Professional videographer & filmmaker based in the UK. I share pro tips, tutorials and reviews of film & video gear. I've been charting my journey in to videography since 2007 over on my blog (link above) if you want to see examples my work feel free to head over there and have a look around.
I try to post videos on RU-vid each week and love to discuss them in the comments so feel free to get involved and I'll look forward to chatting with you soon.
By far the best review of the Porkeys LH 5P II with the Movnorm firmware update. I had a bit of difficulty connecting the monitor to my Sony A7R V but finally figured it out. There a couple of controls that don't work with the A7R V but hopefully that will get sorted out as they advertise compatibly with Sony cameras. I ordered a Nitze cage and a Neewer camera monitor mount to mount the monitor on my SmallRig full camera cage. Thanks for the great review.
After connecting my Sony A7 iv to the Portkeys LH5P II via WiFi it did not show the image coming from my camera. The menu looks completely different from everyone else’s online too. I’m super confused. This is my second monitor because I returned the first one thinking it was defective. But now the second one is having the same issues. Now it does display the image connected via HDMI but again the menu doesn’t look like it should. It still has all the settings like record, shutter, ISO etc. but I can’t swipe right, left, up or down. I can’t find anyone with the same issues online and I’m really confused. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
@@PaulJoy That’s what Portkeys told me. I contacted them after I posted this. They sent me a link for the latest firmware update and some instructions on how to connect my Sony to the monitor. They said if I was still having trouble getting an image to contact them again. I am about to go through the steps that they gave me I. I just don’t know why I’m still not getting an image when connected by Wi-Fi but thank you for your response. I will let you know how this unfolds.
@@ShawnBustamante You need to use both together. The HDMI cable carries the video & audio from the camera to the monitor and the wireless connection allows control of the camera and data from the camera to be displayed.
Hi, I can´t reply recorded footages on my fx3 when I connect the PORTKEYS LH5P II :/ I have to disconnect a hdmi cable and then it works. Have you tried it? Could you advise me how to set fx3 correctly... Many thanks
Hi, Great video, a lot of useful information. I am really considering getting this monitor. One question, does the monitor still display image when I record 4k 120p on my Sony camera? It would be a dealbreaker as I record birds in flight so I require to shoot in 120p. Thanks 😊
It won’t display a 120fps signal but your HDMI output might not be 120fps even when your recording at that framerate. Can you set the HDMI output in camera?
Thank you for this. I know it’s a fairly old video now, but I keep coming back to it. I have also played around a lot with shutter speeds and watched a lot of old cowboy movies (for instance), freeze framing the action. What really surprised me was just how much blur these old movies show, to the point where in many still frames, the whole picture was totally motion blurred. This made me think more about shutter angle because it looks to me as though the old cinema stuff might well have been using a slower shutter, judging from the amount of blur. The other thing that no one seems to talk about is the black gap between each frame. The movie would be in 24 fps with each frame shown for 1/48th sec with a 1/48th second gap to move the film. Therefore, the 180 rule is actually 100% of the shown picture time, not 50% I still feel that the amount of blur in say, John Wayne films is more than 180 degrees! So I played around with 360 degree shutter since we have no black frames so that the blur matched the distance a subject traveled in the same amount of time as a frame. Results weren’t as blurry or smeared and many might think. Handheld, a shutter at 1/25th is a bit too slow but on a tripod, fine. I quite liked it and often, when using a low frame rate, I now use a 270 degree shutter to make movement appear smoother. For 60fps, I use 1/60th and imo, it does look nicer. However, we all seem to ignore that black frame that should appear as it does in film projection. Not sure what exactly happens with modern digital movies, but I do see terrible judder in most movies shown in the cinema. Perhaps less care taken over camera movement these days, but I am extremely sensitive to it and find it really annoying. Thanks for an interesting video. As I said earlier…. I keep coming back to it!
Hi there, thanks so much for this comment, I’d not given any thought to how much of the 24 fps was dedicated to the mechanics of pulling the film down on old cinema cameras and projectors before. I’ll have to have a play with that one!
I Guess 48fps with every other frame being black. This stops what is called, ‘persistence of vision’. What this means is that the motion blur stretches across 1/48th second, followed by 1/48th second black. The brain then inserts what it thinks the motion should be, giving smoother movement. It’s an optical illusion. My TV inserts black frames and it starts to look a little more ‘movie like’ when it’s on. So you get 1/48th of motion blur and 1/48th of brain insertion which (I guess) might insert the same amount for you, giving (kind of) 48fps at 360 degrees and this was originally a measurement used to calculate the best frame rate/smoothness/cost. Unfortunately not in movies possible because film needed the black frame to change the picture which suggests that perhaps we should be videoing at 50 or 60fps with 360 degree shutter! I have never been totally convinced by 24fps. When I was younger, I used film at 16fps and it always looked like poor home movie to me. Even then in the 60’s. 24fps just about works but imo, with a mostly still camera. Some movies are ghastly I think. We all seem to be hanging on to that frame rate, but the medium that we now use has drastically changed but we seem to ignore it. Especially with fast displays that don’t allow for persistence of vision. It’s a funny old topic, but one that has interested me for a long time because of this (quite often) total acceptance of 24fps, even on 60hz screens. It’s kind of become a burned in rule, like the 180 degree rule that more often than not, I break. In fact, at slow frame rates, I prefer a 270 degree shutter or even more. This is a topic that isn’t really discussed much on RU-vid. It’s always assumed that 24fps is the one that is ‘best’ without really analysing why it’s the best. I think when it’s done well, it looks fantastic, but there are many, many examples of poor camera control at 24fps and that slow frame rate makes it appear actually worse in some cases. I think faster frame rates are more forgiving of poor camera control but 24 needs more attention to detail and how you move the camera.
