23May SmallHD DP4 hdmi monitor and EVF price drop.
My SmallHD DP4 is a pretty good monitor overall, but when I ordered it the price was $549 for the monitor alone and $745 if you wanted the extra EVF adapter kit. It seems Smallhd has decided to lower their prices a bit, the DP4 price has dropped $100 to $449, and the DP4-EVF kit is now down to $599. If the price was that low last year when I ordered mine I probably would have paid the extra $50 to get the EVF adapter (even though I’m not a fan of the whole eye peace thing).
So if you’re still in the market for a monitor and you aren’t overwhelmed by all the options, the DP4 is yet another HDMI monitor to check out. Build quality is great, battery adapter plate is nice, and the picture quality isn’t to bad either. The focus peaking feature is also one of the better focus assist tools on the market. My monitor has overheated on me a few times in hot weather and the price is higher then other options but the build quality is better then most in it’s class. If you’re interested, check out SmallHD.com for more info.
May 23rd, 2012 at 1:28 pm
Does it still suffer from the delay when you click record?
May 23rd, 2012 at 2:16 pm
It does on the 5d MKII and t2i but the issue is easily fixed by using the Force HDMI-VGA: ON option in magic lantern which locks the output to 720×480 on the HDMI port.
May 24th, 2012 at 3:33 pm
Have it with EVF, yet I indeed like to use it way more without…
May 24th, 2012 at 4:32 pm
Hi there.
I was thinking about going with Lilliput 665GL, because of size, resolution and price. Here in Argentina the DP4 is almost 1K and the Lilliput less than half that price (crazy!!!)
Any advice?
Thanks in advance.
May 24th, 2012 at 6:46 pm
The DP4 seems to offer a little bit better picture quality then the Lilliput monitor along with a few extra features like focus peaking and screen adjustment settings. You might also want to take a look at the 569GL which has the same resolution but comes in a 5 inch package. In the states the Lilliput monitor is also about half the price of the DP4.
September 2nd, 2012 at 1:36 pm
Right now monitors are where microphones were. There’s so much information, and misinformation, on the net that it’s been really tough trying to make a decision. Of course it doesn’t help that technology is moving so fast right now that the best choice today might not be the best choice in six months.
I’d rather not buy something that seems like trash a year from now. Currently I’m leaning towards the SmallHD DP4 because of it’s construction and all of it’s native features, plus I have a lot of confidence in the company.
There’s a lady (nice lady productions iirc) that compares the DP4 to a Zacuto EVF. She seems to emphasize how accurate the colors were in the Zacuto vs the DP4, although it seems that some of the issue is/was handled by lowering the backlight in the DP4.
With your Nexus 7 “breakthrough”(?) I feel this topic is becoming more timely than ever.
If you take a moment to look around the net at videos for Marshall’s 5″ monitor, nobody bought SmallHD addresses the fact that Marshall’s peaking feature is crippled by the fact that it only detects lines of contrast vs. genuine focus. I found it ironic that the Sony (that you also own) is ALSO apparently great at showing genuine focus. The demo video that SMallHD has posted should surely sell many of those Sony monitors, while those who can afford the extra $100 will see the obvious reasons to just spend the extra $100 (me, perhaps).
Another funny point about the Marshall 5” monitor, is many places still sell the “old”(?) version, the 50… AND the new version, the 51… and ironically the new version is $100 cheaper!? As best I can see, the new version fixes the accidental switch issue, yet aside from that, I see no spec difference or reason to pay MORE for the old monitor(?)
The newest Marshall’s are now in the thick of it, for price to benefit (but again, the peaking feature seems weak). Color accuracy-fidelity would be a nice comparison as well.
In light of the newest Lilliput monitor (the BIG BOY IPS)… my choice feels even more confusing, because while I’d like to have an on-cam monitor, my style of shooting will mostly be the boring stuff. On sticks or in otherwise controlled situations where a big-ass monitor would be awesome… IF it does the functions I want accurately… i.e. false color, peaking, etc.
Having HDMI pass-thru in an on-cam monitor is another plus for SmallHD (and others like that)… as a 13-22” HDTV is peanuts these days… and of course that would make a fine “director’s monitor” on a stand mount… i.e:
1) Should I buy the best monitor I can afford?
2) Are we on the cusp of tablet monitoring WITH FUNCTIONALITY (false color, peaking, etc)
3) Is it smarter to get a smaller, better on-cam monitor with pass-thru and buy a cheap HDTV for “director’s monitor” (or even for our own luxury of a big monitor when we want it?)… considering the price of “cam monitor” real estate is WAY higher than HDTV real estate.
4) How about that new 9.7″ Lilliput IPS for under $400?!
5) What monitor would you buy TODAY… or, if you could wait… would you? (are we on the edge of another tech leap with wifi, making an iPad the deal of the century for cam monitoring AND control?)
I think these ideas… regarding monitor choices and the debate of how to best get camera monitoring… would make a nice video.
I really appreciate your videos. I never left the house yesterday. Thank you for the effort you put into your vids. Very concise and professional… Your videos are a joy to watch vs. nearly every other youtube video where I’m yelling at the screen because I realize the guy’s never even going to turn the damn product ON… let alone show me the features I care about. You’re very good at getting to the meat of the issue.