Jump to content

Liliput A5, or any other cheap 5" or smaller competitors?


IronFilm
 Share

Recommended Posts

Liliput A5 is quite appealing at under US$150 with free shipping, with a 1920x1080 screen and 5" size (most other monitors at this price point are bigger, and most other 5" monitors are more expensive). Oh, and it supports 4K input as well (not that this matters to me). 

But am I missing out on any other options to consider that I should be aware of?

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Lilliput-A5-5-1920x1200-IPS-HD-LCD-Peaking-Camera-Video-Monitor-Display-4K-HDMI-Input-Loop/32841401936.html

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

EOSHD Pro Color 5 for Sony cameras EOSHD Z LOG for Nikon CamerasEOSHD C-LOG and Film Profiles for All Canon DSLRs

Feelworld and Andycine seem the other popular budget 5"-ish options these days. Aputure's VS-5 unfortunately didn't mean 5", so you're out of luck with them.

Caleb did a video not too long ago:

If small is what you need, Ikan still has that VL35 that's 3.5" and takes 4K signals.

But... if you can wait and are willing to pay the fair extra... I'd reckon the Atomos Ninja V is the monitor/recorder combo you'd want. Otherwise, yeah the A5 is a great contender. Was quite sad when their A7S monitor came out with 4K but being 7". My Q5 didn't take a 4K signal. But the A5 is basically the 5 inch version of the A7S, so that's cool.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Cinegain said:

Feelworld and Andycine seem the other popular budget 5"-ish options these days. Aputure's VS-5 unfortunately didn't mean 5", so you're out of luck with them.

Yeah I wish Aputure made a 5" screen, I'd use that for sure. 

Ah yes, of course I forgot about the Feelworld monitors. D'oh
Let's see:
Feelworld F450: over a hundred bucks more, lower resolution screen, but 0.5" smaller screen.
Feelworld F550: over double the price, keeps the same 1920x1080 resolution screen, but 0.5" bigger screen.
Feelworld F570: less than fifty bucks more expensive, keeps the same 1920x1080 resolution screen, but 0.7" bigger screen.

Of course there is more to these monitors than that, is there something someone can point to specifically as to why it is worth spending more on a Feelworld monitor than a Liliput A5?

I do like a lot the mounting bracket the AndyCine A6 comes with (reminds me of the SmallHD Focus), but maybe I can buy this as a third party accessory for the Liliput A5 from somewhere else:

image.png.3bacc98b0678824e26ee049a899a334b.png

 

image.png.6cdd7f8bd2a5b3d857b6417150de113d.png


Ah ha! The AndyCine A6 is identical to the Feelworld F6, which I can find with free shipping on Aliexpress (the Andycine doesn't exist on Aliexpress):

https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?SearchText=feelworld+f6&opensearch=true

I guess I've narrowed this down now to two monitors, F6/A6 vs A5!
 

 

2 hours ago, Cinegain said:

Caleb did a video not too long ago:

He left off the SmallHD 502! That would be my dream to own. But I don't do enough camera work to justify that. 

 

2 hours ago, Cinegain said:

But... if you can wait and are willing to pay the fair extra... I'd reckon the Atomos Ninja V is the monitor/recorder combo you'd want. Otherwise, yeah the A5 is a great contender. Was quite sad when their A7S monitor came out with 4K but being 7". My Q5 didn't take a 4K signal. But the A5 is basically the 5 inch version of the A7S, so that's cool.


Nah, I don't think I'd want to spend that much or buy a recorder that lacks SDI.

 

2 hours ago, Cinegain said:

If small is what you need, Ikan still has that VL35 that's 3.5" and takes 4K signals.

That is an extra hundred bucks, and resolution of the screen is only  800 x 480, same as the old Atmos Ninja 2. No thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah you gets what you pay for on cheap monitors. But they are better than nothing don't get me wrong. I am a big believer in the False Color option some of them have.

The 502 is expensive, but pretty much impossible to beat, other than maybe that new 5" Atomos recorder. But it is a lot heavier than just a Monitor, but the screen is better than on the 502. Atomos products have a ton of Nits on their screens which is a huge plus in outdoor stuff. Which heck, is probably the majority of peoples shots. You can have all the Aids in a product in the world, but if you can't see the screen so what. And if you buy a recorder that does 4K 60p I doubt it will be outdated for a good amount of time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, IronFilm said:

Ah ha! The AndyCine A6 is identical to the Feelworld F6, which I can find with free shipping on Aliexpress (the Andycine doesn't exist on Aliexpress):

I guess I've narrowed this down now to two monitors, F6/A6 vs A5!

5

I am also interested in this monitor; however, there appear to be some problems in 4K where some of the functions do not work correctly. A new firmware has reportedly fixed the issues but it is not available online as far as I can see. Some say it will only come with new devices.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, IronFilm said:

Has a USB input though for updates?

True but for some reason the firmware is not available and according to a customer service reply, as reported in the video's comment section, it will be available in newly manufactured ones. Not sure what it means but it doesn't look promising.

