Studio/Field Monitors?

Wratten 47B is the filter that will replace the blue gun function. I've got one in a fancy little frame and case that was my dad's a long time ago. Just close one eye and look through it and instant "blue gun"
 
Ok, does it make any difference that my editing system uses dual KDS 19" gaming CRT's? Will that help my color correction, along with a completely GRAY wall behind them and a balanced light on it? Do I just place this wratten blue gel over the screen?

What I want is a ON CAMERA monitor that will help me frame but primarily give me decent results as far as color. Doesnt have to be the best, just something to get the job done. If I could do it with a Lilliput 7" monitor I would :). Please make a suggestion/ post a link to an affordable solution.

Thanks.
 
Color correction should always be done with a (calibrated) VIDEO (NTSC/PAL) monitor, not on a computer (VGA/DVI) monitor)

- Mikko
 
Just a little update on my end...

I bit the bullet - the JVC bullet. I've got 750 lines of pure unadulterated lovin' heading my way. Screw the phosphors! I'm sure they're P-22, despite the fact that JVC won't say. Besides, I couldn't wait any longer and I'm tired of people always telling me that this or that isn't good enough. This thing has got to be leaps and bounds beyond the cheap Samsung LCD I'm editing on. And that 14" Daewoo TV I tried using as a field monitor... Ha!!!

I'll report back once I've used it.

E
 
Mikko,

I apreciate the response, but, what should be done and what budget dictates are two different things. I am talking about an on camera monitor to get the job done on set. That's my main concern. Otherwise I just light it as best as I can without a monitor and wing it in post. Money is tough to come by as I am sure you all know........ Thanks.
 
IBE, looking forward to hearing how the JVC goes. I have a client that needs a monitor for small productions but has a limited budget.

Fenigirl - if the lilliput is just for framing then go for it. If all the connectors line up and you can power it and see the frame markers then it will be fine for budget framing. Your KDS monitors will be hard to adjust with smpte color bars. The smpte "method" requires adjustment of color, tint, brightness, contrast and I think thats it... Most computer monitors dont allow for this but have seperate red, green, and blue adjustments. If I had the choice between a consumer TV calibrated as well as can be done with color bars (which isnt that well) versus a computer monitor I would take the TV. I think the gray walls will help - I always kill most of the lights in the room so there is no glare.

The gel I use is about 2" x 2" and has a little plastic frame and you just hold it over your eye. SMPTE actually sold them a long long time ago. I suppose you could gel the screen too though. http://www.greatdv.com/video/smptebars.htm
is a great explanation of how to properly calibrate a monitor.
 
IBEJohnson said:
Just a little update on my end...
I bit the bullet - the JVC bullet. I've got 750 lines of pure unadulterated lovin' ............. Screw the phosphors!
..........This thing has got to be leaps and bounds beyond ...........
E
Click to expand...
Thats the spirit!
Now, which one did you get ?
 
I got the JVC TMH-150CGU:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...818&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation

And just in the nick of time, I might add. B&H stopped taking orders Sunday at noon for almost 2 weeks. I had to confirm with the guy over the phone that they would actually ship the product today even though I was ordering it on a Sunday. I mean seriously people... who goes on vacation for almost 2 weeks just before I have a feature to shoot. Who does that?!?!
 
Fenigirl... I feel your pain. It sucks not being able to afford the perfect tools for the job. Do you have any budget at all? If not, I would seriously consider lighting without a monitor. Having tried to use a cheap TV as an alternative, I can tell you, it wasn't worth the trouble. After a few scenes I disconnected it.

Now, you did specifically mention an ON-CAMERA monitor. First off, I'm not familiar with any on-camera LCDs that can be trusted for anything more than framing the shot and checking focus. If you are looking for color accuracy, I really think you'll have to look elsewhere. Anybody care to correct me on this one?

On the other hand, if checking focus and framing the shot are equally as important, you may consider this, as it seems to be a popular one amongst the DVXUser crowd:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...083&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation
 
Thanks for the feedback thus far. JDA I will clink the link and study it closely. IBE, thanks for the links. Yes, my budget is almost nill, and I need to get started filming right away. On camera is what I will need and battery powered, as my film is a period piece and most of the shots are in the woods where there is no power. Having a 35 pound "pro" monitor to lug around and power is a little daunting. I considered borrowing a friends small gas generator, but if I decide to light for night instead of "day for night", I would worry about using a generator with CFL'S. As you can tell, I have a whole host of problems to deal with, but that's movies.......Anymore advice y'all can offer is great.....Thanks.
 
Fenigirl,

How long do you expect your shoot take? The reason I ask is because if you plan on shooting over a short period of time (let's say a week or less) you really ought to consider renting a monitor. Moviola, for instance, gives a 40% discount to all IFP members. If you're not an IFP member, you should be. But their rack rate on an on-camera LCD is $150/week. With a 40% discount that's only $90. Something to consider.

P.S. Sorry everyone for thread-jacking my own thread. :)
 
imageone - how do you like the 9"? I've been thinking about getting either that or the 14" for editing. Currently using a TV :( I just dont have the budget to go big at home.
 
jdajda - Just got it today and it works okay pretty nice. When hooked up to my DVX100 in camera/recording mode look beautiful but when in VTR mode it interlaces the image which it says it is 480i.

Is there any way I get get the image look crisp and "progressive" like they should when shooting in 24p? It looks like crappy TV images.

Chris
 
bwest said:
Hello IBEJohnson,
Hows that JVC and you getting along?
any feedback before I go next?
Click to expand...

I just got back from a 6-day shoot where we used the JVC. Some thoughts:

A) the picture is crystal clear. Those 750 lines of resolution are nice.

B) 15" is not that big, but it isn't portable either. Our shoot took place at a house, so we found a room that was little used and stationed the monitor there (where the director watched). It was no effort getting the monitor to the location and setting it up, but I will say, there were many occasions when we did not use it mainly because it would have required us to move the monitor. At the time, we felt the urgency of getting the shot off more than we felt the need to move that thing to a more convenient location. Would we have been more inclined to move a more portable 9" monitor around with us? Probably, especially if it were on a monitor stand. In my mind, that's the key; having a place to put it.

C) The composite connection is a BNC. Since I didn't have a straight BNC to RCA cable nor a 25-foot RCA cable, I had to use a coaxial cable with coax to RCA connectors on both ends and then an additional RCA to BNC connector on the monitor end. I don't really like using that many connectors to begin with and at one point we had a problem with the image intermittently going out. I believe this was a cable/connector problem and NOT a monitor problem. Why didn't I use an S-Video cable, right? I did, actually. We had purchased a 50-foot S-video cable and just before the shoot we were noticing a halo-like abberation around the finer details of the image. I checked everything; focus, lighting, filters, you name it. I could not figure out why. Eventually I just figured it had to do with interlacing artifacts. Anyway, long story short, a very keen grip noticed a broken pin on my S-video cable. Tested with a 6-foot cable and the image was crystal clear. Since we didn't have a spare we ended up going with the coax.

One last thought... Before the shoot I had intended on buying this LCD monitor from Sam's Club.

http://www.outlet.philips.com/b2c_r...00000000828BD472&scenario=catalog&shop=OUTLET

It cost about $70 more at Sam's than it does from Philips Outlet, but I really wanted to compare it side-by-side to the JVC. My thought was that if it gave relatively accurate color rendition, then I would keep them both; LCD for field use and JVC for post-production. I was never able to make it to Sam's but I still intend on trying, because at that price, it may just be the right combo.

E
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top