Monitoring options for the T2i

[Evan Agee]

Hello all, just wanted to check in and see what the current/best monitoring solutions for the T2i are? I had a Small HD DP1 and sold it because the video was being distorted to a different resolution. Is anyone out there using an external monitor for the T2i? I'd love to be able to trust manual focus, but I just can't see the LCD well enough to trust it.

[Bryan Cantwell]

I'm a big fan of the Zacuto Z-finder. Unfortunately one of the drawbacks to the T2i (and the 5D!) is the shift to SD on the HDMI when you hit record, so there's only the LCD for hi-res monitoring while recording.

[Evan Agee]

Thanks for the reply, that's what I was afraid of... I can't understand why they've imposed this limitation. Is there any speculation about whether or not a firmware update will be issued that fixes this?

[Ronald Jackson]

Are there any Canon DSLRs that maintain full def when monitoring via HDMI?

Ron

[Gerry Gallegos]

I have an 8" liliput, and it works OK , but there is an inherent problem with the HDMI output on the camera,regardless of which monitor you use, and that is that when in video record mode the HDMI output Dumbs itself down to 480, there fore not giving you the sharp resolution that the built in one does.making real fine focus not so easy but something you can get accustomed to, just be sure you double check your footage on playback at 1080 to verify what you thought you had is what you got.

GG

[Jean-Philippe Archibald]

Ronald: The 7D and the 1D mkIV. Might have something to do with the dual-cpu.

[Bryan Cantwell]

Evan, I doubt we'll see it as a firmware upgrade for the T2i, but hopefully Canon will allow full HD monitoring with new cameras as they come out. It's a major plus for the 7D, there are a lot of people that *need* a full HD out, making the 7D pretty much the all around best Canon HDSLR right now. (That and a few other features, of course...)

[John Vincent]

Originally Posted by Ronald Jackson

Are there any Canon DSLRs that maintain full def when monitoring via HDMI?

Ron

Perhaps the GH-2, although no one seems to know for sure yet. As for the 7D/T2 see this good explanation:

HDMI monitoring 7D vs. T2i on Vimeo

[John Vincent]

OK, just ran across Phil Bloom's latest blog about the GH2/Canon HDMI out:

"A big improvement is you can now use a monitor whilst recording with the Gh2, before when you hit record it switched off. Now this is where it gets interesting. The LCD screen stays on when the monitor is being used. Something the Canons cannot do, a MASSIVE plus BUT can you record onto something like a Nanoflash or a Kipro using this? Yes and no…The HDMI is completely clean if you press the display button a couple of times but is 1080i 50i (on EU model, 60i on US model) until you hit record, then it goes to 1080p 24p but with a record symbol and a timer. Damn! I told Panasonic straight off that I need that to go off please"

My first look at the Gh2…Clean HDMI out?! | Philip Bloom

[Ronald Jackson]

Thanks for this interesting post. What do you think is the conclusion? Can a monitor be used for focussing with both a 7D and a 550D ? The images looked the same to me.

I use a Swit HD-SDI monitor with my XLH1 camcorder which is good enough for focussing but which I doubt has full 1080p 1920x1080 resolution.

Looking into getting a DSLR as a complementary "lightweight" video camera which must be a Canon so I can use my Canon "35mm" lenses.

Follow focus is anyway a non-starter with my outfit. Difficult to do compounded by horrendous camera shake when you touch the lens or cam.

Focus/record/out of focus/pause/focus/record etc etc is the routine.

Ron

[Evan Agee]

Okay, finally SmallHD has taken the time to produce a video that talks about the monitoring issues on DSLRs. DEFINITELY worth checking out!

Effective Pixels 101|SmallHD