Production Monitors

[Greg_E]

Does the Sumo match the camera timecode? Then it could also be used for proxy during editing, and do it quickly without having to wait for camera cards to be copied.

As far as I know, Sumo can be calibrated with their software, a special cable, and an i1Display device, so it makes a "cheap" calibrated monitor. I know the smaller monitor/recorders from AtomOS can be calibrated like this.

[patrickbaldwin]

Does the Sumo match the camera timecode? Then it could also be used for proxy during editing, and do it quickly without having to wait for camera cards to be copied.

As far as I know, Sumo can be calibrated with their software, a special cable, and an i1Display device, so it makes a "cheap" calibrated monitor. I know the smaller monitor/recorders from AtomOS can be calibrated like this.

Ha. Not so fast. I have been back and forth with Atomos for months now because their calibrator software will not see my Ninja V using a brand new cable and an i1 that X-rite have assured me is compatible. So far I have spent £90 on a cable and got nowhere.

[CharlesPapert]

The Sumos had the same issue, it took Atomos two years to get around to making their calibration software compatible with it but it has been in place now for best part of a year. That said, even calibrated it is not what I would call a true reference display. I'd say it lies somewhere between a consumer TV and a reference monitor (that is much less of a distinction than it used to be, since consumer TV's have come a long way in recent years). Not good enough for me to rely on, I use a Sony A250, but certainly good enough for a director.

I have been supplying a Sumo as a director's monitor for last few years and it is indeed a great tool for the reasons above. Director and script supe can easily learn how to do playback (we have to be stealthy about this on union shows as that is a violation--generally I only show them how to do it on non-union projects). The high brightness makes it a good choice for exteriors (I recommend the matte screen protector as like most monitors it has a mirror finish, which is an issue outdoors). Most of my jobs are two or three cameras so I feed it a wireless quad image from my cart, switching to full screen when we go single camera. This year I added a Ronin with wheels since remote camera operation has become more of a thing, and I picked up a Sumo M for that setup.

This is the director's set cart with the Sumo.

directorscart1.jpg

directorscart2.jpg

[Greg_E]

Hmmm... I didn't know the calibration wasn't working on the smaller AtomOS devices. Glad I haven't purchased one yet.

There is always Ikegami, but the calibration device is not at all cheap! That is, unless they changed and decided that an i1 is good enough now. Calibration on the Ike's is connected to the monitor and file is stored in the monitor (at least the older devices that I've used).