Small HD Finally is here

Paul Joy · July 7th, 2009, 06:01 PM

Here's a two more images showing what I'm seeing, you can clearly see the colour noise on the Dp1 in the gradients of the shadows and on the fireplace in the black surface. This noise is not present on the EX1's LCD.

Trevor Meeks · July 7th, 2009, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul Joy

Here's a two more images showing what I'm seeing, you can clearly see the colour noise on the Dp1 in the gradients of the shadows and on the fireplace in the black surface. This noise is not present on the EX1's LCD.

and... you probably haven't calibrated the display....

Paul Joy · July 7th, 2009, 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trevor Meeks

and... you probably haven't calibrated the display....

Did you see anything like this with yours at default settings Trevor? If you got the same effect and corrected it I'd love to know how you did it.

regards

Paul.

Trevor Meeks · July 7th, 2009, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul Joy

Did you see anything like this with yours at default settings Trevor? If you got the same effect and corrected it I'd love to know how you did it.

regards

Paul.

"blue gun"

A basic - but not entirely accurate to the DP1 - set of instructions can be found here: http://www.glennchan.info/broadcast-...alibration.htm

Paul Mailath · July 7th, 2009, 06:56 PM

Yes.. alright.. it's pretty bloody good.

I got mine yesterday, shipped all the way to Aus and I thought I'd been short changed - the box was too light :-)

I've tried to remain objective but I'm a cynical old bugger by nature and thruth be told I would have been quietly pleased to see that Trevor Meeks overwhelming enthusiasm was misplaced - but it ain't

The monitor is solid, light and a joy to use. I've got a couple of niggles about the setup but I'll get past those. I really struggle without a manual of some sort (bring on the wiki!) I like manuals.

but - I can see, I can focus easily. My 53 year old eyes have been struggling and I often use autofocus simply because I don't trust my eyes - this monitor gives me my confidence back.

Trevor Meeks · July 7th, 2009, 08:13 PM

I'm so glad you like it Paul!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul Mailath

Yes.. alright.. it's pretty bloody good.

I got mine yesterday, shipped all the way to Aus and I thought I'd been short changed - the box was too light :-)

I've tried to remain objective but I'm a cynical old bugger by nature and thruth be told I would have been quietly pleased to see that Trevor Meeks overwhelming enthusiasm was misplaced - but it ain't

The monitor is solid, light and a joy to use. I've got a couple of niggles about the setup but I'll get past those. I really struggle without a manual of some sort (bring on the wiki!) I like manuals.

but - I can see, I can focus easily. My 53 year old eyes have been struggling and I often use autofocus simply because I don't trust my eyes - this monitor gives me my confidence back.

Peter Rixner · July 8th, 2009, 09:44 AM

Could it be that the noise problem of Paul Joy has something to do with the PAL standard ?

Is anyone else using PAL with the Monitor ?

Or has the problem been solved in the meantime Paul ?

Thanks!

Peter

Paul Joy · July 8th, 2009, 10:17 AM

Hi Peter, good thought, I just tried switching my EX1 to NTSC and it seems to stop the odd colours that are appearing sometimes. If I point my camera at a white bed sheet I'm seeing areas of blue pixels in the gradient areas when in PAL mode, but in NTSC these do not appear.

The colour noise in dark areas are still the same in both modes though, well lit areas seem okay but any shadowed areas or dark objects are not being displayed correctly.

regards

paul.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter Rixner

Could it be that the noise problem of Paul Joy has something to do with the PAL standard ?

Is anyone else using PAL with the Monitor ?

Or has the problem be solved in the meantime Paul ?

Thanks!

Peter

Peter Rixner · July 8th, 2009, 02:46 PM

So, then it's a PAL/NTSC Problem that will be, or is :) already solved.

There's one more thing that keeps me from ordering immediately:

The battery system.

Could a standard V-Mount be attached ?

How is the back of the monitor ? Is there a way to attach something like:

16x9 Europe GmbH - Sony V-Lock Mount Swit S-7000S Sony V-Lock Mount S-7000S

One would still have to have such a 12V plug on the end. But at least a standard battery.

