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.
Also, one thing that I found annoying is that the display catches fingerprints quickly. It means that you need to clean your monitor very often, which can be annoying.
All the other features and specifications, including the display/monitoring tools/mounting points – and so on – will be identical.
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.
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.
The PortKeys Universal Handle is in a pre-order stage at the moment for $299.00 until February 22. After that period, the price will be $399.00, and orders will begin to ship in March 2020. You can pre-order it on PortKeys’ website.
So is the Manfrotto PRO Light Flexloader L the perfect bag? There are only very few minor things that, to me, could be improved:.
First is to put a Canon LP-E6 or Sony NP-F battery at the back of the monitor. Indeed, the built-in battery bracket supports both type of batteries natively, which is very smart and reminds me of the SmallHD 700 series of monitors.
The LH5P display is color calibrated by Portkeys out of the factory. The monitor is in-factory calibrated using an X-Rite i1 Display Pro colorimeter. In short, it should be pretty color accurate out of the box.
Fig. 3: The Portkeys BM5 monitor – bright (2000 NITS) and well built, however the screen is very reflective which can hamper the viewing experience outside.
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.
On the exterior side, there are various buttons/controls to control your camera or adjust your settings. These controls include one customizable three-band switch, one focus wheel, one rec switch, and one nine-way joystick.
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.
For the camera part, all the exposure tools (zebra, false color), as well as focus peaking, work very well, although the focus peaking is very strong – I would prefer an option to adjust this in the menu (not available currently).
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 Z CAM E2 M4 is a new addition to the Z CAM line. It is basically the original Z CAM E2 without some functions in a new body and with a lower price tag. For more information about this interesting modular Micro Four Thirds camera, make sure to check my article from its launch. Besides the camera body, this bundle further includes the PortKeys BM5 MKII Monitor (which can control the camera) and Hawk-Woods DV-F990 Battery.
Another company that announced some Komodo Accessories is KipperTie. They offer a PL to RF mount adapter with a mounting foot. Additionally, the company offers a mounting bracket called Chinstrap for extra PL mount lens support even without a baseplate.
a relaxed and exciting global team of professionals who work together in a decentralized manner from around the globe.
Also, it is a WLED display, and the panel itself is 10-bit (8+2 FRC), so not “true” 10-bit, even if very few monitors are real 10-bit.
However, Volta Cinema is a small team with only Tudor and his friend Oskar Woinski doing everything with love and passion. In that sense, you can’t judge and compare the product from a startup like a product from the big players of the filmmaking industry.
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).
Once you switch the power button on, the monitor takes around ten seconds until it is operational, which is acceptable.
However, I think that the Portkeys PT5 is more suited if you’re often shooting inside. For example, during corporate/interview shoots inside, it’s an excellent low-cost option that I had a blast using.
Also, 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 LH5H, which works fine.
To install it, you have to open the battery compartment and slide the monitor mount in place. Then, close the battery cap, and that’s pretty much it. The fit of the monitor mount on the handle is very snug, and there are no ways to lock it in place.
Music for the above video is courtesy of MusicVine. Get 25% off your next music license with code C5D25 (valid for one use per customer).
Next, I was curious to see the dynamic range of the Z Cam E2C (have a look here to see how we measure DR).
The first bundle includes the full-frame mirrorless camera from Panasonic – the LUMIX S1 (our Review, our Lab Test). With its 24.2MP sensor, the camera can record up to 4K 60P cropped or 4K 30P uncropped video. It offers nice ergonomics, good IBIS, and relatively clean images with high ISO. It even became our camera of the year in 2019. The bundle further includes the Sigma MC-21 adapter and Sony 120GB XQD G-Series memory card.
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.
DC 7-24V barrel and 5V USB Type-A ports on the device’s right side to power the EVF externally.
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.
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.
That’s quite a hefty amount of weight to carry all day long, but you can quickly move around the city (and stairs!) with only one bag.
The main tube/handle is where you insert your battery. This tube is 16cm long with a diameter of 3.2cm, and the total weight with a battery inside is around 170g.
However, I found that the Flexloader L quickly caught dust and marks during my tests. I’ve not been very kind with it and shot in some industrial factories that are not the cleanest environments out here. Back at the office, a quick wipe with a wet sponge and the backpack looked brand new again – as it cleans easily – but it’s something to notice.
B&H Buy link: FUJIFILM X-T30 Camera Body Kit with Accessories Was: $899.00 Now: $799.00 (Savings: $100.00).
If you’re a regular CineD reader, you’ve heard us talk and write about Portkeys – a Chinese company specialized in creating monitors and viewfinders. Indeed, we’ve reported numerous times about their products that feature an incredible price/feature ratio, including their latest Portkeys BM5 III WR that can control the RED Komodo or the Portkeys LH5P that I reviewed earlier this year.
The battery charger has a micro-USB port, and I was a bit surprised that no charging cable was included. I reached to the company that told me:.
I was also pleased to find a printed user manual (finally!) with everything you need to know to get started and navigate through the menus.
But, you can put small LED lights – I put two Nanlite PavoTube 6C in one pocket with ease – or a compact slider, for example; it works.
There is a loupe in front of the display, but it doesn’t look like you can flip it/remove it, according to the pictures. To fit nearly every filmmaker, the loupe of the LEYE features a +8 to -3 diopters adjustment. Also, the loupe’s back is totally round, with a “sponge eye mask” that prevents LCD sunburns and allows users with glasses to look at the EVF easily. However, no “traditional” eyecup is included, which is a little bit of a bummer.
According to Manfrotto, these “SAS-TEC” structural reinforcements feature exclusive viscoelastic memory foam for multi-impact endurance. Unfortunately, I did not open the bag with a knife to verify, but the bottom bumpers did well during my testing.
These are very good results for a micro four thirds sensor, almost exactly the same as for the Panasonic GH5s (10.7 stops) and coming in second behind the other four thirds cinema camera rival, the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, BMPCC4k, which has 11.6 stops of dynamic range in ProRes HQ.
The PortKeys Bluetooth Module for BM5 monitors retails for $119/99€, and you can pre-order it directly on PortKeys’ website. It should ship from the 30th of November.
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.
PortKeys is a Chinese company specialized in creating monitors and viewfinders. We first reported about their PortKeys BM5 monitor, a 5-inch field monitor with SDI/HDMI input and output ports capable of controlling your camera. Then, the company released the OEYE-3G and LEYE EVFs, a Universal Handle that can control nearly every camera, and more recently, the PortKeys LH5P that we’re reviewing here.
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:.
The D-Tap output port of the Volta Cinema Top Handle can give you 7.2V with a maximum load of 5A. The company has a full compatibility list on its website.
If you’re often shooting outside you should probably not consider this monitor as the screen is tough to see if you’re shooting outdoor. Also, even on a cloudy day, the included sun hood has its limits.
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).
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