Best Monitor for $500? SmallHD Focus Monitor Review!

[@jeffmc306]

Calib, B&H carries the IndiPRO Tools AC Power Supply with L-Series Dummy Battery (BH# INPSY62). I use these on a pair of SmallHD 702's in-studio and they work great. Might be worth a try on the Focus. Thanks for continuing to produce high quality and relevant videos! I've learned so much from you. Cheers!

[@jeyycie3656]

Nice monitor, however I would really like the see a similar video like the " 9 best monitors under 200$ ", but for a price point between 300 and 500$

[@ltreviews9280]

Like your reviews! Calm and professional without screaming and cheap destructing tricks. Thank you!

[@YoungBlaze]

hows the lagg? surprised this wasnt mentioned

[@FrenchieFries]

ok cool... but the real question is HOW IS THE LATENCY!!! You should make a video comparing just the latency because I feel like that is a big deal breaker especially if its used while filming yourself!

[@AxelGizmo]

I have the Focus since three days now, like it very much for my A6500. Use it on the Zhiyun Crane. Mounted on the left side of he handle bar with a small modified flash bracket. Unscrewed it's cold shoe and rotated it 90°. Much lighter than a macic arm or sth alike.

[@RyanGproductions1]

@axel I'd love to see the setup and know how you modified the bracket. This is exactly what I am looking to do.

[@FlyingJackalope]

Me too! Sounds great. Love to see the setup

[@FisayoFosudo]

6:10 You can upload LUTS into an SD Card, LUTS and LUTS of flexibility 😂

[@dslrvideoshooter]

Nice :-)

[@Denasdc]

Please don't go into FPGA. Okay ????

[@LoverOfTech]

you're everywhere bro haha

[@ViewedUp]

Thanks for the reivew. I'm stumped on a couple things about the Focus 5, which I own: I've had it for years now... but it's a love hate relationship. 1. The color accuracy is always garbage. No matter how much I fiddle with it, or reset it to the factory settings, it never looks anything like it does on my a7siii screen or viewfinder. There for I always have to refer back to my camera screens to set WB if I'm doing so by sight (which I do 99% of the time). 2. Similar the the color issue, depending on the brightness setting of the Focus, the highlights appear washed out completely on the monitor, when they do NOT and ARE not on the camera screens. There for, I can never rely on the Focus monitor to, well, monitor my exposure and get an accurate representation of what is really going on in camera. 3. Again, same type of issue- Zebras. When I have zebras enabled, they shift based on the brightness of the Focus screen, when nothing else changes in cam, as far exposure settings go. The zebras do NOT match my in-cam zebras at all, even if set to similar values. There for (you guessed it!), I have to refer back to my camera's tiny screen to get a real reading of what's going on with my zebras / exposure. This is why I have given up on this monitor, and just rely on my tiny a7siii built in screen. While I cannot see the image as well because of the size, and cannot frame as intentially or accurately, i can atleast see my readings and get an accurate picture of- color, exposure, zebras, detail. I am honestly stummed as to how many people use this screen affectively and professionally. Please let me know if you have an tips to make this monitor more useful. Am I doing something wrong? side note: when I try to look up a way to calibrate the monitor.. I am left with nothing. They used to sell a calibration tool but don't anymore. I have an expensive X-rite Colorchecker, but unfortunatley this monitor doesn't support it.

[@FelixO]

That moment when the a6500 is rigged up with a 500$ Monitor and a 45$ Mic.

[@seanrmatic]

Thanks for the quality review. I appreciate the level headed pros and cons approach and you justifying all your comments with examples. I just ordered the Sony bundle through your B&H affiliate link.

[@Miniac]

Is your background just a white/grey paper with a gelled LED right behind you pointing up at it in the center? It looks really nice.

[@zaizain2306]

Con (maybe): The vulcanized rubber-like construct of the monitor. Oily hands will cause it to "melt" in the long run. At least in 80% humidity Singapore. I'm not sure yet if it will but most of my other things using the same finish tend to do that. I don't mind it being plastic (it's $500) but that's one thing I'd watch out for.

[@AriIsenberg]

Hey, Caleb! Thanks for the awesome review... as always! I got this monitor for my birthday and have been loving it with my Canon Rebel t7i. Also, just FYI, SmallHD released a new OS3 update a few weeks ago that give a proper battery percentage on the monitor. Thanks again!

[@EposVox]

Thanks for the review!

[@dslrvideoshooter]

Thanks for watching EposVox!

