GZ HD7 and external monitor

[Manuel Correa]

Hello Everybody!

Thank you to those who have commented on the camera setup. Now, for some more 'Extras'.

I haven't seen anyone in the JVC HD7 group post this setup, a field monitor for the HD7. I needed to use it this past weekend, so I took some quick pictures before packing everything away. I did this for my HD7s because it is a pain to bring a CRT based monitor many times. Besides, when I'm outside, I can't plug into a tree or rock for AC. This has worked as a good alternative. I figured those in this group might find it interesting or useful. I don't know, the moderators may decide to move it.



The monitor is actually a Sony FX820 DVD player that accepts video line in. The screen will display all the information seen on the camera LCD, or can be removed via the menu of the HD7. It is mounted onto a platform I made. The configuration allows for mounting onto a light stand or can be mounted to the tripod using a clamp I have used with my 35mm SLR.

The requirements I set was that the player remain untouched, it must be exactly as it was out of the box. Be able to use the unit as it was originally intended, as a DVD player, but also as a monitor when needed. It needs to flexible, that is mount and orientate as you wish. No velcro. It can not interfere with the screen, jacks, controls or switches in any way. Be made simple, light weight and strong.

The platform is made of pine and ¼ inch plywood and is not heavy, the player actually weighs more. The underside has five ¼ x 20 attachment threads so it can be positioned in any manner. The platform allows the unit to be orientated in the usual clamshell fashion, backwards, or in tablet form. The trick was to anchor the base without adding anything to the player itself. The answer was to fashion blocks with a 25 degree bevel that would secure the base to the platform. The front block is removable and secured by two wing nuts. Believe it or not, the player can be hung upside down and it will not fall out, I tried.



The screen hood is another extra I added, basically a larger version of the "Hoodman" you see on the cameras LCD. It is made of styrene and faced with the same material I used for the platform. My FX810 also fits on the same platform.



So, there you have it, more extras for the HD7, an inexpensive LCD field monitor, hood and support.

OK folks, let's see some of those extras. What's in your box of goodies?

[Wayne Avanson]

HI Manuel.
I use the same kind of thing. I have a Philips PET50 (I think that's the number) and it is a portable DVD player and extra 7" screen. I bought a little bracket arrangement from Hague and now the second monitor sits in the hotshoe above the cam and the DVD player clips to its own clamps (Meant for the back of car headrests) which I clamp onto my tripod legs. Power comes from either mains or battery on the DVD player. It's lo res but perfectly good enough for framing shots.

Here's the setup when they were both fixed to the tripod legs before I got the hotshoe set up sorted. The beauty of having two is that one can be viewed by the cameraman and the other by the director. Also, it doubles on headphone outputs, meaning the soundguy can have one as well as the cameraman. The other good thing about the hotshoe bracket is it is on a little ball head arrangement which can move about 360 degrees depending on what angle you might need. You can even flip it completely if you are using a lens adapter.

[Kaushik Parmar]

Originally Posted by Wayne Avanson

HI Manuel.
I use the same kind of thing. I have a Philips PET50 (I think that's the number) and it is a portable DVD player and extra 7" screen. I bought a little bracket arrangement from Hague and now the second monitor sits in the hotshoe above the cam and the DVD player clips to its own clamps (Meant for the back of car headrests) which I clamp onto my tripod legs. Power comes from either mains or battery on the DVD player. It's lo res but perfectly good enough for framing shots.

Here's the setup when they were both fixed to the tripod legs before I got the hotshoe set up sorted. The beauty of having two is that one can be viewed by the cameraman and the other by the director. Also, it doubles on headphone outputs, meaning the soundguy can have one as well as the cameraman. The other good thing about the hotshoe bracket is it is on a little ball head arrangement which can move about 360 degrees depending on what angle you might need. You can even flip it completely if you are using a lens adapter.

