
As you can see, the PortKeys LH5P represents a good value for money compared to other monitors in the same price range, but it will be up to you to decide if it ticks all the boxes for your needs. What is an external camera screen or on-camera monitor?.
Cine 7 monitor + Bolt 4K Monitor Module 750 TX connected to the camera with ARRI license installed (If you are using 2 Cine 7 monitors you can have the license installed on either one.). CVP: Panasonic LUMIX S1 Camera Body – €386 Cashback plus Free 3-Year Warranty.
PortKeys HS7T with NATO clamp at the bottom. Source: PortKeys. What can you power with the Volta Cinema Top Handle?.
The currently retails at Amazon for $89 with the following Y2DWYGBM code. This special offer ends on October 5th,2021, at 23:59 PDT. USB cables: a mini-USB to USB-C cable, and a mini-USB to Lanc camera control cable. When you purchase the LH5P, you have the option to buy additional camera control cables.
In terms of direct comparison, the Soonwell PH70 battery handle retails for $279.00; it has double the Volta Cinema Top Handle’s capacity, but you can’t change batteries, and it is a lot bigger. Plus the Soonwell handle we have at our CineD headquarters can’t be turned on or charged anymore after it wasn’t used for about three months. For the price, it’ll be hard to beat the Volta Cinema option. The PortKeys LH5P features a 5.5″ WLED display with a FullHD 1080p / 1920 x 1080 resolution. The display is a touchscreen that you can use to navigate through the menus (more on that later).
According to Portkeys, the PT5 only draws 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). As a bonus within this accessory kit you will also get the FTZ Mount adapter to use with exsiting Nikon F lenses, Sony 32GB XQD G Series memory card, and DSLR shoulder bag.
The answer is yes. I had no issues at all – the build quality of both monitor and camera is top notch, and there was no overheating of both devices. The monitor has a fan which I turned down to the lowest setting to avoid picking up the sound, so it got very very hot. It still worked reliably. The number of software features included is impressive. Unlike the Gratical X for example, all software features are included for free, and the PortKeys OEYE-3G EVF firmware can be upgraded through the USB port. These features include.
Before we dive deeper, while I like the included hard case that does its job at protecting the monitor, there’s no extra space inside to put a battery – even if you attach a small Sony NP-F battery, the case doesn’t close anymore – or some spare HDMI cables. Even the antennas don’t fit mounted to the monitor inside the box. Cameras, Drones, FilmConvert, MZed.
The FEELWORLD F7 PRO offers several input and output power options. The monitor can be powered using either a Sony NP-F battery or via a 12V DC power input. Moreover, a 5V USB-C port offers an extra power supply option, while an 8V DC output can provide power to your camera. All the other features and specifications, including the display/monitoring tools/mounting points – and so on – will be identical.
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. 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.
To install a battery inside the handle, all you have to do is unscrew the front cap with a coin. The battery door threads on the inside are pretty short, and it only takes you half a turn to loosen it fully. To mount it, slide the sun hood brackets on the left and right sides of the monitor.
As Phil Holland wrote, aside from REDCODE RAW files, the camera can also shoot ProRes MOV files for quick turnaround. They are available in HQ and 422 for both 4K and 2K resolutions. According to Phil, the camera can’t record both at the same time. E2-F6 FF: $4995 available in PL or EF mounts.
First Komodo accessory is the GDU Komodo Monitor Mount priced at $79. The mount sits between the camera and a monitor and provides forward and back tilt. According to GDU, a tension bolt system keeps the hinge tight across the tilt range and prohibits loosening during use. To know more about the video capabilities of this camera, you can take a look at our Canon EOS R review. If you would like to use the EOS R as a B-camera to the Canon C200, check our article on the topic.
I’d say that from 0 to 25% brightness, black levels are okay, but you’ll have to consider gamma shifts if you go higher than that, which you’ll do if you go outside. Hence, as always you have to choose the camera wisely that you need for your particular application, and given the other features of the Z CAM (multi-cam recording & syncing, wifi, etc…) it may be the perfect choice for you!.
Today’s post is the first out of three and it features only cameras, drones, FilmConvert, and MZed. B&H Buy link: DJI Osmo Pocket Was: $399.00 Now: $309.00 (Savings: $90.00).
The PortKeys LH5H features a 5.2″ touch screen display with a maximum brightness of 1700nit. Usually, an on-camera monitor with more than 1500nit is daylight-viewable. There are many 5″ on-camera monitors available on the market, with different price ranges depending on features you need/want. So I decided to compare the Porkeys PT5 ($169) to the Atomos Shinobi that retails for a $299 price tag ($130 more expensive) and the FeelWorld F5 that is $149.
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. What do you think of this new PortKeys OEYE-3G EVF? Do you already use an EVF with your camera? Let us know in the comments down below!.
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. There is a 3.5mm headphone jack if your camera doesn’t have one or if you want to monitor your audio signal directly from the Black Mini. The preamp is a bit noisy, but it works.
The display has a resolution 1920 x 1080 resolution, with a maximum brightness of 500 nits. It is also a touchscreen display to navigate inside the menu. However, this brightness will fall slightly short in bright daylight shooting conditions, so I would not call it a daylight viewable monitor. As I mentioned earlier, the Portkeys PT5 casing is made out of ABS plastic. It feels like good quality plastic, but I wouldn’t want to drop the monitor just to check if it survives.
The PortKeys LH5H is in-factory calibrated using an X-Rite i1 Display Pro colorimeter. The display should look as good as it can be right out of the box without further adjustments. If you have an i1 Display Pro prob, you can re-calibrate your LH5H yourself later down the road if needed. Unfortunately, after the rolling shutter, the next disappointing fact was revealed: by the way how the stops are distributed in the Z-Log2 profile (which is the obvious choice for highest dynamic range readings), the noise floor is completely cut off.
