External Monitor or LCD?

Jason D. Moore · September 28th, 2002, 10:52 AM

Hrm... where can I find more info on these? Such as price/place to buy, etc?

Moore

Andre De Clercq · September 28th, 2002, 03:06 PM

I personnaly don't need a portable scope. I use my Gould AS3000 or my Hameg HM312 for videoexperiments at home. I know Fluke has handheds(www.fluke .com). I think Tektronix too. The Fluke prices are about $1000 as far as I remember.

Bryan Beasleigh · September 28th, 2002, 10:47 PM

I've been salivating over the new Sharp 10' LCD portable TV. I know it's big, but it's a TOY and it's compact. I had been looking at the marshal 5.6 " TFT monitors and my gaze keeps wondering back to the sharp.

Mike Rehmus · September 29th, 2002, 02:38 PM

Very nice. Should serve as a focusing tool with the VGA (640x480)resolution. 12VDC input (as do all of their LCD televisions)

The only question I have is about the 200:1 contrast ratio. Is that good enough? The Sharp 13" and above models have 400:1.
I have no practical experience with LCD displays except the small camera-mounted units. Sony does not state the contrast ratio of the monitor on the PD-150

The price is fairly good at around $670 U.S MSRP.

Bryan Beasleigh · October 5th, 2002, 10:12 AM

I took one of my cameras in to the retailer and tried the varous LCD TV/Monitors. The higher contrast and brightness on the 13' blew the 10" away. Then there was the Samsung with the 1280 x 1024.(not to mention the 42" plasma that you need a 2nd mortgage for :)

That's how I got into this rat race to start with. I kept going up and up in price and quality. I guess I only like the good stuff.

Mike Rehmus · October 5th, 2002, 01:07 PM

Amen to that.

Anyone know of a camera mount for the top of a 42" plasma monitor? :-)))

Shaun Roemich · October 7th, 2002, 03:59 PM

Just as a side note...

regarding the "push in/one-touch focus/pull out" method described above, keep in mind that if your image is particularly out of focus before you zoom in, the one touch will take a hideously long time to bring it in due to the nature of how auto-focus systems work... try and dial it in a bit before the zoom manually with the focus ring... I've literally had my 150 NOT focus at all if I was just doing macro work...

Good shooting!

-Shaun

John Klein · October 7th, 2002, 11:17 PM

I've posted this elsewhere, but the cam will focus for macro work at the wide setting, but in telephoto, the min focus distance is much greater.

Shaun Roemich · October 8th, 2002, 08:04 AM

Regarding minimum focus distance in telephoto... that goes wqithout saying... the point I was raising is that if the camera is focused at say 3' or less and is then zoomed in fully (12x optical) on a distant target to acquire focus and you use the one-touch, it will take (nearly) FOREVER to rack in due to the utter lack of contrasting edges to facilitate focus... my VX1000 and DSR 200 always seemed to tack up a little faster...

Good shooting

-Shaun

Alan Christensen · December 21st, 2002, 11:51 AM

I've been researching this same question. I did buy a 5.6" Varizoom at one point and was so dissatisfied that I returned it. The visual angle was so limited that it was extremely difficult to use. My application is for filming stage performances. I often find that it is difficult to tell if my VX2000 exposure and focus is good when the subjects are under spotlights. The spotlight button helps, but I often still have problems when only a small part of the screen is brightly lit. This is difficult to notice on the VX2000 LCD. I have considered a 9" or 13" monitor as the best way to get a really good monitor to use when filming these events. However, the AC requirement and the overall bulkiness of this approach makes it not ideal. Recently I have been looking at the newer personal DVD players that are emerging. Some of these have great displays with respect to visual angle, but they are still pretty pricey ($800=$1000). The DC operation is ideal, but it is difficult to find out how long the battery lasts in these models (often not a published spec). The upside is that I would have a nice portable DVD player to show my work at events and tradeshows. If anyone has a recommendation on one of these units, then please let me know what it is...

Mike Rehmus · December 23rd, 2002, 07:23 PM

I use a 5" TV set ($150) that has composit video in when I need to be free from wall-power. I take a 12 volt battery with me and power the set. It isn't at all as good as an eight-inch high-res Sony but it isn't $1700 either.

September 28th, 2002, 10:52 AM	#16
Jason D. Moore Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: california Posts: 39	waveform monitors Hrm... where can I find more info on these? Such as price/place to buy, etc? Moore

September 29th, 2002, 02:38 PM	#19
Mike Rehmus Wrangler Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vallejo, California Posts: 4,049	Very nice. Should serve as a focusing tool with the VGA (640x480)resolution. 12VDC input (as do all of their LCD televisions) The only question I have is about the 200:1 contrast ratio. Is that good enough? The Sharp 13" and above models have 400:1. I have no practical experience with LCD displays except the small camera-mounted units. Sony does not state the contrast ratio of the monitor on the PD-150 The price is fairly good at around $670 U.S MSRP. __________________ Mike Rehmus Hey, I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel!

