A lot of resolution.

The DP1 is 1280 x 720
The Ikan is 800 x 480

DP1 has 2.4 times more pixels.

Furthermore, Ikan is plastic, DP1 is unibody aluminum construction... so go figure ;-)

enjoy!

Hi :)

I received my dp1 today and have to say it's really wonderful.
Especially in conjuction with a 35mm adapter I can now really see what I am doing :)

Also the criticised menu navigation is absolutely no problem to me. It took maybe 5 minutes learning to use it.

The only thing that is a fact is the heavy color banding and noise in lowlight situations.
We discussed that already here and it might be a PAL-only thing. But it's definitely there.

No big problem to me as I am mostly shooting properly exposed footage.
Maybe it's really a software thing that could be fixed in the near future.

The battery system (like expected) is ok. But having to use that extra cable from the battery to the power in seems a bit unprofessional. Usually a batterybracked has the connectors integrated I would say. But again, no big deal. It's ok and VERY light :)

So I'll see tomorrow how the whole thing behaves in the field while shooting.

Thanks for all the help here with deciding to buy one :)

Peter

I will have to wait, they are backordered, out of stock till next week.........drat.

Hi :)
The only thing that is a fact is the heavy color banding and noise in lowlight situations.
We discussed that already here and it might be a PAL-only thing. But it's definitely there.


It took a bit of convincing for me to come around, but if you change the brightness up to 58, not only do the bands get almost totally minimized, but the tone of the blacks very closely matches the professional monitors I've put the dp1 against. It will absolutely look washed out in comparison to the superblacks of the default setting, but you end up with full details in the dark areas and a more accurate contrast. What finally turned me around was an engineer pointing out to me that 0ire doesn't exist in many places in the real world, and no places where you'd be shooting. If you try it, i recommend you make the setting change then go away and come back fresh, as its hard to get used to immediately after looking at the overly contrasty default.


The battery system (like expected) is ok. But having to use that extra cable from the battery to the power in seems a bit unprofessional. Usually a batterybracked has the connectors integrated I would say. But again, no big deal. It's ok and VERY light :)

I dunno that i'd go so far as saying "unprofessional". Its a bit fiddly, but I certainly see far wonkier things hooked to cameras on professional sets. One thing definitely unprofessional about the batteries is the price. $60 would barely get you an anton bauer sticker, much less a battery and charger. hehe. It was clearly a tradeoff between size/weight/price/standards. My big concern is losing that wee cable. Been trying out different solutions for attaching it to the battery or to the monitor. I plan to buy 3 more of the batteries, and hopefully that means 3 more of the wee cables so i can return to my normal state of losing things but having backups.

My big concern is losing that wee cable.

My batteries came with two cables each - a short and a long - so for two batteries I have three battery to monitor cables, and I only use one. If I happen to lose one, it's a non-factor in my opinion, but being as I've got it hooked to the monitor all the time I doubt I'll even lose one anytime soon!

Its a bit fiddly, but I certainly see far wonkier things hooked to cameras on professional sets.

Are you saying my car battery and 79 Chevrolet headlights are wonky? hehe. Sorry, it's funny and it went through my brain.

It took a bit of convincing for me to come around, but if you change the brightness up to 58, not only do the bands get almost totally minimized, but the tone of the blacks very closely matches the professional monitors I've put the dp1 against.

I'm not tried any "pro" monitors but to me the difference between the DP1 with brightness at 58 and what I see on my macbook is so far apart that using a monitor is counter productive. Yes you can focus with it, but you'd have to totally ignore the way the image looks in my opinion.

58 is far too much. I know it's recommended for the banding issue, but You're right.
You cannot really judge the image then.

So I'll stay with what the colourbars tell me to have in brigtness values.
And thats almost everything set to 50.

I hope the banding thing is fixed soon.
Although I am afraid, that the monitor then has to be sent back for upgrading. We'll see ...

