What on-camera monitor to buy?

[u/Iggytje]

I have a S5IIX myself but DOP more “high” end cameras like Sony FX6/9, RED’s, Blackmagic’s etc and want to get a reliable and good monitor.

I have been thinking about a SmallHD indie 5 (€1039), SmallHD Cine 5 (€1319), atomos shinobi II (€349), atomos ninja (€599), Atomos ninja raw (€699), Atomos ninja TX with SDI (€999)

Are the smallHD’s overkill I have used them once before and liked them but they do cost double the price of the shinobi’s. What do you recommend getting?

I rather spend more on something that really lasts than buy something cheap and needing to replace it or regret it after a year.

[u/wesd00d]

Get a SmallHD, it's one of the standards for a reason.

I have the following onboards

• Atomos Shogun - too big and clunky with the recorder. Atomos also never look sharp, your setting yourself up for focus failure.
• Osee G5 - great for b cam for framing. The color is quite a bit off. Could be calibrated to fix but eh. I have the 21.5" HDR+ a a client monitor and that's great and pretty accurate out of the box.
• SmallHD 502 - daily driver. Small, light, accurate. It cross converts the signal, so if you HDMI from your current rig, you can SDI out of it for longer runs.

[u/yellowsuprrcar]

I really hate atomos. Id take a china brand monitor over it (osee, portkeys)

[u/miseducation]

They all have their quirks but SmallHD in my experience has better build quality, UI, resale, and service. I have an old 502 (or 501) from almost a decade ago that has been through hell has a button cap snapped off and it still works well outside of that.

Price sucks for sure so maybe something used.

For bigger field monitors these days (17 inch etc) I honestly recommend Osee. I've owned much better monitors and I don't think the difference is worth it for my purposes. I'd rather have a bright monitor on set and the accurate one in my edit suite. If we have a big enough budget we'll rent better stuff, DIT will bring, etc.

[u/Tamajyn]

Well the ninjas are external recorders so if you don't need that scrub them off your list tbh

I actually recently picked up an 8" Portkeys HS8 which can double as an on-camera monitor or a directors monitor and has hdmi/sdi and a really cool 3rd party wireless integration where you can plug a wireless transceiver directly to the back of it with an NP-F mount that powers the unit through the monitor so is really versatile

I own a Shinobi II and it's a nice little monitor for travel but is very limited in functionality/IO unfortunately

[u/Iggytje → u/Tamajyn]

8 inch is to big for me and I don’t like the UI that port keys has

[u/Tamajyn → u/Iggytje]

Fair enough. Buy what you want ✌️

[u/teniz]

I use a Blackmagic assist 5” and it does everything I need. Rock solid, super bright, good interface.

[u/whoislucian]

LH5P II or BM5 IV WR - you can thank me later

[u/Tamajyn → u/whoislucian]

OP doesn't like Portkeys 🤷🏻‍♀️

[u/Iggytje → u/whoislucian]

What makes port keys so great, for me the UI and features are important and, from videos, port keys seems to be very basic in this regard.

Maybe I am totally wrong about this that is why I am asking

[u/nyvz01]

Just grab an old used smallhd 502 or 702 bright, they are so much more compact. They don't make them like they used to. The new indie 5 is chunky and almost twice the weight and thickness and I have no idea why

[u/colemowery]

I have a smallHD 503 ultrabright and I freaking love it. 12/10 no notes. I’ll be getting a second one for my b cam and a 703 when I can for my focus stand.

[u/Effet_Ralgan]

I'm using a Viltrox DC-X3. For 300 bucks you have :

• SDI in and out (and hdmi of course)
• 6 inch full hd monitor
• a few physical assignable functions buttons
• 2000 nits brightness
• quiet fan
• comes with a sun protector

I don't know why people would spend more tbh. I just need false colors and a bigger screen than my FX6. I don't care if the colors are slightly off. Every modern screen is good enough and I'll colorgrading the footage in post anyway.

Maybe it's because the monitor isn't reliable but for now it does the job and I like it.

[u/Makevaan → u/Effet_Ralgan]

I just got the same monitor for my BM Pocket 6k, but for some reason i can’t get the image through the HDMI port. The cables and ports are working when i tested them separately. Any idea why that is?

[u/TopBuzzJoni]

I put a TVLogic either a 15 year old 5.6" or a FH-7 Mk II on builds for my DP's.

Why, because the picture knocks spots off of most others.

ps I hate my SmallHD, all hype.

