SmallHD Dp6 (aka DP-SLR) pre Review

Damian Heffernan · October 8th, 2010, 01:47 AM

trying to decide whether to buy the non-sdi one or wait for the sdi version. It7s $400 cheaper to buy it wothout sdi. Question is whether I am going to get the sharpness I need out of the EX1 through component as I don't have hdmi. I need the monitor primarily for focus so will the component be enough? And what do we know about how much the sdi upgrade for the non-sdi units will cost? $400? :)

Dale Backus · October 8th, 2010, 09:00 AM

Damian,

Actually, component and SDI will look identical. If that's your main concern, you shouldn't have a problem using the component ports - that's what they're there for!

Anthony Mwamwenda · October 9th, 2010, 01:09 PM

Just ordered mine today. This review was the last bit of info I needed to make my decision. Thanks for sharing Andrew!

David Schuurman · October 18th, 2010, 06:29 PM

can anyone comment on the rough turnaround time from purchase to delivery? it says they're backordered.

Greg Robison · October 18th, 2010, 07:21 PM

Well I am not sure what the website is saying now (I didn't look) but when I ordered mine (NON SDI version) it said "ships within 5 business days". I ordered on a Weds or Thurs (can't remember which) and had it in my hands the following Thurs. Granted I did pay for next day air shipping.

Hope that helps.

Regards,

G.

Andrew Dean · October 23rd, 2010, 05:01 AM

Heya,

I've been gaffing and gripping a featurette shot on 16mm film. Its been an interesting challenge gripping the heavier rigs after doing so much dslr work.

On the last few days shoots we've had slider and tabletop shots where it wasn't possible for the dp to keep his eye on the eyepiece. We've been using a video tap to allow the director to see what we're filming, so when the challenge came up, i popped a bnc T on and was able to run the dp6 on camera as well. The dp6 was kinda overkill as the video tap is pretty terrible, but the DP was pretty thrilled to be able to frame the shots despite some pretty intense sun. Turning off the monitor when setting up new shots has meant that we've gotten two full days out of one of smallhd's batteries.

Anyways, here's a photo of the dp6 on the film rig.

Cheers!
-a

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/attachme...1&d=1287831687

Andrew Dean · October 30th, 2010, 03:22 AM

Heya,

I'm surprised nobody else has mentioned this, but smallHD released firmware 1.2 which changes a few things.

Colors are WAY truer now. I'm still needing to do more tests on exposure, but it looks like its shaping up to be pretty powerful.

False Colors! Heh, it sounds ironic after the previous sentence, but they've introduced false colors so you can judge exposure by looking for specific color tones.

They've also made the "back" button function as a second shortcut button. When not in a menu, pressing it triggers whatever action you assign to the button. The new factory default is one of the buttons is false colors, the other is focus assist. Seems to make sense, and makes using those features (which are quite obtrusive when you dont want them) super fast to flick on and off.

Its looking pretty sweet. Definitely if you have a dp6, download it.

Cheers!
-a

Charles Papert · October 30th, 2010, 03:36 AM

Andrew:

Referring back to your previous post, always good to keep in mind that T-ing off a video source will reduce the voltage which may result in a darkening of the image. The HD-SDI version of the monitor has a loop-through which should always be used in that situation, since exposure is usually judged from an HD monitored image.

Damian Heffernan · October 30th, 2010, 05:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew Dean

Heya,

Anyways, here's a photo of the dp6 on the film rig.

Cheers!
-a

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/attachme...1&d=1287831687

Out of interest: what slider is that?

Sean Seah · October 30th, 2010, 09:58 PM

Looks like a Kessler Cineslider

Andrew Dean · October 31st, 2010, 02:35 AM

Yup, its a cineslider. That has turned out to be one of my favorite toys. I haven't had much success with the "crank arm" for sliding, as its quite difficult to get smooth, but a tiny bit of resistance and trailing a finger along the side while sliding has been great.

As to the composite split... well, yeah. I knew when popping the T on that we'd be losing voltage, but at that point we were just using the dp6 for framing, so it was our best choice. On a similar topic, the tap on the camera was pretty awful. The video feed was not square in the frame and most of the frame was horribly out of focus. We were only using the tap as a director's guide to the shot so it worked for that, and for framing up the slider, but It was pretty unreal.