Peter

Are there any news concerning the dark area blocking and banding issues? Other than that I've been very pleased with the quality of the image that the DP1 boasts off. It's so easy to get accurate focus when doing handheld. The dark blocky noise just ruins the image when shooting in low key situations. Of course the blocking is only on the monitor's image, not in the actual image but I bought the monitor to judge the images that I'm getting.

Like everything else you get what you pay for, while I really like the smallHD I do have some gripes. The glossy screen is a big problem shooting exteriors. The control buttons are a joke, The amount of times I have turned the monitor off while trying to adjust things is driving me nuts, The OSD controls block out what you are trying to see!... and the batteries give up without any warning.

However, for the price I'm happy.

Neil, are you experiencing any of the PAL issues that Paul Joy (see posts further back in this thread) has seen?

Cheers

Mark

I'm experiencing the exact same issues that Paul Joy has described before. No matter what mode I set my ex1 in (PAL/NTSC) I get the ugly blocky noise in the shadows. I don't want to sound too harsh, but in my opinion the monitor is quite useless for judging the image when shooting in low light.

Re the banding issue. Yep, it's pretty bad, particularly in low light. It's not such an issue with exteriors and well lit situations. Of course now that the matter has been raised I'm more keenly aware of it. Basically I use the EX1 LCD with blue peaking and 95 percent Zebras for focus and exposure and It works very well for me. The monitor I use for composition and to keep an eye on audio levels etc

I have the same shadow granulation as anyone else, and while unfortunate, its far from a rendering the monitor "useless" to me. It only occurs in roughly the bottom 8-10% brightness of the image, or, the shadows. I've been prepping for a full review of the dp1 by putting it in the hands of a number of operators across numerous platforms and while we all agree its disappointing to be there, if you are seeing the granulation in part of an image, that part is underexposed. Sorta like "dark zebras". On every shoot i've gripped, if something needing critical focus or detail is in the "noise zone", then it also needs more light. Once the light level is anywhere near appropriate, then the noise isnt an issue.

I'm not trying to deny the problem, or discount anyones feelings, but from my experience I fail to see the issue the same way, and certainly not overshadowing of the strengths. I don't see any other monitor option that allows correctly exposed images the same overscan control, details in focusing, the same build quality, and form factor. The DP1 may not be my dream monitor, but at this time my dream monitor doesn't exist at any price.

Obviously, if your shooting style is landing critical parts of your image in the shadows then you would be frustrated and I can understand that. No offense intended.

Obviously, if your shooting style is landing critical parts of your image in the shadows then you would be frustrated and I can understand that. No offense intended.

I shoot micro-budget tv commercials so I have to work around the locations provided by the client. Even if we had the variety of lighting equipment needed to adequately light a scene, we're still handicapped by time. Most clients want us in and out as fast as humanly possible making the task of lighting a scene nearly impossible.

With that said, I ordered a DP1 last week. While I'm not thrilled about getting a monitor that doesn't reproduce the image exactly as on a studio monitor, my needs for the monitor are more for focusing purposes while using our M2 Encore. In low-light situations I've never really had a problem using the on-camera LCD while running it stock, but with the addition of a lens adapter, hitting the mark focus-wise is a lot more challenging without a full-res monitor. So I can see it's practicality for situations like that and considering it costs less than half of what a broadcast hi-def LCD would cost, I won't be complaining.

I think Dean is right. In actual shooting situations where you have lit the subject the banding is really not an issue. To be honest I wasn't aware of the issue until I read about it here, so I fired up the EX1 and DP1 in my studio (which is on the dark side) and lo and behold there it was, but whack in a few lights and... there it goes.

A clarification on this banding issue, it does what exactly? I've read a lot of posts but I still can't figure out exactly what it does to the darker/underexposed parts of the image, because I don't own one. I guess, someone finish the sentence for me. In low light situations, the DP1's ability to produce the darker/shadow parts of the image....what?

So this banding issue, it does what exactly? In low light situations the DP1's ability to reproduce parts of the image that are darker...what?
Exactly. The darkest parts of some pictures have just subtle differences in luminance from one area of the frame to adjacent areas. The monitor is unable to reproduce those fine differences, and the result is a banding error, where these areas are just lost and turn into a digital kind of noise.

