Field monitor for HD100

[finn_mccool]

What are you folks using as a field monitor for your HD100s? If you use a standard def monitor (I have a nice Sony one), are you going to be missing critical information? I mostly use a monitor to make sure color, exposure and framing are good, and I wonder if a high-def one will make a big difference for those items.

 

[Neopics]

I recently got a Gateway 21" widescreen LCD (FPD2185W) that will serve dual use in the edit suite as well as an on-set monitor. I wouldn't trust it for perfect color evaluation, but wanted it mainly for critical focusing. Need to make a case and stand for it.

 

[Nate Weaver]

What are you folks using as a field monitor for your HD100s? If you use a standard def monitor (I have a nice Sony one), are you going to be missing critical information? I mostly use a monitor to make sure color, exposure and framing are good, and I wonder if a high-def one will make a big difference for those items.

An SD monitor will indeed look much different than an HD one. The conversion from HD to SD via the cameras built in downconversion tends to make blacks look crushed; in other words contrast handling is different between HD and SD due to the colorspace conversion.

Most of the LCD monitors (either the Dell or the cheap HD sets people are picking up at Costco) handle gamma much differently than a true HD CRT or plasma set, so setting exposure by those can be misleading as well. I myself, if your budget just can't be stretched or can't be patient for a deal, would recommend getting a cheap HD LCD from Costco, and then also either buy or arrange to have access to a decent consumer HD CRT or plasma. That way you can gain experience shooting tests with the cheap LCD as a field monitor, and then go look at your material on a good device and get an idea in your head about how the cheap set lies to you.

If you're able, beg borow or steal a production LCD or CRT hd monitor, and compare side by side so you can see what I'm talking about.

Unfortunately all the under $2000 monitors have one shortcoming or another. I myself trolled Ebay for 5 months before I got a Sony 9" HD field monitor at a price I could afford.

 

[Stu]

How much do you want to spend finn? at the moment a good HD field monitor is pricey... we were about to order the new Marshal 8.5" monitor coming out but ended up buying the Sony 8.4" LMD 9050 and after using it on a job recently, just love it... a real joy to use. Makes our old 14" JVC hi res monitor which we used in the field look like crap.

Stu...
www.studioscotland.co.uk

 

[jdv]

What are you folks using as a field monitor for your HD100s? If you use a standard def monitor (I have a nice Sony one), are you going to be missing critical information? I mostly use a monitor to make sure color, exposure and framing are good, and I wonder if a high-def one will make a big difference for those items.

My solution was to buy a 50' consummer plasma HD. Not much good on location (it's just not portable), but you can use it in studio. And of course to review all footage shot that day. In our low budget world, this is usually good enough (it's not like a whole days worth of shots are going to be ruined - but it does let you go back to next day if a critical close-up or whatever was out of focus.

I've also found that the 'wow' factor is very helpful to the sometimes inexperienced actors who get to view themselves act (sometimes for the first time) on a big screen.

The reality is this - you will still miss things on a 9" field monitor on location, even if it's HD. Nothing can really replace viewing the material on a big screen...

Hope this helps,

john