Review: Video Devices PIX E5H Recording Video Monitor

Conclusion

The Sound Devices Pix E5H 5" LCD Monitor and 4K recorder offers a lot of capability in an amazingly small package--from 4K ProRes and H.264 dual recording, to image assessment, and tools to assist with video shooting--all in a rugged brick that literally fits in the palm of your hand. It uses “standard” Infolithium-L/NP-F type batteries, and an innovative USB 3.0-based mSATA SpeedDrive that unplugs from the Pix and plugs directly into your computer with 100+ MB/sec transfer speeds over a standard USB 3.0 connection.

However, I and others have found that Pix recorders run hot to the touch, sometimes too hot to handle. The physical buttons are not as useful as I thought they might be, especially since their function can be toggled between two different sets of functions, so in testing I had to use multiple button-presses for one function, and always had to look at the screen to assess what the button function currently was. Moreover, when recording, many functions are disabled.

I didn't find the 5" screen offering a dramatic advantage over my camera’s (nearly) 3" screen, aside from that it can be positioned in a more visible place by using a magic arm. I was hoping it would be more resistant to reflection than my camera's own tilt-swivel screen, but it was not. They were about equally hard to see when used outside.

When not recording, the functionality of this rugged little brick is wonderful--image assessment, waveform, vectorscope, focus peaking, applying a LUT to the screen, false color, and even telling me the video standard of the input is a very handy feature when trying to diagnose issues in the field. But not being able to access many features while recording puts a damper on their usefulness.

All in all, I really liked the PixE5H, but I had no problem returning this loaner. If I were buying, I'd opt for the one with SDI as well as HDMI for more connectivity, and so I could use the monitor to convert/distribute a video signal as well. However, when I put this 5" screen next to a 7" monitor, I realized how much more useful a bigger image is. There is a 7" Pix and I think that may well be the one to go for, if the caveats I mentioned are not an issue for you.