What do you look for in a Girl?... In a MONITOR

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CherryTime

Well-known member
Could anyone tell me what specifications that you are looking for, in a field monitor. I know alot of people uses the Marshall 7" but frankly, I dont know why.

Im guessing its;

16:9 / 4:3 (16:9 preferd? Or the same thing?)
True color
Light weight?

fill me in..

Thanks.
 
An on-camera monitor, or just a field monitor?

On-Camera: Gotta have 16:9, light weight, and good color/contrast. I got the Marshall 7" recently and I love it. I got the Panasonic battery adapter for it so when the monitor is mounted to the camera,I have no extraneous cabling or batteries hanging off the rig. It uses the same batteries that the camera uses, which is very convenient.

It's also a manageable size and weight so I can shoot hand held with little pain.

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Last edited:
Ah, forgot to specifiy that.

I was mainly thinking of getting a camera mounted monitor (on-camera monitor)
so if the monitor does 16:9, it automatically does HD well? Im buying a monitor for my xh-a1 & letus35 FE, but some people say the FE doesnt require a external monitor? Im a bit unsure here, so now that you know more about my situation I hope you can help me abit further in!

The Marshall is really expensive in sweden, so I was thinking of cheaper alternatives mainly..

Sounds awesome with the battery adapter, hope there is a similar thing for the xh-a1.

EDIT: I know I can use my 12" laptop as a external monitor with Adobe OnLocation, which I have, but havent had time to try that out as I dont get my xh-a1 back until monday. But that would give me a fieldmonitor, and Im not sure if a normal 12" laptop provides me good quality?

Thanks
 
16:9 is native to HD. HD only exists as 16:9, yes.

As far as I know, none of the lens adapters have screens built in.

There are 2 "affordable" portable HD monitor options that I know of:

http://www.ikancorp.com/pages/monitors/v8000hd/index.htm

The Ikan 8" has a mount on the back for the Sony camcorder batteries. I've used it and it's a very decent monitor.

http://www.totevision.com/Second/ToteVision - HD MONITORS.htm


From what I remember, DV Rack sold their technology to Adobe which incorporated it into their production software, so I'm guessing you have the potential for a very good field monitor with the laptop and OnLocation of course depending upon which laptop you have.

The built-in LCD screen on the A1 is very good, so don't be afraid to use it as a guide.

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Ah good!

Oh, no I didnt mean it had a buildin screen! hehe! Actually im not sure what I ment, but something with the image being flipped over? Blah, nevermind, im probably way off.

Okay, the Ikan looks nice. Will check how much they are in Europe, probably double <sadface inserted>

That's awesome! Free field monitors! :) Well I have a Philips Freevents X56, pretty rare computer but it's really smooth and good, so Im hoping it will do.

Glad to hear so! Heard it from several people now, but it's only 2.8" (wide) but ohwell, It might just be good enoght.

Thanks, awesome replies.
 
I found this really cheap monitor device thingy.

Monitor: 7” / 16:9
Resolution : 1440 x 234 pixlar
Dimensions: 195 x 137 x 32 mm
Screenmodes: Full / Wide / Cinema / Normal
& 1 Video & Audio (stereo)

I translated the above specifications, hope you understand them.

the website is kind of special so if you wish to browse the product yourself do the following:

go to: http://www.ipodibilen.se/

than if you look to the left side, there is a vertical navigation bar, and you will find the word "fyndkorg", Press it and you will come to a section in which there are 2 types of On-dash monitors, one 5.8 and one 7.0, both goes 999SEK which is the same as 200usd (abit less actually).

That sounds really cheap, and I think those monitors are thought to be used as monitors that you mount on the back of the drivers seat , and plug into a dvd so the kids can watch films while travelling..

So what Im I missing, will it deliver crappy quality? Why?
If it won't then, why would you get one that cost 10x as much?

Thanks, really curious about what Iam missing here!
 
If you are using the monitor strictly for composition then cheaper monitors like this will work. If you want your colors to be reproduced accurately, and to have enough resolution to accurately focus HD you'll need a professional monitor. The monitor you spec'd only has 234 lines of resolution. Pro monitors will give you 800 or more. You'll also get better viewing angles, better viewability outside, better stronger housing, and pro power options (gold mount, xlr, etc) in many of these too.

If you are looking for a budget monitor I believe the totevision and ikan are your least expensive options, each having its drawbacks. Lots of reviews on both of these here on the forums. DVXuser Siniarch (Luis Sinibaldi) mfr's the Carrion that appears to be one fine monitor for its price. The Panasonic LH80 or 900(?) are also great monitors but priced accordingly. Might want to look into the used market as well. I think Tim Naylor is selling a Marshall in the marketplace currently.
 
CherryTime said:
So what Im I missing, will it deliver crappy quality? Why?
If it won't then, why would you get one that cost 10x as much?

Thanks, really curious about what Iam missing here!
Click to expand...


Yes, they are crappy. I bought a few of these types of headrest monitors a few years ago for on-camera use on a feature film I shot. They were like a hundred dollars each and they drove us nuts and I can tell you if you plan on using that kind of a monitor a lot, you'll ruin your eyes trying to focus.

There IS a major difference between a cheap LCD screen and an HD LCD screen like the Ikan. If you really want to go cheap, look into the Ikan standard defenition LCD screens. I got a 7" from them that I still use every now and then:

http://www.ikancorp.com/pages/monitors/v7000/index.htm

Trust me. You don't want a cheap LCD screen if you can avoid it. If you're not ready to buy an HD LCD screen, check out the Ikan standard def units.

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Thanks alot guys.

Yeah I just wanted a monitor to focus with, but Im gonna stay with the xh-a1 monitor for a while more and look around for used HD Ikans!

I like the fact of you actually trying it out, that is what can help so many others later!

Thanks you to Jeff, the problem with me and most of the marketplaces is, they are U.S and I live in Sweden, so I have to add about 50% of the product's value for importing it (That kind of ruins the benefits of buying used things) . But as Im not in a big hurry I will have time to look into this properly. Very glad you had a input here aswell.

Big thanks!
 
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