With a very affordable price of $399, this entry-level electronic viewfinder filled a hole in the market. And, if you have a camera without a built-in EVF – like the Canon EOS C70 or Sony FX3 – it could have been the perfect solution.
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.
Unfortunately, we were told that this information which the manufacturer gave at the show initially, is unfortunately incorrect. The EVF cannot cross convert between HDMI and SDI, it can only output the signal via SDI if it receives an SDI signal, and the same is true for HDMI.
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.
So, you have to rely on the camera’s focus peaking (displayed via HDMI to the monitor).
Fast forward 10 years and I have the new cinema camera Z CAM E2 from the Chinese manufacturer Z CAM in my hands. A micro four thirds camera capable of shooting 4k DCI using a LOG profile (Z-LOG2) recording ProRes HQ 10bit 4:2:2 internally up to 60fps (4k H265 up to 120fps, 160fps in 1:2.4 mode). Wow!.
The reason there is a hole is to allow the user to easily remove the battery without having to tilt the camera, on top of the inherent advantage of heat dissipation which comes with an open design.
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.
I think soon we will start seeing third party accessories for Komodo from other manufacturers as well.
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.
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.
Other than the sensor upgrade, all the features are the same as can be found in the original Z CAM E2, including the same 10bit ProRes recording to CFast cards. Z CAM only published the spec sheet for the 6k S-35 version that you can check out below. On the recording format front, the company will support internal RAW recording via a firmware update soon. More details will be revealed at the end of April.
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.
I received the Volta Cinema Top Handle in two boxes. In the first one, there was the handle, a NATO rail with two 1/4″-20 screws, and some extra connection pins in case the handle break. There were two batteries with one charger in the second box. Also, they included optional accessories: a dummy D-Tap to LP-E6 battery cable and the monitor mount.
I like the new dividers that don’t make you lose a ton of space inside the bag. When you’re packing your camera equipment for a trip, you want to pack as much stuff as possible inside your carry-on backpack.
When you power on the monitor, it’ll display your image, but nothing else. If you swipe up/down on the left side of the screen, you can quickly adjust your brightness setting. On the other hand, if you swipe up/down on the right side of the display, it’ll change your audio output level. Now, if you swipe up in the middle of the screen, it’ll show you the menu. Also, you can access the menu by simply pressing the menu button.
Let’s be clear: the PT5 is not a rental product; it is designed for owner-operators or filmmakers starting out, and at this price point, you can’t complain that it’s not built like a tank that you can throw at walls.
If you already have a PortKeys monitor – including the BM5, BM5 II, HH7, HS7T, OEYE-3G – the company just released several firmware updates on its website. Here are the firmware update details:.
Also, Atomos announced the development of a touch-screen camera control on the Ninja V for ALL Z CAM cameras. This control function is similar to what the PortKeys BM5 can already do.
Also, this review was initially done on the PortKeys LH5H that came out in July 2020 but was discontinued less than six months after its release. This review was ready to go, and we had to do it all over again when the LH5P came out (you can feel the blood tears here).
We are looking for technical and non-technical writers with expertise in camera technology and film and video post production, as well as “soft” filmmaking topics of where filmmaking techniques are applied.
Education is an important part of self-development. MZed offers all kinds of usefull online courses. You can check our rewievs of their courses – Cinematic filmmaking masterclass by Philip Bloom and Directing color with Ollie Kenchington. They have interesting Black Friday offers which will be live from Wednesday 27th (PST) until the end of Monday, December 2nd (PST). Available offers:.
CVP Buy link: DJI Osmo Pocket Was: €319.18 Now: €270.67 (Savings: €48.51).
RED Komodo Update – First Cameras Shipped, Footage Samples, Accessories.
You got it; the LEYE II is a pretty decent electronic viewfinder that now features a built-in Canon LP-E6 battery plate at the back of the unit. Unfortunately, there is no indication about the battery life from PortKeys.
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.
I would suggest getting a case for transporting these batteries inside your camera bag. Maybe Volta Cinema will come out with a battery pack holder in the near future.
Also, don’t forget that you can put a light stand, a camera tripod, and two small LED tubes on the sides/front of the bag, as well as your gimbal and laptop at the back. It means that an entire shooting kit can fit inside/outside the Flexloader L.
