Viltrox DC-550 Pro Monitor Review

Viltrox DC-550 Pro Monitor Review

Welcome to the website, folks; my name’s Shane.  We are checking out the Viltrox DC-550 Pro portable LED field Monitor in today’s review.  This field monitor has a 5.5-inch touchscreen design and will be perfect for filmmakers or content creators who need a high-quality reference monitor with plenty of built-in filmmaker tools at an affordable price.

 

While this monitor is primarily for filmmaking, it can also work great for live streaming or live switching applications with an ATEM Mini Pro.  This review will cram in much information, so I’ve broken it down into sections to simplify life. 

Disclaimer

Before we get going, I greatly thank Viltrox for sending out the DC-550 Pro for this review; I appreciate it.  No money has changed hands; all thoughts about this will be mine.  They let me hold onto this sample unit but have had no input into my video or written review.  I’ve posted links in this article if you’d like to check out the DC-550 Pro monitor in your part of the world.  Let’s get into it.

Price and Features

When writing this article, the Viltrox DC-550 Pro is priced under $200 and provides a massive selection of features compared with the portable monitors I have previously reviewed.  This Viltrox monitor has a 5.5-inch fully touchscreen display and boasts a brightness rating of twelve-hundred NITS.  Additionally, the contrast rating is listed at 12-hundred to one contrast rating.

 

This rating implies that the brightest white image is one thousand two hundred times brighter than the darkest black, resulting in an accurate reference image.  I had no problems seeing this screen outdoors during the day, and it was a lot brighter than the Panasonic GH6 or FX30 LCD built-in displays.

Weight

I love that this monitor is only 280 grams which means it’s light enough to pack for travel.  For example, I traveled to Florida last year with my multi-camera setup.  This would have been a great addition to my camera bag as it’s lighter than the AndyCine monitor we took at the time.  Additionally, this monitor is a great option for on-camera use, live streaming, or live-switching situations.

Viewing Angle Range

The DC-550 Pro also has a wide viewing angle rated at 178 degrees, making it easy to see even from the side.  The Viltrox DC-550 pro can accept a 4K signal while outputting at FULL HD 1080p.  The HDMI signal latency is low, and what delay there is, is typical for most HDMI signals.   

 

Frame Rates

This monitor accepts all standard frame rates, including 24, 25, 30, 50, and 60p.  So whether you are shooting 16×9 or Anamorphic with a 1.33x or 2.0x de-squeeze, this monitor has you covered.

The right side of the monitor houses two power options.  We get a USB-C 5v input for easy powering and a dedicated 12v DC port on the bottom.  Along with the power connectors, there’s a second 1/4″ thread for mounting the monitor in a vertical orientation for vertical video production.  This is a great inclusion.

Power Switch & Menu Wheel

The left side of the unit houses the rotatable dial and button and the power on-off switch.  The main dial moves in notches and is easy to turn.  The click functionality feels solid and responds exactly how it should, with a decent amount of force to be applied before it clicks.  So, for example, you won’t accidentally click it when turning it.

Watch my Viltrox DC-550 Pro Video Review

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SD Card and Function Buttons

Additionally, on the top of the unit, we have our SD Card slot, three function buttons, and a return key.  The SD card slot allows you to upload a LUT directly to the monitor or to update the firmware easily.

The function buttons allow you quick access to certain tools and features.  The F-Keys on the top of the unit can also be customized to quickly select tools of your choice by going into the F-Key option within the menu.

While you can insert an SD card, the unit cannot record.  Therefore, this field monitor is for real-time viewing or playback purposes only.

 

Back Panel

The Back Panel has some additional ventilation ports and houses the NPF battery.  Viltrox included an NPF USB-C rechargeable battery to charge directly without a dedicated charger.  I like this a lot.

This is also the first time I’ve seen a battery this size that has its own USB-C port.  Excellent stuff.  I could charge the battery using a mobile phone charger without issue.

 

Monitor Hood

Finally, I have to say that Viltrox has delivered the best detachable on-monitor hood I have used.  This is easy to open and close and is robust and sturdy, unlike others I’ve used prior.

There’s no Velcro, it just snaps into place, and you’re good to go.  I love the lens hood feature, which improves the viewing experience in challenging lighting.  But, of course, if you’re shooting indoors, you won’t need it unless you’re shooting in a low-lit situation where it could bleed light on set.

 

Minor Gripes

The only small critique I have is that the input is very close to the center of the monitor, which means it can be a bit of a tight fit on something like the Sony FX30, which has a flat top design.

Conventional HDMI cables might struggle to bend out of the way.  If you are using this monitor on a cage or rig, it won’t be an issue.  The ports are easily cleared if you plan on using this with a Manfrotto Pixie Tripod on a desk for live switching or streaming purposes.