[@AttilioRuffo]

Just got mine and it's awesome!

[@dslrvideoshooter]

Such a great little monitor!

[@kipling1957]

Yea! Toying with this for my C100 MkII.

[@dslrvideoshooter]

Would make for a nice pair!

[@MattFromSMM]

Their battery adapter is super cheap and doesn't fit well so definitely too expensive for that adapter. Also been having problems where my monitor gets really hot after about 20 min and the screen starts flashing a bit. I'm gonna try updating to see if that helps. All in all I still really like it and it's helped me a lot.

[@tedstarz]

Great review. Definitely going to buy this, just need to wait until it becomes ready to buy in store.

[@janmarius_k]

Hey Caleb, this is a very informative video! The focus is way more powerful then I was expecting. By the way I really enjoy the colores backgrounds.

[@dslrvideoshooter]

Thanks Jan-Marius! Me too! Gels are fun :-)

[@mr_james]

What gels and lights do you have to colour the background?

[@makatron]

The smallHD Focus is the way too go, always thought that a 7 inch monitor felt too top heavy for smaller cameras

[@sikiman]

Always learn so much with your videos. Thank you

[@scb2scb2]

Solid review, this product really adds many of the missing parts. A few more (small) things i dislike after owning it for a while. The hdmi cable on the camera side could be 'smaller' it now has the same construction making it stick out too much. This works fine if you can lock it on a cage but this monitor allows for a very workable quick setup without. What would be perfect is a flatcable/90degrees connector. SmallHD support told me they are working on it and the current one was the one they could ship in time. The second one is the tilt arm, its fine but a connector part that would also allow rotation so you can aim it to the sides would be even better and they also told me they are working on a new optional replacement part to allow for this.... To make it perfect on next release would be great if they add a very small lithium battery inside so hotswap would be possible since it can feed the camera and a mirco usb power out to feed say a wireless option..... But for sony shooters this is a hit and it should be get over the $500 hump its a very solid value.

[@lordadilla]

Great Stuff, I really like visiting your channel before i buy, I have been shooting commercials for 25 years . I've retired and now running a photography business using DSLR's and now i am getting back into it via DSLR. we are using nikon cameras and soon we we will be moving to the nikon 810. Keep up the great work and i will be defiantly trying out the some of the gear your using. THIS monitor solves a lot of my problems, power, size and function, just have to get a hood for it... Thanks

[@PaulHarwood856]

You might not need a hood since the screen is so bright.

[@xrayhead]

Nice review, thanks. Wish I could sit in front of a camera and sound as relaxed as you do!! Keep up the good work :-)

[@donmowatt]

You had me at touchscreen. how would you find touch responsiveness is and is there any lag/delay? Unreal amount of functionality squeezed into this monitor. Great review as always.

[@dslrvideoshooter]

Thanks kOS! The touch was very very good. Better than my Atomos Shogun Inferno.

[@blakepocok2625]

I own one myself the touch is really responsive, really no lag what so ever. 100% would reccomened

[@yutackkang8016]

Thanks for the great review and dark grey shirt as usual!

[@dslrvideoshooter]

Thanks Man! Going shopping for new threads soon ;-)

[@Mike93527]

Another awesome video. Thanks man! Can't wait to grab one of these.

[@LukesBikes]

As soon as I have $500 after I upgrade to an a6500, I'm getting this!

[@SamCLawn]

Can this monitor allow you to record longer then 30 minutes on sony A7 series cameras?

[@Monteirobaptista]

Awesome review for the monitor, just bought one today.

[@carrie7225]

I just had a random thought while watching this, if it connects the monitor to the coldshoe mount by a 1/4" male, then you could probably connect it to a small camera cage for the A6300 if the cage has 1/4" females on the side. just a though

[@b3naqua]

“Big fat juicy vector scope” new band name 🤣

[@mryorkielover]

Great vid. Thanks

[@MrStevebenjamin]

Hi Caleb you can use the larger Sony PF970 batteries you just flip the monitor over the other way. Love this monitor been waiting so long for one like this, makes using the A6500 a dream setup.

[@michaeljemery]

You recommended the NP-F750 or smaller batteries as the larger 900 series batteries would prevent the monitor from flipping. Why wouldn't you just rotate the monitor in the other direction so the battery flips over the top instead of being underslung?

[@stevenfage]

This product is no longer available, do you have a comparable recommendation in the same price range, please?

