Sony DP7 and DP5 Announced – Camera Control Monitors for the FX5, FX3, FX2, and FX30

Monitoring News

by Johnnie BehiriSeptember 8^th, 2026

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Sony has announced two external controllers for its Cinema Line cameras, the 7-inch RM-DP7 and the 5-inch RM-DP5. Both put the BIG6 home screen on a factory-calibrated 2,000-nit panel and let you pull focus, zoom, and set exposure without touching the camera. The DP7 adds 12G-SDI, and both units can go wireless with a Hollyland Pyro Ultra. Let’s look at what you actually get.

The two units are aimed at solo operators and small crews who want to check and change settings from wherever the monitor happens to be, rather than from the camera body. At launch, they work with the FX5, FX3, FX2, and FX30. Sony says FX6 and BURANO compatibility will follow in a firmware update in the second half of 2027. Both models share the same Full HD panel technology, six monitoring presets, up to 16 user LUTs in 17- and 33-point CUBE format, HDMI in and out, an aluminum body with dust and moisture resistance, and power from BP-U batteries or USB Power Delivery. The RM-DP7 is the larger 7-inch / 17.8cm unit and is the only one of the two with 12G-SDI and a DC input. The RM-DP5 is the 5-inch / 12.7cm model. Both ship in January 2027, priced at $3,099.99 (€3.300) and $2,299.99 (€2.500), respectively.

Camera control from the monitor side

The centerpiece is the BIG6 home screen, the same six-parameter layout that started on the VENICE and BURANO and has since spread across the FX bodies via firmware. We covered its arrival on the FX6 with version 6.00 earlier this year, and the FX5 shipped with it from day one. On the DP7 and DP5, that screen becomes the control surface. Focus can be adjusted with compatible autofocus lenses, zoom with compatible power zoom lenses, and exposure and other key settings are reachable from the monitor without walking back to the camera.

Sony has not relied on touch alone. Alongside the touchscreen, there is a control knob, multi-function dials, and assignable buttons, which is the right call for anyone who has tried to trim exposure on a capacitive screen with cold hands or in rain. The company frames this as letting a limited crew concentrate on composition and direction, which is another way of saying the person operating the camera can also be the person adjusting it from a gimbal, a jib, or a car mount.

A calibrated panel with monitor-grade ambitions

Sony is leaning on its professional video monitor heritage here. Each unit is individually calibrated at the factory, and the controllers continuously compensate for chromaticity and color temperature drift during operation. The panel is Full HD and rated at up to 2,000 cd/m², a figure Sony qualifies in the fine print as a typical D65 value rather than a guaranteed one. Six presets and 16 LUT slots cover the usual monitoring scenarios, from a Rec.709 conversion for S-Log3 to show LUTs handed over by a DIT.

Wired, wireless, and the SDI question

Both units take HDMI in and pass it through on HDMI out. The DP7 goes further with 12G-SDI and bidirectional SDI-to-HDMI conversion. That last detail matters more than it sounds for FX5 owners, because the lack of an SDI output was one of the most requested missing features in our reader poll after the launch. Feeding the FX5’s HDMI into a DP7 and taking SDI out to video village or a Teradek is a workaround that also gives you a control surface, though it is a very expensive way to buy a converter.

Wireless operation is where the announcement gets interesting, and also where the details thin out. Sony says the controllers support a wireless connection with select third-party transmitters, and its footnote names the Hollyland Pyro Ultra and the Teradek Bolt 7. The Pyro Ultra launched at NAB 2026 with 4K60 transmission and Focus Mode latency as low as 20ms, so pairing it with a DP7 for wireless focus pulling on an FX5 is a plausible workflow. A Teradek Bolt 7 is not listed on Teradek’s own website at the time of writing, so treat that as a forward-looking reference. Sony directs anyone wanting specifics to the transmitter manufacturers, and it does not say whether wireless mode carries camera control alongside video or video only. That distinction is the whole point of the product, and anyone planning a wireless build around these units should get a clear answer on it before ordering.

Build and power

The housing is aluminum, and Sony describes the design as taking dust and moisture resistance into consideration, which is careful wording rather than an IP rating. Power comes from BP-U series batteries, the same packs used on the FX6, FX9, and BURANO, or from USB Power Delivery. The DP7 alone adds a DC input. For a crew already running BP-U batteries across a Sony kit, that is one less charger to carry, and USB PD means a power bank will keep either unit alive on a lighter rig.

Pricing and positioning

The RM-DP7 is priced at $3,099.99 (€3.300), and the RM-DP5 at $2,299.99 (€2.500), with both due in January 2027. Full details are in the press release.

Would you pay this much for native camera control on an FX body, or is the Monitor & Control app on an iPad already doing the job for you? Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments below!