 

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Firmware Updates

Let’s talk about firmware updates.  As I received this, Viltrox provided the latest firmware version, 1.0.22.4.7.  This added the ability to change the fan speed in three increments from Low to High or turn it off completely.  It’s great to see Viltrox pushing through firmware updates.  However, while the firmware upgrade process is simple, you must follow their guide to ensure it goes smoothly.

 

Touchscreen Functionality

The touchscreen functionality on the DC-550 Pro is excellent.  You can quickly swipe up or down to adjust the volume or left and right to adjust the screen brightness.  Double-Tapping the screen brings up the main menu option allowing you to customize the display quickly and easily.  Having touchscreen functionality is great.

Navigating the menus and options can all be done on screen, which is a great workflow advantage.  For example, you can designate the zoom amount from the settings tab.  This can be enabled by tapping on the screen.

 

Filmmaking Tools

Let’s cover all the filmmaking tools built into the Viltrox DC-550 Pro monitor.  There are four main sections to the tools you can utilize by pushing F3 by default if you’ve just powered the unit on.  These four modes are Waveform, Mode, Mark, and Image.

Waveform mode allows you to monitor the Volume Bar, Histogram, Vectorscope, Parade, FullWaveform, and the LUT table.  Each can be toggled on or off depending on your needs using the bar slider under each option.

 

When selecting the MODE option, you have handy tools like false color, focus peaking, exposure, monochrome display, pixel-to-pixel, and more.

The Mark Menu has a good selection of tools, including Frame Zoom, Aspect Ratio Markers, Center Mark, Safe Area, and Mark.  This can be useful if you’re shooting in an open gate aspect ratio and want to export your video in 16×9, for example.

Lastly, the Image menu allows you to adjust parameters like brightness, contrast, saturation, He, Sharpness, Backlight Brightness, Color Temperature, or RGB.

What I like about the Viltrox DC-550 Pro

I’ll cover a few of the features I like about this monitor.  The image is clear, sharp, and bright.  This is a massive upgrade over any on-camera fully articulating screens, and it’ll make your filmmaking ventures easier to produce.  If you’re used to only using the built-in display on the back of your favorite camera, this 5.5″ display is a total pleasure.

The screen orientation will automatically flip depending on the screen’s angle.  This is helpful if you want to flip it over or around to show someone on the other side of the screen or if you’re doing a selfie-style recording.

We can also fully customize the display to show only what we need for nailing exposure, focus, skin tones, and audio levels. 

LOG Shooting Support

Built into the Viltrox DC550 is a selection of 4 preview LUTS for C-LOG2, C-LOG-3, V-LOG, and F-LOG.  In addition, you can select the UserLUT option that allows you to monitor using a LUT of your choice.

If you don’t know what this is, I’ll give you the 5-second version.  Unfortunately, when shooting in LOG, most cameras produce a desaturated image that’s hard to monitor in real time.  So instead, this footage is graded in post-production, where the color and contrast will be applied thanks to a LUT or look-up table file.

Some cameras, like the S5II, GH6, or FX3, allow you to upload a LUT to the camera, but most don’t.  This is helpful if you have a camera without a real-time LUT preview or loader option.  Each camera has its preferred LUT files to use in post-production, and they can be added to the UserLUT option on this monitor for Preview purposes and won’t get baked into the recording.

One of the tools that I can’t live without is the Waveform tool.  This allows you to visually represent how bright or dark a scene is and adjust exposure accordingly.  My LUMIX cameras have Waveform built-in, but they don’t send the Waveform to the external monitor for some reason.  Hence, this allows you to get all of those great tools in a dedicated display that’s bigger, brighter, and easier to see.

 

False color is another option helpful when exposing a scene with brighter areas appearing in shades of yellow, orange, or red and darker areas appearing in shades of blue or purple.  This can be useful in a complex scene where you must check that nothing is clipping in the highlights or shadows.

Being able to adjust the brightness of the screen is fantastic.  In addition, this display brightness adjustment saves battery life if you’re not hooked up to USB-C power.

What’s in the Box

Viltrox also provides their VL-550 hot shoe mounting adapter, portable storage case, micro to full-sized HDMI cables, F550 battery, and Monitor pack.  This gives you everything except a regular HDMI cable to get going.  If you need the best recommendation for a small full-sized HDMI cable, I’ll link it below.

Final Thoughts

All in all, this monitor is exceptional value for money.  However, if you want to save a few extra dollars, Viltrox also makes a non-touchscreen version for $30 less.  So for the extra $30, the touchscreen version is the way to go.  This represents the best value-for-money monitor I have seen so far.  You can check it out using the links below.  Thanks for reading and watching, and I’ll see you soon.

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