Has anyone been following SmallHD's latest AC7 monitor? Anyone planning on purchasing one? It has been announced for quite some time, but inventory is finally available and has begun shipping. Any comments about the new product or anything you want to know more about the AC7?
This new line of AC7 monitors will replace the old DP6 (a true workhorse), and it's packed with some great features including an optional OLED display. It's worth taking a look at the new product, and they've got a great webpage about 'Why OLED is Better' over at the SmallHD website (click here)
SmallHD New AC7 OLED Monitors
Flicky Licky
I'm with Pete L. I am so fed up trying to explain to clients that the 17" Sony/TV Logic/ Flanders Scientific / Panny (the worst) are just reference monitors, Its NOT the final deal. I have to work from an on-board, its just not practical to have a 17" near camera as its a magnet to those you'd rather stay 30' back. So I need a top quality reference image I can take from job to job for a consistent look. Rental houses seem incapable of supplying real world calibration that will give some of uniformity on set to help get away from the old jokes about 'any monitor you see and like is the right one for you'. The DP7 OLED SX Pro will, at last allow me to offer a standard before unseen and a lot more. Add the wireless link and I'll get my money back in 50 days rental. If you're dumb enough not to charge for your kit then you deserve to work for those companies who say they wont pay for it. Don't pay, don't get it.Then you don't have to moan about how much it costs. If you want to pay less, fine, buy something cheaper and spend your day explaining the pitfalls or your head up your 5D's arse with a coat over your head. Fill your boots. Just stop moaning. They'll soon pay. Its time to charge what it costs and stop giving it all away.
Pete L.
I have this monitor and am very pleased.
Most people can't afford to gold plate everything, so they choose a few key items where the extra money will make a difference. A good monitor is one of my critical pieces of gear and I made an investment. As I said, I am very pleased with it.
Image is crisp; colors are brilliant; contrast is excellent (blacks are jet black!); build is tight and sturdy; weight is unbelievably light. I can't recommend this monitor highly enough.
You get what you pay for.
Jordan H.
Got mine for work last week. Love it, very nice looking and functions just like the DP6. Real estate is great, and light weight (minus batteries). Haven't had a chance to really get into the meat of it.
Luke Kwan
I'm waiting for a used camranger to show up on ebay or amazon so i can try it out.
i have too many toys that sound cool so i buy it, but after i own it, i find them uncessary.
ie. juiced link, letus cage, and steadicam merlin with arm!
Luke Kwan
How much lag if any is there? I still think it is a glitch, but my gopro wifibac has a 2-3 second lag.
If shooting static portrait is a studio, then it won't matter much. But everyone once in a while shooting weddings and my kids playing.
Any lag for moving objects would be unacceptable.
Casey
Am I the only one using the camranger and my ipad/phone for monitors? It seems way better than this!
Luke
i negativley commented about small hd pricing of the dp7-pro a few months back when it was announced, and i was heavily condemmed for it here...
i have owned a dp4 and i now own a dp6. they do make great products, but i agreed with peter.
smallhd, came into this market with a very compelling affordable product.
Even with the AC7, it is still overpriced. i would imagine that is why EMM, had not announced it here for almost two months!
when i bought the dp4, the lilliput montiors only used sony batteries, subpar color, SD resolution and didnt have any focus assist features. after using it for a while, i found, i still wasnt able to achieve critical focus, so it was sold and replaced by a dp6.
before i made the switch, lilliput and sony monitors got much better, but being able to use lpe6 batteires was very important. i also care about color accuracy so i bought the dp6.
i was finally able to achieve critical focus some of the times. i still find it diffcult when shooting with a wide lens 20-30 feet away. at my wife music programs. i have a very hard time racking between the kids in the front rows and 4 rows back.
i could practice more to learn how to use the focus assist or screen technology could get better. when i review my video on my mac. i can instantly determine if CF is achieved.
i want that ability on a portable montior...
now the ac7 is out, but lilliput has a montior for $330 that has hdmi passthrough, uses lpe6 batteries, 1280x800 IPS LCD, and focus assist.
