Lightmaker
New member
I just purchased a Panasonic BT-LH80W eight inch monitor and wanted to share my thoughts about it with this community, especially for those considering purchasing one in the near future.
COST - though the initial cost is about $2199.00 (I bought mine at B&H Photo), the real cost is much higher, and it’s important to know the facts going in. In addition to the monitor, you’ll need a support arm, and powering options.
POWER - Anton Bauer Dionic 90 batteries run $414 each at B&H Photo, and since you’ll need a spare and a Titan Twin charger, you’re looking at an additional $1200 for batteries and the charger. An AC adapter to four pin XLR will allow you to plug your monitor into an AC outlet, when available, and that runs between $149 and $500. I found the Minipunch (available at minipunch.com) to be an affordable AC option at $149. So, all told, you’re looking at an additional $1350 to push the ‘on’ button.
ARM - After much research, I decided on the Zacuto Zamerican large arm. The Panny Monitor weighs in at 3.3. pounds, but with the battery weighing in at a hefty 1.6 pounds, you’re looking at a very beefy five pounds on top of (or to the side of) your camera. You need something really well constructed and strong to keep it stable and protect your investment, and I believe the Zamerican is up to the job. So far, it has proven very stable, although it’s also terribly expensive. Including the rail mount (Z mount), (which you will not need if you have an extra rail block with a tripod thread, available at Cinevate), it cost just over $500. (Without the Z-mount you save about $144, so if you can, I recommend using the rail block option, which I think is about $30.)
Note: I pleaded for a ten percent discount, or it would have run over $550.
INPUTS - B&H Photo sells a Panasonic viewfinder cable (BT-CS80G) for hook up to the HVX’s viewfinder for $335. You DO NOT need to buy this, since the HVX 200 (and most other cameras) come with cable that will hook up to BNC or RCA inputs. I didn’t realize this at first, and almost sent the monitor back since the cable is so outrageously overpriced. Actual price: Zero.
TOTAL PRICE - With AC adaptor, batteries and arm, including shipping, the monitor added up like this:
Monitor: $2199
Batteries and charger: $1199
Zacuto Zamerican Arm: $504
Minipunch AC Adapter: $149
Shipping: $55
TOTAL: $4106.00
Or, put another way...$4106.00!!
Other considerations:
WEIGHT - the additional six pounds the monitor and arm adds is a lot more than I thought it was going to be. My HVX 200 has become a huge beast once it has the adaptor, flip module, Nikon lens, arm, rails, wireless mic receivers and monitor on it. That’s not mentioning follow focus or a mattebox. I haven’t tried to put it on my Glidecam 4000 Smoothshooter yet, but I’ll report in if that even works anymore. I’d like to hear if others have used this outfit with a Glidecam with any success.
PICTURE QUALITY - All the reviews I’ve read turned out to be accurate. The Panasonic BT-LH80W has outstanding picture quality, and is well built.
FOCUS IN RED: Two minutes after I lined up my first shot, I figured out the Focus in Red feature and instantly could not live without it. Using a 200mm Nikon lens from about ten feet for a tight close up on myself, I was able to move into focus perfectly with a depth of field of a few inches, at most. Since an out-of-focus shot is generally useless, and it’s one of those critical things that cannot be corrected later in post, it’s a tool that can’t be overstated in its importance.
OVERALL: The Panasonic Monitor cost more and weighed more than I expected initially, but now that I’ve spent the money, I’m very glad I did. I’m writing this, however, so that people who are genuinely on a tight budget will be aware of the full cost of this monitor before making the initial purchase. For myself, I cannot say enough about the Focus in Red feature. If I could at all avoid it, I would not invest in a monitor that didn’t have this feature or something like it. From my perspective, being able to achieve perfect focus is invaluable, and I believe Focus in Red will save time and make shooting hand-held and steadicam work easier by a huge margin. I really believe that from a technical perspective the Panasonic monitor will improve my work significantly.
Greg Hansen
Writer/Director
COST - though the initial cost is about $2199.00 (I bought mine at B&H Photo), the real cost is much higher, and it’s important to know the facts going in. In addition to the monitor, you’ll need a support arm, and powering options.
POWER - Anton Bauer Dionic 90 batteries run $414 each at B&H Photo, and since you’ll need a spare and a Titan Twin charger, you’re looking at an additional $1200 for batteries and the charger. An AC adapter to four pin XLR will allow you to plug your monitor into an AC outlet, when available, and that runs between $149 and $500. I found the Minipunch (available at minipunch.com) to be an affordable AC option at $149. So, all told, you’re looking at an additional $1350 to push the ‘on’ button.
ARM - After much research, I decided on the Zacuto Zamerican large arm. The Panny Monitor weighs in at 3.3. pounds, but with the battery weighing in at a hefty 1.6 pounds, you’re looking at a very beefy five pounds on top of (or to the side of) your camera. You need something really well constructed and strong to keep it stable and protect your investment, and I believe the Zamerican is up to the job. So far, it has proven very stable, although it’s also terribly expensive. Including the rail mount (Z mount), (which you will not need if you have an extra rail block with a tripod thread, available at Cinevate), it cost just over $500. (Without the Z-mount you save about $144, so if you can, I recommend using the rail block option, which I think is about $30.)
Note: I pleaded for a ten percent discount, or it would have run over $550.
INPUTS - B&H Photo sells a Panasonic viewfinder cable (BT-CS80G) for hook up to the HVX’s viewfinder for $335. You DO NOT need to buy this, since the HVX 200 (and most other cameras) come with cable that will hook up to BNC or RCA inputs. I didn’t realize this at first, and almost sent the monitor back since the cable is so outrageously overpriced. Actual price: Zero.
TOTAL PRICE - With AC adaptor, batteries and arm, including shipping, the monitor added up like this:
Monitor: $2199
Batteries and charger: $1199
Zacuto Zamerican Arm: $504
Minipunch AC Adapter: $149
Shipping: $55
TOTAL: $4106.00
Or, put another way...$4106.00!!
Other considerations:
WEIGHT - the additional six pounds the monitor and arm adds is a lot more than I thought it was going to be. My HVX 200 has become a huge beast once it has the adaptor, flip module, Nikon lens, arm, rails, wireless mic receivers and monitor on it. That’s not mentioning follow focus or a mattebox. I haven’t tried to put it on my Glidecam 4000 Smoothshooter yet, but I’ll report in if that even works anymore. I’d like to hear if others have used this outfit with a Glidecam with any success.
PICTURE QUALITY - All the reviews I’ve read turned out to be accurate. The Panasonic BT-LH80W has outstanding picture quality, and is well built.
FOCUS IN RED: Two minutes after I lined up my first shot, I figured out the Focus in Red feature and instantly could not live without it. Using a 200mm Nikon lens from about ten feet for a tight close up on myself, I was able to move into focus perfectly with a depth of field of a few inches, at most. Since an out-of-focus shot is generally useless, and it’s one of those critical things that cannot be corrected later in post, it’s a tool that can’t be overstated in its importance.
OVERALL: The Panasonic Monitor cost more and weighed more than I expected initially, but now that I’ve spent the money, I’m very glad I did. I’m writing this, however, so that people who are genuinely on a tight budget will be aware of the full cost of this monitor before making the initial purchase. For myself, I cannot say enough about the Focus in Red feature. If I could at all avoid it, I would not invest in a monitor that didn’t have this feature or something like it. From my perspective, being able to achieve perfect focus is invaluable, and I believe Focus in Red will save time and make shooting hand-held and steadicam work easier by a huge margin. I really believe that from a technical perspective the Panasonic monitor will improve my work significantly.
Greg Hansen
Writer/Director
