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DSLR External Monitor


FilmMan
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Been looking at adding an external monitor.  Squinting is aging my old eyes more and more. 

Thinking of the following:

 

1.  http://www.adorama.com/FPFVPRO.html

(2 year warranty)  1024 x 600      Entire Package $350

 

2.  http://www.smallhd.com/products/ac7/

7 inch $599  1 year warranty  About $700 with extras

1280 x 800

 

3.  http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Peaking-1280x800-HD-5-6-Inch-DSLR-LCD-Field-On-Camera-Video-Monitor-Kit-HDMI-BNC-/200901495545?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2ec6a98af9

$215.  5.6 inch.  (Read some good reviews and some not so good)

 

Need for framing and focusing.  Any thoughts?   

 

 

 

 

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EOSHD Pro Color 5 for Sony cameras EOSHD Z LOG for Nikon CamerasEOSHD C-LOG and Film Profiles for All Canon DSLRs

The AC7 is nice. I rented one and I was impressed by the build quality. The colors were way off, but that can probably be corrected in the settings. I didn't have time to find out. 2x zoom is wonderful to have if you are shooting with a GH2 (which cannot give you magnified focus assist when an HDMI cable is plugged in).

 

Also consider the iKan D5w. It has waveform built in, which is helpful when trying to fit a shot into the DR-challenged DSLRs.

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I use a Camax H056 and am very happy with it.

High resolution and focus peaking.

I have it attached to my TriPod leg so I can pan the camera behind me and still see without getting up and moving .

The new LCD on the D7100 is also quite good, especially if you zoom in, but of course you have to stay behind it.

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Been looking at adding an external monitor. Squinting is aging my old eyes more and more.
Thinking of the following:

1. http://www.adorama.com/FPFVPRO.html
(2 year warranty) 1024 x 600 Entire Package $350

2. http://www.smallhd.com/products/ac7/
7 inch $599 1 year warranty About $700 with extras
1280 x 800

3. http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Peaking-1280x800-HD-5-6-Inch-DSLR-LCD-Field-On-Camera-Video-Monitor-Kit-HDMI-BNC-/200901495545?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2ec6a98af9
$215. 5.6 inch. (Read some good reviews and some not so good)

Need for framing and focusing. Any thoughts?

I'm in a similar position but I decided to go with an EVF, which I also recommend to you for your needs as they give you a better (magnified) view to see focus easier.

I already have a 7" peaking monitor very similar to your 1st option. I found peaking to be slightly helpful (on this monitor), it's not very accurate but it gets me into a ballpark range. It simply "peaks" anything with strong contrast even when out of focus so relying on the peaking alone cost me some focus misses (however after tweaking it I found that if I turn sharpness all the way down the peaking is more accurate but then I have to rely on it as the image is a little soft now). Another issue I have is the color accuracy, I do not feel comfortable using this for exposure because even after calibrating its setting the red channel is always way off compared to my camera's LCD or my TVs.

I've heard good things about SmallHD, mostly about their built and feature sets, but I have not used one so I really can't say. The only bad thing I've heard is that the color accuracy on these are also off even after calibration and if that's true I don't know if I could warrant their prices since there are a few color accurate monitors around for about $800.

Your last option seems to be the H005/H056 which I also haven't used but heard its screen is noticeably sharper then the rest due to its smaller size and higher resolution however their peaking feature isn't implemented very well (as in not very noticeable), the image is a stretched 16:10 or has overscan (there was a slight update to firmware that fixed the 16:10 to 16:9 but introduces overscan issues) there is no HDMI pass-through, the colors are inaccurate plus their lack of features and build quality is really bad (some people receiving units with power on issues right out of the box). It should be ok for focus and composure but not much else. **Update: there is apparently a new revision of the H056, the new model fixes most of my issues and is now in an aluminum shell.  There is also the Feelworld/Seetec 5.6" version which supposedly shares the same screen but is better built than the H005 with better firmware and cheaper than the new metal H056.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I like the toughness of the small HD however I’m not planning on using my monitor as a hockey puck. Regardless, I often use an ikan D5w.  I use it mostly on a DSLR. It is pretty lightweight but rather powerful. The D5w is a monitor for reference, but also an evaluation monitor that will help you get the shot right based upon your meter, instead of relying just on the screen capacity to render color. Eg. Waveform and false color feature help me do just that.(in or out and when wearing glasses.) Btw It is under 1k fully loaded...

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