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The Great Daylight Monitor Shootout


Charles Papert

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Several thoughts:

1) I guess I like the intensity that Marianne is bringing to the dialogue. Means she must like her product.

2) I own a Hummingbird Blackbird, as well as a Transvideo 6..5" monitor, and I can say that there are times when I look at the picture and wonder why it isn't giving me the kind of picture I expect given a certain feed (either video tap, or HD downconverted signal)....... Some sources are better than others. So that leads me to ask another question........ Weren't all the monitors given a signal from the same source? Shouldn't all the monitors have had the same advantages/disadvantages that that source provided?

3) Charles, if Alec hasn't already talked to you, I would love to find out a way to put on a 'shootout' in New York.

 

This whole thread has been one of the most informative in a long time.

 

Thanks guys..... and gals

 

Peace;

Jamie

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Several thoughts:

So that leads me to ask another question........ Weren't all the monitors given a signal from the same source? Shouldn't all the monitors have had the same advantages/disadvantages that that source provided?

 

 

They most definitely were all fed the same source. I took my turn (as one of Charles' volunteers) rotating video sources and responded to all requests to see specific things, as well as cycling through all the choices including the live HD camera.

 

It was truly one of the best events I have been to in a long time. I told Charles I thought it was better than NAB and better than Cine Gear. Thanks to all involved especially Charles, the wonderful monitor manufacturers, and Camera Support!

 

Rich Davis

LA

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Thanks so much to everyone involved; it's great to see such an important topic such as monitors dissected and tested in as close to a real world scenario as you can get. I really regret not being able to be there to see for myself, but it's pretty clear that the "perfect monitor" is in the eye of the beholder based on what you need versus what you can afford or at least what you want to spend.

 

I'm not a Transvideo customer (yet) but it's pretty clear that Marianne is passionate about their product. It's not the low-cost option but they don't position it that way. Sounds like the best full daylight viewing is on a green screen but at twice the price and not HD?

 

Jens (I think) or whoever, can you expand on the comment here where I think you wrote something along the lines that "the best viewing angle is when mounted upside down" or something similar? :(

 

As for features and personal preferences for on-screen features, that sounds like software upgrades? Who cares if it cost $2000 and has every feature in the book and every option for every feature; if you can't see the damn image in full daylight or it won't play in our HD world.. the title of the thread and the event is/was Daylight Monitor Shootout.

 

Hopefully ALL the manufacturers are lurking here and making a list of what we all need and want if they have not been listening already.

 

OPs: If one monitor could do it all would you be willing to pay $10k - $16k for it or still comparing it to the $2500 monitor that sucks outside?

 

Thanks again to all!

 

Robert

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Hey all,

 

Unfortunately I was not in town for this awesome event, great job Charles and all! I'm glad the weather held and worked out good!

I wanted to add my .02:

I remember having my IIIa and being very happy with the brightness of the picture but very unhappy with the postage stamp size of the screen. It was mainly because of that that I converted to LCD quite a while ago. The size of the screens were the drawing factor, but I discovered later a side effect:

I had a couple of directors look over my shoulder to see the picture, as we were setting up the shot, just to hear how happy they were that they could actually see a color picture instead of the green and see the picture much better. As much as I dislike having Directors peeking over my shoulders to see the shot, this has brought me repeat business.

I'm a very happy owner of a Transvideo cine IIIa superbright for a number of years. It has been in a bone chilling cold and snow and heat stroke inducing heat and I have not needed to have any service done to it yet and I'm definitely considering the HD version for a future upgrade.

Now on the other side, if you don't have a sled that you can dynamically balance with the less mass of an LCD upfront, color doesn't really matter IMHO. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you put an LCD on a PRO, you would have to put the monitor waaaay out there extended to counteract the mass of batteries in the back, right? Then in that case I would absolutely prefer a Pro or TB6 monitor there.

Just some food for thought...

 

Dan

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Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you put an LCD on a PRO, you would have to put the monitor waaaay out there extended to counteract the mass of batteries in the back, right?

 

you'd definitely have to get a 2.5 to 3 lb lcd out several inches farther (lower would help too) than a 5.5 lb tb-6. I find about an 1.5 inch difference in the lower fore/aft dovetail when I dynamic balance with my tb-6 vrs my marrel backup (4 lbs). Most mount a small weight or a battery to the back of the lcd.

 

Some will probably get their panties in a twist over this...but adding weight to a sled or monitor seems kind of silly to me. Why not add another battery so the weight is at least doing something -- especially with some of today's hd cameras where we need more power and ballast?

 

rb

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Curious to know which Marshall monitors were tested. It was mentioned that they foul up if put in extreme temperature environments but people seemed to be impressed by the visibility & the cost/benefit ratio.

 

Here are the monitors I am familar with:

 

http://www.lcdracks.com/monitors/v-lcd84sb-afhd.html

http://www.lcdracks.com/monitors/vr70phdsdi.html

 

Were either of these ones on the shootout list?

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Jens (I think) or whoever, can you expand on the comment here where I think you wrote something along the lines that "the best viewing angle is when mounted upside down" or something similar? :(

 

Robert

 

Hi Robert,

 

let me try to explain that. All LCD panel have one good side and a bad one. The viewing angle right to left are the same but top to bottom are not. This is due to the design of those LCD panels. Try it out, every lcd has that.

 

Manufacturers like Tiffen and Lumavec( Hummingbird) put there panels in, so that the best viewing angle is from below. I'm not sure about Transvideo, maybe Marianne can chime in here?

 

At the test the Transvideo HD 6 SBL was inverted, meaning upside down. I know other operators that do the same thing with the Cinemonitor III.

 

Transvideo upside down

 

Viewing angles info

 

to avoid those viewing angle issues it is best not to table your LCD monitor but to point it towards you on the rig, like I did here.

 

Blackbird

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not to thread-jack, but regarding the frame line/hd issue...what hd cameras have some form of over-scan so the op can actually see stuff before it enters the frame and might require additional lines? Pretty sure the Arri does...Genesis/F-23/35 (only used the Genesis for an hour or two once so I can't remember)?

 

rb

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