on or near camera monitor for an old codger

tired

tired

Well-known member
I've been shooting multi-camera dance concerts for some time, but as I get older, I struggle to be sure I have critical focus, and when I get back to the office, I can see that I'm soft, particularly on the wide. I've gone from 5" to 7" full HD, and I'm still missing critical focus at times.

Apart from retiring, I'm wondering what options I have - there doesn't seem to be many monitors in the 10" to 15" range unless I cart along a director's monitor.

Ideally, I'd like something that displays 4k (not downconverted to HD) and is around 15".

I tried the ARZOPA 2.5K Portable Monitor 16" 2560x1600 HDR Kickstand Display from Amazon, and it worked a treat, as long as I shot in NTSC - it doesn't work in PAL.

Has anyone come up with a monitor solution that might suit an aging event camera op?
 
I've got a Feelworld (Seetec) P173 17.3" carry on monitor, it comes with a case and can be powered via v-lock. Mainly used when I'm flying a drone so the client can see what I'm framing.
 
The gold standard for AC's is the 13" SmallHD 1303. The 4K version of it is the Cine 13. These are hardly cheap, but if it means keeping the job...
 
Doug Jensen said:
A real viewfinder. I'd never use any camera without one.
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I use a viewfinder but the cameras are fully extend on miller Tripods so 2m up. I guess there's no reason I couldn't attach the EVF to one of the legs to check focus on occasion.
 
Kubicixfactor said:
I've got a Feelworld (Seetec) P173 17.3" carry on monitor, it comes with a case and can be powered via v-lock. Mainly used when I'm flying a drone so the client can see what I'm framing.
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I've actually got one of these - died on day 3 of a shoot in Fiji. It's still under warranty so I can use that when (if) the replacement arrives but I was wondering about other options.
 
CharlesPapert said:
The gold standard for AC's is the 13" SmallHD 1303. The 4K version of it is the Cine 13. These are hardly cheap, but if it means keeping the job...
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I remember having the very 1st Small HD, had a good run out of that, but then they got a bit pricey - the Cine13 is well over 8K here in Aus, if I were younger, it might be worth the investment.
 
tired said:
got em and I'm still having trouble. I've got 70 good years out of my eyes so I can't complain.
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I'm 71. I have prescription glasses with bifocals. I put reading glasses over my prescription glasses. It looks stupid, but hey, as you know, the older you are the less you care about looks and more about getting it done. (It's hard to see my prescription glasses under the readers, but they are there.

Reading Glasses.jpg
 
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tired said:
I've been shooting multi-camera dance concerts for some time, but as I get older, I struggle to be sure I have critical focus, and when I get back to the office, I can see that I'm soft, particularly on the wide. I've gone from 5" to 7" full HD, and I'm still missing critical focus at times.

Apart from retiring, I'm wondering what options I have
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Can you throw autofocus - either internally (Sony, canon) or LiDAR (extra hardware) at the problem?

Or if not for autofocus at least better focus confirmation tools other than peaking, eg canon’s green box is excellent with arrows telling you where the focal plane is (either sharp, too far away or too close).
 
I film this type of work and in my experience larger monitors might not help. The standard practice is manually focus in the center of the stage with a camera that has a small sensor and large enough dof to keep everyone in focus. I setup a high contrast target on stage before the performance, zoom in, temporarily turn on AF to set it. There shouldn't be a need to pull focus manually, view it on a monitor or change it during a show. There are many reasons for the wide shot to be soft, you'd have to give more specifics of the cameras you're using and your method of setting focus to truly understand the cause of the issue.
 
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One of the reasons I still use ⅓" JVCs - focus is rarely an issue. Worse, I have progressive glasses and with the camera up high, I just can't get the angle right. I now use a 5" monitor with an arm clamping it to the tripod leg tubes. This enables my 'computer' progressive setting to be right in the correct place.
 
paulears said:
One of the reasons I still use ⅓" JVCs - focus is rarely an issue. Worse, I have progressive glasses and with the camera up high, I just can't get the angle right. I now use a 5" monitor with an arm clamping it to the tripod leg tubes. This enables my 'computer' progressive setting to be right in the correct place.
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I have a client who prefers the sharpness of the 1/3" JVC. I still like my newer 1" Panasonics because I'm willing to give up a little sharpness for better dynamic range and 4k resolution I can sharpen in post. I wouldn't use anything over 1" because the dof isn't large enough for stage work.

Separate from that I've found low contrast light and/or LED light can contribute to a softness that can be perceived as out of focus.

I prefer 7" monitor but I don't use it for focus, rather for framing and making sure all performers in the shot. Often lighting is dark on the sides and you can miss performers in those locations.

At some point when monitors get too big they block your view of the stage and become distracting to the audience.
 
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Paul F said:
I'm 71. I have prescription glasses with bifocals.
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I might have a play around with that, glasses over glasses (who gives a bugger what it looks like) Someone on another forum has suggested Laser Surgery - he has one eye for long distance and the other for close, sounds weird but he swears by it.
 
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rob norton said:
Can you throw autofocus - either internally (Sony, canon) or LiDAR (extra hardware) at the problem?

I've actually just got a DJI lidar unit but it's only reliable up to 20m so if I'm right up the back of a theatre, I'm not relying on it. My old EVA1 has the green focus squares (love em - but I'm shooting on 2 x GH5s ) I could try shooting on the EVA1 but there's so little time setting up for concerts, with the GH cameras it's just otu of the case and on the tripod, much quicker.
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Peter C. said:
I film this type of work and in my experience larger monitors might not help. The standard practice is manually focus in the center of the stage with a camera that has a small sensor and large enough dof to keep everyone in focus. I setup a high contrast target on stage before the performance, zoom in, temporarily turn on AF to set it. There shouldn't be a need to pull focus manually, view it on a monitor or change it during a show. There are many reasons for the wide shot to be soft, you'd have to give more specifics of the cameras you're using and your method of setting focus to truly understand the cause of the issue.
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If I can get into a concert early enough, I have a focus chart to do what you're suggesting, but the theatres barely give you 45min in most cases. Certainly, with the wide, I don't need to change it once set, but I zoom on the other GH5s using the power zoom lens so I'm always checking focus (I don't really have trouble with that one using a 7" monitor.
 
I know how difficult it is to setup. I keep venue notes of all the place I film one of them is feet to stage. If they won't open the curtain I get a diagonal from the front edge will give me approximate depth.

Your issue seems more to do with the GH5 and getting there early enough to get your focus before curtains close. Larger sensors are going to have small dof and margin of error.
 
@tired I'd still take one of the latest sony/canon cameras for a spin to see if you like their autofocus. I have a c200, around the same age as the EVA1 and we're 2 generations beyond that e.g. canon r5 mark ii, c80/c400. Sony AF is likely even better e.g. fx6, one of their mirrorless cameras, maybe the sony a1 mark ii. I imagine all of these would be great for shooting a performance from a locked off tripod, with similar focus confirmation tools to the eva-1.
 
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