October 5th, 2002, 01:07 PM	#21
Mike Rehmus Wrangler Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vallejo, California Posts: 4,049	Amen to that. Anyone know of a camera mount for the top of a 42" plasma monitor? :-))) __________________ Mike Rehmus Hey, I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel!

October 7th, 2002, 11:17 PM	#23
John Klein Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Wisconsin, USA Posts: 182	I've posted this elsewhere, but the cam will focus for macro work at the wide setting, but in telephoto, the min focus distance is much greater. __________________ < >< . . . . . < >< . . . . . < ><

December 21st, 2002, 11:51 AM	#25
Alan Christensen Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: California Posts: 139	External monitor or LCD? I've been researching this same question. I did buy a 5.6" Varizoom at one point and was so dissatisfied that I returned it. The visual angle was so limited that it was extremely difficult to use. My application is for filming stage performances. I often find that it is difficult to tell if my VX2000 exposure and focus is good when the subjects are under spotlights. The spotlight button helps, but I often still have problems when only a small part of the screen is brightly lit. This is difficult to notice on the VX2000 LCD. I have considered a 9" or 13" monitor as the best way to get a really good monitor to use when filming these events. However, the AC requirement and the overall bulkiness of this approach makes it not ideal. Recently I have been looking at the newer personal DVD players that are emerging. Some of these have great displays with respect to visual angle, but they are still pretty pricey ($800=$1000). The DC operation is ideal, but it is difficult to find out how long the battery lasts in these models (often not a published spec). The upside is that I would have a nice portable DVD player to show my work at events and tradeshows. If anyone has a recommendation on one of these units, then please let me know what it is...

September 28th, 2002, 03:06 PM	#17
Andre De Clercq Major Player Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Belgium Posts: 804	I personnaly don't need a portable scope. I use my Gould AS3000 or my Hameg HM312 for videoexperiments at home. I know Fluke has handheds(www.fluke .com). I think Tektronix too. The Fluke prices are about $1000 as far as I remember.

September 28th, 2002, 10:47 PM	#18
Bryan Beasleigh Trustee Join Date: May 2002 Location: Barrie, Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,922	I've been salivating over the new Sharp 10' LCD portable TV. I know it's big, but it's a TOY and it's compact. I had been looking at the marshal 5.6 " TFT monitors and my gaze keeps wondering back to the sharp.

October 5th, 2002, 10:12 AM	#20
Bryan Beasleigh Trustee Join Date: May 2002 Location: Barrie, Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,922	I took one of my cameras in to the retailer and tried the varous LCD TV/Monitors. The higher contrast and brightness on the 13' blew the 10" away. Then there was the Samsung with the 1280 x 1024.(not to mention the 42" plasma that you need a 2nd mortgage for :) That's how I got into this rat race to start with. I kept going up and up in price and quality. I guess I only like the good stuff.

October 7th, 2002, 03:59 PM	#22
Shaun Roemich Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Vancouver, British Columbia (formerly Winnipeg, Manitoba) Canada Posts: 4,088	Just as a side note... regarding the "push in/one-touch focus/pull out" method described above, keep in mind that if your image is particularly out of focus before you zoom in, the one touch will take a hideously long time to bring it in due to the nature of how auto-focus systems work... try and dial it in a bit before the zoom manually with the focus ring... I've literally had my 150 NOT focus at all if I was just doing macro work... Good shooting! -Shaun

October 8th, 2002, 08:04 AM	#24
Shaun Roemich Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Vancouver, British Columbia (formerly Winnipeg, Manitoba) Canada Posts: 4,088	Regarding minimum focus distance in telephoto... that goes wqithout saying... the point I was raising is that if the camera is focused at say 3' or less and is then zoomed in fully (12x optical) on a distant target to acquire focus and you use the one-touch, it will take (nearly) FOREVER to rack in due to the utter lack of contrasting edges to facilitate focus... my VX1000 and DSR 200 always seemed to tack up a little faster... Good shooting -Shaun

December 23rd, 2002, 07:23 PM	#26
Mike Rehmus Wrangler Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vallejo, California Posts: 4,049	I use a 5" TV set ($150) that has composit video in when I need to be free from wall-power. I take a 12 volt battery with me and power the set. It isn't at all as good as an eight-inch high-res Sony but it isn't $1700 either. __________________ Mike Rehmus Hey, I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel!