VZ TFT-7 my first opinions

marlenedegrood

marlenedegrood

Flicks By Chics
I got my Varizoom 7' monitor today and tested it out with my LowBay35 (my diy 35mm adapter). Here's my first impressions:

1. Takes a couple of minutes to get it set up and ready to go (no big deal)
2. Only has 1.5 to 2 hours on a battery charge but if you order the kit, which I highly recommend ,then you also get a car charger.
3. With the swivel mount you can position it in any direction you want (mounted on the shoe).
4. Resolution isn't so great....but...no big deal for me.
5. I loved composing with this monitor......it's a dream

and here's the biggy

It flips the image horizontal and vertical so when using a 35mm adapter the upside down problem is solved.

and here's another biggy

I tested my 35mm adapter the other day and it wasn't until I uploaded it into FCP that I noticed the dust specs. I never saw them through my dvx viewfinder or lcd.

Stuck it on with the Varizoom and wham........wow......"look at those dust specs! Oh yeah I forgot to clean the screen." So I took it off, cleaned it and put it back on. "oh much better but still I see 2 little specs". So I took it off again, cleaned it again and put it back on........no specs! Checked out the footage and.......no specs!

So in summary I will say this:
I'm really really glad I got this monitor and I think I'm gonna love it! I can live with the not so great resolution and taking the time to get it set up. Being able to really see the scene and not being all crunched up to the camera is really nice.

I was shooting in 16:9 squeeze mode and what I saw on the monitor is what I got. You can also set it to 4:3 with black bars on the sides.

Marlene
 
Did anyone get a chance to compare this monitor to the discontinued Panasonic TC-7WMS1 in a side by side test or have just used both? Theoretically, the Varizoom is one or two generations ahead and has a much better resolution, but some people pretend the TC-7WMS1 still provides a better picture quality.

Lutnik
 
I had a chance today to use the Varizoom monitor outdoors, previous testing was done indoors. I had to lower the brightness and increase the contrast in the monitor and soon figured out that the monitor is really just good for composition, especially when using a 35mm adapter. Don't use this monitor for judging exposure as it's on the bright side. Besides.......your Zebra doesn't come through on the monitor and I really rely on it.

Marlene
 
Marlene, hope you notice this. So, the zebras won't come through to the monitor? Does the other LCD information come through (zoom, focus, battery, etc)? I'm just curious as I will likely be getting one of these soon. Thanks.
 
I picked up one of these on monday and i have to say im a little upset. Not at the monitor, but at EVS. I asked for the kit, they said they had it. Turned out they only had the display alone. He said he'd give me a good deal on that and a shoe mount so then id just order a battery and he said id be set for less money. So i bought them. Turns out the kit is much more than they said and im kinda screwed. and i had to order the battery from BH to get it this week.

Anyway, whining aside, i think i like the monitor. i cant seem to get 16:9 FILLED screen though. Unless ZOOMED, it always has bars. Any help?

Also, definitely no zebra? I got OSD info, haven't tried zebra yet. I live by zebra.

thanks,

GageFX
 
Do other monitors display the zebra?

I've looked closely at pairing the Varizoom with a Redrock M2 for the flip funtionality...but flip WITH zebra would be best.
 
If I remember correctly from The DVX Book, you can output just about everything to a monitor except for zebra bars. Either way, I think that it would be a limitation of the camera and not the monitor. The monitor just displays whatever is sent via the s-video or analog cable.
 
Yeah, I read through the manual this morning and it seems like you can send all of the info from the display to an external monitor. It didn't mention the zebra striping through, so I'll have to check the DVX book when I get home on that. I'm going to hook this up to my TV tonight as well, just to see if it does the zebras or not. If anyone can beat me to it I'd love to hear the results. :D
 
I really don't think you should be using the monitor to judge exposure anyway. Use your viewfinder or dvx lcd for determining cc and exposure and just use the monitor for composition. The varizoom isn't very good when it comes to accurate color and the screen is really deceiving as far as brightness levels go.
 
Yeah, that's why I was hoping for the zebras - so I dont have to rely on the monitors picture, just the zebra signal sent by the camera. Oh well. I guess I'll have to leave the cam's LCD open also to keep an eye on things.

-GageFX
 
If it hadn't been confirmed already, the zebras will not show up on an external monitor. I tried it last night and could see everything else from the viewfinder/LCD except for the zebras. Oh well. Not such a big deal.
 
I've been looking for a monitor to get and this one looks pretty nice. Thanks for turning me on to it.
 
I have the same Varizoom monitor - I also have a marshall component HD monitor ($1300). The Marshall is definitely better, but for the price, the Varizoom is close enough for me.

The varizoom kit I bought included the battery and a monitor hood (a rather 'comprehensive' shade that was velcro'd on). The Marshall was pretty much only the monitor.
 
My question is, does the monitor have a zoom mode that will blow up a 4:3 image 133.33% to fill the 16:9 screen. This way, I could shoot 4:3 and use the full monitor for 16:9 framing, no using tape on the lcd to mask the 4:3 image.

So I've learned the monitor is nice for framing, not good for judging color or exposure. Last thing to determine, is it good enough for checking focus?
 
Noah said:
My question is, does the monitor have a zoom mode that will blow up a 4:3 image 133.33% to fill the 16:9 screen. This way, I could shoot 4:3 and use the full monitor for 16:9 framing, no using tape on the lcd to mask the 4:3 image.

So I've learned the monitor is nice for framing, not good for judging color or exposure. Last thing to determine, is it good enough for checking focus?
Click to expand...
Yeah if it's not that great for relying on focus, I think I can do without one.
 
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