Post Magazine

February 2016

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REVIEW www.postmagazine.com 45 POST FEBRUARY 2016 on the back of the E5, locking it in. Spring-loaded retainer clips made removing the drive and switching to the next SpeedDrive a snap. This made a ton of sense, allowing the shooter to hand off one SpeedDrive directly to the editor, and allowing for direct download via USB to the on-site editing station computer with a USB port. But the SpeedDrive is not your only recording option. You can also choose to use a high-capacity SD card or other record- ing devices from the approved Video Devices list. Again, smart design and integration allow for a great deal of production flexibility. It should be noted that any type of drive needs to be formatted by the Pix-E5, and the recording drives can also be used to save custom settings. Other great features include HDMI I/O, SDI I/O, SD slot, and USB port. FUNCTION FOLLOWS FORM (MONITORING AND RECORDING) This is where the review process got interesting. The Pix-E5 won a fussy local cinematographer over with touch screen functions like the TapZoom for fast adjustments of the settings. She also loved what the manufacturer calls 'soft key buttons' (sometimes called 'tactile feel' or 'push buttons' because that's how they work and it's how one would use them). There are 11 soft key buttons located directly below the screen. The soft key buttons are multi-functional. Pros can use them as quick-look access monitoring buttons. A filmmaker can also use the buttons to control recording and playback. The Pix-E5 monitor also incorporates this great, super-easy-to-read color text menu right above each button. The nice part of all of this is that the user decides how they want to control the functions they'll use the most. Simply selecting the menu button allows the user to either use the touchscreen function or control knob to navigate through the various menu listings. But those are just a few of the monitor/ recorder control features. On the recorder side of the Pix-E5, the units is one of the first on-camera monitors/recorders to offer the full range of Apple ProRes codecs, in- cluding ProRes 4444 XQ with a 12-bit codec. Additionally, one can record up to four channels of audio. According to Video Devices, an optional audio interface allows the operator to access XLR I/Os, mic pre amps, LED metering, transport, and gain controls. CLOSING THOUGHTS As stated earlier, the Pix-E5 field recording monitor is a game changer. It's a rugged, reliable, 4K field recording monitor with solid performance, at a price point that won't have you refi- nancing the house. As with any prod- ucts, there were a few sticky points. For instance, while shooting for a while, the Pix-E5 does generate quite a bit of heat. Yes, the fan shuts off when shooting, but the unit still got pretty darn hot to the touch. That being said, the E5 would be a solid addition to any digital filmmaker's or cinematogra- pher's tool bag! The Pix-E5 includes a suite of monitoring tools. Smart buttons are multi-functional.

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