Wayne Avanson,

I know your Philips PET50 is fantastic Portable DVD Player, very stylist indeed!

Kaushik

[Manuel Correa]

Originally Posted by Wayne Avanson

HI Manuel.
I use the same kind of thing. I have a Philips PET50 (I think that's the number) and it is a portable DVD player and extra 7" screen. . . .

Hey Wayne !

Very Cool ! I like it, a clean setup. I've never seen a bracket like the one you are using. That actually clamps to a car seat headrest? Just goes to show you, if you look around, you'd be surprised what can be found and used.

You're right about the headphone outputs. They do come in handy. The Sony has 2 headphone outputs which is OK for me. When I don't bring the Sony, the cable I use from the camera AV works well too. I never thought about running 2 monitors off the same camera. I wasn't sure if the signals would get loaded down. I should give it a try!

Do I understand correctly you managed to mount one on the camera shoe? Is it kind of heavy or tipsy? What is the resolution of the Philips you have?

OK! I was going to ask you, how the heck you are able to post thumbnails to your posts? I've been going nuts trying to figure it out. Duh! The only thing I could find was the /IMG command. Now, today as I post this I find an attach file option I've never seen before. Am I going bonkers? OK! Don't answer that!

Hey! The head on that tripod sure looks familiar! !

Ah, you are a Gibson SG fan! You play I see. Very nice guitars. I'm a Les Paul, ES335 fan myself. I really can't afford the $3500.00 to the sky is the limit price of some of them. But, I do like my D'Armond and Starfire. I used to have a old Rickenbacker 360 Fireglo from the 80's, but I sold it. I wish I hadn't done that.

Nice to hear from you. Wish you all the best!

[Kaushik Parmar]

Originally Posted by Manuel Correa

Hey Wayne !

Very Cool ! I like it, a clean setup. I've never seen a bracket like the one you are using. That actually clamps to a car seat headrest? Just goes to show you, if you look around, you'd be surprised what can be found and used.

You're right about the headphone outputs. They do come in handy. The Sony has 2 headphone outputs which is OK for me. When I don't bring the Sony, the cable I use from the camera AV works well too. I never thought about running 2 monitors off the same camera. I wasn't sure if the signals would get loaded down. I should give it a try!

Do I understand correctly you managed to mount one on the camera shoe? Is it kind of heavy or tipsy? What is the resolution of the Philips you have?

OK! I was going to ask you, how the heck you are able to post thumbnails to your posts? I've been going nuts trying to figure it out. Duh! The only thing I could find was the /IMG command. Now, today as I post this I find an attach file option I've never seen before. Am I going bonkers? OK! Don't answer that!

Hey! The head on that tripod sure looks familiar! !

Ah, you are a Gibson SG fan! You play I see. Very nice guitars. I'm a Les Paul, ES335 fan myself. I really can't afford the $3500.00 to the sky is the limit price of some of them. But, I do like my D'Armond and Starfire. I used to have a old Rickenbacker 360 Fireglo from the 80's, but I sold it. I wish I hadn't done that.

Nice to hear from you. Wish you all the best!

Here is PDF file of Philips Portable DVD Player: http://www.p4c.philips.com/files/p/p...98_pss_aen.pdf

[Manuel Correa]

Originally Posted by Kaushik Parmar

Here is PDF file of Philips Portable DVD Player: http://www.p4c.philips.com/files/p/p...98_pss_aen.pdf

Hello Kaushik!

Thank you for the link on this unit. I had not seen this unit, PET50 before. I guess that is the UK version of the PET1031. The Philips units I have seen locally didn't look like this one.

This unit does look nice and has 800x480 resolution. Considering the larger screen size and pixel size, I was wondering, does the screen appear smooth? Do the images appear slightly blocky on detail or do you see any vertical banding?

How about you Wayne, give me your impression too.

I now see the bracket is actually a part of the kit this player comes with. Is that second screen a player too or just a display? The PET1031 PDF does not mention another display.

