Monitor for 60D -> Last time I had a strange hdmi output...

S

Stab

Well-known member
Im in the market for an inexpensive field monitor to help focussing and framing.

Last time I rented a monitor and there was a problem... Only while playing the footage back it was showing it properly.
When I was framing the shot, the resolution was off... It was showing less in the width than there was actually recorded.
When pushing the record button I know the 60D drops to a lower resolution, but this time the monitor even added pillarboxes to the footage...

So why was that? And with what monitors that is not the case?

Is this maybe a useful one?

http://www.aliexpress.com/product-g...support-RM-RMVB-video-format-wholesalers.html

Thanks for your help!
 
Very interesting Treynolds. Thanks.

So the best solution will be a SmallHD monitor... But there is no chance I'm paying 900$ for a 5.6 inch monitor... Just can't do it.

Do you maybe have any other recommendations? Isnt it maybe also good to buy a 9 inch monitor that fills up less of the screen, but is effictively bigger in size?

Btw what I wrote in the OP: I want to add that I had the idea it was not showing what was actually recorded on on the monitor in live view mode (before recording). When using the 60D's LCD screen I saw that a wider view was recorded than the monitor showed. Is that possible or did it just seem that way because of the stretched image?

Cause it that's the case, simply using a 'zoom' or 'stretch' funcion on the monitor (like the SmallHD version) won't fix that.
 
When recording with a 5D, 60D, and t2i the output signal over HDMI is bumped down to SD from HD. This is due to the limitations of the camera hardware. The 7d has 2 DIGIC processors and it is able to output HD while recording in the camera. All of these cameras however output in a 4x3 frame because the sensor is seeing area above and below the 16:9 frame. This area is where you will see your information about the exposure and things like that. None of these cameras have a good way of outputting a 16:9 signal properly as far as i know. With the latest Magic Lantern builds in my t2i I can remove the overlays on the screen but the signal will still change from HD to SD when recording.

Do a little searching on this topic. It has been covered extensively. The general answer is that if absolute focus is critical and a monitor like the Small HD is not an option then stick with the on camera screen and get a loupe.
 
As long as what you see is on the monitor, is actually recorded I am fine with it. (though it will be 'stretched' because of the 4:3 aspect)

And doesnt a lot of people use an external monitor with these dslrs?
 
Even a cheap monitor will have a 16x9 or 4x3 button - just switch to 4x3 (your actual image will get pretty small though).

I just shot a TV spot with a T2i this afternoon. A loupe (IMHO) is far far FAR far FAR (did I mention far?) more useful than a smaller LCD (and I've had an 8" and now use the Marshall 5"). Until you get to a serious sized real production monitor (or in the studio, a 20"-ish HDTV on a wheeled stand) you can focus way more accurately with a loupe, and it's always on there and easy to deal with. No setup, cables, etc.

And - if you want to judge exposure with a cheap LCD - test your a*s off with the thing. On the DSLRs, the histogram is really a necessity to see what you're getting. The cheap monitors can have very minimal angle of view issues (and some weird angles at that). What you see on a cheap monitor is not what you're recording, quite frequently - and it will bite you.

I generally use my monitor only with a crane or if I cobble together a strange-angle handheld rig. With a "real" HDMI out cam, it's another story and even the 5" Marshall is a dynamite tool. With a DSLR... I say, get the best loupe you can afford, with a professional way to attach it (hey, I still use the $150ish Cavision setup - a little barrel-distorted but works fine with their T2i plate) and worry about an LCD when you get a crane or start shooting from crazy angles.

Just my .02 and often worth just that...
 
Michael Carter said:
Even a cheap monitor will have a 16x9 or 4x3 button - just switch to 4x3 (your actual image will get pretty small though).

I just shot a TV spot with a T2i this afternoon. A loupe (IMHO) is far far FAR far FAR (did I mention far?) more useful than a smaller LCD (and I've had an 8" and now use the Marshall 5"). Until you get to a serious sized real production monitor (or in the studio, a 20"-ish HDTV on a wheeled stand) you can focus way more accurately with a loupe, and it's always on there and easy to deal with. No setup, cables, etc.

And - if you want to judge exposure with a cheap LCD - test your a*s off with the thing. On the DSLRs, the histogram is really a necessity to see what you're getting. The cheap monitors can have very minimal angle of view issues (and some weird angles at that). What you see on a cheap monitor is not what you're recording, quite frequently - and it will bite you.

I generally use my monitor only with a crane or if I cobble together a strange-angle handheld rig. With a "real" HDMI out cam, it's another story and even the 5" Marshall is a dynamite tool. With a DSLR... I say, get the best loupe you can afford, with a professional way to attach it (hey, I still use the $150ish Cavision setup - a little barrel-distorted but works fine with their T2i plate) and worry about an LCD when you get a crane or start shooting from crazy angles.

Just my .02 and often worth just that...
Click to expand...

Thank you for your input.

But what about dolly shots and low angles... Then it becomes a problem I guess.
But I believe your word for it that a loupe is useful in 90% of the situations. So how does it look? Do you really have the idea you're looking at a big clear screen when looking trough the loupe?
And does it give you a better image than an 8 inch monitor? And what about a 10 inch monitor I just saw online for about 100 bucks?

I like the fact that other people can watch the footage as well, especially while playing back the recorded takes ... So that makes me hesitate to buy a loupe.
 
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