Nebtek

[Rob Vuona SOC]

Hey guys,

As we all know . . .the Holy Grail of Monitors is still not available as an all in one monitor with all the bells and whistles to fit all of our needs at the right price point, but . . . . . .I have been emailing a tech over at Nebtek. I told him to log onto the Forum and give some insight into our monitors needs and this is what he had to say. Maybe in a month we may have what we are looking for? . . . . .

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Hi Rob,

 

The current NEB70HDS is treated with a military grade "Daylight" coating. It

is not transreflective but it is similar. An unfortunate side effect is that

the coating turns a perfectly good anti-reflective screen into a reflective

one. I have a couple of Steadicam operators in Hawaii that swear by this

unit, but they have not seen the "new" unit yet.

 

I was checking out your specs on the "Holy Grail" monitor, and our next gen

model will meet or come close to a lot of those specs. One thing to remember

on LCD panels is that traditionally the higher the brightness the lower the

contrast. Once you get up to a 900 NIT Brightness, you end up with a 100 (or

200) to 1 contrast ratio. Which is why so many companies are using films

(transreflective and otherwise) to punch up the brightness of the unit.

Unfortunately these films can lower contrast or make monitors reflective (as

it happened in our case). It's a bit of a catch 22.

 

I believe that you need a 600 NIT brightness in order to see a monitor in

the harshest outdoor environments. At that point it becomes all about

picture quality, and you can throw the specs right out the window. I've seen

100 NIT brightness monitors that were totally "blown out" indoors but looked

great outdoors. I've also seen units with 700 to 1 contrast ratios that you

couldn't see in bright studio. So forget the specs and look at the monitor

itself. It's not about what works for somebody else... It's about what works

for you. We all have different features we're looking for, and we know what

we want to pay for those features. That's why we allow a 1 week demo on all

of our units. If it works for you... Keep it. If it doesn't work for you...

Send it back (just don't beat the hell out of it before you do).

 

I have no problem answering questions from Steadicam forum members, but my

overall Steadicam knowledge is not up to the task. I don't like to join a

forum where I don't have a complete working knowledge of the equipment being

used. I'm hell on film and video cameras, but the Steadicams were never the

gear I had to use personally. Please tell anyone on the forum that I'm

always ready and willing to answer questions though.

 

I'll keep you updated on the next gen model when it becomes available.

 

All the Best,

Rob

rob@nebtek.com

 

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[Charles Papert]

About 8-9 years ago I spent quite a bit of time working with Nebtek to develop an LCD for Steadicam use--at that time the expectation wasn't even daylight-viewable, it was just to have a decent LCD in a lightweight yoke with the proper connectors (PRO Lemo and 4 pin HRS). At that time the alternatives were either the pricey Transvideos or the pretty awful (at the time) Marshalls. I can't remember who I ended up meeting with from the company but we talked plenty about mounting options and the like. And then they pretty much gave up on it on their end, not seeing the value in it.

 

So it will be interesting to see if they come around to it this time...

[mark morgan]

the new hd,sdi,sd nebtek monitor worked beautifully today

in full sunlight not a cloud in the sky

360 shot on the beach shooting with the red camera

this perticular shot took place around 1 pm today

never lost picture at any time during the shot

and for the price of this monitor i'm totally happy

and its built rock solid full metal housing

loop thrus on all sources hd,sdi and sd

might not be for everybody but for the price it's a real winner

and the guys over at nebtek are all super kool

 

aloha and fly safe

[Robert Starling SOC]

the new hd,sdi,sd nebtek monitor worked beautifully today

in full sunlight not a cloud in the sky

360 shot on the beach shooting with the red camera

 

Hey Mark, how did you have the Nebtek mounted to you sled? Do I remember correctly that you have an Ultra?

[nick franco]

Is this the moniter of which you speak?

http://www.nebtek.com/proddetail.php?prod=102NEB70HDS

 

 

the new hd,sdi,sd nebtek monitor worked beautifully today

in full sunlight not a cloud in the sky

360 shot on the beach shooting with the red camera

this perticular shot took place around 1 pm today

never lost picture at any time during the shot

and for the price of this monitor i'm totally happy

and its built rock solid full metal housing

loop thrus on all sources hd,sdi and sd

might not be for everybody but for the price it's a real winner

and the guys over at nebtek are all super kool

 

aloha and fly safe

[Charles Papert]

Mark:

 

Please remark on the following, if possible:

 

- vertical viewing angle (can you boom the camera through entire range without image reversing out or losing brightness)

- how it handles overcast skies (does it white-out at reflective angle)

- sharpness (can an assistant pull focus from it with HD source),

- side mounts (are they at center of gravity of the housing, so if mounted in a yoke it will rotate properly without falling to one side)

- any other notes on why this may or may not replace a green screen for good?

 

thanks!

[mark morgan]

Mark:

 

Please remark on the following, if possible:

 

- vertical viewing angle (can you boom the camera through entire range without image reversing out or losing brightness)

- how it handles overcast skies (does it white-out at reflective angle)

- sharpness (can an assistant pull focus from it with HD source),

- side mounts (are they at center of gravity of the housing, so if mounted in a yoke it will rotate properly without falling to one side)

- any other notes on why this may or may not replace a green screen for good?

 

thanks!

 

aloha charles,robert and nick

how are you robert well to answer your question no i don't have an ultra

i'm flying the sachtler hd,sdi pro so i don't have a yoke to support the monitor

 

and nick yes this is the monitor

 

and charles "wow" heres what i can share

and by the way great questions

 

vertical veiwing:

i didn't notice any veiwing loss within the full boom range

i beleive the viewing angles are around 45 degrees left to right

around 20 degrees from the top

and 45 degrees from the bottom

 

overcast skies:

not a problem its not perfect

but you can still do your job

haven't had any white out

 

sharpness:

the picture is sharp and pure

i personally think it looks better than the red monitor

i have compared the nebtek side by side with other monitors

in that price range and a little above

and i still think that the nebtek panel has a better quality

but still just my opinion

 

side mounts:

there are no side mounts

but i would think in a pinch there are top and bottom mounts

and the monitor has image flip 4 ways

and i can only assume that you would put the connector side at the bottom

to make it botom heavy,not sure if that is what you would want

since i don't have a yoke system on my sled

so i'm really not familiar with this set up

 

green screen:

replace the green screen probably not

but like i said for the price to me it's a real winner

and its built tough

 

and your new reel that is some insane stuff

it gives fantastic foresight on steadicam operating

very very inspiring charles

[Charles Papert]

Cheers Mark, thanks for that.

 

The Nebtek site describes side mounts for the 70HDS model, perhaps this is a newer version (they indicated as much). The yoke mount is great for LCD's as you can change the tilt angle without needing to rebalance, more relevant than with green screens due to the limited vertical viewing angle. I've even done it during a shot.

 

Sounds like a good piece of gear at a good price. Thanks again for the report (and the kind words).