Critical focus - Monitor or EVF?

B

bobvine

New member
Hi All,

Only had my AF101 a few months now but having 'fun' getting focus ! Presently I have a 'budget' Lilliput 7" monitor running from an HDMI feed from my Nanoflash but the monitor isn't that great (it was owned prior to getting the AF101). The LCD on the camera can be deceptive even using the focus peaking and DTL function - been caught out a few times where it looks great on the LCD but when seen on a full sized HD TV it looks a touch soft!

So I am in the market for something to help me and wondered if someone can help a newbie and give me some thoughts on what would be best - an EVF (Cineroid/Zacuto?) or HD Monitor ? Budget is around £700 ... any ideas ?

Many thanks

Bob
 
Hi Bob. For talking heads, I use an inexpensive 21" Samsung LCD computer monitor when I can't rent a true client monitor like the Panasonic 17". Use the Matthews VESA mounting thing (expensive) and put it on a stand. I also have the TV logic (also expensive) 5.6 WP though really only use it for checking exposure and there are cheaper fully featured small monitors. For focus (yes I've burned myself too) the Samsung seems fine, though for exposure and color you'll need other aids. Again this works fine for me for controlled, stationary shooting.
 
Try Barry's suggestion - EVF in BW mode, peaking on, detail OFF (on makes it far too generous). If that's not good enough (as I've found), get an EVF. I've heard great things about Zacuto's, but love my SmallHD DP4-EVF.
 
Thank you both for your suggestions and experiences. I think the idea of a computer monitor with full 1920x1080 is great for talking heads etc and something I had not thought of. I do shoot short films and sometimes for practical reasons it wouldn't quite work. After looking into the resolution of some purpose built camera monitors (and cost) I am also leaning towards the EVF route - smaller screen than a monitor but same resolution - seems on paper to make sense. I like the sound of the SmallHD due to it's battery options, but struggling to find one in 'sunny' UK!! Reviews are good for the Zacuto but also for the Cineroid - again on paper very similar, looks like it's just the build quality that sets them apart.

However, before I buy anything, I will be trying Barry's suggestion and perhaps the combination of that and my existing monitor could be all I need!! and some better eyes !!:happy:

Many thanks again !

Bob
 
EVF outdoors, and a good LCD for indoors is working for me.

bobvine said:
Hi All,

Only had my AF101 a few months now but having 'fun' getting focus ! Presently I have a 'budget' Lilliput 7" monitor running from an HDMI feed from my Nanoflash but the monitor isn't that great (it was owned prior to getting the AF101). The LCD on the camera can be deceptive even using the focus peaking and DTL function - been caught out a few times where it looks great on the LCD but when seen on a full sized HD TV it looks a touch soft!

So I am in the market for something to help me and wondered if someone can help a newbie and give me some thoughts on what would be best - an EVF (Cineroid/Zacuto?) or HD Monitor ? Budget is around £700 ... any ideas ?

Many thanks

Bob
Click to expand...
 
I use the EVF in BW with peaking off and focus in red, and check focus with the director's monitor, which is a cheap-as-chips HD LCD TV from our local supermarket that just happens to run off 12 V DC. This means it can be used on location with a D-tap from a V mount battery. We run a 10 m HDMI cable from the AF100 to the monitor (in retrospect, 5 or 7 m would have been fine).

It is a distinctly low-fidelity solution, and not to be compared with the delights of a real calibrated broadcast monitor. But for less than a hundred pounds, it can't be beaten!! It lets the director see action, framing, depth of field and a general impression of the look, and allows double checking of critical focus. Critical colour matching? No, of course not. But for focus checking you can't beat seeing the full HD image at decent size.

We've also found the Bebob Foxi to be a very valuable addition to our shooting rig. This electronic follow focus allows for much more repeatable focus operations and makes rack focussing much easier. It only works with electronic lenses of course, but since we shoot most of our stuff on Lumix primes, it is ideal.

Cheers, Hywel.
 
I do pretty well with focus in red and the EVF detail on. But nothing beats a really good outboard monitor- especially one with peaking and zoom in.

Noah
 
I almost always use the LCD for the waveform monitor. Outdoors, I use the EVF B&W with focus in red, no monitor, which I have had great results with. When I'm inside I use a TV Logic VFM-056W with focus in red and the zoom function. The zoom function and can be set as the wheel default. The zoom is really helpful when wide, when it's hard to know if you're nailing it. I use a RedRock V2 follow focus and those marks are usually pretty good set this way. I also use the big HD TV to double check when we have it up.
 
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