Fri Mar 24, 2023 3:56 pm
A post for the hobbyists here: this might be old news for some, but many modern Android phones have a UVC input capability, which is basically video over USB. This means that they can be used as a poor man’s camera monitor with any camera which has HDMI out. All you need is the appropriate leads and a USB video capture device (most are well under $20 on Amazon). These devices convert the HDMI out to a UVC signal which is readable by the phone.
Some phones (like my Sony Xperia 1 Mk4) also include a camera monitor app. The Xperia monitor app is hidden by default but can be enabled under settings > device connection > connection preferences > external monitor. It’s marketed as a feature for recent Sony cameras with UVC outputs, but can also be used with any camera which has HDMI out in combination with a video capture device.
The Sony monitor app is a fully-featured monitor app with zoom, grids, RGB & luma graphs etc. But it’s not just Sony phones - many modern Android phones are offering UVC, and there are several basic viewer apps available from the Google store.
Here’s my BMPCC4K with the Xperia and capture device in-line:
The Xperia OLED screen is much brighter than the built-in camera screen and is a good-enough solution for travelling light (assuming you always have your phone with you). It makes it much easier to use the BMPCC4K in bright sunlight, particularly for focusing. The capture device I have handles 1080p 24 & 60fps just fine. I haven’t tried it for long periods, but it’s worth a punt if you have a recent Android phone with UVC capability and can afford to try out a cheap video capture device. And of course it can be used with a swivel/tilt mount for getting better viewing angles.
Sadly Apple don’t yet support UVC on iPhones, so this is an Android-only feature at the moment.
[Edit] to be clear: I shoot in 4k 24/60fps but the device works fine as a monitor because the HDMI output is 1080p on the BMPCC4K.
Some phones (like my Sony Xperia 1 Mk4) also include a camera monitor app. The Xperia monitor app is hidden by default but can be enabled under settings > device connection > connection preferences > external monitor. It’s marketed as a feature for recent Sony cameras with UVC outputs, but can also be used with any camera which has HDMI out in combination with a video capture device.
The Sony monitor app is a fully-featured monitor app with zoom, grids, RGB & luma graphs etc. But it’s not just Sony phones - many modern Android phones are offering UVC, and there are several basic viewer apps available from the Google store.
Here’s my BMPCC4K with the Xperia and capture device in-line:
- 0B6B3FF1-40EF-4E04-8112-D9CB555DC3A9.jpeg (49.7 KiB) Viewed 1135 times
The Xperia OLED screen is much brighter than the built-in camera screen and is a good-enough solution for travelling light (assuming you always have your phone with you). It makes it much easier to use the BMPCC4K in bright sunlight, particularly for focusing. The capture device I have handles 1080p 24 & 60fps just fine. I haven’t tried it for long periods, but it’s worth a punt if you have a recent Android phone with UVC capability and can afford to try out a cheap video capture device. And of course it can be used with a swivel/tilt mount for getting better viewing angles.
Sadly Apple don’t yet support UVC on iPhones, so this is an Android-only feature at the moment.
[Edit] to be clear: I shoot in 4k 24/60fps but the device works fine as a monitor because the HDMI output is 1080p on the BMPCC4K.