I am also looking for information on whether these cheap monitors with false color have the option to set different thresholds/levels in false color?  

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, webrunner5 said:

Yeah you gets what you pay for on cheap monitors. But they are better than nothing don't get me wrong. I am a big believer in the False Color option some of them have.

The 502 is expensive, but pretty much impossible to beat, other than maybe that new 5" Atomos recorder. But it is a lot heavier than just a Monitor, but the screen is better than on the 502. Atomos products have a ton of Nits on their screens which is a huge plus in outdoor stuff. Which heck, is probably the majority of peoples shots. You can have all the Aids in a product in the world, but if you can't see the screen so what. And if you buy a recorder that does 4K 60p I doubt it will be outdated for a good amount of time.

But I have heard that the Atomos recorders are maybe no the most accurate colors wise?? Maybe the 502 is?, never owned either.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have the SmallHD 501 which is not exactly cheap but pretty much amazing. The used price went down quite a bit since the SmallHD Focus is on the market. Between the two, the choice is 1080p screen vs daylight viewable and to be honest I'm not sure what's the better option. There's a sunhood for the 5series but it's rather big and I think 70$ is a silly price for something that should have been included with a monitor in this price range.

As you want a monitor and not a recorder, I think there won't be big real-world improvements in the foreseeable future so I would rather save up a bit and try to get a used SmallHD over one of the cheap options.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Phil A said:

As you want a monitor and not a recorder, I think there won't be big real-world improvements in the foreseeable future so I would rather save up a bit and try to get a used SmallHD over one of the cheap options.

Well it is not a case of saving up, I could buy half a dozen 501 tomorrow if I wish, but instead it is the practical realization I shouldn't treat the camera side of filmmaking as much more than an extravagant hobby (I'm better off focusing my "business investments" into sound gear instead! Although yes, if I was still focused on the camera department as a career then yup I'd probably find a way to rationalize the purchase of even a 502).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, IronFilm said:

Well it is not a case of saving up, I could buy half a dozen 501 tomorrow if I wish, but instead it is the practical realization I shouldn't treat the camera side of filmmaking as much more than an extravagant hobby (I'm better off focusing my "business investments" into sound gear instead! Although yes, if I was still focused on the camera department as a career then yup I'd probably find a way to rationalize the purchase of even a 502).

You sure your not Scottish? A really good monitor lasts for Years, and Years. At your age, come on LoL. At my age, I don't even buy Green Bananas!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 6/11/2018 at 12:49 PM, Phil A said:

I'd be concerned about latency with some of these recorders, the cheap ones can be pretty bad. No help for pulling focus if it's lagging too much. Clearly an important point for research before buying.

Latency and viewable in day light.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, webrunner5 said:

You sure your not Scottish? A really good monitor lasts for Years, and Years. At your age, come on LoL. At my age, I don't even buy Green Bananas!

I'm Jewish, does that count? And my grandparents met while living in Scotland! So maybe. 

Anyway, monitors last for years but also tech advances pretty quick. Would suck to buy a SmallHD 502 only for a Samauri V to be announced the next day. 

Additionally, why spend money I don't have to? When I can put it instead towards something more important: sound gear. 

Finally, if I'm working on the camera side of things I'd often be working on very low budget shoots so I'd rather not bring expensive gear to the set anyway!

Having cheap gear is nice sometimes, I could for instance do a long term loan of my Feelworld FW759 to a DoP for a feature film and not have any worries over it because it is so cheap anyway if the worst was to happen. (It didn't, I got it returned just the other week at the wrap party)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Lilliput A7S has some latency but most monitors using hdmi do, don't they? I can't think of one that doesn't that I've used, though some are worse than others. I'm guessing their 5 inch is similar but manageable. 

For nailing focus, exposure, framing, playback for a client, etc. these budget monitors are well worth it, in my opinion. If I get 3+ years out of a monitor, that cost me $150, that does everything I need it to do then I'm happy. My personal opinion is, while it's great that a lot of these monitors are built to last even longer, the way technology is constantly evolving and moving forward it's hard to justify spending tons of money on it when there's a good chance it'll be obsolete before long. I say this as someone that has an Atomos Ninja 2 I bought in 2014 that become pretty obsolete pretty quickly as the 4k era came rushing in. I'd be lucky to get $175 for it on eBay, so I just use it now as a recorder for old footage I'm transferring. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Has anyone used this App with a IPad? I have the app but haven't tried it yet. Seems like a cheap way to go with a older iPad mini, I have the 2018 iPad Air 9.7" cellular one.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fieldmonitor/id1101913786?platform=ipad&preserveScrollPosition=true&platform=ipad#platform/ipad&platform=ipad

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • EOSHD Pro Color 5 for All Sony cameras
    EOSHD C-LOG and Film Profiles for All Canon DSLRs
    EOSHD Dynamic Range Enhancer for H.264/H.265
×
×
  • Create New...