Welcome to our community

Be a part of something great, join today!

Log in
  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

SMALL HD DP4 EVF

I personally do not like the trend of these EVF screens. Both Zacuto and SmallHD. I use my Small HD DP6 with the sundhood and it serves as a large viewfinder, and when I dont have glare, like inside, I just use the screen. Maybe it is because I haven't used a professional viewfinder, but monitor seems just so much better. I am very impressed with the DP6
 
This is a pretty cool unit. With a 4.3 inch screen! The others are only 3.2 in. And you can use it as an EVF or as a monitor. And yes, it works on a RED One - I had a chance to try this on mine just before they left for NAB. Is it a BOMB or a RED One EVF - no, the 800 rez does not compare to the smoother looking 1280 of the RED EVF’s... but at this price point it is a great unit... Especially if you also shoot with a DSLR and want something that will work on both.

These guys make excellent gear. I have a DP6 - which is 1280x800 - and love it. If you do not want to wait for a BOMB or get in line (and wait) for one of these many new "EVF’s"... I would actually recommend the DP6 with the hood as a pretty good substitute for an EVF. And again, you can use it on any camera, especially if you get the SDI model, which I think is worth the extra $.

Bottom line – if you are willing to wait and have the money - the BOMB will be… well, the bomb.
 
Julio Quintana said:
I really love SmallHD products, but at 800x480 resolution, I'm not sure I would call this a "Zero compromise" solution.
Click to expand...

you really need to see it with conjunction with diopter too. it's a small sized screen, so sharpness is more apparent when resolution seems low. relatively cheap and durable will always have a few compromises. even the bomb evf has compromise, availability and price. but feature set and resolution is second to none. BOMB honestly I think is the best evf I've ever had the pleasure of looking through. even better than top grade digital cinema competitors.
 
Julio Quintana said:
I really love SmallHD products, but at 800x480 resolution, I'm not sure I would call this a "Zero compromise" solution.
Click to expand...

We are exploring a view finder for the DP6, but the housing would obviously be bigger. Let us know if you think a DP6 with view finder would be useful.

The DP4 is the only low cost EVF that supports 1080p. It did look nice on the RED.
 
I like the Red 5" touchscreen for Scarlet, but would also like to add a dual purpose EVF/LCD for outdoor field work. Bomb is nice but a bit pricey for me for now. The DP4 looks like a decent option. I prefer an EVF for ENG style balanced shoulder rig as it gives another point of body contact for stability and I am used to shooting with an EVF and both eyes open for following fast action in doc shooting. Easier to see what is happening outside the frame than with both eyes trying to focus on an LCD monitor.
 
I have one, and it is a great little monitor. I'm going to add the EVF component. Here are some notes so far.

- Lightweight, even with DSLR batteries on back.
- Bright, sharp
- lots of additional features such as focus assist, false color, 1:1, blue only, etc.
- works well with both my GH2 and RED

The not so good.
- The hood that comes with it is almost useless. Hoping I just got a bad sample.
- Going from blue only or monochrome back to normal has a bug. Have to restart

For the money, hard to beat. I like this little guy.
 
Tom.Wong said:
you really need to see it with conjunction with diopter too. it's a small sized screen, so sharpness is more apparent when resolution seems low. relatively cheap and durable will always have a few compromises. even the bomb evf has compromise, availability and price. but feature set and resolution is second to none. BOMB honestly I think is the best evf I've ever had the pleasure of looking through. even better than top grade digital cinema competitors.
Click to expand...
Nice to hear the positive review of the BOMB I haven't been hearing many recently
 
the other "not so good"

We bought a few of these dp-4 viewfinders because everybody loves the dp-6's.

First job rented out. I get a call from the client, "sorry burned a hole in your new screen".

Working out side with the sun shining.... beware, don't point it up and take your eye away from the viewer for even a second. After they burned one hole they tried to be very cautious so not to do it again, but it was a 3 day exterior shoot and they came back with 4 burn spots! I guess they either became cavalier (thinking it was ruined anyway) or its extremely easy to burn a hole in your screen working outside.

yikes!
 
Erich Roland said:
the other "not so good"

We bought a few of these dp-4 viewfinders because everybody loves the dp-6's.

First job rented out. I get a call from the client, "sorry burned a hole in your new screen".

Working out side with the sun shining.... beware, don't point it up and take your eye away from the viewer for even a second. After they burned one hole they tried to be very cautious so not to do it again, but it was a 3 day exterior shoot and they came back with 4 burn spots! I guess they either became cavalier (thinking it was ruined anyway) or its extremely easy to burn a hole in your screen working outside.

yikes!
Click to expand...

It takes 46mm diopter filters, rather large aperture for an eyepiece. I can see how it would be easy for this to happen.
 
Justin marx said:
Nice to hear the positive review of the BOMB I haven't been hearing many recently
Click to expand...

it's small, light, really sharp and contrasty. perfection for frame and focus. and works with a lemo instead of crappy hdmi. only works on a RED but that's obvious enough. don't see what ppl would have to complain about with it other than it's a few grand and is gonna take a long time for you to get yours.
 
Bomb EVF and DP4 EVF are two different beasts. On my GH2 the DP4 EVF will solve some ergonomics for me. On my RED I'd probably only use it as an LCD screen. It is nice that the DP4 is able to be used on both cams. Again, for the money it has great value.
 
Love to have a Bomb EVF eventually, but it is just not in the budget for now. Nice to have workable modestly priced alternatives.
 
Anthony Cote said:
I use my Small HD DP6 with the sundhood and it serves as a large viewfinder
Click to expand...

This. The DP6 with the excellent supplied hood makes for a great finder, it's super comfortable, bright, sharp, and no eyestrain like with many regular EVFs.

Can't say I can say the same for the magic arm SmallHD supply - but this is probably the only weak point in what is otherwise a fantastic product.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top