Hi, all, (originally posted in Photography Gear, but I should have posted it here)

I am considering moving from Nauticam viewfinders (180 and 45) to an external monitor. Size is a major consideration so I’m focused on a 5”. Cost is also a consideration. Ideally I am looking in the $2Kish range. $5K is out of the budget.

I’ve looked at the Kraken 5” v2 due to both cost and compact size. Cable failures seem to be an expectation of any monitor, although I am told the new v2 is noticeably better than the original Kraken cable design. I am, however, hearing issues of button failures, which is concerning. This may be from users not cleaning their gear as well as I do, but it is concerning.

One proposed solution is picking up a pre-owned SmallHD 502 Bright monitor (1000 nit) and Nauticam NA-502B housing. Both seem quite solid with pre-owned prices to be around $2500 total. The cables are stronger and the Nauticam buttons are solid. The Nauticam housing has its own vacuum as well. The package size is about that of the Kraken 5”. Battery life with 2 Canon batteries is about 3 hrs. The downside is it is no longer being supported by firmware updates, but probably not an issue as it works well as-is.

The SmallHD 503 Bright is still supported with firmware upgrades, but is substantially thicker and heavier than I prefer. The newer SmallHD monitors/housings are out of the budget for now.

For those with solid monitor experience, what say you???

Thoughts, comments, recommendations?

I am using with a Nauticam Sony a1 rig. I’d appreciate whatever you can share.

Thanks!

Chip

17 hours ago, ChipBPhoto said:

Hi, all, (originally posted in Photography Gear, but I should have posted it here)

I am considering moving from Nauticam viewfinders (180 and 45) to an external monitor. Size is a major consideration so I’m focused on a 5”. Cost is also a consideration. Ideally I am looking in the $2Kish range. $5K is out of the budget.

I’ve looked at the Kraken 5” v2 due to both cost and compact size. Cable failures seem to be an expectation of any monitor, although I am told the new v2 is noticeably better than the original Kraken cable design. I am, however, hearing issues of button failures, which is concerning. This may be from users not cleaning their gear as well as I do, but it is concerning.

One proposed solution is picking up a pre-owned SmallHD 502 Bright monitor (1000 nit) and Nauticam NA-502B housing. Both seem quite solid with pre-owned prices to be around $2500 total. The cables are stronger and the Nauticam buttons are solid. The Nauticam housing has its own vacuum as well. The package size is about that of the Kraken 5”. Battery life with 2 Canon batteries is about 3 hrs. The downside is it is no longer being supported by firmware updates, but probably not an issue as it works well as-is.

The SmallHD 503 Bright is still supported with firmware upgrades, but is substantially thicker and heavier than I prefer. The newer SmallHD monitors/housings are out of the budget for now.

For those with solid monitor experience, what say you???

Thoughts, comments, recommendations?

I am using with a Nauticam Sony a1 rig. I’d appreciate whatever you can share.

Thanks!

Chip

There’s a guy selling a SmallHD monitor on eBay right now. $1500 clams.

Sorry I didn't get back to you. I had seen your question but then I forgot. The Nauticam SmallHD Bright combo is definitely great, but IMHO I find that at the current state of the market, it is really too expensive at 2500 USD. At 1500 USD though, I would definitely consider it. The new generation of monitors is extremely bright, and you can get a new product for 1000-1500 Euros. I believe that underwater, some of the features that make SmallHD monitors very expensive are lost. Keep in mind that many features are exclusively dedicated to videographers. A Kraken or Weefine is truly visible underwater. On paper, the latest Seafrogs monitor also looks very good because it is a housing for a monitor that has excellent web reviews, but I haven't seen any reviews of the Seafrogs housing. I haven't mentioned SUPE monitors because they have a significant weight in water, which IMHO makes them problematic for having decent overall buoyancy.

Thanks @Davide DB . My only hesitation with 502 is the fact it is several generations old and no longer upgradable. The Kraken 5.5” v2 is the next best option I’m considering. The fact it uses a pair of 21700 batteries makes it interesting as it would be easy to change them in the boat if needed. Their internal cable design seems to be the greatest weakness.

Per Kraken, there is no 5.5” beyond the current v2. They are certainly bright at an amazing 3000 nit! It seems the SmallHD has a more user friendly interface, but like anything it would something I would get used to using.

Please share any other thoughts or suggestions you may have. I truly appreciate the feedback!