SmallHD Focus Review + Set-Up Walkthrough + Best Accessories (OLED, SDI, HDMI)

[@renehinojosa1962]

Well done and complete review! Thank you for not doing the typical annoying, and overdone, jump cuts and flailing arms all over the place video reviews. I can't take those reviews seriously, and can't bear to watch them at all.

[@user-rs5jf1bv9e]

Hi, you just answered the question I had - does the arm rotate left-right - and now I know - it doesn't! But there is some sort of adapter. Great, thx!!

[@DrDunkIt]

You may have figured this one out by now, but you can just tilt the monitor in the opposite direction! That way you can use your bigger battery if you prefer to have more juice, and it will still rotate fully the other way.

[@InceptiveDOP]

This is my favourite monitor also man and did a review because I think its great for filmmakers to know how good this little beast really is bro!

[@FelixCervantes]

I had the earlier SmallHD monitor and mounting a monitor onto a hot shoe is the worst thing you can do to a camera. It fell several times since the hot shoe was not designed for that application and the last time it took the HDMI port on the camera with it. Only cages now if I use a DSLR.

[@gustavnilsson9259]

Which camera did you have?

[@Arkadiusz4321]

would you recommend smallhd or atomos shinobi for a7III ?

[@MBimmer]

Great video. What’s the mic you’re using?

[@yank1tonybats511]

Absolutely wonderful review! I'm new to video making so this has been very helpful

[@ruisearts]

Thank you sir, very helpful!

[@Film_It_Yourself]

Great review! I didn't know you could get that pan mod!! Totally going to get that since I have the 970 batteries!

[@danzbeard]

very useful walkthrough, thank you.

[@NEPExperimental]

GREAT video. What is your opinion of the Focus 5 vs. Focus 7 for GH5? Thank you.

[@oscarfernandezchuyn1208]

I would like to ask you if this monitor will serve as an assistant to take pictures at ground level with a nikon d810 and what model would be ideal for it?

[@agmtstudios4017]

Question. How do i solely record my a73 footage to my small hd 5inch. I need it to record solely to the monitor in 30fps

[@Buck5Productions]

Great! Excellent video. Thank you for posting. Was this particular video shot with your C100 mk ii? Looks really nice. Not unlike your video, clear and concise.

[@CalebWojcik]

Yes, all shots were filmed on Canon C100 Mark II's.

[@bilililiveusa8667]

Hello I saw your video I enjoyed the resolution and the picture quality too much please this is really too great I would like to know which device you used to make your post on KZbin

[@j3lly069]

Loving my small hd focus

[@CalebWojcik]

Thanks Jeli. :)

[@Quarantain]

That was an excellent video. You just sold me on the gear!

[@SnareMan]

Nice vid. With the larger battery - can't you just swivel in the other direction? So the battery goes over the top no problem?

[@CalebWojcik]

Yeah, I guess you could do it, lol.

[@vnetrass]

excellent video;) how to find the wire holder on 8:28 ?

[@CalebWojcik]

It comes with a few. They break really easily though.

[@bladgarmo2307]

una consuta hijo este monitor viene con distintos idiomas o solo vienen en ingles

[@JoshuaFaleatua]

Just bought the SmallHD Focus Panasonic pack and for the life of me I can't figure out how long my battery should take to charge? It shows a red light still once it's charging. Does the light change once it has fully charged? I am wanting to boot this thing up and get started but I wanna make sure the first charge is also done right. Its been currently charging for about 5 hours.

[@dwpix]

If I may- Which monitor would you use for Weddings? HD Focus or Shinobi? Have you looked at the Portkeys 5inch monitors?

[@CalebWojcik]

Probably shinobi because it is brighter.

[@waynelast1685]

what would you say if I want the brightness so I choose the LED version, but use waveforms and vectorscopes to double check the highlights and shadows?

[@samsen3965]

Wow... What a precise, perfect review man. You truly left nothing to be experienced first handed! :-) All I can say wished they had the monitor turn the other way, so the 970 battery would not hit the camera top or at least make a telescopic L arm to hold the monitor and lift it up, when needed, then it would be a perfect product. Nevertheless, I guess based on your review, I NEED 1. Damn you for proving that to me ;-)

[@ShawnLPorterPhotography]

Can you record your screen or record to the SD card?

