Monitor Size: 5" vs 7"?

[brightnight]

Is there a big difference between diving with a 5" monitor vs a 7"? Mostly wondering in terms of maneuverability. Having a bigger screen would be much more benefitcial for framing images but don't know how much a larger screen would reduce my my movements compared to a 5" monitor. Seems like batteries last longer on smaller screen which is another plus.

[t.tm.m]

I haven't experienced any noticeable difference, particularly when the monitor is facing upward (as it typically is for me, for easiest viewing). In this case it is the width x depth of the monitor that is contributing to your drag, and the actual difference in width between a 5" and 7" monitor is less than 2", so minor in comparison to the entire cross sectional area of your setup. I do need to hold the housing and monitor a bit farther away from me when shooting wide angle and finning, but again that is no large difference.

[Glasshouse]

May I ask which 7inch monitor you’re using? 

[brightnight]

2 hours ago, Glasshouse said:

May I ask which 7inch monitor you’re using? 

 

I'm not using a monitor yet, just trying to decide on what sized monitor to use. Probably will select between the Kraken 5" or Kraken 7" screens.

[ChipBPhoto]

23 minutes ago, brightnight said:

 

I'm not using a monitor yet, just trying to decide on what sized monitor to use. Probably will select between the Kraken 5" or Kraken 7" screens.

Perhaps also take a look at the Anglerfish 5”.  I’ve heard some really good things for brightness and overall usage.  It’s a thin panel as well.  Around the same price as the Kraken 5”. 

[Glasshouse]

I’ve also been eyeing up the 7inch Kraken. The weight on paper isn’t too different to the 5.5inch but I’m finding reviews hard to come by.

[Davide DB]

99% per cent of underwater monitors are simply Chinese monitors (from the controls and fw you can see that many are Feelworld monitors), 

Two parameters are crucial:

 

- brightness 

- weight in water.

 

4/500 nits may be low for tropical seas. You would need at least 1000 nits.

A fine, streamlined monitor is not necessarily better. Maybe it weighs a heck of a lot and thetroublea nightmare to get the whole kit with a decent weight and trim. This is very important for video makers.

 

I'm seeing fake reviews on YouTube with monitors mounted in absurd ways. Another parameter to keep in mind is the position of the connectors on the monitor and your housing bulkheads. There may be cases where you only have one option to mount it due to bad cables routing or connectors banging.

 

 

[brightnight]

8 hours ago, Davide DB said:

99% per cent of underwater monitors are simply Chinese monitors (from the controls and fw you can see that many are Feelworld monitors), 

Two parameters are crucial:

 

- brightness 

- weight in water.

 

4/500 nits may be low for tropical seas. You would need at least 1000 nits.

A fine, streamlined monitor is not necessarily better. Maybe it weighs a heck of a lot and thetroublea nightmare to get the whole kit with a decent weight and trim. This is very important for video makers.

 

I'm seeing fake reviews on YouTube with monitors mounted in absurd ways. Another parameter to keep in mind is the position of the connectors on the monitor and your housing bulkheads. There may be cases where you only have one option to mount it due to bad cables routing or connectors banging.

 

 

 

 

That very interesting, I had assumed the size would be the biggest challange with a larger monitor being harder to move through the water but I've never been diving with one. Thanks for your input!

[RomiK]

@brightnight summed it up really well. On paper and pictures these Krakens and weefines look good but there is a good reason why there aren’t favorable reviews to be found apart from the paid cheerleaders. Chinese just slap the monitor into waterproof housing and when selling it they even do not bother to remove features such as “usb port for LUT import” or “sd card slot” 😂. Heck Kraken can’t even get dimensions right in their official manual. When I wrote them when they could ship I got answer in next hour. Subsequent question about the sd card is unanswered to this day 😂

 

I have had terrible experience with WED7 from weefine - software issues, freezing software, screen lamination smears visible in broad light and off course 400 nits is unusable in daylight. And plus it’s a brick in the water and necessary compensations make it cumbersome to use.

 

Angler looks good with good buoyancy and with that huge shade might even be usable in daylight. But for just few dollars more there is Shinobi with 1000nits HDR screen and that’s the route I ultimately chose. I will post picture including compensations soon. 

[ChipBPhoto]

37 minutes ago, RomiK said:

Angler looks good with good buoyancy and with that huge shade might even be usable in daylight. But for just few dollars more there is Shinobi with 1000nits HDR screen and that’s the route I ultimately chose. I will post picture including compensations soon. 

Agree about the brightness of the Shinobi/Atmos.  It is, however, substantially thicker than the Angler once it’s in a housing.  Trade offs for everything. 

[RomiK]

Yes there is. Just wanted to clarify my post - @Davide DB summed the issues with Chinese really well and exactly to experience I had. Good luck everyone selecting their monitor. 

[Tino Dietsche]

I use a 5" monitor from Feelworld in a custom made housing. In my opinion, the size and weight are the most ideal in relation to the rest of the setup. A colleague uses a 7" monitor from Weefine and usually doesn't use it due to its size and weight.

 

Greetings from Switzerland,

 

Tino

 

 

Edited February 16 by Tino Dietsche

[RomiK]

WOW! 👏 This is like next level! "I  just made my own housing" 🙂 👏 I am still perplexed as why in the age of todays phone screens and battery sizes most hdmi monitors are using bulky NFP batteries... It would be so nice having housing a little bigger than phone but I guess it's a fantasyland...

[Tino Dietsche]

Hi RomiK,

 

Thanks for your feedback! I had had the idea for the monitor housing for a long time and at that time there were actually only recorders and corresponding housings, but they were usually very bulky and heavy. I then made the housing itself with a friend who used to build underwater housings. The result is a relatively light, simple case that meets my requirements.

 

One of the biggest difficulties for implementation is still the cabling. For my/our solution we used sockets and cables from Nauticam. Doing something yourself was too complicated and too expensive.

 

The topic of smartphones as monitors would indeed be absolutely interesting, but at the same time would also involve certain problems. You have to be able to operate the device, even if only minimally, which is anything but easy to achieve. USB-C instead of HDMI would become more and more suitable for the cable connection and there are some good apps. Unfortunately, there are no corresponding cables and sockets yet.

 

But who knows, maybe sooner or later I'll get it again and start the project for a corresponding housing...

[Barmaglot]

1 hour ago, Tino Dietsche said:

The topic of smartphones as monitors would indeed be absolutely interesting, but at the same time would also involve certain problems. You have to be able to operate the device, even if only minimally, which is anything but easy to achieve. USB-C instead of HDMI would become more and more suitable for the cable connection and there are some good apps. Unfortunately, there are no corresponding cables and sockets yet.

If you can tolerate a little bit of lag and reduced battery life, WiFi is an option.

[RomiK]

17 hours ago, Barmaglot said:

If you can tolerate a little bit of lag and reduced battery life, WiFi is an option.

Not really... for wifi there is a need for that extender and it just gets in the way. On alu housing you are supposed to place it over the plexiglass of rear screen which renders it unusable. And there is only one housing with touch interface - divevolk - and that touch is not really that touch friendly underwater believe you me 🙂