Offbit M1 Replaces the Paper Lens Chart With a 71-Gram E-Paper Screen

A Barcelona startup called Offbit has announced the M1, a small e-paper display built to replace the paper lens charts that camera departments tape to their rigs. As CineD reported, the first production run is limited to 100 units. Preorders open on November 11 at €199, with shipping in December to European Union customers only. A global release, covering the United Kingdom and the United States, is expected in Spring 2027.

The device itself is modest in scale. It measures 85 x 60 x 10 millimeters, weighs 71 grams, and carries a 3.1-inch e-paper screen at 320 x 240 resolution behind a Gorilla Glass panel. The body is machined aluminum in matte black. It attaches to a camera with Velcro, or with an optional backplate for bodies that lack a flat mounting surface.

The mechanism is simple, and the company has kept it that way deliberately, because the point is not spectacle but reliability on a working set.

What problem does the M1 actually solve?

The target is paperwork. Camera departments on film and video productions still track lenses, settings, and crew assignments on paper charts that fold, tear, and disappear. Offbit describes the problem bluntly.

"Camera departments still run on paper: lens charts, crew lists folded in a pocket, notes scribbled between takes. On crews of around 30 people that change every week, even names slip," the company says.

The M1 pairs with an iOS app over Bluetooth. The app pushes entered information to the device itself. Users can label camera setups, lenses, and settings, organized by crew member, with room for notes. An Android version of the app is in development.

Three buttons along the top edge switch between three views: lens, crew, and notes. A long press on the central button opens what Offbit calls the patch gallery, which stores 25 custom images such as production logos or crew photographs. A fourth button on the left edge handles pairing and settings.

How does it work without a network?

The offline design is one of the more considered choices here. The M1 needs no account and no connection for daily use. It reaches the internet only for app and firmware updates. That matters on sets located far from reliable connectivity, which describes a large share of working productions.

The lens database is substantial for a first product. The device and its app already include more than 2,500 lenses, and users can add custom entries for glass the database does not cover.

Battery life follows from the display technology. E-paper draws power only when the image changes, not to hold it. Offbit says the M1 runs "for weeks" on a single charge, and that claim is consistent with how e-paper behaves in other devices. The screen also stays readable in bright daylight, which is precisely where camera assistants work.

Who is behind it, and what is the claim?

Bernat Eguiluz, founder of Offbit, is a working cinematographer, and he frames the value in terms of time and lost paper rather than technical novelty.

"M1 saves prep time, but the real difference is on set: lenses, crew, notes and the shooting plan, all in one place. You stop looking for the paper that went missing," Eguiluz says.

That is a narrow claim, and an honest one. The M1 does not capture images or automate anything. It moves three or four scraps of paper onto one persistent screen.

Is €199 reasonable for a digital lens chart?

The price sits above impulse-purchase territory for a single-purpose accessory, and the initial EU-only run of 100 units suggests Offbit expects demand from professional camera departments rather than hobbyists. The company positions the device as cleaner, more compact, and more consistent than paper, readable in all conditions.

The test will come after December, when the first units reach working crews and the paper habit meets its replacement. If the Spring 2027 global release holds, Offbit will then find out whether camera departments beyond Europe are ready to give up the chart in the pocket.