15Apr Viltrox DC-50 5 inch monitor (Sony CLM V55 clone) – First impressions
The Viltrox DC-50 5 inch monitor showed up this weekend and I’ve just had a chance to unbox it and take a closer look. The DC-50 looks a lot like the Sony CLM-V55 from a distance but when you take a closer look it’s easy to see the differences.
The most noticeable difference is the build quality. Controls on the Sony CLM-V55 (left) including the power button and selector wheel feel responsive and easy to operate. The Viltrox DC-50 (right) on the other hand has a small on/off switch and the selector wheel feels cheap and is a little hard to use. You’ll also notice that the Viltrox DC-50 is slightly thicker than the Sony CLM-V55, which is strange since it feels lighter than the V55. The Viltrox DC-50 also has an easy to adapt DC power input, while the Sony CLM-V55 uses a 3 pin plug on the bottom of the unit.
The Viltrox DC-50 (right) actually has more input choices then the Sony CLM-V55 monitor. You can select between HDMI, mini HDMI, and composite inputs (yellow jack). The rubberized plastic protecting the input ports on the V55 feels like it’s made out of a much higher quality material, but both covers seem to snap into place firmly. You’ll also notice that the V55 has rubber grommets over screws used to hold the monitor together, while the Viltrox DC-50’s screws are exposed.
The battery plate on the Viltrox DC-50 is actually better designed than the CLM-V55. The quick release switch on the DC-50 easily ejects the battery and feels like it’s almost spring loaded, will the battery plate on the V55 requires you to hold the release switch and slide the battery out by hand. The speaker is in the same place on both units and everything else on the back in pretty much identical.
Both units have a flip out sunshade, but the Sony CLM-V55 has stronger springs and pops out as soon as you start to open it. The Viltrox DC-50 still opens in the same manner, but sometimes it requires a little assistance to full extend. It’s also easy to see that the NO SYNC screen is green on blue on the DC-50, while it’s white on black with the CLM-V55.
The Viltrox DC-50 (right) has it’s headphone jack on the bottom of the unit, while the Sony CLM-V55 has it’s DC power port in the same location. From this angle it’s a little easier to see the size difference between the two monitors. The DC-50 is larger, but the CLM-v55 is heavier. I’ve only had a few hours to play around with the display, but from what I can tell so far both screens are of the same quality. It took slightly different settings to get the Viltrox DC-50 to match the look of the Sony CLM-V55, but once I got things dialed in it was hard to tell the difference.
I’ll post a full review once I’ve had to chance to spend some more time with the Viltrox DC-50. I still haven’t played around with the focus peaking or the 1:1 picture mode. So far I would say the build quality isn’t as good but the display is pretty much identical to the Sony CLM-V55. From my first impressions of the monitor I would say the Viltrox DC-50 is a pretty good value for the price. I was pretty surprised at how good the display itself actually looked.
April 15th, 2013 at 5:18 am
Thnx for all your up!
But I have to say, you often write “I will later come with a full review” on many products you test, but never does in the end =/
So you left a waiting in the head of people like me.
April 15th, 2013 at 8:10 am
Sorry Kim, sometimes it takes me months to get back to a subject and other times I get a review out right away. It all depends on how much time I have, my schedule, and what gear I have on hand.
If there is something you want to know more about that I’ve covered in the past just let me know and I’ll add it to my list of things to do.
April 15th, 2013 at 5:43 pm
Thoughful of you.. Ill give you a shot next time I miss your “whole” review =D
April 15th, 2013 at 10:07 am
The monitor looks fantastic. I want to buy a monitor to use it in a rig and to shot interviews. Do you think that an android like the samsung galaxy note II could replace this pretty monitor?
April 15th, 2013 at 10:08 am
The monitor looks fantastic. I want to buy a monitor to use it in a rig and to shot interviews. Do you think that an android like the samsung galaxy note II could replace this pretty monitor?
(ok, I know my english is bad.. sorry for that 😀 )
April 15th, 2013 at 4:22 pm
Hey guys I’ve been trying to find out what those hot shoe mounts are called I want to purchase one for my monitor thank you 🙂
April 15th, 2013 at 5:45 pm
I don’t think you can buy them separately.
April 15th, 2013 at 11:19 pm
So what’s the benefit of buying this monitor over a Lilliput monitor or something similar in the same price range?
April 16th, 2013 at 6:05 am
Little more compact, better sunhood, and the main benefit is the better looking screen.
April 17th, 2013 at 12:35 am
This sums it up for me, saved me money, and got me a better more effective set-up. I will be getting two of these with my next paycheck. Thank Deejay.
April 16th, 2013 at 4:02 pm
I was also thinking about the Viltrox but the aspect ratio of the monitor makes me doubt. I hope you will also talk about that in your review.
Thank you
April 19th, 2013 at 6:15 am
How does this monitor work with a Canon 60D given that the resolution drops to 480p when you hit record? Trying to find a good 5″ field monitor for my 60D setup.
April 19th, 2013 at 11:16 am
The sony monitor doesn’t have any way to correct for the monitor blink. It’s best used with the 7d, 6d, or 5d mark III. Hopefully Canon will be adding that feature to the New 70d and 7d mark II when they come out later this year.
