I would love to hear from anyone who owns or has solid knowledge about the Panasonic BT-LH80W camera mounted monitor. I am seriously considering buying it to use with my Canon XL H1 and I'd like to get some first hand information about:

Quality - Is it worth it? There are several things I like without having the opportunity to actually look at it including the focus-in-red function. (The guy at B&H tried to upsell me on the Panasonic Panasonic BTLH900A 8.4" LCD Monitor. It is another 1500 to 2000 more).
Accessories needed - power supply options (does it even come with a power supply?), mounting brackets, hood, etc.
Gotchas - ???

Look forward to hearing from any and all.

John

I have the 900, and I plan on getting the 80 as well.

The 900 is beautiful - it's also much heavier. I've used it successfully with the H1 and use it on my HPX2000 all the time - it's almost a 'must' for critical focus/detail.

The 80 caught my eye at NAB. I didn't like it on paper, but it definitely has it's niche. The resolution is less than the 900, but it still looked good. It doesn't weigh as much either. The biggest kicker is the focus assist function (the 900 doesn't have it, but you know when you're in focus). The 80 gives you a decent sense of where you're at in focus at your depth of field.

Like I said - I plan to get it for a 2nd rig and additional capabilities/utilities.

The price is decent too - although - keep in mind you'll have to spend some more to get the HDSDI option - which I recommend using with the H1.

BTW - I currently hang my 900 with an israeli arm - it was tricky getting the load right/consistent. The 80's weight/size should help with that too.

I was lucky. Salesman brought the BT-LH80W to my place this afternoon for me to test. I connected the LCD monitor to my HVX202 using component output. My impression was - this is a darn good unit. It is sharp, and bright enough to use outdoors. I don't have a hood but, even without one, I could see the video image pretty clearly (in the sun).

The focus-on-red function must be seen to be appreciated. NO more guesswork on where the camera lens is focusing on. A real boon to using manual focusing with HVX202.

I tested the monitor using the Anton Bauer battery. I calculated a fully charged AB (not the largest one) will last about 4 hours (at least).

Only one problem - the weight of the monitor + AB battery makes it impractical to mount the monitor on top of the HVX202 in actual use. I think I will prefer to mount the monitor + AB battery on a separate tripod (lightweight one) rather than trying to mount it on the camera.