FieldMonitor 4+

Great app for what it is

I recently downloaded field monitor to get a feel for using a monitor for the first time. I am currently shopping for a professional grade one like a ninja v. It’s been a great tool for me to learn to use things like false color and some of the focus checking modes. I truly believe you can improve your focus capabilities and your ability to get accurate exposure and the tools that this app provide far exceed what is available on my Sony A7rii. One huge draw back is that you cannot use Sony picture profiles while using this field monitor. The limitation here keeps me from being able to use this for any legitimate work as I choose log profiles for almost all my work. I do want to point out that this limitation is not the developers fault but instead Sony’s. I believe Sony cameras only give the remote capabilities they have baked into their native app and this app basically has to piggy back off each camera manufacturer’s current technology. If you’re someone who doesn’t use picture profiles, this is a great app and even though I can’t use this for professional work, it’s been a great learning tool for me.

Developer Response ,

Sorry about that; "Smart Remote" Sonys have that annoying limitation. "Ctrl w/ Smartphone" Sonys do allow Picture Profiles, S&Q Motion, etc., so if you decide to upgrade to an A7Riii, A7Riv, A7Siii, or the like, you'll be able to shoot log with Wi-Fi active.

I don’t regret buying FieldMonitor

I am using FieldMonitor with a Sony A7iii and an IPad Pro 10.5”.

FieldMonitor is an adequate way to give clients something to look at and play with while they try to slow down production. The app works well enough to pass off to someone who wants to feel involved.

FieldMonitor is a great concept that was built by someone who clearly has production experience. I hope people that are interested in buying this app realize the limitations before they complain about their $20.

With that said, I would not rely on this product as a primary field monitor. My guess is the developer would not be offended by that statement.

Pros:
1. Low latency. Didn’t expect it to be this good.
2. Customizable features. Well done.
3. Intuitive.
4. Scopes are pretty accurate. More testing is needed.
5. I have a live image on my flippin’ IPad Pro.
6. Fair Price

Cons:
1. “Network timeouts” when playback is engaged on the camera. Is there any way to avoid re-connecting every time I want to see playback on my camera? That is frustrating.
2. Resolution
3. No playback. (I know, read the description.)

I don’t regret buying FieldMonitor and I look forward to future updates. Thank you Adam.

Developer Response ,

Thanks for the detailed and rational review (grin). As to "network timeouts", when you put the camera in Play, it drops the network connection. Sorry, that's just what the camera does; unless and until Sony changes the way it works, we're stuck with it (you'll see the same thing using PlayMemories Mobile). You can bump resolution up to 1024x576 (Settings > Camera Options > Sony Max Resolution), but frame rate will drop and latency will increase as the camera is pushing much bigger JPEGs though the skinny Wi-Fi pipe.

Excellent tool and great support

I am very pleased with this app. Having full screen monitoring is a huge help. I have a Panasonic GX85 and for some strange reason, Panasonic disables focus peaking and zebra stripe through the WiFi stream while recording video. Both are present in the stream before the recording is started and while recording it is only available on the camera screen. The extra features in this app allow me to still use sharpened edges and light to do essentially the same thing through the app.

I had some pre-sale questions and Adam was excellent and answered all my questions very quickly. The lower reviews seem to be from customers whom did not read the description of the app to see if it would or would not be compatible with their camera.

If your camera is in the supported list, or an email to Adam verifies it is, then buy this app. It is so much better than the ones the manufacture offers for monitoring purposes. If you just need to download images, the manufacture app probably already lets you do that. This one won’t.