[@manuelmtz4541]

does the SmallHD Focus 5" let you record continuously pass the 30 minute limit?

[@Snakeye2209]

No because it's not a recorder like some other brands.. ;-)

[@thomascampos7056]

Can you choose a focal point with it by touching the screen?

[@CalebWojcik]

Not on this model, no.

[@baddogentertainment6960]

I love this monitor, but the fact that it doesn't have a power-IN port really astounds me, as el cheapo versions of this monitor have them. Makes it a pain if you want to power everything using a single v-mount. Does anyone know if the micro-USB slot can be used to power it?

[@yank1tonybats511]

The USB port can not be used to power the camera

[@msmithtvproductions]

This may be a dumb question but I can't seem to get my audio during playback on the monitor. only video. My camera does have a headphone jack but that doesn't seem to be a factor in playing sound. Is there another cord I need in order to do audio playback?

[@ramiramitto9679]

thank you for the review

[@CalebWojcik]

No problem 👍

[@Catchlightstories]

Can i buy SDI and use SDI to HDMi converter to use it on a camera with just the HDMI slots?

[@EM.Creative_]

Will the Small HD Focus Monitor work with the Canon EOS R?

[@gappo1301]

Yes

[@artkarp]

How does this compare to the Atomos Shinobi?

[@CalebWojcik]

Review of that coming later today. In short, the display on the shinobi is better, but you don't get the bracket arm or the ability to power your camera.

[@D_L_J_83]

Caleb Wojcik now that you have both, which one do you prefer?

[@alejandropargaa]

I love the look of the OLED but it only has 350 nits.. where as the other small HD focus has 800 nits huge difference

[@CalebWojcik]

If you're filming indoors only I find 350 nits to be enough.

[@D_L_J_83]

Thanks for the great review! Is it possible to power this using a V-mount battery?

[@CalebWojcik]

Maybe with a dummy battery adapter.

[@storyfilms-videografiedenu2398]

Amazing review! Really helpful! Just one question: is there a way to set up some kind of "power saving" / "stand by" mode ? For example when you turn off the camera, then turn it on again, the monitor screen would power off and on automatically without the need to turn it always manually off and on?

[@CalebWojcik]

Not that I know of.

[@AM2PMReviews]

Is there any lag or delay with audio and video

[@CalebWojcik]

No.

[@LivingProofFilmz]

So when I received my small hd focus, it turns on and I can see the image but the touch screen Is not responsive. It’s as if it’s not touch screen at all. Any ideas on how to fix this or do I need to send it back?

[@LivingProofFilmz]

Also what’s up with the battery? Takes like 12 hours to charge on the charging dock. Absolutely ridiculous

[@CalebWojcik]

You can get faster NFP battery chargers. I’d have a bunch of extras too. The touch screen isn’t as responsive as an iPhone, but if it isn’t responding to long presses or swipes, there may be something wrong with the unit.

[@Pheraaz]

Is there any option where we can focus by tapping the external monitor? same way we tap on the dslr touchscreen e-g I want to focus something in the frame and I just tap on it and the camera focuses that. Can I do that with this or any external monitor? would really really appreciate your help. I have 1dx mark2

[@martinrandez7021]

Would love to have that same answer as well! If anyone knows... 5d mk iv user

[@LivingProofFitness]

awesome review dude! what kind of mic are you using to record this video?

[@CalebWojcik]

Rode NTG-3

[@ParisHolmesFilms]

I have a camera that takes sdi and another one that takes hdmi, does the sdi one also have hdmi or just sdi?

[@CalebWojcik]

They don’t do both. You have to choose one or the other.

[@awillingvessel238]

how i know which one i have?

[@GeorgeMihaly]

Nice review Caleb 🤙Would the SmallHD Pan Module for Tilt Arm work on anything that has a 1/4"-20 mounting hole or is it unique for this monitor arm? Thanks! -George

[@CalebWojcik]

Hmmm. Great question. The mounting points (specifically the top) are pretty specific to the tilt arm from what I can tell and have tested. What are you trying to use it with?

