35mm on xha1- need monitor?

T

teupaksa

Active member
hello. i am thinking of purchasing a 35 mm adaptor for my xha1. been looking at sgpro or brevis. anyway, have someone experience using the xha1 with 35 mm adaptor. will the lcd be too small?? i am hesitant to buy a separate monitor since i am doing a lot of field work. too much to carry and then i would have to use an external battery for the monitor too...

teupaksa
 
i have just been using the xh a1 lcd with the peak function on while im shooting and i would sayd 80% of the time the focus is either dead on or acceptable at most. The other 20% is reasonably soft, to none useable. Obviously it depends on the lens, but wider lenses are more difficult to attain perfect focus where as it is easier to see on a longer lens. I would highly recommend getting some sort of external monitor. I too am looking for one but don't know what to get that will do the job and keep costs low?
 
Try a lilliput 7inch with 800x480 - can be battery powered and give better resolution than your built in and is cheap. Slightly more is the 720 version, which gives more resolution but is more expensive... You can go on from there to using a Dell 24" monitor for focus as some do...
 
for normal work - yes, you need a good monitor. You can try filming without, but it's just like fixing teeth through the back :) if you have to worry all the time whether it is in focus, or not, that's crazy. instruments should for you, not against you.
 
We've tried a few here and as of today, Joe is right. Make sure the monitor is 7" and at least 800x480. We use the Marshall 7" and it's OK, but a bit heavy. If you plan on using your rig shoulder mounted, you may want to look at your choices in terms of their weight too.
 
i guess its not such a good idea without a monitor. thanks for the input. i will check out the liliput...
 
With my Letus Extreme and Zeiss ZF lenses, I find the amount of detail enhancement (on the XH-A1 LCD flip screen) to be just about right. I no longer use any kind of monitor to check focus when using this camera rig on PSA's and lower budget ad shoots. I DO however use a monitor to check white balance and overall image quality, as I find the LCD too small to judge how well a shot will work in an ad, unless using the same Sony 9" CRT monitor I have been using for years. I initially tried using a 19" Samsung HD LCD for monitoring, but still find that I prefer the CRT monitor best. It's just an old habit. For strictly focusing 35mm format lenses on an XH-A1, the camera alone is sufficient for me and my needs.
 
The lilliput doesn't flip. And google mayflash vga converter to see the piece you're gonna need to the give lilliput component in for hd cameras. The lilliput has only composite and vga, so you're gonna have to jimmy it together a bit. Watch out and make sure you read the specs though some of the ones they make aren't 800x480 and some of them are touch screen models which make them shitty for glare (but you can open it up and take the touch screen out).

As you can tell I'm working on making one of these myself sometime soon.
 
i bought an sgpro for my xha1 about two or three months back and i gotta admit i was wrong in one of my previous posts when i said that you need an external monitor to properly focus. the A1's peaking and magnify features (magnify in itself i find is good enough in most cases) is enough to get spot on focus on your subject. and just like Papa said, it does get difficult on a wider lens since its harder to see where exact focus is.

i actually purchased an ikan v8000hd without testing the LCD and adapter itself and i cant really recommend it if you can afford or want to invest in something to last longer. first things first, i hate the fact that even at 16:9 the aspect ratio is off. some people may say its just slightly off, but my opinion is that its distracting the way it shows the entire frame. i havent had any experience with other monitors but if you want something truly dependable, i doubt ikan is the monitor you'd want to invest in. or at least not that model. (at the same time, i do appreciate ikan's approach to fulfilling that need, low price at least). having said that, if focusing is your main concern, its good enough that even with a 24mm at 2.8, you can figure out what you're focused on.

main complaints about MY ikan v8000hd:
1. battery is NOT SECURE AT ALL, my battery fell off when i was adjusting the angle of the monitor on a tripod
2. aspect ratio is off
3. the friggin charger that came with the kit blew the first time i used it, good thing that battery didnt get screwed up.
4. the hot shoe adapter gets really shaky, especially if u decide to mount on-cam. you cant really tell if its the entire rig vibrating or if its just because of the hot shoe adapter.

just hoping to share my two cents to prospective buyers.
 
Personally I hate the LCD on the A-1. Aside from framing purposes I think it was a horrible mistake on canon's part. It's way too small for even SD purposes. If you can't pretty much definitely know if you are in focus you are just making educated guesses. The magnify function is great except for the fact that you can't use it why recording. The peaking function is also good except for the fact that you can't use it and zebra's at the same time.

If you haven't had the opportunity to check out the LCD on the EX-1 you should because then you would really know how bad the LCD on the A-1 is. I never used the AF button on my DVX but for the A-1 my hand is glued to it.
 
thanks for great input on this matter. i am now considering to buy an sgpro with flip. but i cant afford an external monitor yet. but as far as i can tell from various comments, it is not absolutely necessary to have a monitor in order to handle the sgpro with the xha1.
at least it is not a reason not to buy the sgpro, or is it? should i wait til i can afford a monitor? cant make up my mind....what would you do? pls help...
 
The xh-a1 has an very good LCD, however it might be to small for some people, even with peak.

Im managing without a LCD, Im using a Letus 35 FE + canon 50mm fd, but it would definitly be nicer to have a bigger monitor, Im just saying that it is still possible to get good footage without dying trying to get it, and if you feel it isnt working out for you then you can continue until your budget allows you to buy a monitor.'

conclusion: go buy the adapter, and you'll be so thrilled that you won't really care! :)
 
thanks cherrytime. i am going for it:) i am convinced... well now i just have to make up my mind about brand. i have always thought that sgpro seems to be so nice... but maybe someone has some major stuff to tell me that will change my mind before i buy??
 
Nah, adapter brands all have they'r tiny pros/cons, pretty much as said before, any adapter will give you a very clear and nice picture, it's more about using it correctly which takes some time to do/understand. Im using a letus flip enhanced, it's really cheap if you buy a used one for example. And its 700usd~~ new. Iam really pleased with the quality of it, I guess the Letus extreme is a bit better, and smaller perhaps. And has some less light-loss. But it's twice the money, so get a used letus 35 flip enhanced, if you don't like it, there will come along another person in your sitation that would love to buy it, so you probably won't lose any big money.

have fun!
 
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