Portable Field Monitors - New Questions

thefilmaddict

thefilmaddict

Veteran
There's been a lot of talk about finding a good portable HD Monitor for the HVX200, but I have a few questions to ask that I don't think I've seen the answers to before...

First of all, the field monitor I really like is made by Panasonic, sorry I don't have the model number, but it is very expensive and I can't buy it anyway. I mention the Panasonic monitor because I like that it can do the following:

It's a HD LCD
It's small and portable
It's AC or DC powered
It has a waveform monitor built in (THIS IS A GREAT FEATURE)
It has SDI inputs It has a blue only button
It has all of the other standard pro monitor controls (brightness, etc...)

Is there a monitor out there that will do all of the above for about $1,500???

I can live without SDI, but I REALLY WANT HD COMPONENT IN, AC/DC POWERED, BLUE ONLY (to setup bars), BRIGHTNESS CONTROL and it would be great to have a digital WAVEFORM MONITOR built in, too.

Most LCD's in this price range don't have BLUE ONLY or a WAVEFORM MONITOR as far as I know.

I did buy a cheap HD LCD monitor, but it's not a professional battery powered unit and the monitor displays a very bright picture (even when I set up the bars by eye) the picture is TOTALLY MISLEADING.

Shots that look great on my cheap monitor are generally underexposed and the color can not be trusted either. I want a monitor that I can trust for focus, exposure, composition and color. Is $1,500 enough to get what I am looking for?

THANKS!!!
 
UPDATE:

A few of you guys recommended the following two monitors in the past:

Marshall V-R70P-HDA Marshall V-R70P-HDA With Nebtek Upgrade What's the difference between the two models? What is the best battery type to use with them? Can these monitors be mounted to the camera? Do you get an accurate (trustworthy) image with them?
 
I like using the same battery as the HVX for my accessories. The Marshall is more accurate than the on-camera lcd... the nebtek uses panasonic batteries (same as hvx). The normal marshall uses sony's professional v-mount batteries.
 
The more I research this topic, the more I am finding out that if I want a truly dependable LCD, then I need to buy the Panasonic (especially if I want a built in waveform monitor).

That's not really an option for me as it's a ton of money.

Perhaps the Marshall monitor would do a good enough job for focus and composition (I'm guessing a lot better than the HVX stock LCD screen). That's most likely what I will buy.

For proper exposure and levels...

Does anyone know an affordable way to get a portable waveform monitor? I'm not talking about a big heavy stand alone unit like you would find in an edit suite, but perhaps something that is digital and light weight?

Thanks!
 
This stuff looks nice.. but might be really pricey..

http://www.astro-systems.com/


I too am in the market for the same thing that you are. I've used the Marshall.. a friend has it.. and it's nice but it seems kind of overpriced and it has some weird blueish line that runs around the outside of the monitor. I hope someone else produces something in this price range....
 
The Panasonic BT LH1700W and the little Marshall are both great for their intended purpose but let's not get confused . . . they are not comparable. I had some misgivings when I clicked the "pay now" button last June for the Panasonic but since receiving but since then I have used it extensively and have absolutely no regrets.

The Marshall, in my view, is a little overpriced. While it looks much better than the on-board LCD . . . You can focus equally as well through the eyepiece using the focus assist button. The best use for the Marshall is playing back a clip when you are on the go and do not have the benefit of a full size monitor.

I own both -- and almost never use the Marshall.
 
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Good info, dregenthal.

It sounds like the Panasonic is what I really need to judge exposure, focus and composition properly.

Can you mount the Panasonic to the camera (like you can with the Marshall)???

Maybe its worth the extra money. It's amazing to me that no one else makes anything as good as the Panasonic for less money. What happened to good old competition bringing prices down!
 
I have an M2, and with that set-up, the Marshall is absolutely indispensable. It's good enough to focus with and, of course, you can mount it upside down. For pulling focus with shallow, 35mm-style depth of field, it's a must.

I also have the Sony 17-inch for the director or whomever, and I like to keep a good ol' fashion NTSC on-hand for checking overscan and color. I know that NTSC is not right for checking DVCProHD color space (601 vs. 604 I believe), but my SD DVDs always look more like what showed on the NTSC than either the Marshall or the Sony.
 
The Marshall is a good monitor and worth the price in my opinion. Still, I too would like to have the Panasonic BTLH900A - of course the waveform is the rub. Still, with the Marshall I use my zebras to judge the exposure in the field - you can set the zebras 1 and 2 to 100% and 90% (or 100% and 80%) and simply judge your exposure accordingly (exposing for the highlights). I do have the 17" panasonic with a Portabrace cover also, which does have a waveform built in, but I can not aways justify dragging it along unless there is time and personal to assist (or a there are client types who might need to see what's up). But for fast in the field, the Marshall with a Hoodman has been great. Cheers, Ray
 
I currently use zebra for exposure, but having a properly calibrated monitor to judge exposure is a lot better.

Sure, if you have white in the shot, you can let your zebra hit 100 or a little more in those areas, but it's a lot harder when you are shooting night scenes or interviews where skin is the brightest part of the shot (then I guess around 75 ire would be the hot spot).

I just like knowing what exactly I'm shooting because I find that if you underexpose with this camera in HD and fix it in post, the image gets noisy and if you overexpose in the field, the detail is gone in those hot areas.

It sounds like a lot of you really like the Marshall and that the Panasonic monitor is very expensive and less run and gun portable.

It's great to hear the different opinions!
 
thefilmaddict said:
Good info, dregenthal.

It sounds like the Panasonic is what I really need to judge exposure, focus and composition properly.

Can you mount the Panasonic to the camera (like you can with the Marshall)???
Click to expand...

Only if you are extremely strong <g>.

(weighs something like 16 pounds).
 
Are there any camera mountable HD monitors better than the Marshall that are in the same price range (I will spend $2000 if I need to)???
 
I'm a mac guy, but I just broke down and bought a cheap PC laptop to use with DVRack HD as a portable Waveform monitor.
 
I bought the Marshall today with the Panasonic battery modification and the hot shoe mount.

I would love to buy some sort of shade for it, but the sales guy didn't know if he had one. Do they make them for this monitor?

Thanks for all of the input. I will add my review when I get it next week.
 
could you please post the specifics (model numbers, prices, etc) and any possible links
that might help those of us who are in a similar situation? it would be greatly appreciated. many thanks!!
 
hey Nathan,
How is DVRack HD working for you. doesn't it have a 1/4second lag? are you using a 35mm adapter on your camera? how is the workflow affected by the 1/4 second lag?
DarwinandPain, did you ever use DV rack. I think you said you did? maybe you can chirp in here and talk about the lag and the M2 Redrock adapter?
Thanks
 
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