Do I need HD Monitor for HVX?
 

Just got the HVX. Will be doing alot of run and gun and B-Roll. Do I need an HD monitor to get good color or will the LCD give me what I need? Obviously in better controlled situations the HD monitor would be ideal.

Thanks,

Michael

You can definitely use the built-in LCD flip out for exposure, in fact that's what you'd use as a reference for gamma/color-matching an external monitor.

Focusing has always been the difficulty with either the flip-out or EVF; it's possible just not easy. Most of us who do any critical focus work are using external monitors.

Currently the best for the HVX are either the Marshall V-R70P-HDA, Panasonic BT-LH900 (pricey), or Varizoom has just released 2 new HD-spec monitors (made by SWIT) for about the same price as the Marshall.

I have to disagree strongly - you CANNOT ever ever ever use the lcd for exposure and color judgement - it is not built for that and will not be accurate across the range. If it is accurate in the highlights then the shadows will be wrong and vice versa - do not judge critical exposure with anything other then a proper monitor.

For focus - the lcd is perfectly fine when used with focus assist and electronic detail. You can get tack sharp focus - but if you need to pull focus you will need an external monitor - the marshall 7 inch is a good choice but takes some time to acclimate to because of its small size.

That's a little over-stated, Seth. The LCD (when put into BRIGHT mode in the options menu) is actually very good at showing exposure. Granted, it's not a wave-form monitor or high-end HD display but it's not supposed to be. When compared to external WFM's the little LCD flip-out is actually very good tool for judging exposure.

Considering that most who use this camera don't have the budget for high-end external monitors or WFM's it's all they have to work with. So to say that you "cannot ever..." use it for judging color or exposure is not only erroneous, but impractical.