July 6th, 2013 at 11:26 am
Deejay,
I understand the Viltrox is a close clone to the Sony monitor, however in your reply above, you specifically called out that the Sony monitor doesn’t have a way to correct for the monitor blink problem (like the Lilliput does by turning it to dvi mode) which leads me to believe that the Viltrox does?
So my question is, can you confirm whether or not the blink problem with the 5d, 60d, and T2i can be fixed with the Viltrox monitor?
Thank you for your work.
July 7th, 2013 at 12:17 pm
Neither monitor can correct for the blink caused but canon cameras switching to 480p res when recording. The problem has been fixed in new cameras like the 5d mark III, Canon 6d, Canon 7d, and Possible the t4i (haven’t tried it), but earlier models like the Canon 5d mark II, 60d and t2i still have this problem.
Hope that helps.
July 7th, 2013 at 7:44 pm
Perfect. Thank you so much Deejay.
April 30th, 2013 at 9:13 am
“You can select between HDMI, mini HDMI, and composite inputs (yellow jack).”
What difference (if any) does this mean in practice, using a 5DII?
Can I use more functions on camera to screen with the Viltrox than the Sony?
Thanks.
April 30th, 2013 at 4:57 pm
Hi again,
Could this incredibly cheap item, (under $5) be the same friction clamp you liked so much?
Took a lot of searching to find anything like it. This is the only one I came across, and I’ve ordered one to see. The ones in your picture do look a little more refined though, so perhaps this is a copy of the “real” thing.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/adjustable-angle-pole-Hot-shoe-mount-adapter-with-1-4-Screw-for-LED-light-/321013520552?pt=Camera_Flash_Accessories&hash=item4abde598a8
May 5th, 2013 at 6:49 am
Deejay thanks for letting us know about this. Now when the new 5D mark III firmware is out which allows the back of the camera be on at the same time (right?) when using the hdmi out – is it right to presume this could be a cheaper option to go for just getting the focus. And the use the onboard lcd on the 5D to check exposure?
I tried the Sony V55 but it didnt even fill up the whole screen of the Canon 5D mark III (was I doing something wrong?) is this doing the same thing?
June 18th, 2013 at 11:02 pm
Anyone tested this unit on a Pana GH3? Also, what’s the talk of resolution dropping 480p when hitting record? I can only assume 480p on the LCD display and not on the camera output? Cheers!
June 19th, 2013 at 7:35 am
The canon 5d mark II drops resolution on the HDMI output when you hit record. The 7d and 5d mark III do not. Haven’t tested it on the Gh3. But I should have a full review up this weekend.
June 30th, 2013 at 4:17 pm
Thanks, yes I have heard about the 5DMkII resolution drop. Just read this about the GH3 that it’s got. “clean recordable HDMI signal (4:2:0 colour space and in 8 bit) That should mean it doesn’t drop resolution on the HDMI output I guess?
June 24th, 2013 at 3:26 pm
Hi Deejay, I recently watched an online review where someone mentioned the monitor crops down and doesn’t use the full screen in live view mode…..I was wondering if this was true…..the same thing was said about the Sony CML55 however that monitor can use the full screen by just tapping the info button on the mark III…seeing how this monitor is a direct clone of the sony one I was wondering if tapping the info button on the mark III yields the same full screen in live view mode with the viltrox…..Thanks 🙂
July 1st, 2013 at 9:00 am
If you set the 5d mark III to hdmi mirror mode, it will give you a full screen HD image on screen with no overlays. There isn’t any cropping as far as I can tell.
September 24th, 2013 at 12:26 am
Now my monitor does not work for unknown reason. After giving the power VILTROX logo appears on the screen and monitor becomes dead.
September 24th, 2013 at 6:50 pm
Have you looked at your hdmi cable, or cycled the power on your camera? Sometimes HDMI connections can be flaky.
February 21st, 2014 at 7:22 am
Hi,
Does anyone know if the Viltrox monitor works with the Black Magic Pocker Camera?
It’s been reported that the Sony does, but the Pocket Camera is pretty picky with the monitors, and I’ve just had to sell my Lilliput that wasn’t working at all.
Viltrox might be a nice budget friendly alternative.
Thanks!
April 6th, 2014 at 7:00 am
Hi deejay,
Thx for an interesting review 🙂
How is audio-monitoring working w. 5DmkII, HDMI-out and ML 2.3: Will it allow an audio-monitor signal via headphone out in live/record mode (is volume controllable too)?
To clarify (sorry for possible redundancy): When recording (live mode) w. 5DmkII and ML 2.3 will the full 480 vertical lines of the 480×640-output be visible on the monitor (some mention possible downscaling)?
September 4th, 2015 at 3:53 pm
Deejay,
Did you ever notice banding / stepping in the highlights to shadows such as this…
http://imgur.com/a/n6CLH#0
Just received a unit and is severely disappointing, as apart from this the device could be perfect. It acts the same on three different sources so I know it’s not my camera.
Interestingly I came over another review where the device acts differently to the one I have and you review here,.
The one Dave has here…
http://notsoancientchinesecrets.com/viltrox-dc-50-review/#comment-29306
…has a logo upon start up and menu which fits on one screen and has looks like it may have higher resolution.
Do let me know if you did notice banding in the images. The picture I attached looks like it’s a trick of the camera but it’s definitely not.