[@spartan8397]

Thanks, would be interested in your thoughts on 7" in that price range for those of us with old eyes.

[@JARVMI]

already addressed. Can be too top heavy.

[@fangshizhu9383]

Hi Caleb, very nice video! I have a GH-4/5 V-Log related question: do you tune the contrast, sharpness and saturation numbers down when using V-Log profile? I have a GH4 usually shoot in regular color profile (natural, standard, vivid, etc) with reduced contrast, sharpness and saturation numbers to achieve better dynamic range. Recently, I bought the V-Log profile and an external monitor, and I started using V-Log to shot (with the same reduced saturation, contrast and sharpness), and apply the display LUT. However, I found the image still looks very flat using applying the LUT. Should I just set all those numbers to zero if I am already using LUT?

[@LennertK]

How is the latency? You haven't mentioned this and it was a serious problem with all the "best monitors under $200" so I'd like to know if this has the same amount or less.

[@dslrvideoshooter]

Very good. Much better than those other monitors. Throwing $300 more at a monitor seems to do the trick!

[@theghostinside91]

I own this monitor too and I haven't noticed any latency, even shooting in 4k. It really is amazing for what you're getting. Especially shooting with the a6500. It solves almost all of the issues with the camera.

[@LennertK]

Great, thanks for your answer. I was planning on getting one of the cheaper ones from the sub $200 video just to have something that's bigger than the built-in screen (I own an A7s II) but now I might skip that and just spend a little more for this. Do you have experience with external recorders? I'm wondering if it would be even better to get an external recorder to use as a monitor but also to get 4:2:2 recording but they're more expensive of course and I should probably spend more money on other things first before that becomes a reasonable upgrade.

[@dslrvideoshooter]

I'd agree whole heartedly.

[@felix247]

Hi Seth, I also own a Smallhd Focus and Sony a6500. I found out that this monitor only works when standing by in the 4K. When I start recording in 4K, my a6500's in body monitor does not show the image/videos are being captured, and the only thing showed is the information bars and settings that I can adjust with. In 1080p (HD) mode, all the menu and information bars will jump up to the Focus, the in body monitor will be off and I lost all the function of the touchscreen. Do you have the same problems that I have?

[@brandoncox8128]

i really hope you do a full detail video of the focus..

[@DroiMedia]

Great review, really thorough - thanks for putting in the work on these things! :) (also, I speak for all of KZbin when I say the more you can refer to things as "big juicy _____s" the better)

[@Uknowjustin]

Can you power this via V Mount Battery with a 7 or 12V?

[@ryclarkmediaarts8845]

Glad I saw your FB post. Thank you....gonna watch it right meow! Will use your link to purchase (as always hahaha)

[@Ry311GP]

Also Caleb you are almost at 200k subs. Advance congrats!

[@dslrvideoshooter]

Thanks Ry!!!

[@casper2yall]

Great video review, thanks for posting.

[@jimmythegent9190]

The Atomos Ninja Blade is THE BEST for $500. Simply because you can insert and record to a 2.5" SSD drive. Throw a 1TB or 500gb SSD drive and now you have a recording beast with Focus Peaking and tons of other perks.

[@edwinrosadi]

What about the latency? You didn't mention it yet..

[@jimkoral3824]

The drool factor is strong with this monitor. Great review, BTW.

[@soudanthos2]

I love the focus! One thing I noticed with the GH5 is when you change from playback to live view the video is choppy. Otherwise the Focus rocks!

[@dslrvideoshooter]

Right on. I'll have to check that out!

[@scb2scb2]

Its ok on the a6500. I also (stupid) noticed that now reviewing of audio on recordings is way better since you can use the headphones. The pre-amps are far from perfect but o well...

[@SonicSinema]

How do you feel about the size? I am considering this as my first monitor but it seems like the majority or alternative options are 7 inch. Features aside, which size do you prefer shooting with? Thanks for all the info!

[@dslrvideoshooter]

I have always LOVED the 5 inch size. 7 inches is a lot to balance on top of a camera system unless you only shoot with a tripod.

[@SonicSinema]

Makes sense! Thank you

[@dslrvideoshooter]

Thank YOU for watching!

[@Splendiddddd]

You do not have to pinch for going to a page, just swipe left or right, its much faster ;-)

[@Clouder77]

I own this monitor as well for my a7RII

[@dslrvideoshooter]

Nice Clouder!

