Portable Field / Camera-Top Monitor??
 

What are people using? Ikan? Marshal? Pros/cons?

I would like to have something mounted on top of the 7D for shots/scenes when on a tripod, but something that could also be moved to the side of the cage I have around it when on a shoulder support.

I visited IKAN here in Houston the other day and they have some cool items. I went with the DP1 from smallhd.com and love it—and so did IKAN (took it with me to IKAN to get a shoe mount). The DP1 is easy to use and the batteries charge quickly. I love the 9" screen and it's pretty lightweight.

I bought an Ikan and if I had it to do over again it would not be my choice. I really wish I had seen the DP1 first.

Been using the 7" and 6.5" daylight viewable Marshalls. They are lightweight and we are able to see focus clearly with them. We are using an HDMI to HD-SDI converter to allow use to use outboard monitoring as well for director etc, so these are the HD-SDI Marshalls that we use on camera.

Are you able to use them to gauge exposure?

Yes--and no. None of these size monitors are 100% reliable for exposure and true color in the way that a good broadcast monitor is (or was). They all seem to register slightly different gamma and shadow/highlight reproduction in a way that makes it a bit dicey to truly rely on them. However they do have a false-color exposure mode that gives you a reference. Mostly we are finding that bringing up the camera's meter via the "info" button seems to be the most reliable way to nail exposure.

Thanks, will try this method. So far it doesn't seem the VF is wysiwyg.

We've found that on the 5D2, Magic Lantern's zebras (I know, not on the 7D), are great for consistent highlights and face levels. A waveform is great for shadows. Histograms are great for ensuring that things aren't out of range, but they aren't very good at nailing consistent levels shot to shot.

Another thumbs up for the small HD DP1. Works great with the 7D and I've been having pretty good luck using it for exposure and color. The thing I like about it is it's so sharp, you can really make critical focus decisions despite its small footprint. Light too.

Also great support form the company. They respond quickly to emails and really support the product.

Small HD all the way!