ACCSOON CineView Nano

The ACCSOON CineView Nano is a wireless transmitter and the smaller version of the CineView lineup. It essentially enables you to transmit 1080p60 video footage from your camera to a connected device via a Wi-Fi signal.

What’s nice about the system is that it only consists of one piece of kit—the transmitter. It plugs into the HDMI port of your camera and then uses Wi-Fi 5 to wirelessly transmit video and audio directly to a smartphone or tablet, such as an iPhone 15 Pro or iPad Mini.

The CineView Nano can be used in a few different ways. Firstly, it is a video monitor that offers a better and larger visual display than what you’ll find on your mirrorless or DSLR camera. It also enables you to easily mount your smartphone or tablet on top of your camera for greater versatility when filming. But it’s not just a simple wireless video transmission system—it also features video overlays that you associate with high-end monitors. So, suppose you want to check out LUTs while filming or use features like zebras and peaking. In that case, the app has touchscreen options that can be used on devices like the iPad Mini, adding to the versatility and functionality of your video setup.

While the CineView Nano is primarily designed for video use, it’s also an amazing asset for photographers. If you’re shooting macro or still life then the larger screen to view what you’re shooting is a real asset and of course if you’re running a workshop, you can mirror the image from your iPhone to a larger screen, allowing others to see the settings and options you’re using, which is extremely beneficial for educators.

The ACCSOON CineView Nano’s build is extremely simple and of a decent enough quality. It fits to your camera using a tilt adapter that comes in the box with the transmitter, you can attach it to your camera’s hot shoe, and then there’s a quarter-inch thread on the adapter that screws directly into the base of the CineView Nano. On the back of the Nano is a phone clamp that will easily hold most smartphones. On the front, there’s a slot that takes a standard NP-F battery, which supplies power to the transmitter.

On one side, you have a full-sized HDMI input and a 5V USB-C input if you want to power the transmitter in a different way than with the NP-F battery. Interestingly, on the opposite side, there’s another USB-C output, allowing you to pass power through the device to keep your smartphone’s battery topped up. Above this is a small screen that displays the device’s activity, connection, and power status, and above this is the main power button. The device itself is very simple in design with two fixed antennas on top.

Setting up is extremely straightforward. Simply plug the HDMI into the HDMI out port on your camera, then boot up the app, select the device from your smart device’s WiFi settings, and everything will start working. If you want to connect more than one device, you’ll need to have the app on those devices, but again, you can connect in the same way. It’s extremely easy and quick to do.

When it comes to absolute simplicity, the CineView Nano is straightforward. Even if you have yet to gain experience with field monitors or video transmission systems, its close integration with smartphones and apps means there’s little to work out or complicate.

The feature list is quite impressive for such a small device, especially since most of the functionality is handled through the software app. First and foremost, the CineView Nano takes the HDMI signal from the camera and enables it to be transmitted at 1080p60 to an iOS or Android device, with the ability to connect to up to 4 devices at once.

What’s impressive here is the use of 5GHz Wi-Fi, allowing it to transmit up to 500 feet as long as there’s a clear line of sight. It also offers very low latency, around 60 ms at least on paper.

The CineView Nano is extremely small physically, weighing only 72.3g and measuring 76mm x 113mm. However, the weight increases slightly once you attach the battery, HDMI, and USB-C cables.

For mounting, the CineView Nano comes with a small mounting adapter that allows it to slide directly into your camera’s hot shoe and uses a quarter-inch 20-thread bolt into the base of the device. It also features a standard phone holder, so you can easily attach your phone directly to the CineView Nano. It’s worth highlighting that whilst the phone is physically clamped, the transmission of video is done wirelessly, not via cable.

When it comes to power, you have two main options: an NP-F type battery or the 5V USB-C input, so you have plenty of choices. You’ve also have power pass-through, so if you want to make sure your smartphone battery doesn’t run down, you can use the 5V output to charge your phone while in use.

The actual transmission to the smartphone or tablet goes through Wi-Fi, and all operations are managed through the ACCSOON app. The app gives you plenty of different options, such as grid, squeeze, and mirror modes, as well as video overlays like histograms, LUTs, false colour, waveform, and more.

Another great feature is that it can easily connect to other devices. If mounted on a gimbal, ACCSOON has created a gimbal attachment plate that works directly with DJI RS2, RS3, and RS4 gimbals so the transmission system can be positioned under the camera instead of precariously on top.

One feature that could be more heavily promoted is the ability to record footage onto your device, although it’s limited to 1080p60. Within the app, there’s a small red button, and when you push it, the video you capture is automatically saved to your device. This can be useful if you’re working with others who want to do a quick social media edit while you’re filming. It opens up a lot of new opportunities especially for on site social media edits.

