Manhattan HD071A at DVinfo.net

Bill Vincent · April 27th, 2010, 03:12 PM

After endless debating, researching and budget crunching I have pulled the trigger and ordered this monitor. I will post again with a review as soon as I can. Anyone else using this? What are your thoughts?

Bill Vincent · April 30th, 2010, 06:03 AM

So here's my initial thoughts on the HD071A.

Build: Good, fairly solid construction. When you first turn the monitor on it flashes white, which always freaks me out but immediately afterward the logo comes up and everything seems okay.

Picture: Very nice. Not too small, which was something I was afraid of. This can be used for focus very well. Outdoors the picture is still good, although without the sun hood this unit would be worthless outdoors.

Cons: The biggest problem I have with this monitor is that there is no available hardware from Manhattan designed for mounting it. It does have mounting screwholes on the top and bottom, but this unit is fairly heavy when the sunhood is on - it makes it cumbersome as well. I've tried various hardware to attach it to both the camera or the tripod, with varying degrees of success. It definitely feels too heavy to mount to the hot shoe on the camera, so I had to come up with alternative positioning. I've managed to attach it to the tripod using some lighting clamps I had lying around. Manhattan could easily add another $100 or so to every order if they came up with a good mounting solution and added it to their lineup.

I haven't used this on a shoot yet, but am looking forward to it - I think it will be a great addition to my kit.

Robert Richardson · April 30th, 2010, 09:22 AM

Thanks Bill for the write-up. I was gonna' get the HD701A when I ordered Monday but they were outta' the Sun Hoods and I need something by the weekend. Vincent was helpful and I would up with the 089B instead. Probably a little large to use on the Multirig but we'll see.

I agree 100% about the idea of them providing mounting solutions as well. I'm new to video but will say that that finding a decent mounting solution has been the hardest thing so far and one I woulda' thought would have been the easiest!!! Manhattan should add a few accessories like mounts and some kind of case and, given what seems to be their target audience, I'm guessing they'd sell stuff with every order. I'm glad I got the Manhattan, but it was very tempting looking at the other entry level monitor kits from Ikan and Tote where you could place one order and get everything and know it would work.

April 27th, 2010, 03:12 PM	#1
Bill Vincent Major Player Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Nashville, TN Posts: 253	Manhattan HD071A After endless debating, researching and budget crunching I have pulled the trigger and ordered this monitor. I will post again with a review as soon as I can. Anyone else using this? What are your thoughts?

April 30th, 2010, 09:22 AM	#3
Robert Richardson New Boot Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Madison, WI Posts: 14	Thanks Bill for the write-up. I was gonna' get the HD701A when I ordered Monday but they were outta' the Sun Hoods and I need something by the weekend. Vincent was helpful and I would up with the 089B instead. Probably a little large to use on the Multirig but we'll see. I agree 100% about the idea of them providing mounting solutions as well. I'm new to video but will say that that finding a decent mounting solution has been the hardest thing so far and one I woulda' thought would have been the easiest!!! Manhattan should add a few accessories like mounts and some kind of case and, given what seems to be their target audience, I'm guessing they'd sell stuff with every order. I'm glad I got the Manhattan, but it was very tempting looking at the other entry level monitor kits from Ikan and Tote where you could place one order and get everything and know it would work. Last edited by Robert Richardson; April 30th, 2010 at 09:24 AM. Reason: horrible spelling

April 30th, 2010, 06:03 AM	#2
Bill Vincent Major Player Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Nashville, TN Posts: 253	So here's my initial thoughts on the HD071A. Build: Good, fairly solid construction. When you first turn the monitor on it flashes white, which always freaks me out but immediately afterward the logo comes up and everything seems okay. Picture: Very nice. Not too small, which was something I was afraid of. This can be used for focus very well. Outdoors the picture is still good, although without the sun hood this unit would be worthless outdoors. Cons: The biggest problem I have with this monitor is that there is no available hardware from Manhattan designed for mounting it. It does have mounting screwholes on the top and bottom, but this unit is fairly heavy when the sunhood is on - it makes it cumbersome as well. I've tried various hardware to attach it to both the camera or the tripod, with varying degrees of success. It definitely feels too heavy to mount to the hot shoe on the camera, so I had to come up with alternative positioning. I've managed to attach it to the tripod using some lighting clamps I had lying around. Manhattan could easily add another $100 or so to every order if they came up with a good mounting solution and added it to their lineup. I haven't used this on a shoot yet, but am looking forward to it - I think it will be a great addition to my kit.