I was especially surprised at the S-Video ability, not many units have this connector. It is not clear however if the S-Video is only output or both input and output.

Thanks again for the info.

[Kaushik Parmar]

Originally Posted by Manuel Correa

Hello Kaushik!

Thank you for the link on this unit. I had not seen this unit, PET50 before. I guess that is the UK version of the PET1031. The Philips units I have seen locally didn't look like this one.

This unit does look nice and has 800x480 resolution. Considering the larger screen size and pixel size, I was wondering, does the screen appear smooth? Do the images appear slightly blocky on detail or do you see any vertical banding?

How about you Wayne, give me your impression too.

I now see the bracket is actually a part of the kit this player comes with. Is that second screen a player too or just a display? The PET1031 PDF does not mention another display.

I was especially surprised at the S-Video ability, not many units have this connector. It is not clear however if the S-Video is only output or both input and output.

Thanks again for the info.

Manuel,

You can buy Philips Portable DVD Player here: Philips Electronics Store

Kaushik

[Wayne Avanson]

Hi Guys,

The screen is not particularly hi res, but there's no banding and it's simply useful as a larger screen for easier framing - I wish it was higher resolution, but hey, it was cheap).

Also, I have got the Twoneil lens adapter (which I will be trying out today for the first time) and with the screen attaching to the hotshoe (coldshoe?), I can simply flip the monitor round to get a better impression while filming. (Hopefully)

I usually only use one screen (the one without the DVD player attached) mounted on top of the cam and it's very light so there's no problem with tipping over.

The guitars in the shot are a Yamaha SG2000 and a very rare Ibanez Artist Bob Weir signature model with the 'tree of life' up the fretboard. Both are reissues of the models from the seventies and are in mint condition, SERIOUSLY nice guitars. I'm considering selling both of these and keeping my other two guitars, (an Ibanez Les Paul Recording copy from the early seventies and an Antoria Custom agent) as I don't play as much electric as I used to, and they hang for months at a time without being touched. I'll get them on eBay in the next week or two.

[Mark Cinense]

That is an awesome solution. I am just looking for a decent set of sticks to plant the GZ-HD7U on if I decide to get a couple of them. I am borrowing one now, but funds permitting I would like to get me a pair of them.

how do the monitor brackets mount to the legs of the tripod?

[Wayne Avanson]

Originally Posted by Mark Cinense

That is an awesome solution. I am just looking for a decent set of sticks to plant the GZ-HD7U on if I decide to get a couple of them. I am borrowing one now, but funds permitting I would like to get me a pair of them.

how do the monitor brackets mount to the legs of the tripod?

Hi Mark
they come in two halves, so you put the front on the 'outside' of the tripod legs and the back on the 'inside' then clamp them together using the supplied long screws. There are four screw holes in each set but I only use two of them, the centre ones. Then in the centre of the brackets is a slot, into which an adjustable arm slots and locks. You can move the end of the adjustable arm to whatever angle you need, but only up or down. All this comes with the Philips set. Takes about five minutes to set up. Hope this helps.

[Manuel Correa]

Originally Posted by Wayne Avanson

The screen is not particularly hi res . . . I wish it was higher resolution, but hey, it was cheap).

Hey, It does the job! That works for me too!

I usually only use one screen (the one without the DVD player attached) mounted on top of the cam and it's very light so there's no problem with tipping over.

OK! Good! We don't want to hear a little gust of wind blew the entire rig over like a house of cards.

. . . SERIOUSLY nice guitars. I'm considering selling both of these and keeping my other two guitars . . . I'll get them on eBay in the next week or two.

Oh My! ! ! Say it isn't so! Especially the "Tree of Life"! OK! Look the other way, my friend Tony is a SG nut case and is drooling all over himself right now!

Ah, oh yea! The "dreaded white dot" thread. It's you! I read this and didn't realize you where the one this was happening to. Oh man, I hope it doesn't come back! Now you've got me worried!

