Well we have had our Sony LMD 9050 8.4" Multiformat Portable Flat Screen Monitor for a couple of days now and here is what we think... http://www.sonybiz.net/

Having been looking for a reliable portable HD monitor to use with the JVC HD101E for critical work out in the field - this unit is quite simply - superb!

The picture quality is first class and despite a small screen (compared to the usual 10" field monitor types) the image really stands out - razor sharp.

The unit is light (not light enough to fit on top of a camera) and has a small footprint - approx 15cm x 20cm.

It has V-Lock, 4 Pin XLR & Mains inputs.

It has all the usual Pro monitor controls.

It has various in/outs on the rear panel - Composite/Component/SDI HD.

Adjustable base stand.

Having followed so many threads on portable monitors for months now, it is great to have got something we are very pleased with for the kind of work we do. I realise that for many folks this unit would be costly... we were not looking to spend as much as we did, but the joy and ease of using this unit with the camera and the peace of mind it brings was well worth it. We also take stock of the new JVC 17" HD CRT Monitor for use in the studio in a couple of days - will report on how that works out.

Stu...
www.studioscotland.co.uk

Thanks for the review! Much appreciated. So you do can rely on this small screen to check focus properly?

Looks cool, but pricey. Wow. Over $4,000 at B&H. Also, am I reading those specs right and the component input is limited to NTSC and PAL resolutions?

Thanks for the review! Much appreciated. So you do can rely on this small screen to check focus properly?

Hi Vincent - Focusing and colour monitoring in HD was one of the issues that really concerned us because of the nature of a couple of projects we are working on (shooting interviews with high profile people with no second chances). Debbie our producer looked at me with doubt in her eyes when I mentioned the 8.4" screen size - big smile on her face now. We had been using a high res 14" JVC monitor for SD field monitoring and it looks dreadful when compared to the little Sony!

We did various focus checks seeing how close you could get before using the focus assist - I must state that as far as I can see, it is still important to use the focus assist (I think particularly because the standard lens breaths so much) - but our confidence has been boosted and now we have no concerns - the picture is very sharp. As the Sony website states, it is aimed at the broadcast market. It really is a great feeling - not having to cart around something a lot larger - Debbie put it this way... "oh I love this... this could fit in my shoulder bag"!

If this is the kind of monitor you are looking for and you get the opportunity to try one out.... i would recommend you do. As I mentioned, we were not looking to spend so much money but I see it as a good investment.

Just as a point... we were all set to pre order one of the new Marshall monitors but decided in favour of the Sony.

Hope this helps...

Regards: Stu...
www.studioscotland.co.uk

Stewart,
How are you connecting to monitor?

Looks cool, but pricey. Wow. Over $4,000 at B&H. Also, am I reading those specs right and the component input is limited to NTSC and PAL resolutions?

Hi Marco - The LMD 9050 spec is PAL, NTSC, 576/50P, 480/60P, 1080/24PsF, 1080/50I, 1035/60I, 1080/60I, 720/60P

Regards: Stu
www.studioscotland.co.uk

Stewart,
How are you connecting to monitor?

Hi Marco - Connecting via component... Yes I see what you mean about the way that is written on the Sony website... Just to clarify in case anyone else is picking up on this...

When you are in DV mode on the HD101 the screen menu of the Sony monitor states for example 576 (Pal) when you switch to HDV - the menu states for example 720P - and the image is notably sharper.

There is a much cheaper Sony monitor in that series (LMD 9020) -the website states it has HD through component but the quality/resolution is not as good as the 9050.

Our JVC/Sony dealer admits that this is misleading...

Thanks for pointing that out though Marco - we will drop Sony an email to clarify that...

Regards: Stu...
www.studioscotland.co.uk

Hi Stewart, where did you find those specs for the 9050? I have been considering this monitor for HD, but I noticed 720p/24 is not listed! I plan on shooting the HD100 in 24p for a feature film, but I want to confirm the specs on this monitor before I purchase.

Hi Stewart, where did you find those specs for the 9050? I have been considering this monitor for HD, but I noticed 720p/24 is not listed! I plan on shooting the HD100 in 24p for a feature film, but I want to confirm the specs on this monitor before I purchase.


