MustHD 5.6 inch monitor (1 of 8)

I just received the MustHD 5.6 inch 1280×800 HDMI field monitor in the mail. A number of you were asking about the MustHD after my earlier review of the Aputure VS-3 field monitor so here it is.

MustHD 5.6 inch monitor (2 of 8)

Out of the box the MustHD field monitor is surprisingly light weight. The controls are numerous and fairly easy to use, though I some how set the monitor to black and white the first time I tried to use it and it took me a few tries to figure out what I’d done. Turns out the F1 is preset to black and white by default so if that key is glowing, black and white mode is on.

MustHD 5.6 inch monitor (4 of 8)

The screen hood included with the MustHD field monitor is a spring loaded flip out design similar to the Sony CLM V55 and Viltrox monitors I’ve covered in the past. MustHD has gone a little bit further by covering the inside of the hood with felt. This makes the inside of the hood a nice matte black and prevents any reflections.

MustHD 5.6 inch monitor (5 of 8)

At first glance I thought the MustHD field monitor was a little on the thick side. Setting it next to the Smallhd DP6 however, it seems to be about the same thickness without the hood and about 3/4 of an inch thicker with the hood.

Even though the MustHD field monitor is made out of plastic, you have 4 brass 1/4 20 female mounts, one on each side of the monitor. There are plenty of mounting options and the metal design means they should last through repeated use.

MustHD 5.6 inch monitor (6 of 8)

Really the only size difference between the DP6 and the MustHD is the extra inch that the MustHD uses for controls. Again I’m really surprised at how light the MustHD field monitor is. Even with the extra inch in height it’s much much lighter than the Smallhd DP6.

MustHD 5.6 inch monitor (3 of 8)

For the price, the MustHD field monitor has a lot of features. You have the normal things like focus peaking and false color, but you also get SDI inputs and outputs as well as locking ports on both the HDMI input and output. There are also multiple power options as well as multiple battery plates to choose from out of the box.  

MustHD 5.6 inch monitor (8 of 8)

The included battery plates support Sony NP-F900 series batteries as well as Panasonic D28S and Canon LP-E6 batteries. With that sort of selection you should have at least one of these type of batteries in your collection to keep the MustHD field monitor powered.

If you take a closer look at the battery plates, each one has a couple of nubs coming out of the tops and sides. These are quick release buttons for the battery plate as well as the actual batteries. So if you need to change out battery types fast, press the button in and slide out the battery plate. If you plan to mount the battery plate permanently, the little bag of included screws can be used to attach a battery plate more securely to the back of the monitor.

MustHD screen color

Without making any adjustments to the MustHD 5.6 inch 1280×800 HDMI field monitor right out of the box the monitor seems to be setup very close to what you see on the back of the 5d mark III. Take a look at the full res images here and you’ll see that the MustHD’s 1280×800 screen resolution is tack sharp. Even without the focus aids turned on you can tell what’s in focus and actually read the text on the back of this canned air bottle without any problem. The screen on this monitor impressive for the price.

I’ll post some more once I’ve had a chance to really play around with the monitor and dig into the menu system. I’m very impressed so far with the screen on the MustHD for it’s price range. It provides a very nice looking image out of the box for the price.

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