But the way, pardon me, it's Labor Day and I'm operating on 3 working brain cells today, but what is a "Twoneil"?

Hope all is well and I look foward to hearing from you again.

[Wayne Avanson]

Manuel, Say Sorry to Tony for me for making him drool…

Yeah, I hope the white dot doesn't come back either. I have the cam running on test today and will continue for a few days, filling up the hard drive with footage then checking the results. I am assured they will look after me if it happens for a third time, by sending me a new camera. Which, if it's true, can't be bad. anyway, I feel a little better that they take it seriously.

A Twoneil 35mm lens adapter. He makes them for the Canon HV20 but with a Step Down ring, you can fit them to the HD7. Check out

Official TWONEIL adapters on Vimeo

RastAsia put me onto this for the HD7 as he uses one with his HD7. I haven't tried it properly yet, only getting it while the cam was being repaired and only getting the cam back yesterday. But I will be posting footage when I learn how it works.

PS 3 brain is more than I've got, so think yourself lucky… :-)

[Barry Smith]

Would anyone like to point me in the right direction for the hood on the front of the camera ? And perhaps the one on the LCD ? and the shoulder stock ?

The camera was probably the cheap part.

[Manuel Correa]

Originally Posted by Wayne Avanson

A Twoneil 35mm lens adapter. He makes them for the Canon HV20 but with a Step Down ring, you can fit them to the HD7. Check out

Official TWONEIL adapters on Vimeo

Thanks Wayne for the link. This looks very interesting. I take it that this is just an adapter to fit 35mm lenses onto the camera or is it something like the Letus35? If you don't mind me asking, what did it set you back? The Letus looks like a cool item, but the $$$$ has me shying away. I would like to know your impression of this once you have sussed it out.

As for Tony, he popped over while I was posting the message. He'll get over it. I think. ;-)

Nice to hear you got the cam back and it looks OK. Until I read through the post you made, I wasn't aware of this trouble.

I'm wondering if it is only affecting cameras made between a certain time. It's possible that JVC was getting the CCD chips or maybe the IC chips that handle image processing from a different supplier and they had a marginal flaw? JVC should look at the reports of this and trace back the serial numbers of the units to find out what is common. They may find that units with serial numbers xxxxxx and yyyyyyy were manufactured with chips from a different company than the rest, and these are the ones that exhibit this problem. The next question, if this is so, what will JVC do about it? Maybe this is what they are "silently" doing ??

Well, I hope everything works out for you. Keep us posted.

Manny

[Manuel Correa]

Originally Posted by Barry Smith

Would anyone like to point me in the right direction for the hood on the front of the camera ? And perhaps the one on the LCD ? and the shoulder stock ?

The camera was probably the cheap part.

Hey Barry!

OK! The hood on the front of the camera is actually a Cokin product. It consists of an adapter ring, filter holder and modular hood. The flags however are not a Cokin item, but were made by me. They are of styrene construction and attached via hinges to the lens hood.

The hood on the camera LCD is a Hoodman H-300. It will fit an LCD screen 2.5 to 3 inches wide. This fits around the screen without blocking the controls on the side of the LCD panel. Because it extends out about 3 inches it does get in the way of the buttons on the camera side, but just rotate the screen, no problem.

The hood on the Sony DVD unit was made be me. It is basically a larger version of the Hoodman.

The shoulder rest is from Cavision. It is only one part of an entire system they have. I purchased this for the cameras because it provides me more hand held stability. The unit is the RS1580S, 300mm rods, plate, grip and shoulder rest. I just added a Domke pad to the rest this week. The contoured pad helps to keep it from sliding on the shoulder.

All of the products I mentioned are available from B&H in the US. I do not know any vendors in Australia like B&H. I'm sure you could order them, but I don't know what the shipping would cost you! There has got to be a similar retailer where you live. Check them out.