Blackmagic Forum

My Atomos Ninja V broke the other day. Rather than simply replacing it with the same monitor, I'm hoping to use it as an opportunity to get a monitor that solves a few of the issues I had with Atomos, so I'm looking for your recommendations based on your experience :

Issue 1 - The Atomos Ninja V doesn't have the ability to control the Black Magic 6k, this was always a real issue so I'd like a monitor that can do this and gives access to all functions as if you were using the back screen.

Issue 2 - I shoot myself often, so though it's not something I will get immediately, I want the option of wireless monitoring. I know I will have to purchase additional hardware for this, but just want to ensure the monitor I get has the ability for this function. Wireless control a bonus, but not paramount.

PRICE : Sub £700 ideally.

Thoughts?

Portkeys LH5 maybe?

IMO, PortKeys should fit your needs for that price. I have a BM7 II DS as a handheld director’s monitor (I feed a Teradek Ace750 in to it) and in my limited experience so far it seemed like a decent choice. I don’t LOVE the UI as it is but they’re apparently releasing a big redesign of that soon so it might be improving. They’ve got a 5” version called the BM5 that is getting a new model soon, so look in to that for sure.

Alex Mitchell wrote:IMO, PortKeys should fit your needs for that price. I have a BM7 II DS as a handheld director’s monitor (I feed a Teradek Ace750 in to it) and in my limited experience so far it seemed like a decent choice. I don’t LOVE the UI as it is but they’re apparently releasing a big redesign of that soon so it might be improving. They’ve got a 5” version called the BM5 that is getting a new model soon, so look in to that for sure.

Hey thanks, that's very useful! I read a little about the BM5 previously and some reviews said although it was bright - the colours got really washed out at its brightest settings which made it less usable. Have you experienced anything like this whilst using it in outdoor locations in the sun?

kyanmagic wrote:Hey thanks, that's very useful! I read a little about the BM5 previously and some reviews said although it was bright - the colours got really washed out at its brightest settings which made it less usable. Have you experienced anything like this whilst using it in outdoor locations in the sun?

I wouldn't call my BM7 II DS a "reference" quality monitor, no, but you're not really meant to use onboard or handheld monitors for colour/exposure reference. Because you're not using them in ideal, controlled conditions it isn't realistic to set them up as a Rec709 reference monitor because that would be a horrid experience to operate with. As long as the colours are close enough for jazz, you really only need onboard monitors for focus and framing. Exposure is best set with waveforms, false colour, or just good old fashioned light meters, and white balance should be pretty simple to set based on your regular best practices.

Does anyone know if the BM7 does camera control with the 6k FF?