Is this the BEST camera monitor? I Portkeys BM7 II DS REVIEW

Intro 1:18
Hardware overview: 3:44
Monitor Menu Functions: 6:49
Detailed Tool Operation: 13:06
FEATURES
PICTURE BY PICTURE: 23:21
NUCLEUS FOCUS CONTROL FUNCTIONS: 25:58
CAMERA CONTROL START: 26:30
BLACKMAGIC POCKET BLUETOOTH CONNECTION: 27:12
WIRED RED KOMODO CONTROL CONNECTION: 28:42
WIRELESS KOMODO CONTROL: 29:20
MONITOR FUCTION BUTTON PROGRAMMING: 30:39
OUTRO: 32:10
I'm back again with another major overview and review of the new 7 inch camera field monitor the Portkeys BM7 II DS. This monitor is absolutely jam packed with new features rivaling other camera field monitors for a competitive price. Watch this review on the Portkeys BM7 II DS to get all the details. On this review I decided to deep dive into all the monitor features and tools and how to use them. i have also made video markers to skip through the overview and go to the review of the new features so use those if you don't need to watch everything.
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[@schoolstuff5235]

Was there something special you needed to do to get the Komodo-X connected? The wireless never connected and neither does the dsmc3 cable I picked up from Portkeys. I’m shocked yours works.

[@animusvisual]

There was one thing i had to do for the cable. You have to click on the upper bar on the camera screen where the card info is displayed, then click on thr power info should have the lightning bolt to the left, then scroll down to power out and make sure that is switched on. On the wireless side make sure its only 2.4ghz not 5g in the adhoc settings. I also renamed my network and redid my passphrase but i dont think thats required. Let me know if you have any issues we can get on a video chat or something.

[@schoolstuff5235]

@@animusvisual That worked for the cable (my preferred method) - thanks for the quick reply. I thought I was going nuts for a moment. Hopefully they add additional functionality that allows for control of the eND. Again, thanks for the help!

[@animusvisual]

@@schoolstuff5235 for sure, i had to ask how everything worked as well ad theres not a lot of documentatiom on this bm7ii. Let me know if anything else comes up. Thanks for watching!

[@chipcurry]

I just got one, this is a great run through of all of the capabilities. You saved me in an immense amount of time! Thank you so much and good luck with everything you do.

[@animusvisual]

Thank you for watching, glad it helped!

[@PortkeysMonitor]

Hi Animus, this is the most detailed video on BM7IIDS I've ever watched. good job!

[@animusvisual]

Thank you for the review unit. Really loving it and the video is helping a lot of people really know the monitor. Hope to cover the MT22DS!

[@ciinelog]

Portkeys can you share the purchase link with me for this monitor?

[@alexpott1893]

This is a top-notch monitor review! Lots of detail including flicking through all the small available options on crops and guides etc. Multi-cam viewing was super helpful. Looks like a total beast of a monitor! Thank you.

[@animusvisual]

Very welcome! I wa as afraid it would be too long but i think its gkld to have the information out there. If youre genuinely interested in buying, this will give you a good idea of what you're getting.

[@UndisputedSol]

Thank you for the very detailed breakdown! Portkeys should consider you being their ambassadors for sales you help to bring just by doing this video. I think every monitor brand should do this as a guide I don't know why this isn't the case. It just helps viewers to see what the monitor offers in terms of functionality and features. 1 good example is that I always gravitated to SmalllHD's monitors because they have this very neat feature of the tools affecting pre/post LUT, which is super useful to me. Now I know this exist in Portkeys Monitors, at least the BM7 II DS.

[@animusvisual]

Thank you! Thats kind of my goal so I'm glad someone appreciates the amount of effort put in. I know its a but lengthy but for those who really want to see all the tools and operation this will be avaiable. For those that dont i ahev thr chapter markers so you can jump aorund to what you want to see. I'm really hoping to do their 22 inch field monitor next.

[@animusvisual]

And yes they updated the ui for monitoring pre and post lut for the last few iterations. The bm5iii wr and the lh5pii that i reviewed also had that functionality.

[@UndisputedSol]

​@@animusvisual Yes precisely! I can't be the only 1 who wants a 30-minute breakdown am I? Haha 😂 I feel these kind of in-depth videos really helps to understand how I can use the monitor and whether it's tools and how it functions applies to my workflow. 1 example is I tend to shoot for social media quite regularly, so I'm usually shooting witha 9:16 guide on. But I still need a 16:9 frame for other platforms. But after watching the video, I believe Portkeys doesn't have the opacity function to slightly darken/lighten the frame so you can see both 16:9 & 9:16 as the same time. Such a pity, it's a great monitor nonetheless!

[@MLee-vcrr]

Great review man, very thorough. The Pic by Pic and antenna redesign are clutch. Thank you so much for mentioning the construction materials used. Many product reviewers fail to state the build quality. Yes, this really does matter, and I don't care if it weighs a little more.

