What makes the small Portkeys PT6 stand out is that it has been designed for streaming; essentially, it has all the pro monitor features, just in a small box that you can easily transport. The monitor includes focus peaking, zebras, and false colour and is 100% DCI-P3 compliant. On the streaming side, this means you can take a feed from your camera at up to 4K and then feed it through the PT6 and output it at streaming-ready 1080p 60fps, and if the feeling takes you, you can even apply a LUT of your choice. A 3D LUT is a simple but very powerful way to apply a color grade to footage. 3D LUT files are quite small, (often around 1MB) and can be produced with almost any color grading software, and can be saved on to USB flash drive for use on the monitor or at any point in post-production. On test I tried this monitor out with the Panasonic Lumix BS1H and on my older Nikon D800, it performed flawlessly on both setups, whether shooting indoor or outside. I found that the 2200 cd/m brightness cut out glare whilst shooting in bright sunlight and did not distract from being able to compose various scenes. Finally, speed. Waveforms and 3D LUTs require processing time, which can make monitors feel laggy. However, this is an on-camera monitor plausibly to be used for operating. As such, it really can’t be laggy – and thankfully, it’s not. It’s always tough to work out whether the video outputs on cameras are really as fast as they should be, but having played with this on both an old Canon EOS-7D and the JVC GY-LS300, the latency seems very well controlled indeed.

PortKeys PT5 II 5inch 4K HDMI Touchscreen Monitor - CVP PortKeys PT5 II 5inch 4K HDMI Touchscreen Monitor - CVP

Everyone knows that filmmaking is a collaborative industry and you can’t make a film alone so finding your crew is so important. You can have hundreds of great ideas, but if you don’t know any DPs or art directors or gaffersーit is extremely hard to get anything made. There is an HDMI input and output, which can put out a 1920 x 1080p60 signal at 60Hz. Tools include 3D LUT support to 17grid, anamorphic squeeze with fine squeeze control, and UI from the camera. It also has all the bells and whistles you'd expect—Zebras, Luma Histograms, and false color.

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Monitoring the video is just part of what this dedicated monitor does; it’s also bigger than your camera’s screen and offers increased brightness, resolution and colour depth so that you don’t just get a good idea of how the image will look, you actually get a near as perfect idea of what your capturing. You can even convert your image to grayscale to make it easier to see focus peaking. To power the unit, creatives have the option to use the DC barrel connector or either a Sony NP-F or Canon LP-E6 battery. LH7P specifications – Source: Portkeys Portkeys BM7IIDS – bright 7″ wireless camera control monitor USB (for updates and cubes), regrettably non-latching power connectors and the on-off switch. Picture processing Sampling: the LH7P supports 4K over-sampling to 1080p, just in case your camera can’t perform this internally. The result is a high-resolution and highly-detailed 1080p video signal on your monitor.

Portkeys Official Site User Manual | Portkeys Official Site

The BM7IIDS is a 7″ 1920×1080 on-camera monitor with 2200nits – more than 2 times brighter than the LH7P monitor. It comes with a single HDMI input that supports signals up to 1080p60, 1x HDMI output, dual SDI input (up to 1080p60), and 1x SDI output. You can perform a signal cross-conversion between HDMI and SDI connectors in any direction, so there is no longer a need for an external conversion box. BM7IIDS Monitor – Source: PortkeysWhat I found quite surprising for a monitor of this size and price is the amount of input and outputs available. This is a testament to the fact that this small monitor has been designed for those wanting to stream their footage rather than capture it for editing later. The small monitor is of a similar standard as the more expensive models. It’s just that the screen is smaller. Video support is offered up to 4K 30p (4096 x 2160 at 24Hz) and can display 100% P3 and Rec.709 in 10-bit. Unfortunately, we're not clear if this is true 10-bit or 8-Bit+FRC like the PT5. According to our sources, all signs point to the PT6 being true 10-bit, which is a likely change. Camera Parameters: if you are shooting with the external monitor on top of the camera, this feature will come in handy to see the most important camera parameters on a bigger screen. JPG Picture Custom Freeze Frame: just like the MT22DS and BM7IIDS, the LH7P can do a freeze frame in 16:9 1920×1080. After you captured an image, you can compare it to your real-time video with a semi-transparent image on your screen. This could be useful for any match cuts or transition frames, that can be easily created with this feature.

Portkeys MT22DS, BM7IIDS and LH7P Monitors Now - CineD Portkeys MT22DS, BM7IIDS and LH7P Monitors Now - CineD

The LUT file name is required to be in English or numeric to avoid unrecognized, resulting in incorrect file names. Support for Tilta Nucleus-N/M motors: with the BM7IIDS monitor, you can control the Tilta Nucleus-M and Nucleus-N lens motors with a wired connection between the monitor and the motor, while also displaying the focus scale.In the options for all cameras, I switched off the camera overlays so that I had a clean feed coming through to the monitor, so the only overlays were those placed by the monitor itself. Powerwise, in this test, I opted for Sony NP-F type batteries but also popped in one of the Canon LP-E6 batteries, which worked just as well. Those features include Peaking, Luma waveform, False colour Zebra, Grids, LUTs and more technical monitoring features that will help ensure you capture the video you want. Whatever course you decide to take, hopefully these tips will help you make the most of your time in any film program or even when volunteering on a film production!