Exactly. The darkest parts of some pictures have just subtle differences in luminance from one area of the frame to adjacent areas. The monitor is unable to reproduce those fine differences, and the result is a banding error, where these areas are just lost and turn into a digital kind of noise.

And this is with all versions of the monitor? And just to clarify further - this is only a problem that exists in low light situations, right? In other words, if you have adequate set lighting it isn't an issue? I'm worried about having adequate lighting but for instance, on shoots where the interplay between light and shadow (such as film noir) does the banding issue present itself even though there is enough light, but also a lot of shadow?

And this is with all versions of the monitor? And just to clarify further - this is only a problem that exists in low light situations, right?

I've been doing a lot of testing of the issue. Its difficult to quantify and i'll try to explain why people have had such different results:

Imagine a full 8 bit gradient. This is what each Red, Green or Blue pixel represents. 128 gradations from fully off to fully on:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/attachment.php?attachmentid=13507&stc=1&d=1249961148

It looks smooth, but if you zoom in close, you can see the "banding" or "stepping" as you move from one luminance to the next. Thats the nature of digital images:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/attachment.php?attachmentid=13508&stc=1&d=1249961148

I have no insight as to why it is doing this, and it sounds like Dale has been fighting an epic battle to get the chip manufacturer to admit this is happening , but it kinda looks like the DP1 is doing a bit reduction of the darkest blacks. The darkest blacks by nature have the lowest details of the image and it is common in bit reduction interpolation (like creating a GIF file) to use fewer bands within the dark areas so you can use more in the brighter areas. Like so:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/attachment.php?attachmentid=13509&stc=1&d=1249961148

Now, this may be wildly inaccurate as to what is *actually* happening, but it kinda looks like the dp1 is applying a dithering pattern to the "wider" steps in the dark area to help smooth out the jumps between bands. This is also a common bit reduction technique (like in creating GIFs/downsampling). The result is something like this:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/attachment.php?attachmentid=13510&stc=1&d=1249961148

So, if you have a smooth gradation in your image within the darkest area you can see a funky "noise" or "banding" or "granulation" or whatever you call it as the dp1 shows you a kind of dithered representation of the image.

The reason this isn't a drama for me is because of where it is in the image:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/attachment.php?attachmentid=13505&stc=1&d=1249961148

This is exactly where most cameras have trouble too. Consumer tv sets and computers are often set up to crush this whole area into "black" and most cameras if you gain the blacks up to be visible show all sorts of nasty artifacts and noise and the camera's own techniques for trying to capture/render this dark spectrum.

The reason it seems to be a bigger issue in "low light" situations depends on how you are compensating for the low light. If you gain up the cameras, often the resulting noise is far more apparent than the DP1's "noise" in these regions. If your solution is to underexpose the image with plans to then gain it back up in post, and you are trying to achieve critical focus within the underexposed areas, then I could see how this would complicate an already difficult shooting situation. I believe the people here that have been saying "i don't see the problem" are people whose workflow involves some kind of lighting (natural, practical or artificial) that places the critical parts of the image well out of the "shadow zone".

A fair bit of this discussion is subjective. One man's "underexposed" is another man's "guerilla lighting" and both are legitimate positions. Some cameras rock in low light, others make a mess of the shadows. Depending on which you have probably affects your feelings about important parts of the image sitting in the shadows. (same if you intend to run looks filters to create high contrast and the blacks are all going to get crushed anyways).

I personally rolled my brightness up to 58. Other people were horribly repulsed at this solution but for me it worked. I'm an old fart and have spent untold hours looking at CRTs whose idea of "0 ire black" was a distinct shade of grey. Cranking up the brightness (which isn't a traditional "brightness". it acts more like a black setup) simply raises the whole image out of the problem area. I see a representation of the whole tonal range and I don't feel like i'm losing anything. No matter which camera we are using (hdv, ex3, 5D, red), i never see superblacks in real life, or captured. The blacks on my dp1 at 58 are still darker than on the sony field reference CRTs we used to shoot with, so its still within a subjective realm to me. The entire gamut is represented, and I'm able to see details within the shadows, so it works. For the shoots where the DP didnt want that solution, we dropped it back to 50 and the rare times where we saw banding we just ignored it since it isn't really there.

