Which is the Best External Camera Screen?
When working as a videographer, one of the hardest choices to make is which camera to buy. There are so many options out there, and each model has its own strengths and drawbacks. You may find yourself in a situation where the lens and body of the camera are excellent, but you find the built-in functions and viewing quality of the digital viewfinder to be lacking. It may be too small, lack brightness, or have inadequate viewing angles, meaning you get to the editing stage of production just to find that your shots didn’t turn out the way you wanted.
The best way to navigate and solve this problem is to get an external camera monitor to use as a viewfinder instead of that built into your camera. These devices are mounted to the top or bottom of your camera, or onto your larger camera rig, and provide a wealth of features not built into standard cameras, and a larger screen on which to set up your shots. Sounds great, doesn’t it? Indeed, camera monitors may solve a lot of problems for a lot of people, but one thing stops camera operators from getting one for themselves; camera monitors are often prohibitively expensive.
The Best Budget Option: The Feelworld F5 Pro V4
Here at Feelworld UK, we believe that professional camera monitoring equipment should be accessible to everyone, from amateurs looking to invest in their productions to achieve a higher quality result to professionals who need advanced features to get the perfect shot on the first try. That is why we love the Feelworld F5 Pro V4. It is, in our opinion, the best-combined package of value and quality that we know camera enthusiasts and professionals alike will love as much as us.
Excellent Lightweight Construction
At just 245g, you barely notice that the F5 Pro V4 Feelworld camera monitor is there. Furthermore, this versatile unit can be mounted easily to most setups via its ¼-inch screw mounts on the top, bottom, and right of the case. Its touch screen makes it incredibly easy to use, and HDMI ports with passthrough make it extremely versatile and inter-compatible with a wide range of cameras and broadcast monitors, so directors can keep an eye on the footage to make sure the best shot is captured on the first try. The F5 Pro V4 can be attached to a useful tilt arm, allowing professionals to orient the monitor in whatever way they feel is most comfortable. This, combined with the great 160-degree viewing angles of the IPS panel means users can be sure that their monitor is accurately producing accurate colours with minimised wash-out at most angles.
Incredible IPS Screen
Built into the Feelworld F5 Pro V4 is the attribute we like the most: its sharp and vivid 5.5-inch IPS panel, which displays 1920x1080 footage in incredible detail. Its great brightness of 500nits combined with its included sunshade and 1000:1 contrast ratio make this monitor extremely usable in both indoor and outdoor conditions. What surprised us most at this price point is the colour accuracy and ability to upload custom 3D LUTS. Each Feelworld F5 Pro V4 comes calibrated from the factory to the Rec.709 standard, making this monitor usable for HDTV broadcast applications and reproduces colours excellently.
Advanced Suite of Features
We are astonished by the wide suite of features included as part of the F5 Pro V4. Professionals will love making use of the quality-of-life features of this device, such as peaking focus assist, waveform analysis and histograms, check field, zebra exposure, screen markers, colour temperature adjustment, built-in zoom, and much, much more. Using these features has also never been easier; the F5 Pro V4 comes with both button and touchscreen operation, which the user can operate intuitively through swipe and tap gestures. One feature that sets this monitor out from the rest is the two built-in custom function buttons on the top of the device that professionals can set to the functions they need to use most, meaning you don’t even have to go through the admittedly well-designed menu system to access them. We’ve found this speeds up the process of filming and lets users start filming faster and more conveniently.
Great Compatibility
One thing we love most about the F5 Pro V4 is its compatibility with the rest of our equipment. The Sony F970 mounting bracket on the back of the device made it extremely easy to attach our camera accessories such as LED lights and wireless transmitters. This allows users to make their rig much more compact, saving space occupied by equipment and reducing the overall weight of the setup. The included DC out allows power passthrough from the monitor to the camera, which allows the camera to tap into the extra battery connected to the F5 Pro V4 for extended filming sessions, and the Type-C 5V port can also be used to connect the Feelworld F5 Pro V4 to external power banks is also a welcome additional power option for the monitor.
An advanced suite of features, a beautiful screen and excellent build quality make the Feelworld F5 Pro V4 an excellent choice for a camera monitor, and the brilliant price makes this Feelworld camera monitor even more appealing, whether you’re an aspiring amateur videographer or a seasoned professional. At Feelworld UK Limited, we pride ourselves on being able to provide great tools for creators at a great price, all with fast UK shipping. Discover the rest of our range of camera monitors here, as well as our range of live switchers here, and SEETEC broadcast monitors here.