Featured Gear…

• KYY HD Monitor: https://a.co/d/8hrvoTK

• Smallrig tablet mount: https://a.co/d/aRsoYus

• Smallrig railblock: https://a.co/d/2pqFp7m

• Smallrig V-Mount battery: https://a.co/d/dt18W5c

• Smallrig V-Mount battery plate: https://a.co/d/bNFhuB9

• Mini HDMI to full size HDMI cable: https://a.co/d/ccqLy4b

• Laptop case that fits this monitor: https://a.co/d/6ayJzV

Seeing what you’re shooting is always a battle on set. Have you considered adding a screen meant for a laptop to your camera setup? If you’re like me, in some situations it might make sense.

Right now you can get 15’’ 1080p monitors for as little as $80. They’re designed to be a portable second screen for a laptop setup. But what might make them convenient for your video rig is the USB C power option, which likely works with batteries you are already using.

These monitors could attach to a camera rig using a tablet mount like this one from Smallrig and adding a railblock to mount the monitor underslung on a tripod beneath your camera on 15mm rails. This would add a huge screen without interfering with the camera controls.

The best use for this kind of setup could be shooting a long day of presentations or interviews. If you have time to set up a rig and don’t expect to be interacting with the camera much aside from keeping an eye on the focus and framing, it could be convenient to have a much bigger screen to keep an eye on things.

So why not just use a field monitor?

Affordable field monitors from brands like Feelworld already offer 5-7’’ options for about $200-300. But a 15’’ monitor is about five times the screen area. So it might allow a camera operator to sit back comfortably a bit further from the camera for long shoots. Or allow multiple people to keep an eye on the recording. Or mounted front-facing allow talent to see the shot from where they are sitting.

The best option for a large field monitor would of course be something purpose-built for the task like the offerings from Feelworld’s sister brand Seetec. Those monitors in 15-17’’ are about $500-600. But even if money was no object, they still might not be a better option. Those monitors are much larger and might require both their own power and their own stand.

There are some caveats with the laptop screens as field monitors. The extra affordable offerings are only available in HD resolutions and the one I tested from KYY does not seem to accept 24 fps video input. They also cannot apply a LUT. Fortunately cameras like the Sony FX3 can apply a LUT-corrected image over HDMI at 1080p 30 fps, even if the camera itself is recording 4K at other frame rates in SLOG internally. The laptop screen are also probably not bright enough for outdoor use during the day.

So like many gear decisions, with a big budget it of course makes more sense to get monitors made specifically for cameras and bring the power, stands and staffing to manage the extra gear. But for a solo shooter or smaller production filming interviews or events it actually might add a lot of value without adding much cost.

Gear Grade: B

If your camera can output 1080p it might add a lot of functionality at little extra cost.