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Three Best Compact External Monitors for Your Camera

Having an external monitor for your camera has many benefits. Many external monitors are larger than the built-in lcd that come with a camera. The external monitors also have screens that are easier to view in broad daylight. Many provide additional benefits such as being able to flip the screen and confirm shots are in focus. Here are the three best compact external monitors for your camera.

1. SmallHD FOCUS 5

I personally love the SmallHD FOCUS 5. SmallHD makes one of the best hot shoe attachments for external monitors. It fits easily to a camera and is extremely stable when flipping and turning the screen.As HDMI ports vary depending on the camera manufacturer, the SmallHD Focus offers different adapters to choose from:

For the monitor by itself, the SmallHD FOCUS 5 retails currently for $499.

2. Ikan 5" Field Monitor

The Ikan 5" On-Camera Field Monitor is among the mid level option on this list. I found the shoe attachment the Ikan 5" On-Camera Field Monitor uses to be wobbly compared to the SmallHD focus. But if you're on a budget and looking for a dedicated external monitor the Ikan 5" On-Camera Field Monitor is the one to choose.For the monitor by itself, the Ikan 5" On-Camera Field Monitor retails currently for $299.

3. Your Own Mobile Device

The drawback of having an external monitor is that it is another device you need to charge. Both the SmallHD Focus and Ikan have huge batteries so they add size to your setup. You also have to contend with HDMI wires that you will have to attach to your camera.However, if your camera has a WiFi connection, an alternative is to use your own mobile device such as an Apple iPhone 8 Plus or Samsung Galaxy S8 phone. Several third-party manufacturers make hot shoe mounts for smartphones to hook onto cameras:

The smartphone hot shoe mounts will typically cost between $9.99 to $15.99.

Results

Depending on your camera, the easiest option from this list would be using your mobile device. The drawback with this method is that it uses your WiFi connection and you may notice some monitor lag. The SmallHD FOCUS 5 and Ikan 5" On-Camera Field Monitor use a HDMI connection so you won't notice too much lag when using the external monitor.