[@animusvisual]

I agree, i try to go over everything people might need to know. At this price point you gotta know what you're getting in my opinion. Glad it helped and thank you for watching.

[@BradenYoungVideo]

I’ve been looking forward to this video!

[@animusvisual]

Glad you're enjoying! What's your thoughts ?

[@danielmcready1345]

Thanks for the excellent review. How have you found the fan noise on long filming sessions?

[@animusvisual]

Thank you for watching. Honestly havent even noticed the fan on but maybe i havent ran it on long enough. Id imagine it may only become a bigger issue outside with high brightness but likely outside will drown out that audio.

[@bryansheehy2000]

Great review! I was wondering if the sdi or hdmi outputs also carry the split screen A/B configuration or are the outputs a direct loop out. Do you happen to know? Thanks!

[@16sixstudios]

Dude, love your reviews! Always to the point and very informative.

[@animusvisual]

Man thank you for watching!

[@interconnectedbeing]

Do you think there's a use case for content creators to use this monitor paired with their phone? Is it even able to connect to your phone to view and/or control your phone camera? Also, is there a wireless transmission for iOS viewing?

[@cinestro6556]

Awesome review!!!! Going to buy one! I love PortKeys

[@animusvisual]

Theyre great! Thank you for watching!

[@michaelfrymus]

Any other 7" monitor recommendations as of late? This one does have some great features

[@animusvisual]

I mean you could go with a smallHD but they are pricey! This is still the best optioned monitor in this price range IMO

[@MrPByH]

Thanks for the amazing review! I am surprised at how badly Komodo’s autofocus works when tapping on the touch screen, the focus is shifted by some jerks with overshoot 30:28 I'm sure the reason is in the camera and not in the monitor

[@animusvisual]

Thanks for watching! Yes its not the monitor, to be fair it was dark and its into l only contrast detection. It is definitely jerky however when focusing ef. RF is a lot better in that regard.

[@davemiller7852]

Thanks for a great review. Is there a screen lock function ?

[@PortkeysMonitor]

Long press the EXIT button to turn off the touch control~

[@PeacefulMoments1844]

If one chooses not to use the wireless feature what cable is needed to connect the monitor to Komodo X? Thank you

[@kerreedrake]

Great in-depth analysis. Do u still recommend this monitor? I have Sony fx30

[@animusvisual]

Yep still running it as my main monitor!

[@nayibb79]

Nice review! really informative 🎉

[@animusvisual]

Thank you for watching! 🤘🤘🤘

[@DynamicPhil84]

Thanks for the detailed review! I've been looking for a good monitor with camera control for my Komodo for a little while now. I'd been using the Red Control app on my iPad mini, which was honestly fantastic, until the most recent app update. The signal is SO unreliable now, it's been driving me nuts. I have the latest Komodo update 1.7.5, tried downgrading to 1.6.5, that didn't help at all. Went back and forth between 2.4 Ghz and 5 Ghz, no difference with either. Initially I thought it was only having issues in areas with lots of wifi interference (public areas for example), but even in my home studio I get a lot of signal dropouts. Sometimes I even have to turn off wifi and mobile data on my Android phone which also has the app, just so it doesn't accidentally try to connect to that. So, as you can see, I've tried EVERYTHING with the damn app, and it makes me real angry because it used to work fantastically, no cables necessary and the iPad Mini screen is excellent. So how have you found the reliability of the wifi connection with this Portkeys monitor? Or do you end up using the control cable for wired camera control? Honestly, I don't mind going back to using a cable, as long as it's reliable and will give me access to all of the necessary camera control functions without having to dive into the Komodo's annoying and tiny menu screen. Sorry for the long rant!!

[@animusvisual]

I get it! Haha i actually find the wifi to work well just tricky to re connect when first turning the camera back on but its fairly responsive and realiable.

[@DynamicPhil84]

@@animusvisual thanks man that's good to know! Have you tried it in busier environments? Would be curious if you have any issues with the connection while at an event with a lot of people and tons of wifi pollution. If you check out the Anime Expo Day 2 Vlog I recently posted on my channel, most of that footage was shot on the Komodo rigged up to the DJI RS3 Pro and kind of blind shooting, because the Red Control app completely died on me. Couldn't get a solid signal for more than a few seconds :(

[@animusvisual]

@@DynamicPhil84 no but I'm glad you mention it..definitely worth testing. Theres a few places in town that i cpuld try to test it at thats a good idea.

[@DynamicPhil84]

@@animusvisual Awesome really appreciate it! Let me know how it goes :)

[@iamkubrick]

I got mine today. Great monitor and not bulky like I thought it would be … looks good. I just can’t get mine back in the case… haha. I wish the case was a bit bigger I feel like it going to crush the edge of the screen.

