New Nebtek monitor

D

david graham

New member
This post will hopefully add to the lively debate about monitors best suited to the HVX200.

I've been speaking to Rob at Nebtek, and he tells me they are now ready to ship the NEB70HD monitor.

The tear sheet appears to tick all the right boxes, 800x480, component in, blue screen, flippable image for those of you with adapters, underscan etc etc.

To my eyes this seems to be a step up from the Marshall offerings as it also has a focus system that shows white when an object is sharp, and that's what makes me very interested, bearing in mind the equivalent Panasonic version is somewhere to the North of my price range (I note the new sony xd cam ex has this feature in a variety of colours built into an lcd screen that has roughly four times the resolution of the HVX, ouch).

Naturally it's a little more expensive, with the panasonic battery mod it comes in at about$2k.

I think Rob seems to be a pretty straight up guy and I hear plenty of good things about Nebtek's service, but I'd be keen to hear the opinions, or better still, practical experience anybody has of this monitor.

Best.

DG
 
Rob is a top guy, great communicator. I hear the brightness of the Nebtek HD and HDS models is 575 NIT and the Daylight Viewable coating makes it "scream" outdoors. I can not say what that value exactly means as a comparison to the Marshall or Panasonic. I ordered an HDS (Component/HD-SDI) and trust Nebtek will provide a good product and personalised support. I will know in a week or so what it is like, yet not having used the Marshall or Panasonic, I will not be able to make comparative observations.
 
I have not used either monitor yet but the Panasonic seems like a hard combination to beat and it's only around $200.00 more. I would want to use both before spending that much money. Having the flip on the Nebtek might make me lean more toward it over the Panny though.

If you have not yet bought an adapter though, there are several coming on to the market that record the image right side up so perhaps the flip feature will become a thing of the past soon?

Dan
 
Yes the Panasonic looks gorgeous, the monitor body isn't a huge amount more and the waveform and pixel for pixel features are to die for.

BUT it doesn't run from the same batteries as the camera, so I'd need a whole new set of expensive, heavy batteries to run it, so the total extra cost would be a lot more than $200.

DG
 
Just got the NEB70HD!

Just got the NEB70HD!

I actually received my monitor from Nebtek last Friday. I was able to get one of the first monitors off the line. I've never used the Marshall or the Panasonic, but what I can tell you is that the image quality is amazing!. It's very crisp in all shooting modes (480, 720 & 1080). I honestly didn't know what I was missing using the flip out LCD and the viewfinder. Wow! I used it on a commercial shoot this Tuesday and my client and I were both very pleased. The footage came out crystal clear.

The flip feature is sweet, as it flips the image in all directions horizontally and vertically to accomodate any 35mm adapter that is out there. There's mounting screws at the top and bottom of the monitor, too. And in case you're wondering, the aspect modes are 16x9, Zoom (which zooms your 16:9 image to what I guess is 4:3), 4:3 Matte (light gray bars over the 16:9 image), 4:3 and Anamorphic.

There's actually three levels of phasing you can set. I haven't gone above the first one, and don't even think you need to. You can get a perfect focus with phasing at zero, imho.

The housing is very rugged and well machined, although it weighs about 3 lbs., and a little more when you have a battery on the back of it. Shooting with it mounted on the HVX is going to require a good tripod head, anything that supports less than 13lbs. isn't going to make you happy. This monitor is solidly constructed all around, from the protected LCD (which is really easy to clean the smudgy fingerprints off after it's been manhandled all day at a shoot) to the input jacks, you really can't beat it.

All of the adjustment controls are pushbuttons on the front of the monitor. At first I questioned this compared to actual knobs, but I like them and they are very easy to use. You definately wouldn't accidentally hit one and change a setting.

The color looks damn good, too. Definitely calibrate it before you use it though.

Overall, very impressed. The image quality is superb. I can focus and frame anything and know that when I get back to the editing suite all my footage will be crystal clear. Excellent focus assist monitor.

nitjaxus
 
nitjaxus said:
I actually received my monitor from Nebtek last Friday. I was able to get one of the first monitors off the line. I've never used the Marshall or the Panasonic, but what I can tell you is that the image quality is amazing!. It's very crisp in all shooting modes (480, 720 & 1080). I honestly didn't know what I was missing using the flip out LCD and the viewfinder. Wow! I used it on a commercial shoot this Tuesday and my client and I were both very pleased. The footage came out crystal clear.

The flip feature is sweet, as it flips the image in all directions horizontally and vertically to accomodate any 35mm adapter that is out there. There's mounting screws at the top and bottom of the monitor, too. And in case you're wondering, the aspect modes are 16x9, Zoom (which zooms your 16:9 image to what I guess is 4:3), 4:3 Matte (light gray bars over the 16:9 image), 4:3 and Anamorphic.

There's actually three levels of phasing you can set. I haven't gone above the first one, and don't even think you need to. You can get a perfect focus with phasing at zero, imho.

