the HDMI output - confirmation?
 

Seems to have gotten double messages concerning this.

Can you output video to an external monitor AND have video on the LCD-display at the same time?

Can you have video streaming to an external monitor while shooting? or will it be shut down like on the 5d(?)

It will be shut off. If anyone knows a way around that I'd love to hear it!

Damn. I was certain someone had said this was not a problem but the ouput was just a SD-signal.

This will really be a problem on my shoot in May. Yuck.

What about the 7D, I believe it can output HDMI en LCD same time.

Nope. You get HDMI or the LCD not both. It will run either doesn't matter if you are recording or not.

So, to summarize.

550d can NOT have video to an external monitor while filming.

7d CAN have video to en external minitor while filming?

you have a bit of confusion in your summary.

The 550 and 7D can both output HDMI to an external monitor while recording(550 is 480p, the 7D is 1080)...The on-board LCD will turn off once an HDMI cable is plugged in whether recording or not on both cameras.

Robert is right.... No Canon DSLR can display to both the built-in LCD and to the HDMI simultaneously in any circumstance.... yet.

Ok.

So you have to choose between the lcd-display and an external monitor - but you can have an external monitor running while recording (but then not the LCD-display) - Even though you then only get 480.

Great. A bigger monitor will be useful, even at less of the resolution

Yes, it is helpful. I got a 7" Lilliput monitor which I run at 4x3 in SD and it's easier to focus with than the LCD. Obviously having 1080i out would be best (looking at you, 7D!) but it's still very handy to have the external.

And it came in very handy yesterday, was shooting through a cockpit of an airplane and had the tripod extended up to about 7 feet with the camera tilted down. I was on the ground and could reach the camera to operate it, but there's no way to see the LCD for framing at that angle. So an external monitor was essential in that case.