Suggestions for accessories for XLH1
 

The situation is this. I am about to purchase the XLH1 to shoot manily drama, short films and I was wondering what people thought as necessary accessories for the XLH1? Eg Mattebox, Field monitor, Glidecam, etc

I highly recommend a field monitor.

If not possible, then a good HDTV is advisable. An NTSC field monitor will also work, but an HD monitor is definitely better.

First calibrate your monitor using the color bars from the XL H1.

Then calibrate your XL H1 color viewfinder.

Out of the box the viewfinder will be way too bright and the colors may be off.

Thanks Dan,

Do you have a preference for a field monitor? IE Brand, size etc?

Also when talking about a field monitor are you referring to say a 6 or 7 inch monitor that would be attached on top of the actual camera?

Simon

Dear Duncan,

When I received my XL H1, I had access to a Sony 9" NTSC 16x9 field monitor. So I used it for the calibration of the viewfinder.

I do not have a on-camera monitor at this time. I have been worried about being able to see the screen in the sun. Indoors this should not be a problem.

If I am in a studio setting, a field monitor by my side appears to be sufficient (and preferrable).

I am still searching for a good monitor. As you are probably aware, Sony quit making CRT monitors (except for some very expensive models). I would prefer a CRT based monitor.

Panasonic seems to make a good LCD based monitor, but some owners of the device still would prefer a CRT monitor.

Sony makes some wonderful computer LCD monitors, such as the XBright series (HS94P/HS95P). I like these but they do not have component inputs. Sony may use similar technology in some of their professional LCD monitors, but I have not done the research.

JVC still has a 17" HD CRT monitor, but I have not personally seen it yet.

The Panasonic BT1700 LCD monitor that I believe Dan was referring too is as close to an "affordable" almost HD monitor currently available. Much of the drawbacks of using an LCD for monitoring have been overcome - the color gamut has been closely matched to a CRT monitor; the delay that plagued LCD has been overcome; it has a wide viewing angle; and it has a built in Waveform display.

It is 17" and while not mountable on a camera, it can be mounted on a stand with sun hoods made by Portabrace, Nebtek, and Hoodman as well as Panasonic. I'm hoping that a similar quality LCD will be forthcoming in a smaller cameral mountable version.

Oh - and you can feed this LCD with the Canon H1's SDI output.

Try the Dell 24" - good experience.
 

For what it's worth, I shot a low budget $100k feature earlier this year on the XLH1 and we used a Dell 24" monitor from the component output on the rear of the camera.

It's not ideal because you need 110 volt power.

However, you DO get a very BRIGHT and BIG picture. And that makes up for any disadvantages. And it's big enough for people the other side of the room (Gaffer, Boom, Makeup) to check their work live.

Plus it's surprisingly lightweight. I don't fancy the idea of dragging around a CRT, thank you.

I believe that they can be had for $700-$800 and I personally believe that this is a better solution than a smaller (say 7") monitor perched on the camera - a monitor which is often very expensive too.

Best wishes,

Harry.

we used a samsung syncmaster 24" lcd connected via component thru the xlh1 for green screening purposes, and it worked out great . Its an expensive lcd but it's job doubles as an overlay monitor for editing and as a studio monitor.

I have the Marshall 7" HDSDI mounted on an arm off the rails and have found it to be great part of my system. Not exactly cheap - but well worth the investment.