The reasons I ordered the DP1 were 1. accurate focus. 2. framing 3. a point of reference for color/contrast.

For #1, focus, the DP1 is outstanding. Just brilliant. Once a shooter has been on it for an hour or so, they stop checking with the focus assists on their other monitor. You can simply see what you are shooting. Its so simple and so liberating.

For #2, framing, most any monitor will do, but the adjustable overscan on the DP1 has been so powerful. I can pull in and trust the edges of the ex3/fx1 while maintaining maximum image size, i can see the menus on the Red, and even cope with the funky image out of the 5D. Awesome.

For #3, color/contrast, I honestly didn't expect much. I've used several brands of LCDs in the past that had just appalling color rendition. Horrible magenta hues that couldn't be corrected, etc. The color and contrast on the DP1 has been a hugely pleasant surprise. I'm getting to the point with settings and experience where I'm trusting what I see on it. I never expected that and have been so pleased to have that as a feature as well. Its not a $9,000 reference monitor, but I feel like its clarity and consistency is high enough that I can use it as a tool and get the results i expect. I'll probably still double check with a different screen if focusing on something in the shadows and I'm not entirely trusting of what i see when shooting extremely saturated reds, but neither of those come up enough for me to worry.

Dale at smallHD asked for people to send in photos of the DP1 in production settings, so i snapped this over the weekend and sent it to him. (if you see it on their website, thats why). If it uploads correctly, this is an unedited 10mp jpeg straight out of my sony R1 camera, that allows you to see the monitor in a basic context of the scene, and also zoom in enough to see the dp1's image. When I was shopping for the DP1, the one thing i craved was an image that let me zoom in and see the monitor in action. This particular setup was unusual because the light levels of the set and the light levels of the dp1 were close enough that you could see the two together basically as you would if standing there. Photographs of the DP1 are still photographs of a light source, so the cup and part of the chair are brighter in the photo than they seemed in person, but otherwise its pretty accurate. (it looks a lot sexier with the super rich sony color profile vs. whatever profile dvinfo uses. hehe)

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/attachment.php?attachmentid=13506&stc=1&d=1249961148

So thats my 20c on the smallhd's shadow "noise". I was so frustrated when shopping for a monitor that I swore when I got one I'd do the "proper" even handed review that I wished somebody else had done when I was trying to make my decision. So if it seems like I'm some rural new zealand grip that works with a lot of different shooters and obsesses over his gear during slow periods while writing stuff that seems like part of a larger review that may someday come... thats exactly right! Wow, yer good!

Cheers!
-Andrew

Thanks a lot, Andrew, for your excellent testing, critique, summary, and even handed review.
Very useful stuff to know for someone like me teetering on the brink of buying a small (with a lower case s) HD monitor. Much appreciated, and definitely worth more than your 20cents.

Yeah seriously thanks for your input. I'm deciding on an HD-field monitor and I'm leaning toward the DP1, now only if I could get that $100 off pre-order price! Point of interest about the DP1's batteries: how long does it take to charge a battery from 0-100%? For instance, I'm thinking of buying two batteries for longer shoots. Is it feasible to start the shoot with two fully charged batteries, and when the first one gets used up, charge it back to 90% or higher whilst using the second?

Thanks, Mark and Sean. Happy to know all my typing isn't for nothing. hehe.

Re: the battery life. I haven't timed charging time, but from what I've read, its supposed to fast charge. So in theory 2 batteries could last all day. I'm personally going to get another 2, because location shoots and music videos and such are often "charger-unfriendly".

