Camera LCD screens and external monitors - opinions?

[firehawk]

Hi guys. I thought I'd get input from you guys. On this board members do all sorts of work in all sorts of environments.

I like external monitors for the same reasons others do but for much of my work I really wish that the camera manufacturers would make the LCD screens bigger.
Yes I love focus peaking and some of them are higher res. And yes I know they fold and fit neatly into the camera.
But I would rather have a larger, clunky LCD screen that I could use to judge focus and image quality rather than dealing with external monitor/recorders and their extra cables, weight, batteries etc.
How about a 4 or 5 inch LCD? It could fold against the camera body when in transport or storage. Many of these cameras have large capacity batteries so it wouldn't be a big problem for the extra draw.

My eyes are getting worse and my back weaker so internal recording and build-in LCDs sound really good to us old codgers.
Yes I know on higher-end productions you need large external monitors, but wouldn't it still be nice to have bigger screens on the cameras anyway?
What do you guys think?

 

[NorBro]

So I bought a big URSA in late 2014. Before that I used the small 3" LCDs that came with cameras (or their viewfinders). I rented the 7Q a few times and the Shogun was new and just around the corner.

The URSA pretty much changed everything for me. The 10" screen is unbelievable and I never missed focus, NEVER. I think I even became better at filming because I could see everything so clearly, ha. The camera is flawed in many ways (even the color temperature on the screen is a bit off), but the resolution and the focus-peaking on that screen was simply phenomenal.

After that I started using Flames and they are my main monitors. I can't shoot without a big monitor anymore. They aren't 10", but I think 7" is the sweet spot.

I think even having some of these cameras ship with at least 5" would be a big improvement. You can use external monitors like you mentioned, but having them built-in would be nice.

 

[morgan_moore]

The video industry has really failed to understand high resolution low DOF shooting.

A complete rethink is required to keep it sharp.

Probably AF, or at least double monitor with full screen an P2Pixel or whatever.

 

[rob norton]

Yeah for larger cameras bring on larger screens. I used the new ursa mini pro on a shoot and the screen was amazing - the touch screen was SO fast. Especially for focus I quickly moved my finger around instead of clicking a tiny joystick many times or pressing and holding it. What kind of a system is that anyway?

However with smaller cameras I say stay small. The gh4 screen was tiny but you get used to it and that's part of why I used the camera.

 

[jamedia.uk]

I use a 7" monitor for much the same reasons BUT if you have to have a 7 or 10 inch monitor permanently attached as part of the camera body that will make the form factor ridiculously large, not to mention the power consumption (I know LED screens are better these days for power) MOST users don't need the big screen and certainly not all the time. I add my 7" when I need it and us e the built in screen other times.

 

[Jim Feeley]

Hear ya, firehawk. I end up working on jobs with RED cameras a fair amount (with someone else operating). I like the approach with their current bodies. Briefly, you can attach a 4.7-inch or 7-inch LCD touch screen to the body really quickly and without external cables: connections run along with mounting bolts...I'm not wording this right, but it's pretty easy and nicely integrated. And use an EVF instead quite easily. The stuff is kind of costly (RED must stand for Really Expensive Devices). But smooth...I'd love to see other companies take a similar smooth cableless mix-and-match approach.
http://www.red.com/store/displays







With RED and BMD integrating bigger screens into their cameras, maybe we'll see similar nicely-integrated screens on other upcoming cameras. Maybe even at Cine Gear?

 

[Run&Gun]

I use an on-camera monitor, DP7 Pro OLED, all the time for sit-downs and I love it, but call me old-fashioned, I still love a good VF. As I've gotten older, my close-up vision has gone a little south on me when I have my contacts in, so looking at these monitors close-up can be slightly challenging sometimes, so I still prefer a good VF and when someone is moving around or I need to check critical focus, I still go to the VF with a diopter so I can get my eye right up to it. I also find that I'm still better at following, tracking, framing and controlling the camera movement when I'm in the VF, as opposed to an ext monitor. Part of that, I think, is just the way that I'm used to shooting all these years, you're more connected and a "single entity" like that and most external monitors have a slight delay compared to the VF. I can see the few frames delay on my OLED and if you're following something tight and fast, those few frames can make a big difference.

 

[firehawk]

Hear ya, firehawk. I end up working on jobs with RED cameras a fair amount (with someone else operating). I like the approach with their current bodies. Briefly, you can attach a 4.7-inch or 7-inch LCD touch screen to the body really quickly and without external cables: connections run along with mounting bolts...I'm not wording this right, but it's pretty easy and nicely integrated. And use an EVF instead quite easily. The stuff is kind of costly (RED must stand for Really Expensive Devices). But smooth...I'd love to see other companies take a similar smooth cableless mix-and-match approach.
http://www.red.com/store/displays

View attachment 123192


View attachment 123193


With RED and BMD integrating bigger screens into their cameras, maybe we'll see similar nicely-integrated screens on other upcoming cameras. Maybe even at Cine Gear?

I was wondering if something like a swapable screen was a possibility. Disconnect the 3.5 inch screen and attach a 6" without cables. I didn't know such a thing already existed. Thanks

 

[firehawk]

Yeah for larger cameras bring on larger screens. I used the new ursa mini pro on a shoot and the screen was amazing - the touch screen was SO fast. .....
However with smaller cameras I say stay small. The gh4 screen was tiny but you get used to it and that's part of why I used the camera.

Yeah I agree. I wouldn't want a permanent large screen on a small camera - like a 5" screen on an A7S. It would defeat the advantage of being a small camera.
But on an FS700 size camera it would be worth it

 

[morgan_moore]

It is a non solvable equation until someone thinks out of the box.

In stills I use AF.. It works and Im well aware that I cannot properly evaluate 24MP inside a EVF.

In video well it is just a joke, no AF that does what you want and no way to manually check without destablising the camera or changing posture.


Thinking out of the box.. maybe 25X9 screen where 16X9 is used to show overview and 6X9 is punched in on the critical area.