[@animusvisual]

Yea truly they make it just big enough haha. Glad you're enjoying it I'm honestly loving how bright and big it is, has enough size for the split screen to work

[@PortkeysMonitor]

Hi friend, you mean the safety box is not big?

[@RicoStein_]

Hey man, great video! Unfortunately my Portkeys won't find my Komodo X on the Wi-fi page for controlling the camera. I tried everything. My iphone finds the Komodox right away and I can control it via the app, but on the monitor it wont show the camera. Any idea what I can try?

[@animusvisual]

Thank you! Yes there's a very specific process on the camera ti get it to show up. I think i responded to someone else on here. Let me find it.

[@animusvisual]

There was one thing i had to do for the cable. You have to click on the upper bar on the camera screen where the card info is displayed, then click on thr power info should have the lightning bolt to the left, then scroll down to power out and make sure that is switched on. On the wireless side make sure its only 2.4ghz not 5g in the adhoc settings. I also renamed my network and redid my passphrase but i dont think thats required. Let me know if you have any issues we can get on a video chat or something.

[@RicoStein_]

@@animusvisual it worked! For the cable you change the power out to "on" (as you said). For the Wi-Fi control it just showed up after I renamed Name and passphrase of the Komodo. Thanks man! I never thought that changing the name would be necessary :)

[@animusvisual]

I pinned the comment for when this comes up again, glad i could help@@RicoStein_

[@ciinelog]

Thanks for the video!

[@animusvisual]

Thank you for watching!

[@rodrigodeantonibrito]

Do anyone knows a monitor that you hit the spot and the the focus are updated instantly in contínuos mode? My portkeys bm just locks into a new spot when I hit the screen

[@shem44]

Is there a split sec blackout when you switch from SDI to HDMI in fullscreen and vice versa? Or is it seamless switch?

[@animusvisual]

There is a blackout for about a second or two

[@jaylamars8419]

Would love to see a video like this running through the functionality with a canon c70

[@PortkeysMonitor]

Hi, you can check the video about BM5WR and Canon C70 in our channel~

[@GabrielScindian]

Thanks for sharing Bro

[@animusvisual]

Thanks for watching!

Hello. Can multiple of these monitors be paired wirelessly with each other to control video from the camera?

[@animusvisual]

Not 100 percent sure of your question but only one monitor can be paired per camera usually

[@video-alchemy]

구매 생각하고있었는데, 리뷰가 많은 도움이 됐습니다~🤩🤩🤩

[@ciinelog]

It would be cool if you could share the links of all your items using on your komodo-X rig.

[@animusvisual]

That's a geat idea, i hadnt yet finalized the rig the way i want but ill make a video about this this week.

[@ciinelog]

@@animusvisual Awesome, thank you!

[@animusvisual]

@@ciinelog for sure thanks for watching!

[@dhyanverco]

Does the red record box show up with any camera?

[@animusvisual]

Glad you asked. I'm going to test that with a pocket and a sony and get back with you.

[@animusvisual]

Just tested, yes indeed it does show the red record box on my a7siii, pocket camera on bluetooth, and the komodo.

[@MartinYernazian]

Can you use it with the Ursa Mini Pro G2?

[@animusvisual]

You sure can. Not sure if you mean control though?

[@MartinYernazian]

@@animusvisual I mean that, yes. I can connect to any and all SDI monitors but I'm wondering what is the advantage of the Portkeys in terms of monitor/camera relation.

[@animusvisual]

just checked the site. Only lanc cable control and limited functionality on g2. Recording, iris, and focus @@MartinYernazian

[@prostigeMarketing]

Is this a 12g or 3g monitor?

[@animusvisual]

Still 3g, good question

[@rockstarweddingfilms9085]

Is this actually live? How come you’re not paying any attention to these comments?

[@animusvisual]

Its not live, just premiering.

[@John-e4p1x]

This screen looks VERY low quality and low contrast based on the image you are showing??

[@animusvisual]

Hard to really judge when trying to film the balance between the screen and the actual lighting for myself. Contrast ratio, resolution and brightness are all on par with anything in this price range.

[@John-e4p1x]

Thanks boss. I just got a return RMA for my monitor this morning, adter a few minutes of your video. I will probably get this.@@animusvisual

[@andric72]

The monitor is ok but the menu UI is awkward. Still confusing, no logical, randomly setup that u must remember, same as older model nothing improved. looks like a window95. And is a shame because the panel is very good. Come on Portkeys can do better, other brand already did it

[@animusvisual]

They're constantly listening to the user base so I'm confident a ui update is something that's being considered. That said i also agree i love the monitor itself, size, connectivity and brightness all really good.

[@yoitmeree]

Atomos ninja blade better

[@animusvisual]

Booshacky

[@JSHFilms]

Nope