The Portkeys BM5 III WR is a robust 5.5-inch on-camera monitor ready for all your next creative adventures thanks to its compact form factor, daylight-viewable touchscreen, four user function buttons, a full suite of professional monitoring tools, and the capability to control your camera.
The housing of the BM5 III WR is entirely made of rugged aluminum housing and has toughened glass in front of the display. However, with a weight of only 376g/13.2oz (without battery), it won’t add much poundage to your camera rig.
With a high brightness of 2,200 nits, shooting in full sunlight has never been easier. Each BM5 III WR WLED display is factory color-calibrated and passes strict hardware controls to ensure the most accurate colors. In addition, the 10-bit (8+2 FRC) panel makes color reproduction more accurate with a rich level of color details and no color banding. This 5.5-inch monitor has a FullHD 1920 x 1080 resolution, a large 178° viewing angle, and a 1000:1 contrast ratio.
When it comes to power, with a low power draw of only 14W despite the highly bright 2,200 nits display, the built-in Sony NP-F-style battery plate at the back of the Portkeys BM5 III WR can power it for hours.
Furthermore, if you use an external battery to power your camera rig, the 4-pin aviation 7.4V-24V power input and the included D-Tap to 4-pin aviation cables (40cm and 100cm) can power your monitor infinitely. The 4-pin aviation 7.4V power output can also power small camera accessories, such as a wireless follow focus motor.
The BM5 III WR is a future-proof monitor with SDI and HDMI video inputs. Also, the SDI video output with HDMI cross-conversion ensures perfect video continuity no matter where the monitor is placed in the video signal chain. The SDI Output can output a clean video feed, but you can also output a 3D LUT and peaking if needed.
Despite its compact form factor, the BM5 III WR is packed with all the monitoring features you can expect from a professional on-camera monitor, including:
- A high-precision Waveform that can be displayed full-screen. Waveform SDI output is also possible. Histogram and Zebra tools are also available.
- 3D LUT monitoring and 3D LUT SDI output. You can load custom LUTs via the USB port at the bottom of the monitor and the included USB key.
- ARRI False Color mode and user-defined mode. When you use the user-defined mode, you can freely set the IRE values.
- A new Peaking algorithm to help you nail focus easily. A Zooming feature is also available.
- Framing guides, grids, aspects.
- Image Capture and Image Overlay. Image Capture takes a snapshot of the HDMI or SDI video input (combined with a LUT if desired) and saves it to the monitor’s memory. Then, you can set the transparency/opacity of the Image Overlay. This feature is helpful for shot matching (continuity) or a quick overview of the day’s shots.
- Anamorphic image de-squeeze.
- Sharpness, chroma, brightness, backlight, tint, and color temperature adjustments.
On top of all the professional monitoring features, the Portkeys BM5 III WR is also capable of controlling wired/wirelessly many cameras:
- The 2.4 GHz WiFi antenna at the back of the monitor can connect wirelessly to the RED Komodo/V-RAPTOR. Since the BM5 III WR is RED Approved, you can change your camera settings directly from the monitor and even touch to focus.
- The WiFi connection and camera control functions are also compatible with multiple Sony cameras, including the Sony A7S III, A7M IV, A7M III, A1, A9I, A9II, A7C, FX3, RX10, RX0.
- The monitor supports Bluetooth connection and camera control for Blackmagic Design users with the BMPCC 4K, 6K, and 6K Pro.
- Wired control is also available for multiple Sony, Canon, Panasonic, BMD, and ZCAM E2 cameras.
- If you use a TILTA Nucleus N/M wireless follow focus, the BM5 III WR supports wired control of your motors. The focus scale can even be displayed on the display.
* Wireless control does not mean wireless video transmission; the video signal cable still needs to be connected.
Lastly, the optional REC Key can be connected to the Portkeys BM5 III WR and gives you an extended recording switch.
