SmallHD DP1+ upgrage

[Garrett Low]

Has anyone upgraded their DP1 to the DP1+ yet?

SmallHD.com - 8.9" High Definition - STORE - DP1

Wondering if this upgrade is worth the $100. I shoot with a Sony EX3.

Thanks,
Garrett

[Steve Nelson]

I think this is pretty new so I bet not too many people have had it done yet but I'm curious as well.

[Mark Bolding]

I will consider this, just wish it included SDI. It sounds like some good upgrades with the shortcuts and better color reproduction.
Thanks for the link.

mb

[Garrett Low]

Mark,

If you do get the upgrade done please post how much of an improvement it is. One of the most interesting upgrades for me is the true blue gun feature.

Garrett

[Steve Nelson]

I'm with you on SDI Mark. That would seal the deal for me.

BTW, I sent them a note yesterday asking about turnaround times for the upgrade. Haven't heard back yet but I'm guessing they're all out at NAB this week.

[John Saunders]

I ordered the upgrade on Monday. For $100 its kinda a no brainer for me. I am also waiting to hear back about the turn around times.

I wonder what they use of the old monitor? The housing? If so will they machine new holes for the shortcuts?

I haven't heard anything from them since the order but I also assume I will hear back after NAB.

[Garrett Low]

Thanks John,

So how does the shipping work? will the be sending you a label etc?

Please give updates as you find out more and see what the true differences are.

Thanks,
Garrett

[Andrew Dean]

I got a second dp1 a few weeks ago and I believe what they shipped is a dp1x.

Comparing the old and new units

1. composite input is vastly improved.
2. the "dark noise" issue seems to be gone.
3. If you hold down each of the buttons on the back for a second, it "shortcuts" to various places like the advanced menu.

This last item is what made me think I have an "x" model.

Its out on a shoot for another week or so, so the comparisons are from my memory... for what thats worth.

I'm assuming that the dp1x upgrade would yield the same results as buying a new dp1x.

[John Saunders]

I have no idea how the shipping will work. I still haven't heard from smallhd but probably will once they get back from nab.

[Duncan Craig]

I'm thinking of getting a DP1x to use with a Sony EX1. There are some poor reviews around on the internet. Is the image good enough for general use? The highlights don't get blown out, shadows aren't too muddy?

Also I heard from an associate the boot up time is a nightmare. How do you find it?

Thanks, Duncan.

[Steve Nelson]

I use mine with an EX1 and it works just fine. The only downside is I have to use component cabling since the original EX1 didn't have HDMI and there is no SDI capability on the DP1. Other than that it works very well and helps tremendously with focus. You'll notice that you'll have to work with your color balance because the picture won't look remotely close to the LCD on the camera. Once you get that out of the way though you should be fine. The boot up time is very short. Certainly no worse than the time it takes to turn the camera on.

[Duncan Craig]

Thanks for the info Steve.

I'm thinking about getting a NanoFlash which also acts as an SDI to HDMI convertor, which will get round having to use the component cabling.

Duncan.

[Steve Nelson]

So I think we have an answer to the turnaround time question. They now have a link on the page "How To Upgrade" that gives you a pop-up that tells you they'll ship out the upgrade within 5 business days after receiving your DP-1. Pretty good turnaround time IMHO.

[Nick Hiltgen]

I will be getting my upgrade in the next couple of weeks, I'm looking forward to seeing how it works out, to be honest the more I use the monitor the less blown away with it I am, but if the upgrade does what it's advertising (and my batteries get replaced/fixed) I will be a believer once again.

[Steve Nelson]

Well I got my upgrade done and I'm very pleased for the most part. The picture color and contrast seem to be better now and the Sharpness feature is a great addition. It's can be used as a substitute for Peaking if you crank it up. You can actually watch the in-focus band rack back and forth with the focus and I compared it with peaking on the EX-1 and it pretty much kept pace with the peaking highlights on the camera. I also have found the monitor to be very useable outdoors. Attached are a couple of pix testing it out in my front yard on a partly cloudy but very bright day. The only thing that I could find on the downside was a change to the Overscan limits which prevent you from utilizing the cropping trick accurately for 2.35:1. The limit for the vertical is now 300 - 700 where it had been 0 - 1000. This makes a circle slightly elliptical when you dial down to the lower limit of 300. I live local to SmallHD and had the opportunity to bring my gear over to their shop to test out the monitor. They're working on a fix for this but it isn't really a showstopper IMHO, just a minor annoyance at best right now since working in 2.35:1 for me is only occasional.

I can't say enough good things about the folks at SmallHD though! I had the old batteries and had one finally go out on me this week and they were proactive enough to take both of my batteries back and give me new ones. While I was there to pick up the batteries and test the new monitor I also got some hands on time with a working prototype of their new model for DSLRs. Whoa! You guys are gonna love that one! Better user interface, more versatility with image control and inputs (HD-SDI has been added) and a USB interface so you can update firmware via online downloads in the future. All that and a killer display as well. I think the image quality is even better than the DPx1. It also sounds like other goodies are yet to come later this year. Great bunch of folks and superb customer service.