The Tekkeon batteries last ages. They aren't nearly as convenient as having the battery snap on the back, but make a nice backup. (and can charge your cellphone. hehe)

I just noticed that dvinfo shrank my 10mp image of the night setup. Here it is in its unmodified full rez, straight from my R1, which allows you to see quite a bit more. (warning, big file)
http://www.lakeflyproductions.com/stuff/DSC07594.JPG

Cheers,
-a

I received my DP1 yesterday and I am really impressed. My order also consisted of:

- 2x batteries (nice design and small enough)

- Battery clip (this is essential although looks to be optional on their web site, if you don't order one you will have a battery with no home)

- Component cable (not necessary as there was one included, both are too heavy duty and the weight of the cable is such that it pulls out one of the RCA plugs, I ended up replacing with a lightweight cable). Shame really as I paid extra for this.

- Sunhood (very cool, clever set-up)

I have to say that the image quality is just amazing. I can now see what the focus is without a problem and as a composition aid it is just invaluable. You can start to get excited about framing and really lose yourself in the image.

I do not have experience with pro monitors, however mounted on top of my JVC HD111 it changes everything. I am now itching to start playing with my SGBlade when it arrives on Thursday.

This is a great deal and at 720P it is native to my camera. Love it!

Alex

Reading all these rave reviews is really just making me wish my next few paychecks could come in early so I could buy this thing.

Wow, will it work with PAL camcorders?

Hi,
I'm about to have my nanoflash recorder shipped to me and it has HDMI out. Once I receive it, I will probably order a DP1. How is the connector HDMI cable's connector secured to the DP1 so that it does not come out easily? Or is it a push on/pull off arrangement?
Thanks very much.

Good afternoon,

First, David the hdmi is simply push in and out type.


I have had my small hd sense the first shipment. I have found it has improved my images rather dramaticly, particularly in the focus department and framing.

I shoot with a canon xlh1. I usually use the fu1000 which means I have to use a component cable the the dp1. The direct link that runs to the same socket the fu1000 attaches through is my favorite. If I do not need the view finder I just unplug the fu 1000 (saving wear and tear on it too) and use the supplied cable that came with the camera.

I can also put the original view finder back on, it plugs into the top socket and the dp1 into the lower socket.

Ideally I would like a small 9 inch component cable. I hate the idea pf cutting my long cable at 50 bucks a cable!!!

I have two batteries and for almost all my shooting that has been enough. I plan to buy two more. I love the fact that they are small and non obtrusive. Great on the steady cam!

I would like to be able to run it to a 12 small car battery, not sure how to tackle that one yet but plan to do that before next spring when I live in a blind. Open to ideas!!

I personally have had no quibbles about blocking or bands.

I have my presets on the xlh1 that give me the color I desire so I do not really use the camera for making corrections to the image.

I set it up and had my pany plasma hooked up to and the colors were very faithful to the point I would be confident to make an adjustment if necessary. I am positive I would be close enough to finalize in post if needed. I have not had to do that in any of my shooting sense the first of June.

In my opinion low light and HD just do not really go together with anything less than 1/2 inch chips. In low light I prefer my SD camera. So in this regard I have no complaints about noise or such.

I can imagine 90% of users of this lcd would find it a real asset.


thanks again Dale and Crew!!

Thanks Dale for the HDMI update and thanks for your review.
Best wishes

Quick clarification: does the DP1 come with an arm that can be attached to rails? If not, can anyone recommend a good one for use with the DP1?

Sean, no arm. I have been researching arms and there are a few manufacturers such as Noga, Cine-Arm & Zacuto to name a few. Articulating arms in various lengths to be specific. You can even buy quick release mounts & yes, you can get clamps to attach to rails, handles and tripod legs.

the Small HD is really light - I just mount it to the hot shoe on the camera - no problem

Paul.

what do you attach to the bottom of your dp1 to slide it into a hot shoe?


thanks

Manfrotto by Bogen Imaging 482LCD MICRO BALL HEAD w/HOT SHOE MNT - BO482LCD

Will this monitor (the DP1) work with PAL camcorders?

Stelios

Will this monitor (the DP1) work with PAL camcorders?