[@Helloworldwrjfjrjrj]

HI. Help. Nikon D810. This or a Ninja Inferno. Hope you can help . I cannot see any answers to this questions so far

[@CarlosBenjamin]

Why couldn't you flip the screen the opposite direction with the bigger battery?

[@DevonFlair]

Carlos Benjamin the cables won’t allow when they’re in the cable management. It’s possible when they’re loose but then it’s untidy. I bought the large battery but have since swapped that with a smaller one from one of my lights. It’s fine if you’re just behind the camera, but if you want the flexibility to flip it, you’ll need a lower profile battery 🙂

[@JuanSanchez]

Thanks for reviewing this product, I had actually pre-order this as soon as it was available for pre orders. But unfortunately my order got all screwed up somehow in their end and I was forced to cancel and when with The Ninja flame from Atomos with my Sony A6300 . Your review answer all my questions. I wanted to ask if you could review and / or do a tutorial on the Ninja Flame. Thanks

[@todaysgrailtomorrowsbeater]

Straight out of the box, after activating the product, I keep getting no picture and a "no HDMI signal input" message every time I connect my camera. I have tried with a canon 6d and with a Nikon D500. Can someone please help? I can't find any troubleshooting information online.

[@SeanDaPaulSeh]

Is it worth getting one of these used or saving up and buying a indie 5???

[@AlmightyyCres]

can you not rotate the screen with the big battery the other direction?

[@funkpv1736]

That thing is so amazing! I gotta try it

[@SimonBarnes]

How do you get such great color range in your backdrop? Are you just greenscreening it? Love the quality of your presentations, visually, audibly and informatively.

[@SimonBarnes]

It's the lights ain't it haha 😳

[@PaulCoboPhoto]

How's the screen shooting outside in bright sunlight? I"m looking for a solution to shoot video with A6500 at the beach.

[@pimeto]

Hey Caleb, is it true that you cant properly insert the dummy battery in Sony A6500? I saw people complaining that they cant insert the dummy bat in the compartment and close it without stresss to the battery door! Is this a real problem or isolated cases?

[@bobf.morinsr.6231]

I bought the monitor. Using it on Panasonic FZ 2500. My problem using it with a monopod as I move around the monitor falls off the camera. I can’t figure out why. Any suggestions? I am not new to video or photography 40 year Newspaper photographer retired.Need help.

[@FrankCerami]

Got my Focus 2 weeks ago and love it. FYI: Just like the the 4K image disappears on the camera lcd when attached to the Focus, so do options for auto focus. Center lock detect and smile/face detect are grayed out (both using focus area wide, 4K). I emailed SmallHD tech support and they said its the a6500. Are you finding the same?

[@chrisdeantonio1498]

Probably a dumb question, but didn't see this feature covered - how is the focus peaking?

[@africanhistory]

feelworld is the one for me, 1/2 price with wall plug in

[@MilanKarakas]

Can you tell us more about Feelworld? Which model and where to buy?

[@orlando9666]

Milan Karakas Get the 6 plus

[@MilanKarakas]

@@orlando9666 Thanks.

[@orlando9666]

Milan Karakas No problem, is pretty much the only Feelworld monitor I think is worth the money, the only model with a touchscreen!

[@baddogentertainment6960]

Anyone know if the micro-usb port can be used to power this thing? Why the heck did they not put a power-IN port on this thing when cheaper feelworld etc have them? the power-OUT only port, seems to limit this monitor to small mirrorless cameras only. It's a shame because it's a great monitor with a nice interface

[@VideoUpskill]

Whats the battery life like for one of the batteries?

[@588ta]

Can you enlarge the display in formationm

[@markshirley01]

Hi - I notice the basic model doesn't come with a battery. Can anyone recommend a good third party battery and charger for the focus.

[@paulvanobberghen]

Is this just me or does the mount tilting a little bit? I mean, it does not seem to be parallel to the camera. Is there a way to correct this?

[@ParadigmImagesVideoPhotography]

thanks, is there another version of this monitor with a higher resolution than this?

[@jeremydwayne]

The battery level issue might be because you're using an off-brand sony battery? I know with the SmallHD 501, you have to use two official Canon LP-6 batteries for it to show the battery percentage, otherwise it also just shows the voltage with a question mark.

[@scb2scb2]

People also reported it with their official battery, the fact that is shows 2 batteries is also a hint that they need to work on that part of the software a little.

[@jeremydwayne]

ah, thanks for the clarification!

