03Apr MustHD 5.6 inch 1280×800 HDMI field monitor Review
Over all I’ve been pretty impressed with the image quality of the MustHD 5.6 inch field monitor. For a monitor in this price range it looks really good and the 1280×800 screen resolution is a very nice plus. The design and implementation of the sun hood and battery plates are very well thought out and the HDMI locking ports are a nice touch.
For the most part controls are pretty easy to use and the remote is an interesting feature for quick checks on focus. With the programmable button on the front of the panel, you probably won’t need to spend much, if any time digging through the menu system once you have this setup.
On the downside the MustHD monitor’s headphone port is a bit noisy which isn’t a deal breaker, but a little disappointing. While the build quality is very good for the price, it is made out of plastic, so you’ll want to protect it and keep it out of the rain. Also I personally prefer the red indication for focus peaking over the method used on the MustHD, however that’s more of a personal preference than a complaint.
I’m still surprised that they can include this good of a screen on the MustHD for this price. It was only a few years ago that we were paying almost as much for a 800×480 screen with far less options.
If you are working with a camera that can actually take advantage of the 1280×800 screen the MustHD 5.6 inch field monitor is well worth considering for the price. I think this will be replacing my smallhd dp4 in my camera bag for any jobs that aren’t out in the elements.
You can find out more about the MustHD on their site. You can also check out these earlier posts here and here for more hands on and pictures. If I get some time maybe I’ll compare this to the Aputure V-screen and Smallhd DP6 to see how it stacks up.
April 3rd, 2014 at 1:19 pm
Hey man, what do you recommend more, Aputure vs3 or MustHD ?
I need it for Nikon d610, has no exposure or focusing aids, need a monitor badly.
April 3rd, 2014 at 1:24 pm
Build quality is better on the Aputure, but the MustHd has a nicer screen, lower price, and smaller size. Kind of partial to the MustHD.
April 3rd, 2014 at 1:44 pm
Thanks for doing the review deejay. Plan on picking up the 5.6 and 7 in model real soon.
April 3rd, 2014 at 2:16 pm
Wow, this 5.6″ really punches above it’s actual price. I can see this taking off even without audio meters on this.
The remote feature would be great for shoulder rigs or focus pullers who want to 1:1 zoom real fast to double check focus!
April 3rd, 2014 at 2:26 pm
I was surprised how handy that remote control really is.
April 3rd, 2014 at 11:09 pm
What batteries give you the longest power?
Why does the monitor need (2) CANON Batteries?
What is the most COST EFFECTIVE Battery to Power combination to use?
April 4th, 2014 at 11:38 am
A giant Sony NP-F970 8500 mAh clone battery will give you the longest run time, but they weigh more than the monitor. A canon battery is around 1800 mAh so they give you two slots to get longer run time, which is about half that of the Sony. If you own one of these types of batteries already that would probably be the “most cost effective”.
April 4th, 2014 at 1:25 am
Where did you get it for “less than $300”?
April 4th, 2014 at 11:32 am
musthd.com has them for $284 right now.
April 6th, 2014 at 7:23 pm
Thanks DeeJay. Their site says they will be at NAB too.
April 4th, 2014 at 12:06 pm
So this tops your DP4 now? I also have the same monitor but have always wanted something a little bigger. And I’ve never been that thrilled over the DP4.
April 4th, 2014 at 12:16 pm
The DP4 is more durable but the MustHD has a much better screen.
April 4th, 2014 at 12:20 pm
Great review on a good value product. Does the Tally light work will all cameras, or is that an option only available to cameras with some kind of Tally light output signal connection?
April 4th, 2014 at 12:32 pm
I believe you’ll need a Tally light output signal for that option to work. Also you might want to remove the sun hood, or the indicator is a little hard to see.
April 5th, 2014 at 9:43 am
This is not related to this field monitor but I need your help..I have my canon 7D connected to the same Lilliput on one of your older vids from a while back (669GL) but I can’t view the full screen like you do on your video. It is set at the largest scene size on the Lilliput and I can’t get rid of the Camera’s settings display on the monitor either. Can you help? Thank you for all that you do brother.
April 26th, 2014 at 6:11 am
Sirs,
The current price of USD285 does not include the three battery plates but one.
That seems fair enough, but the HDMI out is also an option.
Regards,
JA
April 26th, 2014 at 8:41 am
That probably explains why it was $300.
May 15th, 2014 at 10:42 pm
HD monitor for under $300?! Wow. I had the Ikan VK7i and loved it but it took a five foot drop onto cement and the battery plate shattered. Great color, sharpness, and has false color for exposure! I was using it on the GH3 and now GH4 but 7″ for that cam it’s pretty big and with a big sony battery, it added a lot of weight. So was looking for a 5.6″ and there are close to zero options that are HD.