With this feature set for $700 less, it is really hard to justify the premium!
Blasst
@Josh,
I have two of these monitors and really like them a lot. Even better pricing here.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Sony-CLM-V55-5-Portable-Monitor-Alpha-DSLR-Camcorder-/150909985244?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2322efa1dc
Soulhuntre
I have an AC7 / OLED.
Yeah, it's a lot of money - but this thing is simply a fantastically designed and built tool. The focus assist algorithms are way ahead of the ones I have seen in less expensive solutions and frankly that alone has allowed me to shoot faster and with more confidence. This is a very, very good thing.
As a guy with my heart in the indie world I absolutely look for the sweet spot in price / performance. A lot of times, you can get away with paying less for something and making do... to me a monitor like a lens is not one of those things you compromise on.
The monitor I use is my primary view into what is hitting my sensor at the time of shooting - bad quality there, like a bad lens, compromises everything else I am doing.
Ken
joel
Correction - Vector/Waveform functionality is available on their "Pro" series starting at $1,599 ... still a hefty price to pay for what should be standard on the AC7 OLED for an $1,100 monitor.
smallHD is possibly transitioning into "Zacuto" pricing strategy, and if so, that's unfortunate. smallHD has built up a great industry "rep" for excellent customer service and outreach, while their products DP4 and DP6 were aggressively priced.
Although their latest products come with high price tags due in part to the advanced technology contained within, at present their price tags put them out of reach for most of us independent filmmakers.
Peter
SmallHD entered the industry from the indy side. Now they´ve become a well respected brand. It makes total sense to allign the price of an innovative product with the industry leaders, just look at Sony OLED broadcast monitors for reference...
Same happened with redrockmikro, Zacuto etc.
Emm
Post author@Pao - Some cameras use SDI as the video feed, but not dslr cameras. You won't need that feature for the 5D.
Josh
This one's only $398.00 and it's a 5 inch
https://www.amazon.com/Sony-CLM-V55-Portable-Monitor-cameras/dp/B004LQ1QDE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361930418&sr=8-1&keywords=sony+external+monitor
Pao
hey im new with this, but i have a 5d mk2..will a monitor with sdi do any benefit? whats the benefit of sdi?
scottrellwi
The idea of OLED screens seems like a great idea, but that's a lot of dineros. After seeing it used in phones, I am surprised more companies haven't gone this route. I know SmallHD doesn't have the buying power of Samsung, but almost twice as much?
I wish there was more adoption of the Nexus 7 tablet. You have excellent hardware, at a reasonable price. Reasonable prices is something dslr accessory companies seem to not understand.
David
oh and for that price you still need to add a battery adapter,sunhood and mounting option? Add all that and your at $1,250....
David
The pricing here just seems too high. SmallHD makes great stuff and we have two DP4's but $1,100? Also in a time where large sensor cameras are coming about some with decent screens I think the days for these are going to be numbered. At least in certain industries (thinking events primarily). I know I would much prefer an integrated screen than the extra bulk (and expense) of a external monitor.
Derek
I'm a big fan of SmallHD and love the new design but the OLED is a little too right for my blood. Hopefully picking up one of the normal AC7s within the next month.
peadmac
Very cool. So in looking at the color gamut chart on their site, I was struck by how close the iPhone 5 is to broadcast gamut. Sorry if this has been covered before, but has anyone figured out how to use the iPhone 5 as a monitor?
joel
It seems to me the image improvement over the standard DP6 LCD is worth the investment - you get a true confidence monitor (not a dithered display) on the AC7 OLED.
But for $1,100 bucks (which looks like will eventually be $1300 after introductory pricing ends), one would think you would get waveform/vectorscope functionality ... options which appear to be limited to the $2,000 "Pro" model.
After all, I think scopes are available on monitors from other manufacturers for less than a thousand dollars, aren't they?