small camera monitor
by ChicagoShootr
on
Oct 28, 2007 at 2:16:57 am
I'm in the market for a new small on-cam monitor I can use with my HD cam. I'm currently using an SD Panasonic 7" TCM7WMS (downconverted) and it looks ok. I've tried the Marshalls, and to me they look pasty, soft and generally crappy.
The Astro's and some of the other higher-end monitors are out of my price range.
Has anyone here used Panasonic's new BT-LH80W or BT-LH900A? Does Sony even have something in this catagory?
This has been discussed here before, but sadly, one has to pony up some fairly substantial bucks to get a small monitor that is true HD...
The problem is one of labels and marketing.... so many of these small (7 or 8-inch or so) TTF monitors have an HD label on them, but for the vast majority of them that just means they can take an HD signal, it does not mean they display a picture with HD resolution. The BT-LH80W falls into that category, it's resoluion is actually only 800x450... far from being HD. It might have a beautiful picture, but would not be something you would want to rely on for true HD monitoring and definitely not useful for critical focusing. And at $2K+ for what is basically a standard-def monitor, it seems to be on the expensive side.
Now, the BT-LH900A does at first appear to be a true HD monitor (or at least nearly so)... with 1024x768 resolution. BUT, it's a 4:3 monitor, so I would assume that when you use it in 16:9 mode it crops the top and bottom, so its effective resolution would be significantly less. PLUS it's around $4K, which is beginning to approach the cost of the true 1080-line HD monitors (the Astros, for example, start at a little over $5K).
Now, that being said, I think the Astros are true 1080-line monitors, but even then I'm not totally sure... Astro is a little fuzzy about their resolution specs, even on their own website and downloadable tech specs. Hmmmm. At least they are pretty much considered the "industry standard."
Last year Sanyo announced development of a 1080 line 7.1" TTF screen. Since it's intended usage is consumer (headrest displays for Blu-Ray players, etc.) it is expected by many to be more affordable than the expensive pro monitors... but it is not available yet.
T2
__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
Re: small camera monitor by ChicagoShootr on Oct 29, 2007 at 12:28:10 pm
Yes, true HD would be nice, but at that small size, you would probably need a magnifying glass to see any resolution.
What I'm really looking for is one that is lightweight, bright and reasonably accurate in color. I use them on-camera primarily for the producer's benefit, quick field playback and to check color when I'm on the run...which is almost always.
The lesser Panasonic looks like it might be my best bet, but I was hoping to get a review from someone that uses one.
Re: small camera monitor by Ray Palmer on Oct 29, 2007 at 3:04:31 pm
[ChicagoShootr]"So, anybody out there have one?"
We have had two of them now for about a month. We use them on our HDX900 cameras as a large View Finder with menus and for color evaluation.
The favorite option is the view finder cable. It now plugs into the VF port on the camera which leaves the other two video ouputs of the HDX900 for other needs.
We are still getting used to the red enhancement for focus. When we have it dialed in, it really helps.
Ray Palmer, Engineer
Salt River Project
Phoenix, AZ
602-236-8224 office
There are three types of people in this world, those that can count and those that can't.
Re: small camera monitor by Cartwright on Nov 12, 2007 at 9:04:27 pm
"The favorite option is the view finder cable. It now plugs into the VF port on the camera which leaves the other two video ouputs of the HDX900 for other needs."
