I have been lucky enough to get my hands on the SmallHD DP6 field monitor & have had a day off in between shoots to get down to business. I’ve heard all sorts of great reviews about the SmallHD kit so I decided I’d get my hands on it to see what all the fuss is about. There has been some serious thought go into the design of the DP6, it is by far the best monitor I’ve used. The quality and construction is incredible and it’s simply fun to wrap your fingers around and interact with because of its great ergonomics. I decided to use it with my Sony FS700 & Canon5D, in the most minimal build possible, mounting the monitor straight into the hot shoe on a small adapter. How ever this DP6 SDI/HDMI monitor can be used in almost any configuration with any camera. I think it will be a great monitor for operating on the ShotOver.
The FS700 and Lake Wanaka. The DP6 is a great alternative for the on board Sony lcd & when mounted with a magic arm, it solves the problem of not being able to shoot over head with the FS700.
The FS700 has two hot shoe mounts, I used the vertical mount for the monitor as pictured above. This is a small, light set up that I can roam hand held with.
I had the DP6 HDSDI / HDMI version and ran the monitor through both ports on my FS700. ( Pictured above is HDMI )
Every detail of the DP6 screams quality. The milled aluminum case is a very nice touch. SmallHD offer a mount for their battery pictured above, and also a separate battery mount for the Canon LP-E6 batteries.
The small HD battery, slender and light weight. Approx 4 hours run time.
Pictured above the the Canon Battery plate which simply screws in, allowing you to run the monitor off the Canon LP-E6 batteries. This is very handy for all DSLR shooters.
The picture off the SmallHD monitor is beautiful. The 5.6″ monitor displays HD at 1280 x 800 resolution which results in an incredibly sharp picture. The focus assist is very handy along with the vast array of tools within the monitors menu. This monitor makes shooting small depth of field on full frame cameras a blast.
Even inserting the SmallHD shade is satisfying, the plastic mounts clip into the corners of the monitor solidly.
The DP6 on the 5D or any similar DSLR is a killer combo. The monitor auto scales for Canon/Nikon DSLRS. I wouldn’t hesitate throwing this in my bag whilst traveling, its aluminum case makes it much more robust than the traditional plastic mould.
Shooting Macro in the garden
All up, the DP6 seems to tick all the boxes. I will most likely be acquiring one in the future, as its an incredibly versatile tool that will come in handy in many situations. The monitor comes with a USB stick to update the firmware when needed, so you’ll always have the latest software updates!