The housing is very rugged and well machined, although it weighs about 3 lbs., and a little more when you have a battery on the back of it. Shooting with it mounted on the HVX is going to require a good tripod head, anything that supports less than 13lbs. isn't going to make you happy. This monitor is solidly constructed all around, from the protected LCD (which is really easy to clean the smudgy fingerprints off after it's been manhandled all day at a shoot) to the input jacks, you really can't beat it.

All of the adjustment controls are pushbuttons on the front of the monitor. At first I questioned this compared to actual knobs, but I like them and they are very easy to use. You definately wouldn't accidentally hit one and change a setting.

The color looks damn good, too. Definitely calibrate it before you use it though.

Overall, very impressed. The image quality is superb. I can focus and frame anything and know that when I get back to the editing suite all my footage will be crystal clear. Excellent focus assist monitor.

nitjaxus
Click to expand...

Hey nitjaxus, thanks for the feedback on the Nebtek. Do you have the number we should look at Nebtek site.
 
Thanks Nitjaxus,

That's the kind of news I was hoping for. Could you give me any feedback on the white focusing feature?

Best.

DG
 
Which monitor exactly are you guys talking about?
I checked out Nebtek's site and couldn't find the "NEB70HD" listed.

Could someone like to the product page?
Thanks.
 
Luis Caffesse said:
Which monitor exactly are you guys talking about?
I checked out Nebtek's site and couldn't find the "NEB70HD" listed.

Could someone like to the product page?
Thanks.
Click to expand...

It's what I'm looking for too. We are close to buy the Panasonic BT-LH80W, but I will liked to see what the new Nebtek can do.
 
Luis/Shadow,

Best to call Rob at Nebtek or email him: rob(AT)nebtek.com

Rob said to me in an email: "I want you (everyone) to know that I am always available to answer phone calls and e-mails about the new unit.... We will ship to a customer and let them test the monitor first before they buy... I can't see anyone sending one back after they see the image quality."

I just ordered/purchased the unit based on the info and features I wanted. I think it just shipped out to me. Pretty cool test/trial offer, to qualified purchasers.
 
NEB70HD White Focusing Feature

NEB70HD White Focusing Feature

david graham said:
Thanks Nitjaxus,

That's the kind of news I was hoping for. Could you give me any feedback on the white focusing feature?

Best.

DG
Click to expand...

David,
The focusing feature of the monitor has three levels of peaking, that is it has no peaking, peaking 1, peaking 2 and peaking 3 as its settings. Each level puts a slightly wider white edge around the edges of the images in your shot so you can get the best possible focus. As you focus your camera those white edges become sharp and crisp. It works really well, too. When the lens is completely out of focus you see absolutely no white edges, and as soon as you bring something in your shot into focus the white edges appear until they are bright, sharp and crisp. There's absolutely no chance of not getting a perfect focus with the peaking. That being said, the monitor's image quality is so good you don't even really need to use the peaking. I can get any subject in my shot to a perfect focus just looking at the monitor. I'm sure it will help out in different shooting situations (ie., shooting real wide, etc.), but for my last shoot this past Tuesday, where I used the monitor all day long, I didn't even need the peaking feature. I turned it on a couple of times to see how my focus without peaking matched the focus with peaking and it was dead on every time.

I'm tellin' ya...this monitor is sweet!

Have a good one,
nitjaxus
 
I just received some information from Rob (quick answer) about the two monitors. Do we really need the HDS model for use with the HVX200, there is no SDI connection and it is a few hundred more. Of course, it is usuable with higher end cameras. The price is a bit lower than the Panasonic, so the question is which one seem the best buy ? I'm sure they are both very good.
 
Thanks to everyone who joined in here.

I placed my order a couple of minutes ago.

If you're only using the monitor with the HVX200 (like me) I don't know of any reason why you'd need the SDI model (I'm happy to be corrected here of course. . . )

I suppose it's a little more future proof if you can use it with the SDI from other cameras, but all I'm hoping for is a trouble free year and it'll have paid for itself in hires and enjoyment.

Incidentally, I had a look at a SWIT monitor today, and in my opinion the build quality and image quality are about right for the price. I'm sure it's great for framing and some focus applications, but I couldn't see it going the distance in a commercial environment.

Just my opinion of course, so have a look for yourself rather than taking my word for it.

Thanks once again for everyone's help.

I'll post my impressions when I get my paws on the goods if anybody wants to hear.

DG
 
Luis Caffesse said:
so........... what are the prices?
Click to expand...

HD $ 1850
HDS $ 2350

and

The Power Options are as follows...
NEBTEK Lithium-ion Battery Adapter (Canon, Sony, Panasonic or JVC)- add $100
Anton Bauer- add $155
IDX- add $155
PAG- add $165
 
Last edited:
I found it strange that the Panasonic BT-LH80W only had input connectors, no through-out connector.

Granted, broadcast cameras usually have two HD-SDI outputs, so that solves the feed to the on-board camera and Director/Production monitor (or an OB Van). Unfortunately, for the HVX user, you would have to run a Component cable to the Production monitor (could be some distance), then via the through-out connector, back to the camera for on-board monitoring. I just don't see this as ideal as a current HVX user, so that was another factor that sold me on the Nebtek HDS. I went HDS for longevity in my case.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top