DP6 vs Marshall 5" - first look
 

I had the opportunity to test the Small HD DP6 against the Marshall 5" monitor today. It was a fairly rudimentary test--I'm not a engineering geek so I didn't pore over the menus at great length. Both units are still in early stages so there will likely continue to be upgrades and tweaks, so anything herein may be outdated shortly.

The monitors are fairly similar in weight; the 5" is of course skinnier due to the smaller screen but it is taller so somehow the footprint feels relatively similar. The connectors on the 5" stick out the back while on the DP6 they are flush. Both use the cheap push-on type power connector which is disappointing as they have a tendency to fall out when you least want them to.

Since the 5" is designed primarily for monitoring from a DSLR (due to its single input being HDMI), I tested them with a 5DMKII. An HDMI splitter fed both monitors. This particular DP6 was the HD-SDI model but as I understand it, identical otherwise to the HDMI-only model.

In terms of overall image quality, I'll give the 5" the nod on this. The image simply "feels" more accurate tonally. While color rendition is similar between the monitors, the contrast and dynamic range of the 5" seems a notch better. It's a fairly subtle distinction; I feel like either monitor could be used to judge lighting and exposure within the expectations of an onboard monitor.

One thing that really strikes you is the ability of the DP6 to scale the image up to fill the screen (via the DSLR preset). This makes for a notably larger image, as seen in the first picture below. In this mode, hitting the record button on the 5DMKII will still cause the screen to blank for the typical 4-5 seconds, but when it returns the image size is exactly the same, not squeezed which is a great advancement. The 5" has a similar function (accessible via the HDMI auto mode); it maintains the proper aspect ratio but it shrinks the image another 5-10% or so. See second picture (note the position of the frameline compared to the HDMI lettering in green). Since the 5" is already a smaller screen to begin with, it starts to feel like one is losing the battle in image size--from a typical operating distance it will become tough to judge focus and see details. PLEASE note that I appear to have taken the second image from an angle and focus is not good--the intent of the picture is to show the relative image sizes when in record mode; don't start drawing conclusions about screen sharpness from these.

While the DP6 has significantly better resolution specs, it's interesting to note that the monitors appear to resolve similarly, perhaps because of the magnified image on the DP6 in scaled mode. I was able to judge focus on both with about the same level of distinction.

Menu-wise, there are many similarities and many differences. As noted I won't go into them here, the manufacturer's websites have a fair amount listed and others will cover all of this. Suffice to say that both have many of the desired features such as image flip, focus assist and the like. The 5" uniquely has framelines; the DP6 has a custom scaling feature. Whether you need either depends on how you use these monitors.

Noting that the 5" has a more reflective face, as can be seen in the images here (reflection of the wall behind me can clearly be seen in the 5" while the DP6 appears to reject same), I wanted to see what happened when I took these units outside.

see next post...

And here we are outside in the bright California sun. I should point out that it is a bit of folly to take photos of monitor screens as the camera "sees" them differently than the eye; these looked more washed-out in person. Still, the relative differences between the displays remain and you can see that the DP6 wins on this front, as the anti-reflective coating rejects a certain amount of daylight creating a bit more contrast. I could barely see any image on the 5" while the DP6 had just enough to make out outlines. Again you can see the effects on each screen--the orangish glow on the bottom right of the 5" is repeated in the center of the DP6 with much more transparency. While many are tempted to use a straight hood of the type that SmallHD offers, this won't help the reflective aspect any and you end up peering at a image of your own face. You are far better off using a Hoodman-style angled hood, which you can fashion yourself out of coroplast with a bit of trial and error.

The first image is shot with the sun behind the monitors, while the second has the sun striking the face directly. Obviously this is a worst case scenario for any monitor that is not designated as daylight viewable and these fare about the same as most, although you can still see that the DP6 has a marginally better image under these circumstances.

While I like several aspects of the Marshall, including the slightly better image quality and the inclusion of four easily accessible function buttons (and front panel image controls), I have to give the thumbs-up overall to the DP6 for the image size, customizable feature set, build quality and other features noted here. For me, buying a monitor with HD-SDI inputs is a must due to the varying cameras I use so the 5" is not in consideration. When one compares the size of the DP6 to the Marshall 6.5 or 7", those two units seem like behemoths. I feel like the DP6 is a sweet spot in size for an onboard monitor for my application. For those using a bare DSLR body with lens, I would think the 5" might be a more appropriate size. Both are very impressive and a great step forward for both companies; it's amazing to see so many useful features packed into such small and inexpensive units.

reserved...

Thanks Charles,

Like you said the 7" Marshall is a behemoth, I have one mounted on my rig and while i'm strong enough to cope with the weight all day it also blocks out much of my peripheral vision making handheld work in difficult conditions or crowds a little less safe.

I'm thinking about selling my Marshall 7" and going with the 5", they list the same resolution but putting aside the difference in inputs and batteries, (I run camera, audio, flashes, lavs and everything else on AA's now anyway) how do you think the two monitors compare?

don't get me wrong, the 7" is a beautiful monitor and it's like carrying a movie theater on your shoulder sitting right in front of you, with a follow focus right there... But I only need to trip over a cable or a chair or something once to do some serious damage and wish it were smaller.

Thanks,

-Jon

Charles, would you know of anyway that the Small HD can replace the onboard monitor of a Steadicam Zephyr? the price for the HD system is way beyond me and the SmallHD looks like a nice option. Only problem is the sled doesnt handle HDMI so i'm scratching my head on how to do this.

NB: sorry if this should be in the stabilizer thread please move it.

Easy enough, just order the version with HD-SDI. It still has the HDMI input, so you can run an external cable from the top stage to the monitor if you need to for DSLR's etc. It won't get in your way except for spin balancing.

However, I'm quite sure the Zephyr monitor will do better in daylight. The TIffen monitors all have some degree of anti-reflective coating, more so than a standard monitor. When I judged the DP6 to look better than the Marshall, it was only incrementally--still not nearly viewable enough in daylight.

Probably the cheapest production monitor I know that will provide a decent picture outside is the Marshall 6.5" transflective, at around $2100.

Yeah i tried out a PRO sled with the Marshall 6.5"few weeks ago .. it was awesome. Will prob give the stock Zephyr monitor a shot first. I think all Zephyrs come with HD-SDI but i cant afford the HD-SDI monitor version currently. Just trying to figure out the best way to run a 5D2 with a better monitor.

Thks!