One of the things that really stands out about the CineView Nano is its simplicity of use. It takes roughly 2 minutes to set up, and once the app is loaded, you can connect to the Wi-Fi network using your device’s settings, then go back to the app, and everything should be working seamlessly. There is very little to learn or tweak when it comes to setting up the CineView Nano—it’s designed as a true plug-and-play device.
Once the transmission is working, it’s simply a case of using your smartphone as a compact monitor. Whether you’re filming from difficult angles or in positions where it’s hard to see your camera’s small monitor, having your smartphone’s bright, high-quality screen is a huge advantage. The ability to take reference shots while you go along using the record feature is also a great asset.

In testing, I found that I could not only use the footage on my smartphone but, when running a workshop, project the view directly from the camera onto another device, such as an iPad. This allowed others to view what was being shot, also making it incredibly helpful when working on set or in collaborative environments. The advanced multi-transmission feature is ideal for small productions where multiple people may need to view the footage simultaneously.

For run-and-gun videography, the ability to mount your phone onto the camera as a film monitor is invaluable. The larger screen allows for better composition and provides a more accurate view of what you’re shooting especially with the overlays. Additionally, being able to switch to an iPad or other device to check the quality of your shot adds another level of usability.

One of the features I really enjoyed, similar to the Atmos Ninja 5, was the ability to use video overlays. For example, a simple tap on the focus peaking option ensures your shots are correctly focused, with red peaking highlights showing what is sharp in the scene. Likewise, options such as false colour and zebras allow you to make sure that your highlights aren’t blown out and that your colours are balanced and correct.

Essentially, the CineView Nano turns your mobile device into a highly effective field monitor. With the iPhone 15 Pro and iPad Mini’s exceptionally good screen resolution, the quality of the video image reproduction appears equivalent to that of the Atomos monitors I typically use, with the added convenience of wireless transmission instead of being tethered by cables.

While the CineView Nano’s quality of transmission is generally excellent, there were a few occasions when the screen glitched as objects separated the clear video between the smart device and the transmitter, although these moments were generally fleeting. You could also occasionally see a slightly extended delay in the footage, although again, this was fleeting and really, considering what this device enables, it’s not an issue.

However, there is one obvious downside of the wireless connection over a wired one: while you can record video on the device using the CineView Nano, it is restricted to 1080p60. In comparison, the Atomos Ninja 5 offers a wide range of formats and quality options. So, the footage recorded via the Nano is mostly suited for social media rather than for final production work. Still, it’s a nice feature to have.

What I also appreciated was the ability to use the Atomos Ninja and the CineView Nano side-by-side. I could send the video to the Atomos Ninja for high-quality recording and, at the same time, use the CineView Nano to transmit footage wirelessly to an iPad so my colleague could monitor the shots. This came in handy when a camera was mounted on a DJI RS4, allowing us to check the shots wirelessly without having to inspect the camera for exposure or focus manually.

Overall, considering the price, the CineView Nano is an extremely useful wireless transmission system. Those shooting solo will find it incredibly beneficial just to have that larger screen for proper footage monitoring. When working with a team, you can transmit from one camera to up to four connected devices, allowing the entire team to see what’s being filmed in real-time. If you’re working with a social media person, they can even quickly edit down the footage on the spot and get it out to a wider audience.

The CineView Nano takes things a step further with features normally reserved for larger, more expensive film monitors. These enable you to get all the necessary video overlays to ensure the quality of your footage. There are some limitations, such as the device not being able to record in higher resolutions. However, it’s still extremely beneficial, especially for those working solo or in the field.

Once in a while, a product comes along that truly revolutionises your workflow, and the CineView Nano is one such product. While it’s aimed primarily at videographers, I also found it extremely beneficial as a photographer, particularly when delivering workshops.

In terms of videography, the ability to easily mount your smartphone on top of your camera to give you a larger, brighter monitor than what’s integrated with your camera (in my case, the Sony A7 IV) is a huge advantage. The higher resolution of the iPhone 15 Pro over the camera’s built-in screen allows you to fine-tune and check your images more accurately. The fact that the screen is touch-sensitive and allows you to zoom in on a shot is another great feature. I also really like that even though the overlays are a bit cramped on a phone screen, they still provide a better view than what you get when looking at the back of your camera.

When connected, you get a more professional and refined view of what you’re shooting, along with all the video overlays that help improve video quality. This makes it an extremely powerful tool for both enthusiasts and professionals alike.

Surprisingly, the Nano was also exceptionally useful in photography, especially for macro and still-life shots. This product comes into its own when you need to check the sharpness and focus of your shots. The ability to zoom in on a larger screen is much easier than using the small buttons on the back of the camera to check image quality. Additionally, if you’re running a workshop and need to project what you’re doing on your camera to another screen, the system works incredibly well. The ability to link up to more than one device—so you can have your smartphone on the camera and up to three iPads all displaying the same thing—opens up many new opportunities.

In conclusion, whether for video or still photography, the CineView Nano is one of those products that, once you start using, you’ll wonder how you managed without. I cannot recommend this device enough, especially when you consider the price and ease of use.