How "voltage tolerant" is the DP1. I guess very tolerant as most devices.

Has anyone tried this or any information about that ?

Thanks!

Peter

Trevor Meeks · July 8th, 2009, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter Rixner

So, then it's a PAL/NTSC Problem that will be, or is :) already solved.

There's one more thing that keeps me from ordering immediately:

The battery system.

Could a standard V-Mount be attached ?

How is the back of the monitor ? Is there a way to attach something like:

16x9 Europe GmbH - Sony V-Lock Mount Swit S-7000S Sony V-Lock Mount S-7000S

One would still have to have such a 12V plug on the end. But at least a standard battery.

How "voltage tolerant" is the DP1. I guess very tolerant as most devices.

Has anyone tried this or any information about that ?

Thanks!

Peter

Hey peter, good to see you here. Just saw you pop up on the Redrock forums as well!

I do have to point out that attaching a V-mount to the back of the SmallHD completely goes against what this monitor is about. The V-mount batteries weigh about 3 times what the DP1 does - the DP1 batteries are small, light, and they last well over an hour each. This means that you can buy two (as many of us have) and have one on charge while you use the other. Swapping them out takes a mere 5 seconds or so - can you spare that every hour? I sure can! The batteries are inexpensive too - you can get one for far less than that bracket you linked to. Getting two, three or four even would cost a lot less than one V-mount...

That being said, as Dale pointed out, they do plan to offer other battery mount options in the future. Just be patient, and I'm sure whatever they come up with will be brilliantly integrated, affordable and very functional!

just my $0.02 (or £0.012)

Andrew Dean · July 8th, 2009, 10:26 PM

I did a long testing session today to calibrate my dp1 and "master" the controls. Seems to all make sense now. If you go into advanced and edit the blue color temp setting to have R and G at zero, then the "blue" color mode works exactly like blue gun. After mucking about i feel like I've got the bars really close. There is some issue where blue light spots, like sunshine in a dark tungsten room, are showing up as extra-blue. I'll keep playing around to see if i can minimize it.

I've used far more expensive monitors that couldn't get this close for colors (and obviously, not rez). I really only counted on the dp1 as being a focus monitor, but I'm thinking that contrast and broad color might be judged with it as well. Mighty exciting.

As to the noise/pal issue... I can reproduce this, but only on the analog input. HDMI doesn't show the same color banding. It appears that the digitizer loses detail in dark underexposed areas. Not sure yet if thats a pal-only thing.

Cheers!

Andrew Dean · July 8th, 2009, 11:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter Rixner

How is the back of the monitor ? Is there a way to attach something like:

The back of the monitor is a big flat surface with 2 1/4-20 taps and 4 smaller taps (used for the smallhd battery mount). If you want to mount a v-lock plate, you absolutely can. The mounting holes likely won't line up, but you should pretty easily be able to machine an intermediate plate with holes for the v-lock and to line up with the dp1.

I'm pretty taken with the $60 smallhd batteries, but no reason you couldn't bolt on something bigger. Quite a bit bigger, really, as the threads are tapped right into the body. If your mounting solution can hold it, i reckon you could bolt a 7ah lead acid battery to the back. The monitor isnt the weak link there.

If you can find a mounting diagram for that v-lock i'll be happy to compare it to the back of the dp1 and see if there's a direct-bolt solutions. Cheers!

Bill Busby · July 8th, 2009, 11:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew Dean

As to the noise/pal issue... I can reproduce this, but only on the analog input. HDMI doesn't show the same color banding. It appears that the digitizer loses detail in dark underexposed areas. Not sure yet if thats a pal-only thing.

Are you saying it does that odd banding behavior with the component input or composite? If it's with component then that's a definite deal breaker for me since the A1 has no HDMI. :-\

Paul Mailath · July 9th, 2009, 12:25 AM

I'm using the A1 in Pal territory and not getting a problem with 'banding' - I'll try it on some low light situations.

Andrew Dean · July 9th, 2009, 01:05 AM

The banding showed up on the component input, yes. However, for me it only shows up in the darkest details, where the on-camera lcd was showing just straight black, so i'm not really worried about it. Anything even remotely lit is looking pristine for me.

