I started looking at field monitors (not ready to buy yet, but just looking for interest's sake), and I ended up very confused. The field monitors I found range from $200 to $6,000+ and none but the top few have native 1080p resolution. What about them justifies their price? Why not just get a native 1080p LCD and an external power source and monitor from there for much less money (obviously not less than the $200 480p models, but much less than the native 1080p models)? Is it a mounting issue, energy source issue, or something else that I am missing entirely?
Question about Field Monitors
- Thread starter JohnJohnson
- Start date
There are any number of solutions for a monitor. Some use portable dvd players, and yes, a vanilla computer monitors will work.
Just a few distinctions, if you need monitor for a larger scale production, then you'll use something big, if you're small crew, then we're talking camera mounted.
For camera mounted, you do not need 1080p and will have difficulty finding one.
Generally, the big price discrepancies are due to two reasons:1) build quality and 2) a monitor that you can calibrate and thus has a full set of controls. Contrast, brightness and hue won't give you color accuracy.
For an editing bay, a color accurate monitor is a great or at minimum a scaler of some sort. Most are dubious about the value of spyders though some swear by it. Bet Dreamworks doesn't use them.
Anyway, for framing and focusing on a set you don't really need to break the bank.
my 2 cents...
Just a few distinctions, if you need monitor for a larger scale production, then you'll use something big, if you're small crew, then we're talking camera mounted.
For camera mounted, you do not need 1080p and will have difficulty finding one.
Generally, the big price discrepancies are due to two reasons:1) build quality and 2) a monitor that you can calibrate and thus has a full set of controls. Contrast, brightness and hue won't give you color accuracy.
For an editing bay, a color accurate monitor is a great or at minimum a scaler of some sort. Most are dubious about the value of spyders though some swear by it. Bet Dreamworks doesn't use them.
Anyway, for framing and focusing on a set you don't really need to break the bank.
my 2 cents...
The reason they cost so much isn't just resolution, but accuracy. Many come with waveform and vector scopes built in, false color and more. All of them have color accurate controls so (if you know how) you can set the monitor to show you exactly what the picture looks like. If you take a TV off the shelf the picture isn't the rigt color and is probably too bright and contrasty and the limited software controls won't get you much closer.
You're also paying for build quality and dependability. We have pro monitors that are 15-20 years old and still going strong. They're SD and CRT, but still.
The types of connections come into play too, HD-SDI and more. Most pro monitors also have loop through capability eleminating the need for a switcher or DA.
My favorite on camera monitor right now is the little TVLogic with HDMI and SDI throughput. It's not 1080, but at it's size it doesn't matter. It's $1500 msrp but you can get it through a group buy for $1350. It will actually take in HDMI and output SDI making a video village a lot easier. It has false color and weighs just a few ounces. You can also get a battery bracket so most camera batteries will power it, so if you run a Canon DSLR you can use it's batteries making life easier on set.
It really is a great piece of gear that will last you though many cameras.
You're also paying for build quality and dependability. We have pro monitors that are 15-20 years old and still going strong. They're SD and CRT, but still.
The types of connections come into play too, HD-SDI and more. Most pro monitors also have loop through capability eleminating the need for a switcher or DA.
My favorite on camera monitor right now is the little TVLogic with HDMI and SDI throughput. It's not 1080, but at it's size it doesn't matter. It's $1500 msrp but you can get it through a group buy for $1350. It will actually take in HDMI and output SDI making a video village a lot easier. It has false color and weighs just a few ounces. You can also get a battery bracket so most camera batteries will power it, so if you run a Canon DSLR you can use it's batteries making life easier on set.
It really is a great piece of gear that will last you though many cameras.
I have a Lilliput 7" which is great for camera mounted, battery power, but mostly now I use my dell 21" monitor (with HDMI) .. it has crappy color, no features, but its also free and easy to use. and really helps see whats going on. Its light enough that I can just have some one standing where I want to see it if Im running cam. Having a camera that OUTPUTS HD while recording helps.