ultraportable laptop as run-and-gun field monitor at DVinfo.net

Henry Cho · January 30th, 2007, 02:06 PM

i'm currently investigating portable hd lcd monitor options, and relatively dissatisfied with my options from a price point-value perspective. i have the budget for the 7" marshall, but my thought is that for just a little more money, i could procure a decent ultraportable laptop (12" lcd or smaller, less than 3 lbs, 8+ hour battery life) and a software monitor like dvrack or canon's console. my question is, this seems very viable in theory, but are there any pitfalls to shooting this way that i should be aware of? also, does anyone have any experience with mounts/bags/thingamajigs that would assist in camera/laptop run-and-gun situations? thanks...

Jad Meouchy · January 30th, 2007, 02:40 PM

It seems like durability would be the main issue. Those field monitors are pretty good about taking a beating. Otherwise, I think it's a great idea and I'm really surprised more people don't use laptops in the field.

Henry Cho · January 30th, 2007, 04:35 PM

thanks jay. ran a search for laptop field cases and found a couple of links that may be of interest. any info on other items would be appreciated.

otterbox:
http://www.otterbox.com/products/pc_cases/laptop_case/

a review of the otterbox:
http://www.notebooks.com/?p=270

and

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...ughType=search

Bill Davis · January 30th, 2007, 09:00 PM

It seems like a variation of this question comes up a lot.

The hard truth is that in the area of accurate picture "MONITORING" - meaning judging how your recorded picture REALLY objectively looks. Flat panel monitors of any type pretty much still suck.

Sorry, but that's just the way it is.

They disguise flaws that a properly set up CRT will reveal - like mixed lighting conditions (whoops, the CEO on the factory tour looks kinda GREEN - why didn't we catch that when we shot it? )

Flat panels (LCD's and Plasmas) are wonderful for framing, judging composition, easy to travel with, and generally have a LOT going for them.

Plus, there are at least 3 companies I know of that are developing DV rack type toolsets to run on laptops that are VERY cool shooting tools. I've been beta testing one and it's wonderful... but even when I use it's screen balancing controls to "set up" my laptops as well as possible - their colorometry is nowhere near as accurate as a properly set up REAL CRT monitor.

If you can live without actually seeing all the attributes of what you're shooting - go for it.

If you can't - you're stuck dragging a real monitor around until they figure this out.

My 2 cents.

Rich Dykmans · January 30th, 2007, 10:53 PM

How about this?

http://www.macworld.com/weblogs/mwvo...ast7/index.php

Brian Luce · January 31st, 2007, 12:21 AM

Does the canon software work with other cameras?

Brian Luce · January 31st, 2007, 12:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jad Meouchy

It seems like durability would be the main issue. Those field monitors are pretty good about taking a beating. Otherwise, I think it's a great idea and I'm really surprised more people don't use laptops in the field.

This is true, but on the other hand a laptop is no less durable than most cameras...

Laptop also have advantage of the ability to capture footage.

Paul Jefferies · January 31st, 2007, 08:07 AM

Would a laptop display the image real time, or would there be a delay due to processing? I find it really annoying when everything looks out of sync because the screen takes a moment to catch up with reality... (p.s. the marshall HDA has a tiny delay too, but it's so small that you would only notice it on something like a hand clap). Also, what happens on location when your laptop uses up all its battery power?

January 30th, 2007, 02:06 PM	#1
Henry Cho Major Player Join Date: May 2005 Location: NYC Posts: 516	ultraportable laptop as run-and-gun field monitor i'm currently investigating portable hd lcd monitor options, and relatively dissatisfied with my options from a price point-value perspective. i have the budget for the 7" marshall, but my thought is that for just a little more money, i could procure a decent ultraportable laptop (12" lcd or smaller, less than 3 lbs, 8+ hour battery life) and a software monitor like dvrack or canon's console. my question is, this seems very viable in theory, but are there any pitfalls to shooting this way that i should be aware of? also, does anyone have any experience with mounts/bags/thingamajigs that would assist in camera/laptop run-and-gun situations? thanks...

January 30th, 2007, 02:40 PM	#2
Jad Meouchy Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 663	It seems like durability would be the main issue. Those field monitors are pretty good about taking a beating. Otherwise, I think it's a great idea and I'm really surprised more people don't use laptops in the field.

January 30th, 2007, 04:35 PM	#3
Henry Cho Major Player Join Date: May 2005 Location: NYC Posts: 516	thanks jay. ran a search for laptop field cases and found a couple of links that may be of interest. any info on other items would be appreciated. otterbox: http://www.otterbox.com/products/pc_cases/laptop_case/ a review of the otterbox: http://www.notebooks.com/?p=270 and http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...ughType=search

January 30th, 2007, 09:00 PM	#4
Bill Davis Trustee Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Scottsdale, AZ 85260 Posts: 1,538	It seems like a variation of this question comes up a lot. The hard truth is that in the area of accurate picture "MONITORING" - meaning judging how your recorded picture REALLY objectively looks. Flat panel monitors of any type pretty much still suck. Sorry, but that's just the way it is. They disguise flaws that a properly set up CRT will reveal - like mixed lighting conditions (whoops, the CEO on the factory tour looks kinda GREEN - why didn't we catch that when we shot it? ) Flat panels (LCD's and Plasmas) are wonderful for framing, judging composition, easy to travel with, and generally have a LOT going for them. Plus, there are at least 3 companies I know of that are developing DV rack type toolsets to run on laptops that are VERY cool shooting tools. I've been beta testing one and it's wonderful... but even when I use it's screen balancing controls to "set up" my laptops as well as possible - their colorometry is nowhere near as accurate as a properly set up REAL CRT monitor. If you can live without actually seeing all the attributes of what you're shooting - go for it. If you can't - you're stuck dragging a real monitor around until they figure this out. My 2 cents.

January 30th, 2007, 10:53 PM	#5
Rich Dykmans Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Discovery Bay, CA Posts: 138	How about this? http://www.macworld.com/weblogs/mwvo...ast7/index.php

January 31st, 2007, 12:21 AM	#6
Brian Luce Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 2,290	Does the canon software work with other cameras?

January 31st, 2007, 08:07 AM	#8
Paul Jefferies Major Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Croydon, England Posts: 277	Would a laptop display the image real time, or would there be a delay due to processing? I find it really annoying when everything looks out of sync because the screen takes a moment to catch up with reality... (p.s. the marshall HDA has a tiny delay too, but it's so small that you would only notice it on something like a hand clap). Also, what happens on location when your laptop uses up all its battery power?