HD-SDI would certainly be preferred... if only the camera had it. Hehe. It only barely had composite.

Thats the mystery and magic of film though. The viewfinder was horribly yellowed and the video tap was almost like a cataract simulator yet the captured footage was stunning. A much more expensive and newer camera would have been much easier to shoot with, but ultimately with the same lenses probably wouldn't have looked any different. I'm so used to digital that its hard to keep in my head that the "sensor" on film cameras is rolling past the gate and can be easily "installed" in most other film cameras with minimal effort. Weird. I started my career on film, but its funny how accustomed to the digital world I've become.

Charles Papert · October 31st, 2010, 09:59 AM

Suprising to hear that the viewfinder image was yellow--usually Aatons have good-looking, bright viewfinders. The Aaton taps progressed quite a bit over the years but sounds like you might have had an older one that's seen some abuse! Can't tell from the pic--is that a base model XTR?

You do bring up an interesting point. I shoot less and less film every year and each time it's a bit of a mental adjustment to go back to the old methodology of lighting to eye and meter. Modern video taps have gotten quite good (Arri even has an HD tap now although I have yet to see it on an actual set) but it's always going to be just an approximation. For those who have only shot digital, that's going to be a strange concept.

Doug Tessler · November 1st, 2010, 08:09 PM

They use to have a kit package that came with the sun shade and the screen protectors. I guess now
its alacarte

Doug

Michael Kadlubkiewicz · November 3rd, 2010, 12:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doug Tessler

They use to have a kit package that came with the sun shade and the screen protectors. I guess now
its alacarte

Doug

The response I got: "Sorry, we have no bundles or forum discounts at the moment. We may do a US bundle in early 2011, but that has not been decided."

:/

Paul Cook · November 11th, 2010, 06:52 PM

Well from a business perspective it would be silly to offer any bundles when your product is in such high demand that it is always back-ordered. Bundling only makes sense when sales/demand tappers off or you are overstocked.

Having said that from OUR perspective its bitter sweet as those bundles for the DP1 which included free international shipping were amazing.

October 8th, 2010, 01:47 AM	#46
Damian Heffernan Major Player Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: c Australia Posts: 234	trying to decide whether to buy the non-sdi one or wait for the sdi version. It7s $400 cheaper to buy it wothout sdi. Question is whether I am going to get the sharpness I need out of the EX1 through component as I don't have hdmi. I need the monitor primarily for focus so will the component be enough? And what do we know about how much the sdi upgrade for the non-sdi units will cost? $400? :) __________________ http://onarafilms.com/ http://gentlespirit.com.au/

October 18th, 2010, 06:29 PM	#49
David Schuurman Major Player Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Hamilton, ON Canada Posts: 369	can anyone comment on the rough turnaround time from purchase to delivery? it says they're backordered. __________________ http://www.davidschuurman.com http://www.dsweddingcinema.com

October 23rd, 2010, 05:01 AM	#51
Andrew Dean Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Motukarara, New Zealand Posts: 475	dp6 on 16mm! Heya, I've been gaffing and gripping a featurette shot on 16mm film. Its been an interesting challenge gripping the heavier rigs after doing so much dslr work. On the last few days shoots we've had slider and tabletop shots where it wasn't possible for the dp to keep his eye on the eyepiece. We've been using a video tap to allow the director to see what we're filming, so when the challenge came up, i popped a bnc T on and was able to run the dp6 on camera as well. The dp6 was kinda overkill as the video tap is pretty terrible, but the DP was pretty thrilled to be able to frame the shots despite some pretty intense sun. Turning off the monitor when setting up new shots has meant that we've gotten two full days out of one of smallhd's batteries. Anyways, here's a photo of the dp6 on the film rig. Cheers! -a http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/attachme...1&d=1287831687 Attached Thumbnails

October 30th, 2010, 03:22 AM	#52
Andrew Dean Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Motukarara, New Zealand Posts: 475	New Firmware 1.2! Heya, I'm surprised nobody else has mentioned this, but smallHD released firmware 1.2 which changes a few things. Colors are WAY truer now. I'm still needing to do more tests on exposure, but it looks like its shaping up to be pretty powerful. False Colors! Heh, it sounds ironic after the previous sentence, but they've introduced false colors so you can judge exposure by looking for specific color tones. They've also made the "back" button function as a second shortcut button. When not in a menu, pressing it triggers whatever action you assign to the button. The new factory default is one of the buttons is false colors, the other is focus assist. Seems to make sense, and makes using those features (which are quite obtrusive when you dont want them) super fast to flick on and off. Its looking pretty sweet. Definitely if you have a dp6, download it. Cheers! -a

