New app: converting laptop to field Monitor
 

http://www.redlightningsoftware.com/Features.html

Looks interesting also has a feature to flip the video image for people that shoot with Letus35XL.

I am curious if anyone else have used this.

Sounds great, but there is one major flaw... It's for a Mac. If only I owned one... :^)

Luke

red lightning
 

SWEAT!! IM A MAC GUY
looks like this might be the way to go 4 me:)

Yup, too bad it's only for Mac. I'd buy a copy today, but I run PC. They're cutting off a LOT of sales by making it only Mac.

anybody?
 

Has anybody actually bought this and used it in the field? I'm curious as to its usability instead of a dedicated video display. In particular, I wonder if there is any noticeable lag in responsiveness. And if there are any issues using this with an XL2.

Richard, you really have to watch some of those Apple "Switcher" ads. Brilliant, funny and well-shot stuff. :-)

Don't you love it when...
 

...people respond to their own posts.

OK, so I downloaded the demo version of the DV Monitor software, and it's quite nice...for what it is. Which does not strike me as particularly useful. There is way too much latency to be really usable as a focusing aid or composition tool. It's kind of like doing sound on a half-second delay. Just too weird to be useful. Maybe it's just me. The firewire output of the camera may be the culprit, or it may be the processing in my 12" G4 Powerbook. Didn't try it on my G5 because I won't use the G5 for this anyway.

The calibrations and other view options are interesting, but here's a tip.

Connect your DV camera.
Open iMovie.

It pretty much does the same thing without all the fancy options for sizing and whatnot, but the other advantage is that you can actually record directly to your Mac's hard drive, too. Haven't tried this with Final Cut Pro, but I suspect that "Capture Now" would behave the same way, albeit without the nice preview that you get in iMovie.

Finally was able to test it
 

Here are my results and a jpg the feed from my xl2 through this app.

1st test results:
G4 500Mhz Laptop running OSX 10.4.6 with 768 of ram
I did a pan accross the room it did lag way to much. The zoom feature did not work this is probably due to the laptop not being able to support Quartz Extreme or slow processor/graphic card.

2nd test results:
Dual G4 800Mhz running OSX 10.4.8 with 1.25GB of ram
I did a pan accross the room the responce was almost instant very little lag. The zoom feature did work very well I did notice some interlacing while focusing but unsure if this is due to using the 24p or just the application. Also notice that the view finder from XL2 camera is a bit contrast and colors more punchy then the app on my Apple 17in lcd. I tried doing the calibration but it seems the same. So unsure what feature are shut off in the demo version.

Just to add to this my view finder in the xl2 is canon configiration as is out of box. Also I did not have any in camera color correction.

I have used FCP for capture here are my experience with it.

Advantages:
1. you can turn on video scope while caputure mode and also monitor your sound levels.
2. Like mention above you can capture directly to your drive and to dv tape at the same time.
3. you can use it to review footage just captured

Disadvantages:
1. Image is not full size even though I set my capture settings to 720 by 480(Anamorphic 16:9).
2. once you hit log clip you have no options. Just watch whats there.

I also tried quicktime this has even less features and all the disadvantages of FCP.

I hope this helps I been looking for a solution like this for a while. I figure anyone working on helping us build and save money in what we love doing is more power to them. Thanks to everyones reply please keep posting your finding it provides others and myself with a wealth of information and answers. Thanks again

--jose

Cool idea. Getting some monitoring is on my to do list. I've been planning on one of those 5.5 inch LCD displays, but maybe a laptop is a cheaper solution.. and one less thing to own.

I didn't think using a DV cable would be practical. What are the length limits of Firewire? I guess if you can get a cable that's long enough that isn't a problem though maybe the amount of data will always result in a lag.

I had thought about getting a PCMCIA video capture card and running the video out of the camera to that. I wonder if that would be a more functional and 'real-time' solution.

Sounds Like: DV RACK for Mac
 

Alot of what you all describe (and what I've seen on the linked webpage) is just a Mac version of 'DV RACK'.....it's software based so of course you're going to have some delay when panning according to your set up, frame rate, AE exposure, etc. etc. It has its good points and bad points as all software does and is just another tool for us to put in our tool boxes to help us either make the video or sell the video. Nothing we own or do is 'guaranteed' to make us look professional but they help.
And as for the firewire? I've used the extended firewire cables from Markertek for either monitoring on my laptop while shooting, controlling the camera while shooting with either iMovie or FCP and also used it for on set mastering/online to another deck while recording a primary master in the camera up to 130'.............YES THEY WORK. I've also used it as a VIDEO CABLE for the monitor I bought from Markertek that is firewire compatible.