Test: XDCAM EX + 35mm adapter + HD LCD monitors (Marshall vs Nebtek vs Sony)

LuckyStudio 13

LuckyStudio 13

The Tapeless One
Which of the following LCD monitors is best with your XDCAM EX + 35mm adapter ??

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The marshall monitor is available at B&H for $1349.95. It comes stock with V mount battery mount. You can get the AB battery mount setup for $1,439.95

The nebtek monitor retails for $1849.00 and you can choose a variety of different battery mount. V mount battery cost additional $165 , AB mount costs $160 and Panasonic, Sony, JVC battery mount costs an additional $100.

The Sony LCD monitor costs ... well FREE. It comes with your XDCAM EX camcorder, remember ?
 
The marshall monitor is 7.6"W × 5.16"H × 2.16"D with 800 x 480 resolution screen. The weight without battery is 1.8 lbs. If you need more specs ( http://www.lcdracks.com/monitors/vr70phda.html )

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The controls in front of the Marshall monitor is pretty simple and rudimentary. Marshall uses knobs for adjustments of brightness, color, tint and contrast.

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The back of the marshall monitor lies all the typical Bnc connections, s video, industry standard 4 pin XLR power port and the V mount battery port. If you want to use the power adapter, you have to dismount the IDX battery.

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The marshall does not have a flip feature, but the monitor has mounting holes in all 4 corners, in case you need to flip the screen. It also has a dedicated on/off switch for the battery, the IDX battery is huge and it blocks the 4 pin power port. If you want to use the 4 pin, you have to remove the battery from its bay. The big grey button is used to eject the V mount battery.
 
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The resolution is the same 800 x 480. The Nebtek NEB70HD has a dimension of 7.5"W x 5"H x 3"D. The monitor is heavier at 2.5lbs. More specs here http://www.nebtek.com/proddetail.php?prod=102NEB70HD .
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As you pay more for the Nebtek monitor, you get way more controls. Some of the controls that are not available on the Marshall are Underscan/Overscan, Peaking, Image Flip and Aspect Ratio. All of the controls are adjustable via buttons and there are no knobs to be found.

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The back of the Nebtek monitor looks very different than the Marshall. The monitor that I have has a Sony battery mount. There is no eject button nor a power button available. If you want to use the AC adapter or other battery with 4 pin XLR port, you have to manually disconnect the battery's power adapter plug. You can also see the different mounting hole for AB, PAG and V mount battery on the back of the monitor. Another thing that was missing from the Marshall is the 6 pin hirose port.
 
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The showdown.

Ok, this is just too easy. In the context of " which LCD for 35mm adapter with the Sony XDCAM EX", the unanimous winner is the SONY XDCAM EX BUILT IN LCD MONITOR with the $ 33 Cinetactics Screen 40 hoodie.

Yes, the Sony XDCAM EX 3.5" 640 x 480 LCD screen is that good. You CAN FOCUS your SLR Lens on your 35mm adapter without any problem at all. You dont even have to use the peaking feature on the camera. Forget about battery headache, Noga arm for attachment, weight distribution on your tripod ...etc. Just get the screen hoodie and you will be in business for all your indoors and outdoors shoot. YOU DONT NEED AN EXPENSIVE HD MONITOR FOR FOCUSING PURPOSE WITH the XDCAM EX.

Nebtek vs Marshall.

Well, sometimes you still do need an external monitor for your production need. Example, for your crane shot and sometimes for that dolly shot also. Here are some observations on the Marshall vs the Nebtek.

The Nebtek connection ports are on the right hand side of the monitor and the Marshall connection ports are on the left hand side. This may cause you to zig zag cables because the component video out port is on the bottom right hand side of the camcorder. I also like the rail on the Marshall as it serves as a point for me to manage my BNC cables and tie them down. The Marshall also have 3 tally leds on its front face. Construction wise, both are very very well built. Still, you need to store the monitor in a small pelican case as, the screen is still made of breakable glass.

Picture wise, I cannot really see any difference between the Nebtek vs the Marshall. Although according to the specs, the Nebtek has a higher contrast ratio. I do not find the more expensive Nebtek monitor to be overly superior vs the Marshall. The under/overscan and anamorphic setting of the Nebtek are useful for framing your shots. When you are using the stock Sony lens minus the 35mm adapter, you might find the peaking feature of the Nebtek lcd to be convenient. Finally, should you use a non flip 35mm adapter in the future (WHY?), there is an easy flip button available on the Nebtek.

Conclusion.

The Nebtek monitor has more features than the Marshall. However, none of the features are must haves, in order for you to use it with your XDCAM EX with 35mm adapter. Almost all 35mm adapter makers also offer the flip option, granting the flip feature on the Nebtek somehow useless. I also feel that the Nebtek monitor is a bit overpriced. If i were to spend near $ 2000 (with v mount battery) for the Nebtek, I would not hesitate to add the extra $ 200 and get the 7.9" Panasonic BT-LH80W (msrp $2199.95) monitor with waveform capability instead. Otherwise, the Marshall monitor is a good choice for not too much money. Especially for you guys with a low res 'On Cam' LCD monitor.

*Thank You Gary (gmoe) for providing me with the equipment/monitor*.
 
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It seems to me that for a handheld setup with a 35mm adapter (M2 in my case) a Marshall monitor would be good to have. Now I'm wondering if I should have saved my money buying the Marshall and bought a flip for the M2. Hrm...
 
Yes, with a Crane, you would need an external monitor, and the marshall would do its job well concerning framing your scene.
 
I realise the LCD on the EX1 is sharp enough to focus, Ive seen it first hand. And just this week was impressed by it once again. Problem is the LCD is OK for the camera op, not much chop for a DP. First of all, how do you callibrate it? Now whilst I agree that those monitors mentioned wont make a big difference, I can assure the Panasonic BT-LH-80 will make a difference. I used it together with the EX, for a few simple reasons.

1/ I dont like zebras. They dont give you an accurate across the entire frame image of what your shooting. We set two on the EX1, 1 as 90 and 1 as 65, and the LH80s waveform monitor was often telling me a slightly different story and after transferring the clips, Im glad I listened to it.

2/ EX1 is spot on with focusing on a point, it even gives you a DOF distance(not sure what it is correctly called by sony). Whilst this is accurate, there are times when you want to cheat your DOF a little by pulling the focal point forward or back. You can do this with a tape measure and the EX1, but the LH80 can enable this in seconds and you can see exactly what youre going to get. Especially using the pixel to pixel function.

3/ LH80 is a broadcast monitor and easy to calibrate. Especially contrast using the blue function on bars.

4/ SDI monitoring.

5/ And lastly for me, which applies to any of the monitors mentioned, who else can see the LCD?

There are some others, but I use them so little it doesnt really factor in.
 
What I would like to see is an rgb histogram, so you can see when individual channels are clipping. Obviously fleshtones can be protected by using the secondary zebras but sometimes a solid red green or blue object can be overexposed in an individual channel, while the overall histogram looks healthy.
 
The new NEBTEK NEB70HDS-EX now offers a battery plate for the SONY EX1/EX3 batteries. If you need a larger image to focus from, and all the extras the monitor provides... then you can now use your existing camera batteries to power the unit.

For those who have seen the monitor compared to the other options on the market, or have read the review of the NEB70HDS on this website. I can only say that this unit was built to be a true confidence monitor for focus, color and composition.

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=149220&highlight=NEBTEK

For those who are unfamiliar with the unit... I submit the following images.


It's also daylight viewable.:Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)
 

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