[@saschaschwarztv]

Who of you is using the GH5 plus a SmallHD Focus monitor? I am interested in your experience with the precision of the Focus zebra? I feel, 70% zebra on the monitor differ vom 70% zebra on the GH5.

[@thosyoung373]

Comments in this video about a 5” on-camera monitor cited that the brightness was “800 nits” and other “facts” describing this SmallHD camera monitor mentioned in the preface about its resolution, etc. Actually, none of those “stats” applied to ANY one 5” monitor made by SmallHD, certainly not that priced at under $500. These statements are misleading, perhaps intentionally so.

[@ekphotography]

I just got back from a job and could not get the Small HD focus to show the full screen of the A7III as it does on my a6500. I tried 4k and 1080 60p and the monitor would only show the mirrored image of the a7III with the menu's and not the full screen of the A7III? Anybody know why that is? I shoot on my a6500 a lot and it does use the whole monitor space... Any suggestions or what am I missing?

[@Julesbgoes]

How's the smallhd focus compared to the atomos monitor??

[@legendp2011]

what about using a hdmi splitter for hdmi out (wireless transmitter). would love to see your take on that

[@tangojaa3412]

I bought it serval days before and have problem with it right now . When I plug the HDMI wire in the camera ,the monitor display a crop size (not full screen as before)and the camera display nothing on its screen .(at my first test before, they can display on both screens ) .do you know what is wrong ?THX

[@sabymondal]

Excellent presentation - thanks! Just wondering what is the weight of the monitor- as I am contemplating using it on a gimbal setup, where i have a weight limit.

[@slinkytrips]

It's actually an 8bit monitor, SmallHD are very sneaky by labeling it in the specs as 10bit processing. That is technically correct, same as many modern TV's the signal is processed at a higher bit depth that the display is capable of. If it really was a 10bit panel they would have plenty of HDR features as well.

[@alexanderbullen-genis7575]

Any update on the firmware helping those Cons you indicated? Fix battery display? Thanks for the awesome review once again!

[@visualmvmt]

I recently shot in the sun with it and the screen started to warp. where the plastic edges started to flex. Had anyone this situation?

[@NicosPhotographyShow]

You swipe from one screen to the other without pinching out. Just swipe from full screen to full screen.

[@tutorials.shorts]

Can you explain about latency?

[@angelwings2749]

you didn't mention latency with this monitor like how you did the under $200 monitor video you did.

[@jordanalexander5844]

So to use other battery adapters exactly what cable do we need? I already have a dummy battery that has a female end. Would I need male to male to use it ?

[@mrz1342]

so, what is the advantage of this device rather than using a wireless controller like CamRanger or else?

[@wakurenai482]

How about lag problem?

[@jimmycorn4812]

Great review! What's the color accuracy like? I'm looking at getting this to replace my Blackmagic Video Assist which has terrible color accuracy.

[@PeterMakholm]

Hi Caleb, I just got the small hd focus. i cant se a reording indicator on the screen is that correct.

[@Kommentarkanal-pc5nl]

Wow. How did you do the light setup and the background?

[@Floppin]

Hey Caleb! Could you do a Q and A Video? BTW you deserve way more subs!

[@dslrvideoshooter]

Hey Floppin! I did a live Q&A recently. I have more planned though! Thank you for the kind words. Slowly growing!

[@qags5829]

What about the latency rate???

[@EM.Creative_]

What type of hdmi cable do you use for connecting it to the canon eos R?

[@Dat376]

It annoys me that you didn't navigate the "screens" by just swiping left and right. You don't need to pitch each time you want to change the screen. Other than that great video. I love my SmallHD. Question though, do you have any issues removing 3rd party batteries. I used the ones you recommend and they are really hard to detach from the SmallHD. The battery that it came with, removes just fine.

[@dslrvideoshooter]

Hmm. I didn't have any issues with batteries. The battery release button works great with my 3 different brands.

[@scb2scb2]

I did wasabi for example was hard to remove, other brands worked ok. Figured it was wasabi but i heard other report it too. guess you have to pick your brands a little :(

[@PeterMakholm]

hi caleb, i just recked my old small hd foucs and got a new one. on the old i had a red frame apear when recording on the new one i can't find this setting. do you know how to do this. / pete.

[@alexred09]

What about latency on this monitor?

[@Vautksch]

Can you make a direct comparison to the BM VA brightness wise? Somebody tested that and found them to be equal in brightness.

[@ciloeis]

Where can I buy the batteries for the focus 5?

[@gottagoh]

Can this get signal from a6500's 4k?