The China-based manufacturing giant, SWIT, renowned for producing top-quality camera batteries, has unveiled its latest venture into other products with the arrival of the FM-215HDR field monitor.
About SWIT and Its Other Offerings
SWIT has long solidified its name in the industry with high-performing camera batteries. Its recent launch at the NAB 2024 featured the OMNI-50S and OMNI-99S compact V-Mount batteries that come with an affordable price tag of $129 and $199 respectively. Besides batteries, the company has maintained a portfolio packed with wireless video systems, LED lights, on-camera monitors, and high-end field monitors – the BM-U325MD and BM-U326MD 4K/8K studio monitors being a noteworthy mention. SWIT introduced the more compact and cost-effective model, the FM-215HDR field monitor, earlier this year in March.
Specifications and Display Quality of the SWIT FM-215HDR
The SWIT FM-215HDR is outfitted with a 21.5” display, maxing out at a resolution of 1920 x 1080. Its contrast ratio stands at 1000:1, it can go up to a brightness of 1000 nits, and a viewing angle of 178°. Built to withstand the rigors of the field, it comes encased in an aluminum flight case, further fortified with two cheese plates having 1/4″-20 and 3/8″-16 mounting points, ideal for attaching a wireless video receiver. Weighing in at 14kg or 30.8 lbs, the whole unit, along with the flight case, measures 57×26×40.5cm or 22.4×10.2×15.9in.
A screen protector is included since it’s a known fact that clients have a habit of pointing directly at the screen. The FM-215HDR exhibits a color accuracy of 97% DCI-P3, supports multiple gamma profiles including PQ, HLG, and S-Log3 HDR monitoring, and is color-calibrateable through the Atheros X-rite I1 Pro OEM or JETI Specobos1211 color probes attached to the monitor’s USB port.
The Input and Output Ports
All ports, including two 12G-SDI input and output ports, three 3G-SDI video input, one 3G-SDI output, and an HDMI 2.0 input port, are mounted at the back of the unit. Other ports include three RS-485 ports with one serving as a GPI (tally) input, the others for TSL3.1/4.0 UMD dynamic source name input/output, a 4-pin XLR 12V power input, and regular mains power input.
Field Monitoring Capabilities
As the FM-215HDR is equipped with multiple video input ports, SWIT incorporated a quadview monitoring feature. This allows the user to view four varied video signals at once. If filming is taking place via two cameras, two signals can be viewed side by side (picture by picture) or vertically (9:16) in a direct crop mode, beneficial for social media shoots. A vast array of professional field monitor tools, including waveform tools, vectorscope, false color, histogram, zebra, peaking, and R/G/B mono modes are available, with the option of simultaneous multiple tool use.
Purchasing Information
SWIT’s FM-215HDR is currently available for purchase at $1,999 or €1,999 and can be found on the company’s website for more details.
