Please recommend me a camera-mounted monitor for the HMC40

GrahamH

GrahamH

Well-known member
I need to improve on the focus and exposure monitoring provided by the HMC40's LCD (and let's not even mention the viewfinder). I am less concerned with color accuracy.

Although I try to avoid 'run and gun' the setup does need to be portable/compact/sturdy enough for use handheld in confined spaces. And of course cheaper would be a big selling point ...

Suggestions? Thanks!
 
Well, putting a monitor on an HMC40 is a bit of an issue because the HMC40 is such a tiny camera, so a big ol' 8" or 9" monitor would totally overwhelm it. Maybe something like the SmallHD DP4 would be a good fit? $549 when it gets released sometime in July-ish.
 
Hi Graham

I have a pair of 80's and as you probably know they scrapped the LCD and mounted it inside the EVF housing (made bigger) and the eyepiece acts as a loupe for the screen...On my 80's the image is magnified enough for pretty good focussing so maybe a loupe would work on the 40???? I'm not really sure if the LCD is outboard enough to get your eye onto a loupe (like the ones the DSLR guys use from Hoodman) but the way the 80 is setup it works pretty well. Surely in their wisdom Panasonic would have used the same LCD module for both the 40 and 80 resolution wise????? If so it might be worth a shot and a lot less bulky than an external LCD too!!!

Chris
 
I hear good things about the SmallHD guy as well but just as an alternative you could consider the Sony CLM-V55, but after you add the battery kit it's only $50 cheaper than the SmallHD. Aside from being a bit cheaper its a little bigger although you do lose the HDMI loop and analog hookups so choose based on your future needs.
 
The SmallHD DP6 is great for it's price and it's size doesn't really overpower the HMC40. Out of the box performance is pretty accurate though with all of the customization features it has, it won't take long to get the right picture. I'll post pics once my setup is complete :grin:
 
SmallHD also has the new DP4 which as you might imagine is smaller and much less expensive. No doubt it is tack sharp.

If Panna used the same flip out or VF on the HMC80 as the 40, that would be a pretty large disappointment since it is one of the most unloved features of the 40. Tell me the VF is sharp on the HMC80.

Grant
 
Hi Grant

I have two HMC82's (PAL HMC80) and the EVF is awesome!!! Pin sharp and the loupe in front of it makes a huge difference...pretty easy to manual focus too. Just bear in mind it's awesome considering it's not an HD monitor (I assume this as there are no specs in the manual!!) After my HMC70's which had EVF's that looked like you were looking down a long black tunnel with a tiny pic at the end, the 80 series EVF is really beautiful to work with!!! One nice thing is you can also switch the EVF to monochrome which improves sharpness !!

Chris
 
Grant, the HMC80 doesn't have the same type of low-res viewfinder as the HMC40 has. The HMC40 has both an LCD and an EVF. The HMC80 has more of a broadcast-style viewfinder arrangement, where there's a high-res LCD panel and a flip-up loupe over it to make it into a viewfinder. More like the EX3 in that regards.
 
Thanks for the suggestion. I actually just purchased a used CoolLCD 619AH 7" monitor used off the DVXUser marketplace. Runs nicely, and also works well on my GH2 (although not in its 720P mode unfortunately).
 
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