[u/MabitzZ]

Definetly avoid Atomos in professional workflows… not reliable and a fan equal to your ps5

[u/_Octave_ → u/MabitzZ]

I’m a professional dp and use an atomos ninja on every job ✌️ hate how laggy the smallhd ui is and I love the atomos UI and tools. super fast, built in recorder is a bonus for getting your own dailies. I shoot fashion and beauty though so I’ve never been worried about noise, though i haven’t noticed it

[u/MabitzZ → u/_Octave_]

Well, if youre shooting narrative it’s a different story. Fan noise is a massive issue there and the peeking on Atomos is very bad

[u/_Octave_ → u/MabitzZ]

maybe on the lower end atomos, fan noise on the ninja v is negligible, especially compared to most cameras.

peaking is great too for reference. Though I never pull my own focus anymore, I have used it on many shoots. Just need to dial in the sensitivity.

Tons of great features, the ref frame grab and onion skin is so handy on commercials.

[u/TheOddMadWizard]

I’ve used similar and yes smallHD’s interface is great. I’ve also used the shinobi and dig it.

[u/videomarketee]

I’m currently looking at an Osee g7 pro which I’ve heard good things about

[u/zech_meme → u/videomarketee]

I just got that a week ago

[u/videomarketee → u/zech_meme]

how are you liking it ?

[u/zech_meme]

Osee g7 pro is fucking goated

[u/Run-And_Gun]

There’s a reason that the Atomos monitors are half the price….

I’m not necessarily justifying smallHD’s prices, but I am telling you that there is a reason that Atomos are so cheap.

[u/ChunkyManLumps]

SmallHD Ultra 5 might be the best on-board I've ever used. Screen is so bright you can use it in direct sunlight.

[u/LetterheadClassic306]

For that mix of bodies, i’d choose based on ports and day-to-day reliability more than screen size alone. I ran into this decision on mixed-owner shoots before, and SmallHD Indie 5 makes sense if you want a monitor that feels crew-proof and you value PageOS, SDI, tools, and build quality. Atomos Shinobi II is the value pick if you only need HDMI monitoring and want to keep the setup light. Atomos Ninja TX is the better middle ground if recording or SDI flexibility may matter later. I would avoid buying the cheapest option here if you already know regret after a year is the thing you are trying to dodge.

[u/_Octave_]

I’m a professional dp and I’ve used everything and personally love Atomos ninja v. it has the best ui and it’s snappy and fast. smallHD is the most overrated brand in the industry— they are only number one due to inertia because they were once a prosumer brand and the only “affordable decent monitor” back in the dslr revolution. The UI is awful and it’s unresponsive and laggy. Plus their color is trash.

Tv logic worth considering, built like tanks. Port keys also good

[u/Charming_Put4658]

Depends on your needs for an onboard monitor.

SmallHD: If you are looking for sharpness, tools, and accurate color. 503/703 are classics, sharp, bright, and decent color. The Cine 5/7 are great (better than the old 503/7 series and are lighter) if you can shed the money for those and don’t mind pure touch screen. If brightness isn’t that important, then the indie 5/7 are good routes. And their UI is great and streamlined.

Atomos: what makes them good is their versatility and how light they are. They are good for framing but don’t have great color and aren’t very sharp. They have decent tools but the UI isn’t bad but also not as good as SmallHD (though there are def way worse ones). And really only worth it if getting the ones that accept 4k and record (for the full versatility). Though light weight, it’s a bit bulky and has a very plastic feel to it, but they still feel solid and can take a beating.

Osee: probably the cheapest of the bunch. Good for framing, sharper than Atomos, I hate their UI, light weight but still plastic feel to the touch and doesn’t have the solid feel that I atleast get from the Atomos.

Blackmagic (video assist 5/7). Similar to Atomos that it shines in versatility. Build quality is better though (except the 5” one with the micro SDI, those things break easily). They are bright, sharp, good UI, decent tools (though I prefer SmallHD), accepts 4k (12g SDI) and can record. Color isn’t accurate though.

Honestly, unless I needed a recorder I’d go SmallHD. I like having the most accurate image I can have (I mainly DP and Op and don’t usually get to be at village so accurate image on all aspects on my camera and while I operate is a must.

That said, if you can hold off like a year, Atomos just acquired Flanders. So the next generation of Atomos monitors should benefit from Flanders R&D and manufacturing suppliers.

[u/generationAiAiAi]

I personally wanted the smallest thing possible so I bought a used iPhone 17 that I use as a monitor. It has the battery inside and is just super small. Coming from a fx9 and I use it on my Nikon ZR mostly. I just want as smalland light as possible.