October 30th, 2010, 03:36 AM	#53
Charles Papert Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 6,810	Andrew: Referring back to your previous post, always good to keep in mind that T-ing off a video source will reduce the voltage which may result in a darkening of the image. The HD-SDI version of the monitor has a loop-through which should always be used in that situation, since exposure is usually judged from an HD monitored image. __________________ Charles Papert www.charlespapert.com

October 8th, 2010, 09:00 AM	#47
Dale Backus Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Cary, NC Posts: 132	Damian, Actually, component and SDI will look identical. If that's your main concern, you shouldn't have a problem using the component ports - that's what they're there for!

October 9th, 2010, 01:09 PM	#48
Anthony Mwamwenda New Boot Join Date: May 2007 Location: Durban, South Africa Posts: 16	Just ordered mine today. This review was the last bit of info I needed to make my decision. Thanks for sharing Andrew!

October 18th, 2010, 07:21 PM	#50
Greg Robison New Boot Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Memphis, TN Posts: 7	Well I am not sure what the website is saying now (I didn't look) but when I ordered mine (NON SDI version) it said "ships within 5 business days". I ordered on a Weds or Thurs (can't remember which) and had it in my hands the following Thurs. Granted I did pay for next day air shipping. Hope that helps. Regards, G.

October 30th, 2010, 09:58 PM	#55
Sean Seah Trustee Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Singapore Posts: 1,498	Looks like a Kessler Cineslider __________________ Firewerkz Films SGP

October 31st, 2010, 02:35 AM	#56
Andrew Dean Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Motukarara, New Zealand Posts: 475	Yup, its a cineslider. That has turned out to be one of my favorite toys. I haven't had much success with the "crank arm" for sliding, as its quite difficult to get smooth, but a tiny bit of resistance and trailing a finger along the side while sliding has been great. As to the composite split... well, yeah. I knew when popping the T on that we'd be losing voltage, but at that point we were just using the dp6 for framing, so it was our best choice. On a similar topic, the tap on the camera was pretty awful. The video feed was not square in the frame and most of the frame was horribly out of focus. We were only using the tap as a director's guide to the shot so it worked for that, and for framing up the slider, but It was pretty unreal. HD-SDI would certainly be preferred... if only the camera had it. Hehe. It only barely had composite. Thats the mystery and magic of film though. The viewfinder was horribly yellowed and the video tap was almost like a cataract simulator yet the captured footage was stunning. A much more expensive and newer camera would have been much easier to shoot with, but ultimately with the same lenses probably wouldn't have looked any different. I'm so used to digital that its hard to keep in my head that the "sensor" on film cameras is rolling past the gate and can be easily "installed" in most other film cameras with minimal effort. Weird. I started my career on film, but its funny how accustomed to the digital world I've become.

October 31st, 2010, 09:59 AM	#57
Charles Papert Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 6,810	Suprising to hear that the viewfinder image was yellow--usually Aatons have good-looking, bright viewfinders. The Aaton taps progressed quite a bit over the years but sounds like you might have had an older one that's seen some abuse! Can't tell from the pic--is that a base model XTR? You do bring up an interesting point. I shoot less and less film every year and each time it's a bit of a mental adjustment to go back to the old methodology of lighting to eye and meter. Modern video taps have gotten quite good (Arri even has an HD tap now although I have yet to see it on an actual set) but it's always going to be just an approximation. For those who have only shot digital, that's going to be a strange concept. __________________ Charles Papert www.charlespapert.com

November 1st, 2010, 08:09 PM	#58
Doug Tessler Major Player Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: BOCa raton fl Posts: 342	what does the DP 6 come with They use to have a kit package that came with the sun shade and the screen protectors. I guess now its alacarte Doug

November 11th, 2010, 06:52 PM	#60
Paul Cook Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 174	Well from a business perspective it would be silly to offer any bundles when your product is in such high demand that it is always back-ordered. Bundling only makes sense when sales/demand tappers off or you are overstocked. Having said that from OUR perspective its bitter sweet as those bundles for the DP1 which included free international shipping were amazing.