Stelios

No less than 8 flavours of PAL format. Check out their website for more details

hi Stelios - I'm in a PAL country, the monitor works great

Where can we buy it in EU?

you can only get it from smallHD in the U.S. - just check their website, it has all the info your need

Thank you Paul!How long did it take to arrive in EU?Did u pay a lot of customs?BTW how is it now that u had the chance to try it for a couple of days?

thx

I'm in Australia - it didn't take long, under a week I think. You should be able to work out the duty you will have to pay.

I didn't try it first, I watched and read all the comments from other users and then took the plunge.

curiously,

At this point has anyone arranged 12 battery set ups?

I would like to run it off a 12 car battery/ or somthing similar when setting in a blind for hours of continious run time.

info and pics would be great.

Why not a Tekkeon MP3450 and the MP3450-10 extended pack? They'd run the DP1 for a LONG time. and much less bulky.

I haven't timed it, but with a mp3450 plus the mp3450-10 i've shot a long day with power to spare. I also had one die and refuse to charge again when it ran down, so i dunno.

A 12v car battery would be good for days if you don't mind lugging the car battery around. It would pay to check the freshly charged battery to make sure the voltage isnt over 14v or so, but as long as it isnt, you can easily make a battery->smallhd connector using off the shelf bits from any auto parts store. Just a battery clip to cigarette lighter adapter, then a lighter to the standard 2.5mm hole connector.

An option in between would be a 7.2ah sealed lead acid battery. They make bags for this size battery designed for "spotlighting" (shining a bright light on critters at night so you can disorient them as you shoot them), that are padded and have a cigarette lighter female jack on them. They also work a treat w/ the smallhd.

I've also heard a lot of positive feedback about the bescor prb-154atm, which is a 14.4ah (so, around 30 hours continuous operation w/ a smallhd) battery belt complete w/ charger for around $150.

Lotta options. 12v is extremely common and if you dont need to mount on the camera, (like in a blind), then you got every option in the world. Heck, you could probably get a solar panel to extend the range of any of the 12v batteries substantially.

I have used several cameras to record HS Foootball and now use the EX-1. I addeded the Small HD Monitor this season and the result is a major improvment in the final video. For the first time I can see what I am shooting when doing wide shots. While the battery set-up could be improved, I highly recoment that anyone shooting sports with a good HD camera add a Samm HD Monitor.

Just wanted to note that my 2nd SmallHD DP1 arrived a couple of days ago and of course I couldn't be happier! One just wasn't enough so I had to have two!

Actually, one will be dedicated to my new Glidecam X-22 rig, the other to tripod and handheld work. Now I just gotta wait for the X-22 to come in!

These are rockin' monitors guys - go get 'em!

I had an interesting experience with a client last week involving the DP1. We were shooting in London and he wanted to review the footage while we were travelling to the next location on the tube. My client sat with the DP1 on his lap and when the EX1 fired up in the media mode showing the thumbnails he immediately started string to make them play by tapping on them with his finger.

I think it must be iPhone culture kicking in, but wouldn't that be a cool thing to have working! It would of course require Sony to externalise the UI controls, but man that would be cool thing for the next generation of solid state cameras.

Now I just have to get his fingerprints off!

Trevor,


thanks for the line on the Tekkeon MP3450 I will be acquiring a couple of them, and they are reasonably priced too!!

Trevor,


thanks for the line on the Tekkeon MP3450 I will be acquiring a couple of them, and they are reasonably priced too!!

You're quite welcome! I'm IN LOVE with mine (no seriously, I think my girlfriend may be a bit jealous!) Works great as a plug-in for the iPhone out on location as well, since it has a USB port.

My suggestion is to go on Tekkeon - iPhone/iPod Accessories, Mobile Power, Bluetooth Headsets (http://www.tekkeon.com) and buy one of their 3-foot non-coiled cords as well, so you aren't as limited by the coiled one that comes with the 3450.

Enjoy!

We do all most all our work in early sunrise and golden hour light outdoors, and usually have pretty bright scenes, especially due to our location in northeastern Brazil.

One major prob we've run into with little HD monitors is reflectivity and difficulty even seeing them on crane and dolly. How does the DP1 stand up outdoors in the seriously bright sunshine?