When it comes to 5" monitors, there are many, many different brands that offer a variety of desirable features at decent prices, but the units that usually gets the most attention come from Atomos and SmallHD. There's nothing wrong with that; these two manufacturers make some of the best monitors on the market, but what are some other options for those who may be looking for features or lower prices that popular models don't have? In this gear shootout, Caleb Pike of DSLR Video Shooter compares the specs and price tags of a handful of different monitors, some of which you may have never heard of before, that have a whole lot to offer.

Choosing the "right" monitor can be a little tricky because there are so many different features you have to keep your eye out for, like screen size, resolution, brightness, touchscreen capabilities, presets, focus assist, LUTs, as well as a range of scopes, including waveform, histogram, zebra, false color, vectorscope, and RGB parade. And in the end, you have to make sure that all of these features, or at least some of them, can be packed into a unit with a price tag you can afford.

This is why Pike's shootout is particularly helpful because he narrows your options down to 5" on-camera displays, which tend to be more affordable without skimping on features, hovering around the $200-$500 mark. 

Here are the monitors he talks about in the video:

  • SmallHD Focus
  • Sokani (which is basically an ikan DH5e)
  • Andycine A6
  • Feelworld F570

SmallHD has come out with some of the most popular and highly rated on-camera monitors with their FOCUS line, which comes with a variety of different features, including OLED, LCD, and LED screens, daylight viewability, SDI or HDMI inputs, as well as the ability to load custom LUTs. However, the output of these monitors are only in HD (1280x720), so even if you're shooting in 4K, you won't be able to monitor in 4K. That may or may not be a big deal to you, but if you would like to see what a 5" monitor with a higher resolution has to offer (1920X1080), you might consider taking a look at the other units Pike mentions in his shootout.

What is your favorite 5" on-camera monitor? Which features do you look for most when shopping for a monitor? Let us know down in the comments.

Source: DSLR Video Shooter

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Cinematography & Cameras