I'm doing a series of tests with various rigs and shooters over the next week so i'll try to flush out the extent of the issue.

-a

July 7th, 2009, 06:01 PM	#166
Paul Joy Major Player Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Norfolk, UK Posts: 627	Here's a two more images showing what I'm seeing, you can clearly see the colour noise on the Dp1 in the gradients of the shadows and on the fireplace in the black surface. This noise is not present on the EX1's LCD. Attached Thumbnails __________________ Blog: www.pauljoy.com Company: www.videotrader.co.uk

July 7th, 2009, 06:56 PM	#170
Paul Mailath Trustee Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Central Coast - NSW, Australia Posts: 1,606	Yes.. alright.. it's pretty bloody good. I got mine yesterday, shipped all the way to Aus and I thought I'd been short changed - the box was too light :-) I've tried to remain objective but I'm a cynical old bugger by nature and thruth be told I would have been quietly pleased to see that Trevor Meeks overwhelming enthusiasm was misplaced - but it ain't The monitor is solid, light and a joy to use. I've got a couple of niggles about the setup but I'll get past those. I really struggle without a manual of some sort (bring on the wiki!) I like manuals. but - I can see, I can focus easily. My 53 year old eyes have been struggling and I often use autofocus simply because I don't trust my eyes - this monitor gives me my confidence back. __________________ Cheers - Paul M. www.perbenyik.com

July 8th, 2009, 09:44 AM	#172
Peter Rixner Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: near Munich, Bavaria Posts: 139	Could it be that the noise problem of Paul Joy has something to do with the PAL standard ? Is anyone else using PAL with the Monitor ? Or has the problem been solved in the meantime Paul ? Thanks! Peter Last edited by Peter Rixner; July 8th, 2009 at 10:16 AM.

July 9th, 2009, 12:25 AM	#179
Paul Mailath Trustee Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Central Coast - NSW, Australia Posts: 1,606	I'm using the A1 in Pal territory and not getting a problem with 'banding' - I'll try it on some low light situations. __________________ Cheers - Paul M. www.perbenyik.com

July 8th, 2009, 02:46 PM	#174
Peter Rixner Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: near Munich, Bavaria Posts: 139	So, then it's a PAL/NTSC Problem that will be, or is :) already solved. There's one more thing that keeps me from ordering immediately: The battery system. Could a standard V-Mount be attached ? How is the back of the monitor ? Is there a way to attach something like: 16x9 Europe GmbH - Sony V-Lock Mount Swit S-7000S Sony V-Lock Mount S-7000S One would still have to have such a 12V plug on the end. But at least a standard battery. How "voltage tolerant" is the DP1. I guess very tolerant as most devices. Has anyone tried this or any information about that ? Thanks! Peter

July 8th, 2009, 10:26 PM	#176
Andrew Dean Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Motukarara, New Zealand Posts: 475	I did a long testing session today to calibrate my dp1 and "master" the controls. Seems to all make sense now. If you go into advanced and edit the blue color temp setting to have R and G at zero, then the "blue" color mode works exactly like blue gun. After mucking about i feel like I've got the bars really close. There is some issue where blue light spots, like sunshine in a dark tungsten room, are showing up as extra-blue. I'll keep playing around to see if i can minimize it. I've used far more expensive monitors that couldn't get this close for colors (and obviously, not rez). I really only counted on the dp1 as being a focus monitor, but I'm thinking that contrast and broad color might be judged with it as well. Mighty exciting. As to the noise/pal issue... I can reproduce this, but only on the analog input. HDMI doesn't show the same color banding. It appears that the digitizer loses detail in dark underexposed areas. Not sure yet if thats a pal-only thing. Cheers!

July 9th, 2009, 01:05 AM	#180
Andrew Dean Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Motukarara, New Zealand Posts: 475	The banding showed up on the component input, yes. However, for me it only shows up in the darkest details, where the on-camera lcd was showing just straight black, so i'm not really worried about it. Anything even remotely lit is looking pristine for me. I'm doing a series of tests with various rigs and shooters over the next week so i'll try to flush out the extent of the issue. -a