External Monitor
 

Sorry, this will make me sound like a novice, which I am, but I have to ask. I saw one of those portable dvd players which comes with a 6 inch LCD screen. Since this unit has RCA I/O and costs only about $200.00, is there a reason why I should buy a special external monitor from somewhere like Verizoom and pay over $300. On the surface, it looks like I would spend less money and get more but I might be missing something.
Any help would be appreciated

What are you trying to do?

If you want accurate colors then a small NTSC/PAL monitor is what you're looking for. For certain kinds of shooting a monitor may not be very practical.

So, what are you trying to do and what's your budget?

Glenn, my main concern is to get away from looking through a viewfinder as well as portability. I need something that will be sharp enough to allow me for a good manual focus. Budget is really not much of an issue but like in any business I would hate to spend more than I need. Hope this helps.

If you read the reviews on Amazon, you'll find that the $200 players are highly unreliable.
I'm still waiting for the hybrid displays to go from palm computers and camcorder displays to monitors so we can see these things in the sunlight.

Thanks for your input Michael. The player is a fun to have add-on but my main concern is the creen itself.

i am very disappointed with my verizoom 5.6" LCD.
even in indoor, non-flourescent light situations (with the included hood attached) there is a horrible "metallic" sheen to the image. it's so bad i consider it unusable.

There are no great deals on LCD monitors. Most of the small, less-expensive LCD monitors are too dim to be usable in bright light, and/or too coarse of resolution to be usable for focus judgment, and/or too limited in color latitude to be useful for exposure control.

The highest-quality LCD's are expensive ($700-$1000+), but you get what you may for. I went through two cheap LCD's (at around $150-$250 ea.) before buying a 7" Panasonic TC-7WMS1. Nebtek sells some of the best LCD's available for relatively reasonable prices.

Well, I respect your opinions guys and will look into what Nebtek has to offer. I learned a while ago that you do indeed get what you pay for but you never quite know untill you ask. Thanks.