cheapest/lightest way to mount monitor for handheld work?

J

Josh Bass

Veteran
Hi. I am finding I really like having a larger external monitor in all shooting situations, especially for focus, even when it is generally considered impractical.

Anyone have any clever rigs for a 7" monitor for handheld? What keeps it as light as it can be? What's the most affordable way to do this?

Would even consider another smaller monitor (5", 4") that doesnt need to be super color etc.-accurate.

Have a c100 but sometimes use other cams so being compatible with those is also necessary.

Thanks.
 
Best way to keep things light is to use a cable connected power source, the batteries are often a considerable amount of the weight. Back to the old time battery belt.

My old 7 inch Lilliput is pretty light (all plastic), the Black Magic video assist (5 inch) isn't too bad until you stick two batteries on the back, bonus is you get a second recorder with this option.
 
Yes, I have the medium size EX1 type Sony batteries, they are not light when on that monitor. I had battery belts before for a light I used to use and never liked dealing with that. All sorts of things getting tangled up in all sorts of other things. As for the hot shoe mount, I'm sure it works but hot shoe stuff makes me nervous when moving around. I have the zacuto Z-finder plus for the C100, part of which is a top handle with holes for mounting. . .so maybe one of those arms that has 1/4 20 screws on both ends? I'm thinking mounting more off to the side would work better for monitoring than right on top anyway.
 
In my experience, the Cinevate Universal Accessory Mount is the smallest and most solid way to mount a monitor.

Blb5EUWCQAETAhE.jpg
 
That looks pretty good. Could you find a battery that mounts under the camera body so the weight is lower? Maybe powering both camera and monitor from this common battery?
 
This is my best effort based on the stuff I own now. It seems stable, if awkward and goofy.
 

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Also, I wish there was an arm that was a little longer/more adjustable than that cinevate mount, but not as long as all the Noga etc. arms. Also also, that'd be great for the C100 or any cam with a 1/4 20 hole on top, but what about a DSLR or something? Never know what you'll be working with next.
 
Sorry to keep replying to myself. I keep forgetting, but the Odyssey7 (my monitor) doesn't have a top or bottom hole for screwing things into. So that makes it that much more complicated.
 
Thanks. I was pricing out a Smallhd dp6 and looks like it'd be about $500 for used monitor, batts, bracket and charger. Dont know if worth it. Might do a few gigs with the Odyssey and see how unwieldy it is.

That ULCS stuff is cool. That the 8" monitor mount looks like the ticket...maybe too much length? be cool if they has the same thing but that middle piece a few inches shorter. Or maybe I'm an idiot and it's perfect.
 
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Josh Bass said:
That ULCS stuff is cool. That the 8" monitor mount looks like the ticket...maybe too much length? be cool if they has the same thing but that middle piece a few inches shorter. Or maybe I'm an idiot and it's perfect.
Click to expand...

Order the parts à la carte & build whatever length suits your needs.
 
I wouldnt be opposed to a cage...if it could work with a c-series cam. and a dslr. and a small form factor eng cam. and...etc.

I like that plate you linked to. but wonder about all that weight around one rod.

Some kind of bass plate you could attach a monitor/arm to seems to make the most sense as it should work with just about any cam.
 
Looks neat but would have to mount on rods. I do have a base plate with rods but if I could leave it off on lighter cams that'd be great.

Re: the monoprice stuff. . .looks like it can be EITHER cold shoe mount or 1/4 20 (like the cold shoe part comes off?) if so, that's pretty neat. And it really holds stable, doesn't unscrew itself when moving around? I was under the impression anything with that design was always prone to unscrewing itself when gravity was not in its favor.
 
I'm thinkin' something like this:

s-l1600.jpg

And then one of the arms that has a male 1/4" 20 mount at the ends (the ULCS or other).

That should work with just about anything. I might still get a few other pieces to make it lighter/less unwieldy for cams with mounting holes on the top, but with the DSLRs or something the baseplate idea should work.
 
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