Portkeys HS8 is a low-budget 10-bit 4K60 8″ director’s monitor
Jul 11, 2024
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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Portkeys has announced the new Portkeys HS8 ($399). It’s an interesting looking 8-inch director’s monitor with a pretty low price point. It offers full 1080p HD resolution viewing, but receives up to 4K 60p over HDMI input. SDI supports up to 1080p60.
The Portkeys HS8 supports custom 3D LUTs and those can even be applied to the HDMI and SDI output signals. A 3.5mm headphone jack allows you to quietly hear what’s going on. It also offers 1,100 nits of brightness, so it should stand up fairly well outdoors.
Portkeys HS8 – A bright director’s monitor for HDMI and SDI
The Portkeys HS8 offers both HDMI and SDI inputs and outputs. The HDMI input can accept up to 4K UHD resolution at up to 60 frames per second. The SDI connection and both of the output ports only do 1080p at up to 60fps.
It sports an 8″ panel with a 10-bit, 1920×1200 pixel resolution output. The company says each unit is factory-calibrated for colour accuracy and consistency from screen to screen with no colour banding. You’re able to apply 3D Luts to the monitor and also to the output feets on the HDMI and SDI ports.
The screen has 1,100 nits of brightness, so it should handle some pretty bright outdoor conditions. For comparison, this is about 100 nits brighter than the latest iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models. So, if you can see your phone during the day, you’ll be able to see the picture on this.
It’s a lot like a typical on-camera field monitor. Except it’s larger and lacks the assist features you might be used to while filming. Director’s monitors can be mounted to cameras – and it might actually be worth it in a studio with tripod-mounted cameras – but they’re generally just for sitting back and watching on.
After all, they’re director’s monitors. And sitting staring at a screen is a big part of a director’s job.
Portkeys HS8 Specs
| Model | Portkeys HS8 |
| Screen | IPS LCD |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1200 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 16:10 |
| Brightness | 1,100 cd/m² |
| Contrast ratio | 1000:1 |
| Viewing angle | 178° horizontal and vertical |
| LUT support | Yes, and for outputs |
| Inputs | 4K 60p HDMI / 1080p 60 SDI |
| Outputs | 1080p 60 HDMI & SDI |
| Battery | Sony NP-F L Series, V-Mount or 7-20V DC Supply |
| Mounting points | 100x100mm VESA mount and multiple 1/4″-20 attachment points |
| Dimensions | 208×133.7×50.5mm |
| Weight | 675g |
Price and Availability
The Portkeys HS8 is available to buy now for $399. Units appear to be already in stock and shipping.
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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