puredrifting
Major Contributor
Ahh, calibrated scales. That's the stuff. Actually a useful tool.
Do waveforms in budget field monitors accommodate video levels and full range levels
- Thread starter Imamacuser
- Start date
Ahh, calibrated scales. That's the stuff. Actually a useful tool.
CharlesPapert
Director of Photography
I did a ton of small crew jobs but perhaps it was more of the type of production, I was doing more corporate and narrative back then than broadcast. Maybe we didn't bring one out on two-man crews but possibly four? That music video in the pic was a freebie with friends...
JPNola
Veteran
Thanks for sharing the fun anecdote, and yes, I should not have used the definitive of “never”, but the point is that other methods were regularly employed as a result of scopes not being on set far more than being on set. Like I said, I did decades of jobs without any waveform or vector scope.
I guess my point was that we did just fine without them.
I guess my point was that we did just fine without them.
Run&Gun
Veteran
Just got one of my smallHD Focus 5" OLED's back from repair yesterday and I was playing around with it yesterday and today, reloading my set-up, etc. The waveform(luma, RBG and parade) is ridiculously flexible and customizable, from using it full screen to a small box in the corner and literally anywhere in-between(customize its vertical and horizontal size independently and screen position). You can make it completely opaque to almost completely see-through. Adjust the intensity of the "wave" and the lines, along with the color and the legend(and how fine/granular the legend is), too. It almost needs its own pamphlet so you don't miss a feature or adjustment(I think I'm forgetting a few things...).
And speaking of features, the one that you asked about... Yes, it does have a Spot-Meter. Two, actually. One is tied to the luma waveform. It can be turned ON or OFF in the waveform adjustment menu and the size of the spot-meter box can be adjusted both horizontally and vertically to make it any size and shape you want from teeny-tiny to the whole screen and you can place it anywhere in the frame/on-screen that you want. The "spot meter" box is then represented as a red portion of the waveform corresponding to the spot-meter box position in the frame. And the second is part of the "Color Picker" tool(which is pixel level). It gives you nine independent values for: R, G, B, Cb, CR, Y(luminance) and the x, y & Y color coordinates. The values can be given as a percentage and raw values. And as is customary with most smallHD tools, it's quite customizable. You can have up to four active pickers at one time on the screen working simultaneously, all independently placeable and you can even choose the on-screen color of the picker cross-hairs(And they are labeled with number so that you can tell which picker goes with which box containing the data for that picker).
And one other thing, that I can't believe I hadn't really noticed before(or maybe I did and just forgot), when you zoom in on the on-screen image(you can go from 2x to 8x[depending on what range you set] and it's completely variable if you pinch-zoom like on a cell phone), the waveform corresponds to match. Meaning, for example, if you do an 8x zoom into a section of the screen, that section that now takes up all of the screen, is represented on the full waveform, so you essentially get a zoom waveform analysis, too.
And these are just a few of the tools on a $300 monitor.
Run&Gun
Veteran
Yep. The repair with shipping was ~76% of what it cost me brand new, with the swivel mount arm, BNC cable and screen protector. But I imagine the Pro SDI versions will come down pretty quickly. The Focus OLED SDI was $699 when I bought my first one in 2019. Seven months later they were $299. They slashed the price almost 60% in 14 months(introduced in August 2018 and price cut in Oct. 2019). So, if we're lucky, in about 10 months the Pro's will be $299, too.
*update*
I noticed this a few weeks ago, but thought maybe it was just a mistake so I just went back and checked, but smallHD has the Focus Pro OLED listed as DISCONTINUED, even though it was only released back in the late fall(?)(some dealers like B&H still have stock). And, as a matter of fact, all of their Focus OLED monitors, except for the ‘Limited Edition’ Pro are listed as DISCONTINUED (and the ‘limited edition’ is limited availability). This ties into a conversation that I had recently with a sales rep, because there are no longer any “affordable” mid-sized(17”-24/25”) professional OLED monitors. I was told that the manufacturer of the panels(presuming it’s LG) in these “affordable” OLED monitors has stopped making them. I’m crossing my fingers that my 17” Sony OLED can be fixed(appears to be a power issue) and fixed affordably(I’ve been told IF it’s fixable it could be between $1K to $4K, and I don’t think I even paid $4K for it brand new), because just to get into the door on a new professional OLED monitor, now, it’s going to cost you over $11,000. Even on eBay, it’s tough and I’d be really hesitant anyway to buy a used, out-of-warranty monitor for the prices they are going for, especially since I’ve been told that a lot of them are already un-repairable. Charles, I’m going to keep my fingers crossed for you that nothing happens to your A250.
It’s kinda crazy that now I feel more protective over my monitors than I do my cameras.
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