PortKeys recently released a Metal Edition of their HS7T monitor. This upgraded version features a 7-inch 1920×1080 display with a peak brightness of 1200 nits, an all-aluminum construction, a new peaking algorithm, and a plate on the back to host a wireless video transmission system. The monitor is now available for $399.
I did a quick test with a DJI Ronin RSC2 that barely fits inside this pocket.
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.
In the photo above, you can see that the PT5’s case is bigger than the one included with the Portkeys BM5 III WR (pictured) or the LH5P. That was one of the main complaints I had with these previous small cases. Indeed, you could only store the monitor inside, which is a bummer, as you’ll always want to carry at least video cables or some accessories along with your monitor.
Panasonic Lumix G9 Camera Body – $500/€159 Discount, Free Accessories, Free LUMIX 25mm f/1.7 Lens, Free 3-Year Warranty.
B&H Buy link: Sony a7S II Camera Body with Free Storage Kit Was: $2,438.00 Now: $1,998.00 (Savings: $440.00).
The Volta Cinema Top Handle is the company’s first product, designed with a simple goal in mind: create a top handle that can power camera accessories or even your camera via a D-Tap port. I had the chance to play with it for one month, and here are my findings.
Pricing and Availability: The price for the OEYE-3G EVF is $1,199.00 and the device is expected to ship in early May.
I have tried this option in practice but quickly abandoned it for moving shots, as the motion blur (or partial lack thereof) of the resulting image looks weird. It may work for a static interview though, or a situation where the scene demands a higher shutter speed (1/200 and up).
Regarding power, the BM5 uses a single Sony NP-F style battery. Like the SmallHD Focus monitor, you can use the power output of the BM5 to feed your camera via a dummy battery. On top of that, you have the option to power the monitor with an external battery by using the Lemo port on the monitor, and the included Lemo to D-Tap cable.
The screen has a viewing angle of 180°, a contrast ratio of 1200:1, and a peak brightness of 500 nits. This level of brightness is a little disappointing since it’s way too low to make the monitor usable under bright sunlight. Moreover, it only represents a 50-nits increase over the original F7.
Since May this year, I have been using the micro four thirds (MFT) Z CAM E2 and more recently now the Z Cam E2C cinema camera. The more expensive Z CAM E2 flagship model has very pleasing colors out of the box, a flat Z-Log2 profile and high frame rates (up to 4K 160fps) in combination with strong internal recording options (H265, ProRes) as well as anamorphic modes – a very well rounded offering.
Top: there are four customizable function keys, a power switch, and four buttons to access and navigate inside the menu.
Finally, the Volta Cinema Top Handle has three 1/4″-20 mounting points at the handle’s back. The threading is really thin, and the metal is not thick here. While this is nice to have mounting points to store screws, I wouldn’t mount a camera accessory to it, even if I don’t see it breaking at all.
In 4k DCI mode (4096 x 2160) the crop factor of the Z CAM is about 1.9, using the speed booster gives a crop of 1.35 approximately.
Portkeys also showcased camera control for the Canon EOS C70, but you’ll need a dedicated LANC cable.
These monitoring tools were also available in the previous version, but Portkeys improved its peaking mode, which looks easier to view now. A new “freeze-frame” tool is now available to capture a frame and use it as a reference/guide.
Also, once the image looks acceptable, you can start seeing that the display doesn’t have a high density of pixel: 441ppi, according to the manufacturer. If you’re pixel peeping, you can see individual pixels on the screen.
Unfortunately, we had no cage available for the Z CAM, but the camera has various ¼” mounting points on top, bottom and on the sides. In conjunction with the Z CAM E2 I used an early prototype of the Portkeys BM5 monitor mounted with a magic arm, see the image below (the released version is black, the prototype had an anodized green surface finish).
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.
Like all PortKeys products, the LEYE features all the monitoring tools you need, including;.
I don’t remember any third-party field monitor – other than any OEM screen that usually ships with your camera – that can control a camera. By connecting the supplied cable from the monitor to your camera, the BM5 can control some of the camera functions.
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