5" Marshall and False color

[Alastair Traill]

I am looking for a small field monitor and on my list is the Marshall 5” with the false color feature that aids in exposure setting. The example at my dealer only gave a monochrome display when false color was selected. However a larger Marshall model did produce a false color image when required. My dealer said that he had not seen the 5” model work on the false color setting.

I have twice contacted the manufacturer but have had no response. My dealer is hoping to get further information from the Australian agent.

I have two questions, does the false color feature normally work in this model and is it worth having?

[Les Wilson]

I have the 7" model with SDI and false colors. I don't know about the 5" model but as to the worth of false colors, false colors changed everything for me. It is a very precise and easy to interpret scheme for judging exposure. I never felt Histograms and Waveforms were accurate enough...I always had to make a mental adjustment. But with false colors, you can see exactly what the exposure is in each part of the image. It's also great for deciding intensity of lights because you can see in realtime (not a test shot) the effect of the light on the subject.

A 5" one for traveling would be sweet. Post what you find here.

[Paul Cook]

If its the V-LCD50-HDMI then as far as I know it has false color and I agree its indispensable. Perhaps they have a pre production model or an outdated firmware or dare I say a dodgy unit? Would be good to confirm with Marshall however.

Your other option is the SmallHD 4.3 inch - dont let the size fool you, it actually gives you MORE screen real estate than any of the 5" monitors and it has False Color and peaking. Also its lighter than the Marshall, a lot more sleek, and has the optional add on to turn it into an EVF.

Let us know what the word is from Marshall.

[Alastair Traill]

Thanks Les,

That sounds encouraging. I have also found zebras and histograms to be confusing under certain conditions, hence my question.

However I still have not had any confirmation from the manufacturers or their agent as to whether the 5" Marshall actually produces a false color image. This is somewhat disconcerting.

Meanwhile I have been reading up on the DP6 and note that they have an HL (high-low) false color where regions of the picture that will not lose information are shown in monochrome and only the areas where information is likely to be lost are colored. This sounds like an improvement.

[Garrett Low]

I recently got the TVLogic VFM-056WP which is a 5.6" monitor like the SmallHD DP6 but has a few more features. It ihas false colors, range error, waveform and vetor scope, and a lot of other very useful features. So far I've found it to be dead on and even though the price is a little steep for a 5.6" monitor it is worth it IMHO.

-Garrett

[Alastair Traill]

Hi Paul and Garrett, thanks for the comments.

Yes it is the V-LCD50-HDMI and it does have false color and my dealer did have a dodgy unit. They have now lent me a working version. They pointed out that when you lie the unit on a bench with its face up there is a chance of accidentally turning on the power. This feature has cost them several sets of batteries.

I have two uses for it, one is to connect it to the HDMI out of the nanoFlash that I use with my EX3. I was also hoping to use it with a Panasonic TM900. This is a very small camera that has 1080 50P and produces surprisingly good results. However when the TM900 is set on 1080 50P the Marshall picture is intermittent but becomes steady on 1080 50i. The Marshall will be going back in the morning.

The small HD 4.3 sounds interesting as does the TVLogic VFM-056WP. I will do some more reading.

[Daniel Weber]

I believe that the SmallHD unit will be available later in May.

Daniel Weber