The waveform plot of our Xyla 21 stepchart shows about 11 stops (see figure 1). Using IMATEST to calculate the dynamic range I got a result of 10.8 stops at ISO 500, Z-LOG2 using ProRes HQ 4k DCI 23.98fps (at a signal to noise ratio of 2, 11.9 stops for SNR = 1, see figure 2). 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.
Left side: one HDMI input port, one USB port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a 7-24V DC input port with a barrel connector. 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.
Finally, one last thing that I did not understand is that you only have to press the power button once to turn the monitor on/off. You don’t have to hold that button, just press it. I guess this thing can cause a lot of unwanted switch-offs of the. The X-T30 offers very compact body and only a slightly less features than FUJIFILM X-T3. Make sure to check our X-T30 anamorphic review for more information about this tiny yet capable filmmaking device. B&H offers free accessories – memory card and a bag – along with the camera.
DC 7-24V barrel and 5V USB Type-A ports on the device’s right side to power the EVF externally. As I mentioned previously, you can navigate inside the UI via the touchscreen or the physical buttons. But, you can also turn off the touchscreen by long-pressing the power button. It’s nice to have that option if you want to avoid fingerprints on your display!.
This type of case is similar to most – if not all – Portkeys monitors. However, I was pleased to see that this case is more prominent than previous cases. PL to RF Revolva Mount Adapter with ND filters. Source: KipperTie.
Apparently, this design is becoming quite popular. In fact, the new FEELWORLD F7 PRO has a very similar feature, which makes it a good director or 1st AC monitor on a budget. Let’s take a closer look. Key features: 7-inch IPS display, 1920×1200, 16:10 aspect ratio, 500 nits, 1200:1 contrast ratio, 160° viewing angle, 4K 60fps HDMI input and output, Touchscreen , Sony NP-F battery plate on the back to host and power accessories, Support for 50 custom 3D LUTs, Camera power supply , 5V USB-C Power Supply, 4x 1/4”-20 threaded holes, 330g, 175x105x22mm.
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. 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.
The PortKeys LH5P comes in a small box. When you open it, you’ll find a Pelican-style hard case. We use a strobe light at 300Hz to reveal pairs of black bars that occur due to the read out nature of CMOS sensors (the rolling shutter). Each pair represents 3.3 ms of rolling shutter.
This rolling shutter result of 36 ms is the highest I have ever measured in the lab. Compared to the very good 11.1 ms of the sister Z CAM E2 camera, it renders the E2C a very delicate candidate for handheld work. The battery charger has a micro-USB port.
Once you fully open the two main zippers, you access the 26.5L interior to store your camera equipment. The first thing you’ll notice is that the bag flap opens entirely. Some like it, while others prefer latches to prevent the flap from touching the ground; it’s a matter of taste. 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.
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. There is not a ton of competition in this price range, and the only product I can think of is the Zacuto ACT EVF Pro that retails for $499 and has far less features.
The PortKeys LH5P does have a built-in fan. In the menu, you can set it to low, medium, or high. I left the fan at a “low” setting during all my testing, and the monitor did not get super hot. For more information and purchase it, please visit Volta Cinema’s website here.
To charge batteries, all you have to do is slide them into the battery charger. The pins inside the charger will align with the battery connectors, and it’ll start charging. However, the batteries are not locked into place in the charger. 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.
This year we decided to divide the Black friday deals into three posts, which we will publish in the next days before friday November 29. If you have a lot of spare time, you can watch the six hours (!) long RED Komodo Owners Q&A Discussion video which was live-streamed over at Scott Balkum’s Youtube channel. Apart from Scott, there was also Phil Holland, Tim Daust, Curtis Boggs, and Phillip Grossman present at the video. Even Jarred Land, president of RED Digital Cinema, joined in for a while and shared some background information regarding Komodo.
You’ll find six pages at the top of the UI: monitoring tools, image setting, LUT, display tools, audio, markers, and settings. 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.
Built-in monitoring tools include: 3D LUT monitoring, Waveform, Luma, Histogram, false color, Zebra, Peaking, Zooming, Audio Meters and so on. I tried the Manfrotto PRO Light Flexloader L in two primary configurations: a “traditional” camera bag and a multipurpose backpack.
There are many 5″ on-camera monitors available on the market, with different price ranges depending on features you need/want. So I decided to compare the Porkeys PT5 ($169) to the Atomos Shinobi that retails for a $299 price tag ($130 more expensive) and the FeelWorld F5 that is $149. On the software side, the PortKeys P6 features a lot of useful analyzing functions and tools. Below is a list of the built-in tools.
The left side of the Portkeys PT5. I think soon we will start seeing third party accessories for Komodo from other manufacturers as well.
Ahead of NAB 2019, Chinese company Z CAM has announced three new versions of their Z CAM E2 camera, with S35 and Full Frame 6/8K sensors. Now during the show, we had a chance to talk to Kinson Loo from Z CAM and hear more about what to expect. Let’s take a look at this upgrade!. In short, at least on paper, it seems like the LH5H comes with all the tools you need to correctly judge the exposure of your image and frame your shots correctly.
Disclaimer: As usual, let me first say that I am not a VideoGear Ambassador. Like every other article on CineD, VideoGear, or any other brand, did not pay us to write this article. However, the company approached and sent us the product to review for free. In a nutshell, the top handle can support most DSLR and mirrorless cameras, as well as cinema cameras, including the BMPCC 4K/6K, the RED KOMODO, and up to an ARRI Alexa Mini, which is impressive. Also, it should support most on-camera monitors and camera accessories, as long as they stay within the 7.2V/5A limit.
Home
Community
☰
