The Andycine C7 Lite is a high-quality monitor that costs less than $300 – but is it worth it? We put the technology to the test so you don’t have to. You can watch our review in the YouTube video above or continue reading this article.
Price & Quality
Let’s break down the key factors that go into the decision making process for a product like this – price, quality and specs.
At $215, the price point is not terrible for this type of monitor. The build of the actual screen itself is in a plastic-like casing which makes sense for a monitor at this price. I will say though the screen is nice and large it is a bit bulky compared to the C6 monitor that I’ve also reviewed from Andycine. I like things a bit more compact because I travel so much but, I wouldn’t say that a deal-breaking factor just one to consider with it. One of the key features Andycine touts about this monitor is its weight, which despite the bulk, only comes in about at 0.75pounds by itself, and with the large battery, it comes with about 1.17 pounds. So not too bad.
It sports a 7” HDMI 1920×1200 touchscreen that has a 1200:1 contrast ratio, pixel density of 323, it’s calibrated for rec. 709, HDMI Output of 4k 60fps, it also has 500 nits which when you compare that to the BMPCC6K Pro that has 1500 nits on it’s pretty dark and very comparable to the BMPCC4K camera that has around the same brightness level. So, the brightness is not awful but its not pierce through the sun bright either. When I tested it outside, it was fine but on a cloudless day you may not be able to see as much as you’d like too.
What’s included in the Andycine C7 Lite
The Andycine C7 Lite, available on Amazon and from other retailers, includes:
- Andycine C7 Lite
- NP-F550 Battery
- Battery Charger
- Carry Bag
- HDMI to Micro HDMI Cable
- Tilt Arm
- Sunshade
- Sunshade Mounting Frame
- Manual
Batteries
There are multiple ways to power the Andycine C7 Lite.
It accepts F970 batteries, pretty standard, but also provides 3 different power input solutions like DC Power Adapter and a 5V Type-C input.
This power can also be used to power a wireless video transmitter which is featured by the F970 installation and power suite on the back that can house and power wireless transmissions, LED lamps, and other equipment.
Screen Features
The various options of the screen are its biggest seller in my opinion. There are many great features you wouldn’t expect to find in a product of this size and price.
After powering on the device, you can access the menu by pushing the scroll wheel button at the top or by double-tapping on the screen and to the left you are presented with options.
At the top is the Analysis settings that include waveform, vectorscope, histogram, and audio meters as well as a way to turn them on all at the same time or individually. With various settings to change to fit what you’re looking for.
In the next folder you have Focus assist, Zebra, Check field, False Color, HDR, LUT Switch, and LUT import.
Focus assist and zebra give you a lot of control over color and intensity of feedback. Love the in depth settings for these.
The false color is impressive with 2 different options for viewing false color Spectrum or ARRI’s False color settings. And a nice graph to the side of both showing what the colors represent. This probably impressed me the most to have these multiple false color settings.
HDR give you HLG 202, HLG 709 and HLG P3 color spaces if you are working with HDR.
In LUT switched you have options for SLOG 2, SLOG 3, LOGC, and VLOG as well as the ability to import LUTS.
Next you have your typical screen guides like Crosshair, Safe areas, Cinema Guides, and crosshatch. Each comes with a lot of options.
In the next folder you have options like Aspect ratio guides, Zoom which you can do in menu or just pinch and zoom out of the menu. Image flip which also can be set to auto if you need to constantly switch back and forth between the two.
NExt you have various options for calibrating the monitor with brightness, backlight, contrast, saturation, sharpness, Hue, and Color Temperature.
Last is setting for user groups so you can set different presets for user settings and switch back and forth which is very helpful. Volume, language, menu, firmware and tips.
And that closes out a very comprehensive menu system for the C7 lite.
You can also access a shortcut menu by swiping from the bottom up on the monitor.
Overall Opinion on the Andycine C7 Lite
Despite being a bit bulky for my taste and little on the dimmer side. It’s a pretty solid monitor and one that gives you a ton of options for cameras that don’t have those monitoring capabilities. The 7inch touchscreen really give you a nice large display of what you’re filming which can be helpful with mirrorless hybrid cameras that have much smaller screens. I’m not sure I would recommend this as a run and gun monitor due to the size as I think there are some smaller options out there but if you’re in the studio or just need a decent reference monitor, in general, it works very well
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