[@GeorgeMihaly]

@@CalebWojcik I looked at SmallHD's review video of the accessory and see what you mean about the mounting point being unique. I have a friction arm and was thinking of putting the Pan Module at the top before a small monitor to create the ability to easily pan my 5" monitor without needing to loosen the tightening knob of the friction arm. Thank you sir & many kudos & much admiration on all thing SwitchPod!

[@billkujawa]

Audio sounds good what did you use? Also is that the 10-18 STM lens you shot with?

[@CalebWojcik]

Rode NTG-3 shotgun mic into a Mix-Pre 6 recorder. With a sound blanket behind the camera. For the a-roll I used the Tokina 11-20mm 2.9 ATX cinema lens I've been borrowing to test from them.

[@Buck5Productions]

It (Caleb's video), does sound good, doesn't it. I was going to comment on the quality of audio as well... ya beat me to it :)

[@AntonyDyer]

Thankyou!

[@stevenbagley9858]

Does this monitor work if you do still photography? Is there lag time from when you release shutter and image appearing on screen?

[@CalebWojcik]

It basically shows what you see on your back lcd screen, so depends on your camera and it’s speed.

[@my21coronas]

As far as the swiveling goes with the biggest battery. Can't you just swivel it the other way as opposed to the way the battery gets in the way?

[@CalebWojcik]

To flip it around yes, but if you want to hold the camera at waist level and have the screen perpendicular to the floor you can’t do that with the big battery.

[@my21coronas]

Ah.. I see.

[@T2Exile]

I cant take off the anton baur battery!

[@male88263]

can you have access to the camera menu trough this monitor?

[@CalebWojcik]

If you allow the menu to passthrough HDMI in your camera settings, yes.

[@BlackLightNL]

Hi guys, I am trying to get a signal from my Canon R5 to my Small HD Focus 5 inch monitor. My monitor keeps telling me: no hdmi signal. I just bought this monitor 2nd hand from a webshop so I try to figure out if there is a fix or the monitor is the problem. Anyone some suggetion? Settings now: HDMI Resolution: is set to 1080p HDMI Raw output: off Standby: Low Res: off Movie Rec Size: 1080 // IPB High Frame Rate: Disabled 4K HQ Mode: Disabled

[@braden9331]

Did you ever find a solution to this? Having the same issue

[@BlackLightNL]

@@braden9331 broken cable

[@andrewbozman7188]

in your sony a7iii, how did you get your monitor to display full screen, without the black bars on the bottom and left?

[@jasrenwick]

Did you find an answer?

[@TIBISCOBIOLABAND]

Hi, did you manage to resolve the full screen with a7iii? I have the same problem. I changed to one of the canon mark settings, but it's not good. It stratches the screen in a bad way.

[@TIBISCOBIOLABAND]

@@jasrenwick have you find out about the full screen view with a7iii? regards,

[@mambojambostudio]

anyone have ANY idea why my focus won’t turn on? i have two 970’s fully charged yet won’t turn on. worked about 8 hours ago, but nothing now. is this something i can figure out?

[@CalebWojcik]

I’m not sure. I’d contact SmallHD.

[@crack3001]

I was wondering about the latency of the monitor - any thoughts?

[@waynelast1685]

I dont undeerstand how you tell what the real battery life is by pinching the screen and observing.... What are you observing that tells you how much battery life is left?

[@CalebWojcik]

Shows in the menus. Upper right.

[@experiencesforsale]

Would you recommend thıs one over Atomos Shinobi?

[@EpicPauze]

You know you can rotate it the opposite way and it still flips with the larger battery... I’ve done it with mine and that solves the problem. Doesn’t just rotate one way.

[@CalebWojcik]

Yeah, just can’t point the monitor straight up if you’re holding the camera at waist level for example.

[@87andsmith]

I'm sitting here struggling with figuring out how to get the cable clip to attach to the back of my OLED Focus screen. lol

[@solomongilbert3186]

Honestly mate same. It's a pain in the arse still can't figure it out. Let me know if you've worked it out!

[@ENERGIEWELTXY]

COOL

[@glennsak]

The Atomos Shinobi announced today makes this review almost too late...

[@CalebWojcik]

I'm publishing a review of that today...

[@dariuswells4961]

IM SOLD!