SmallHD makes some great monitors, but their flagship model the DP6 is well over $900. So unless you do a lot of paid work, or have money to burn, the DP6 might be a little out of your price range. It seems SmallHD had this in mind when they announced the DP4.

The SmallHD DP4 is a 4.3 inch monitor with a resolution of 800×480, a 6 hour battery life (using 2 canon LP-E6 batteries), HDMI pass through, and all of the software features of the DP6 including focus assist and peaking. The $549 price tag still seems a little high, but a good field monitor is an investment and something that should out last your camera.

I’m not a big fan of EVF adapters, but for an extra $200 you can add a snap on viewfinder to the monitor if thats your thing. The option to use multiple battery types is a big plus and the HDMI pass through could be handy if you want to add an HDMI transmitter down stream.

SmallHD also seems to be taking a Jab at the Sony CLM-v55 for not having proper DSLR Scaling. This is one of the biggest complaints I’ve heard from people who bought the CLM-v55, but the Sony CLM-v55 has dropped down to $322 new. With the price drop of the CLM-v55 and the extra accessories (hood, hot shoe mount, and hdmi cable), Sony could still give the SmallHD DP4 a run for its money.

I have 3 completely usable Field monitors right now so I probably wont be upgrading, but either monitor could be a great buy if you have money in your budget for it.


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