The main reason I use an external monitor is for a bigger screen to nail critical focus and get correct exposure using false color. Zebras aren’t as much info as I like. The exposure is crucial and histograms or zebras just aren’t detailed enough for me. How is false color on the MustHD?? Is there a scale on screen that shows the IRE of each color? Thanks!!
May 16th, 2014 at 7:11 am
False color is decent and there’s a IRE guide. For me the 1:1 screen punch in really makes focusing easy, even on a 5.6 inch screen.
May 16th, 2014 at 8:30 am
I contacted MUSTHD (actually WINMAX on alibaba.com) about the monitor. The 5.6″ is a TN screen while the 7″ is an IPS screen. So it’s not the best screen in the first place. On Alibaba the minimum purchase is 5 units at $175 each plus ca. $100 shipping from China. Warranty service is a PITA as the monitors have to be sent back to them in China.
DeeJay, what’s your warranty situation?
Maybe we should do a DSLRFN group buy? Ha ha ha, but, the price is tempting.
May 16th, 2014 at 8:37 am
Are you sure you are looking at the same panel? The 5.6 I have and reviewed is this guy and the price was around $285 or so. $175 sounds like a pretty low price if it’s the exact same panel.
May 16th, 2014 at 9:06 am
Is the MUSTHD 5.5 monitor working with the GH4 in 59.94Hz AND 24.00Hz modes? Is your model #601?
Where do you send yours for the 2 year warranty?
Low price, well sort of:
Yes, it’s a wholesale offer. If you go to that link you gave above and click on “OEM/Bulk Orders” button you will probably get to the same person: “Sophia at WinMax”
This link says it’s TFT: http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/High-quality-portable-hdmi-monitor_1790033402.html
This link says IPS: http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/5-6-inch-1080p-IPS-Screen_1696041948.html
This looks similar to the link I clicked on: http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/5-6-inch-1280×800-On-Camera_1224279426.html
I wrote to 2 different ad, both were to “WinMax” the 2nd was to “Mr. Charley” and only got one response, from Sophia. I think there are multiple ads from the same company.
My memory is a little off, the price is a little higher due to my wanting HDMI out and the screen is TFT not TN. So $1088/5 = $217 per unit shipped. Warranty service available in China. That’s not really convenient.
Even if you could ebay them off at $300/ea. after all the hassle and ebay fees (basically 10%) (any USA import fees?) you’d only make a nickel out of it.
Here’s what Sophia wrote.:
Hi _______,
The screen of 5.6 inch monitor is TFT, screen of 7 inche monitor is IPS.
Regarding aftersale service, it’s better for buyers to contact you, then you can gather needed information and feedbacks and contact us. But they can also contact us directly if they like.
Yes, we can replace Canon Battery Plate-LP-E6 with Sony F970 battery plates for these 5 units.
The Unit price for 5pcs 5.6 inch monitor with HDMI out is 190USD, total shipping cost of 5pcs is 134USD by UPS and 138USD by DHL (both through our agent).
So, the total amount is 1084USD, OR 1088USD. How would you like to pay? Is Western Union OK to you? Or, wire tranferring?
Waiting for your early feedback.
Best regards,
Sophia
Winmax Industry Co., Ltd.
May 16th, 2014 at 1:09 pm
The only experience in false color is that Ikan so I don’t totally understand what you mean when you say the MustHD 5.6″ has ‘decent’ false color. Could you elaborate a bit?
Also the MustHD only has a 500:1 contrast ration and 6 bit color vs. the Ikan’s 800:1 and 8 bit color. Again, I”m not sure how that plays out in real life usage for focus, false color for exposure, and general usage. Thoughts?
May 16th, 2014 at 1:41 pm
When I say decent, I mean the outlines for over/under exposed areas aren’t perfect, they bleed a little bit into other areas. Doesn’t really affect the usefulness.
As for the contrast ratio and 6 bit, if you have the two side by side you’ll probably notice a difference, but I don’t think it’ll be that dramatic. Still the Ikan monitors are pretty good if you want to spend the extra money.
May 16th, 2014 at 2:04 pm
I see. Thanks. Yeah, I loved the Ikan but looking for something smaller (5.6″) that is HD and has false color. Ikan, Marshall, and a couple others have options but nothin under like $700 (and much more) I think. Those are very feature rich, and honestly with what I do, I don’t really need much other than false color and pixel to pixel blow up, so if there’s good quality here for my two needs at a steal of a price, I’d go for it.