Love the review. I would like to check if there is a button to press for taking photo. I understand there is the REC button to press and it start the video recording. I believed your camera is in video mode. So if the camera is in photo mode, will there be the button to press for the photo to be taken ?
better use fx 30/ fx 3 small rig cage part, which fits directly at the place of top handle xlr, where golden pins goes in. screw the small metal part on the handle extention from small rig, horizontally out towards the left and then screw the atmos monitor on the rod with another circular metal piece like the plastic piece where mics are tightented on the xlr handle for which we have to use another ruber material for holding it tight. hope you guys got me. this way you can get another space to use focus pulling system. down just under the monitor. or, use that small rig metal part vertically up or downwards and then follow the above options agian, this way you can get the monitor just behind the chanel input setting on the xlr handle.
Hi paul , I have a fx30 and a portkey monitor but when I use phantom luts on the monitor it looks so dark, what setting should I do could you please help me?
Hi there. I'm really not sure, as far as I can recall the phantom luts don't push down exposure. Do they do the same thing on the camera itself or in post?
Very informative. It puzzles me that EVERYBODY talks about, the necessity of ND filters and the 180 shutter-rule. Can’t you get as good as a motion blur in post (like Davinci Studio)? One would be more flexible and wouldn’t have the hassle with the NDs all the time. Hardly anybody talks about the negatives/restrictions of using an ND filter like, color-casting, vignetting, having to use a higher ISO sometimes, not being able to use polarizers with a variable ND filter which is usually less of a quality anyway, bad stabilizing results, etc. If the motion blur is only done in post, without NDs, how good and easy is the result of a proper motion blur and quality?
I don't use Resolve so I'm not aware of how well it performs in that regard. Certainly if it has the ability to correctly apply motion blur to specific objects in the frame then that could be useful.
the problem with 360 for me at least, is that the additional motion blur you get from 60p having 1/60th makes the slowed down shoot not look as slow as if you just keep it at 180(you get that much needed detail that creates the slowed down effect).. i encourage people to be deliberate with what they are shooting and just take one second to think when you actually need a slow mo shot.
I have no idea. I just made a compilation of bunch of vacation videos and I remember the Shutterspeed being between 320 and 80 When shooting 4k Slog/Cinetone on a A6700.
180° Shutter is a common setting it's not a critical choice in all cases and I know a few people that expose using shutter speed and are perfectly happy with the results. I also know people who are religious about 180° shutter so it really comes own to your own preference.
Great video Paul, I was thinking of doing this lately as it would make speed ramping and playing back higher frame rates at their normal speed and not conforming them to the timeline fps, look more natural and cinematic.
Remember when all we had to remember was loading the tape, winding up the cine camera and pressing the trigger to capture a few seconds of film footage that always seemed underexposed in the shade or overexposed in the sunlight with a tint that couldn't be corrected?😂 We've come a long way over the last 45 years. That was a Great Video, explaining Shutter Rates. Your demonstration/example was Spot On! Well Done! Cheers!
If I were anybody following this advice I would do testing first. I just lost 2 hours of video work following the above settings...youtube experts are not always correct
You should always test any settings but the only advice offered here is how to set the audio handle. Can you give a little more information about which part of the information given didn’t work for you and why?
@@PaulJoy I just bought the Zoom m3 32 bit...I will see how that goes...not sure why but I am having an impossible time with audio...when I got home I could not believe how bad the audio was like 2 hours of unusable audio
Can you describe what the problem your having is? I’m assuming you monitored the audio at the time of recording to make sure the levels are correct? It would also be good to know what part of my advice in this video you are warning people against.
@@PaulJoy I am not sure to be honest...when I first started with the XLR handle I just left everything on default settings plugged thing in and it worked...then I went and moved things around, where you said leave attn on 0, put it to IN1 to get two tracks etc...all my audio came out terrible...I want to buy the Zoom m3 and be done with levels...but that means I have a Deity S2 mic, and an xlr handle like $950 Canadian worth of gear just sitting around for nothing...
the only problem I see...which is a big one....I do like 30 clips 1 to 10 minutes each...so I cannot record externally because putting everything together would be like putting a puzzle together...so I am thinking of the Zoom m3 for the interviews to get 100% good audio...and the rest when filming crowds etc...just use the xlr handle...not sure what happened but my audio was crap....I am being given close access to certain groups so I need my audio to be 100% for the interviews...
I can't move any of the focus areas. Once I have selected a focus type (like zone), when I try and move the focus area using the joypad it just switches on or off the zebra peaking (or whatever). I'm sure I'm missing something obvious but I'd love some help!
Thank you for this👍🏼 About the dual receiver: can you record f.ex lav and shotgun simultanously and have the other one at f.ex few db lower. Or to do tha with two different lavs in case the other person just naturally is louder? Thank you again
I believe you can but I don’t own the dual channel reciever but yes you can record both a lane and shotgun at the same time to different channels, each with separate levels.
Hey Paul I have to Sony a7siii with this monitor and it’s been great ! But for some reason when I’ve imported clips into my editing program I noticed randomly in a few clips there was 1-2frames it went black and then the rest was fine ? Any ideas what’s going on ?
Hi @PaulJoy, Hi see that you use this monitor on a Kinefinity camera, did you use this monitor to solve the problem of color banding on the original one ? Thanks
Hi, I only had the Kinefinity for a day so didn’t notice any problem with the monitor. I’d love to spend a bit more time with one, they are very nice cameras.