Hi Webb - The Specs are at the back of the manual that come with the monitor. I also spoke with the tek guys at Sony who agreed that the website was a bit misleading - they are meant to be sorting it out. In regard to the 24p issue... give me a couple of days and I will set our HD101 in HDV24p mode (we have that facillity aswell as HDV25p) and see what info the monitor displays... although I expect it will be okay. We have been doing a lot of testing in the last few days for a Doc we are working on that will have us travelling all over the place and we just love this little monitor - so easy to carry around and great picture quality....(needs a hood in bright light) also running a test to see how long one IDX battery lasts.
If you will be on a film set and portability is not so much an issue? have you looked at the Sony LMD232W Widescreen and control box (could kill 2 birds with one stone) - we bought one of these to edit on - stunning picture - if we could we would love to have that with us. Anyway will get back to you...

Regards: Stu...
www.studioscotland.co.uk

I plan on shooting the HD100 in 24p for a feature film, but I want to confirm the specs on this monitor before I purchase.

Okay Webb, Got round to testing the settings for you... When the HD101 is set to a frame rate of 24 or 60/30 for HDV24p or HDV30p the Sony monitor screen shows an on screen setting of 720/60p in both cases...

When I compared the HDV25p (Sony monitor screen indicates 720/50p) picture quality with the HDV24p there is no noticable difference, the screen image is first class. We were fortunate enough to have a dealer who was happy to send us a monitor for us to test before we purchased.
Hope you find what you need, all the best.

Stu...
www.studioscotland.co.uk

I can't thank you enough for your testing Stewart! That's exactly what I needed to know.

I haven't been around this community long, but you guys are really fantastic with helping each other out. THANK YOU!

All three models (9020,30 and 50) accept HD component. It is on the website but only in the PDF's - there is a table.
All three monitors are the same resolution (1024 x 768) edit: this information is incorrect - see post below; the lower two models are VGA and the 9050 is XGA. The below info is now correct, thanks Stu.
9020 Analogue only VGA; 9030 SDI and AnalogueVGA; 9050 dual link HD-SDI and analogue XGA ...HTH.

[QUOTE=John Mitchell] All three monitors are the same resolution (1024 x 768) so unless they differ in the processing circuitry I wuld have thought they would offer pretty much identical performance from component HD input.

Hi John - according to our dealer there is a notable difference in image quality in regard to the 9020 against the 9050 (could not see this for myself, as the dealer is too far away to visit). I can confirm that the picture quality is first class from the 9050.

Regards: Stu...
www.studioscotland.co.uk

[QUOTE=John Mitchell]
Hi John - according to our dealer there is a notable difference in image quality in regard to the 9020 against the 9050 (could not see this for myself, as the dealer is too far away to visit). I can confirm that the picture quality is first class from the 9050.

Regards: Stu...
www.studioscotland.co.uk

Stu - You are right as yet a third brochure quotes the lower two models as having VGA resolution and the 9050 as XGA. here's the link:
http://www.sonybiz.net/images/product/X/MONFAMPCKT(brch).pdf
The table and PDF I referred to p11 and 12:
http://www.sonybiz.net/images/product/X/LMD-Family(brch).pdf
which at least give the correct specs for the inputs.

PS I have corrected my previous post.
You can see Sony seem to have a bunch of PDF's (including yet another for the 9020 and 30) which give the resolution on those monitors as being 640x480 - don't know where I got 1024x768 from. Shouldn't write forum responses late at night...
http://www.sonybiz.net/images/product/X/LMD-9020_9030(brch).pdf

Thanks for the links John - have not seen those before... Yeh, I now remember the dealer saying that the resolution was lower in the 90 20/30 - I had a good chat with the teck department at Sony a few weeks back about the website, it is or was (have not looked recently) a bit misleading about info on the LMD products.

Regards: Stu...
www.studioscotland.co.uk

I see video finally has enough resolution to purge subjective focus opinions from production personel. As a former projectionist in film labs, screening prints of camera negative of multi-million dollar films in production, I can tell you that all my critical focusing and focus opinions were done by focusing on the film grain on the screen with binoculars. Likewise on location, you need a handbag/binocular devise that looks at a portion of the image electronically.
Sony isn't in the ballpark in this type of research/prototypes, right Sony?
Also, on location, always make an open angle of view of the monitor for the soundman as he usually has more insight on the production than anyone else.