May 16th, 2014 at 9:19 pm
As I mentioned in the review the screen looks great, the build is all plastic. If you are on a budget it’s a great monitor, but if you have plenty of money to spend there are nicer options out there. You might also want to look into a used SmallHD DP6, sometimes they can be had for under $400 on ebay. They are also a pretty sexy monitor with a better build if you can find them at the right price.
May 17th, 2014 at 3:17 pm
Thanks for all the info Deejay! Since I’d rather not pay for features I don’t use, I might take the plunge on. Either way, super cheap.
December 6th, 2014 at 7:48 pm
Regards the GH4 and the Ikan VK7i. Were you able to play back the recorded video from the camera to the monitor? When i tested a Lilliput 665GL it would not play back the video. Do you know if the GH4 can play back recorded video to the Aputure VS-3 7″ IPS LCD?
May 17th, 2014 at 3:52 pm
Is the MUSTHD 5.5 monitor working with the GH4 in 59.94Hz AND 24.00Hz modes?
Is your model #M601?
Where do you send yours for the 2 year warranty?
Thank you for the info.
May 18th, 2014 at 7:08 am
I’ll check on that for you once I make it back home tonight. I was out of town on a music video job all weekend.
June 13th, 2014 at 3:58 am
Got mine yesterday.. Wow! Better then I thought. That sun-hood is awesome. The monitor haves framing guides (2.35:1 and more) what I really like. Overall a bit plasticy but I think it’s well-build and it’s not gonna break. Only thing I don’t like are the HDMI clamps. Too plastic. The MustHD carry bag is also of nice quality.
June 13th, 2014 at 12:20 pm
Milan,
Did you get the bag on their website or the bigger one they do not show? If it is the former, does the 5’6″ monitor fit in it?
Regards,
JA
August 19th, 2014 at 10:37 pm
I bought this monitor, am disappointed with it and sending it back. Just thought I’d warn folks and share my thoughts. The hardware and screen quality is def good for this price point but the software leaves it unusable for professional settings.
My main reason for it (and any external monitor) when using with a DSLR/DSLM (I use the GH3/4) is to have a bigger screen to see better but more importantly to use the software features like false color to get correct exposure and focus peaking to nail critical focus.
Now using the GH4, focus is less of an issue because of the GH4’s own focus peaking, but the GH3 doesn’t have it and many other cams don’t either. In the MustHD, instead of a red outline for peaking, it uses a different system that inverts all the colors making it super hard to make out what’s what in frame. What’s in focus is supposed to be a light color but it’s really not so clear and def not good for run and gun situations. I want peaking that I can leave on as I’m shooting if I want and still be able to see the scene. Not ideal and I would never use it.
That said, because the screen is big and has good resolution, you can prob trust it focus with the naked eye without using peaking, so the real issue becomes getting proper exposure. False color on other monitors re-colors everything in frame according to a scale based on IRE values so that you can tell the IRE range of EVERYTHING in frame. Good false colors also provide the color scale for reference on screen as well so you don’t have to memorize what color is for what IRE value. This is important cuz many monitors use different colors for diff values. On the MustHD, the false color only colors the upper IRE values. Anything in the middle or lower end is left unchanged. For me, I want to know the IRE values of the entire range, not only the upper quarter. It basically tells you what’s blown out and down to maybe 75 IRE-ish, with no scale on screen for reference. I can essentially use zebras on the GH4 to serve a similar function. The reason for false color IMHO is to have the extra detailed info of the IRE of EVERYTHING in frame, so to only have it cover the top quarter of the scale doesn’t make sense to me and is disappointing.
If you don’t need focus peaking or false color and only want the bigger screen to look at, the quality of the monitor is very good for the price. Pretty hard to find 1280×800 in a 5.6″ for this cheap. But if you’re thinking of it to actually use software features, I wouldn’t buy it. Now I have to send it all the way back to China and they don’t pay return shipping, so this experiment will cost me like $50-60…
September 27th, 2014 at 9:32 am
Does this monitor work with the GH3 and GH3 in all recording modes? I read through this thread but didn’t notice if this was addressed.
November 12th, 2014 at 9:18 pm
Did you get a chance to try all the GH4 recording modes with this monitor? I’m curious as some recorders only accept hdmi signals at certain frame rates. I’m also curious if it will work with 4k recording.
March 6th, 2015 at 8:37 pm
[…] EVF Nato mount arm a little more this week and I ran into a bit of a problem. The setup above (MustHD 5.6 inch panel on the Smallrig EVF mount) seems to be a dangerous combination. I’ll admit that the […]