A1 LCD MONITOR - Shortlist: TOTE VISION / IKAN

[Matthew Ebenezer]

Thanks Terry for your response.

It'd be great to hear how the Totevision performs on your shoot if you get a chance to report back here.

Cheers,

Matthew.

[Terry Martin]

Matthew,

will do, stay tuned,

Terry

[Shawn Levin]

Terry - I really appreciate your effort and input.....

I'm ready to buy one.

Possible gonna get it from theis place - know it ?

http://www.ggvideo.com/tot_lcd703hd.php $560


Terry, would you say it is too heavy to mount on the A1?

Thnaks again, SHawn

[Terry Martin]

Shawn,

Don’t know about ggvideo, but the price is correct. Normally I prefer the DVInfo sponsors, but the totevision unit is not commonly stocked.

As far as mounting on the A1, the totevision weight seems reasonable to me, but it is an engineering issue. An A1 weighs 2430 grams, the totevision is 686 grams, and the tekkeon battery is 420 grams… for relative comparison.

You could mount the totevision on top of the handle, but I wouldn’t think it (or any other monitor) would be rugged enough for me. I would install an aluminum bracket on the bottom camera tripod screw area, connect a small ball mount, and add the totevision via it’s ¼-20 bottom bracket.

I personally use a mounting bracket I installed just below the fluid head of my tripod. For “run and gun” shooting, I use an HV30 (on full autopilot) mounted on a monopod which remarkably stabilizes the camera even when it is just acting as a counter weight.

I’ll comment further after I use it on 6/1/08. I have had the totevison for a while, but someone else ran the main camera… who reported that he really liked it.

Terry

[Shawn Levin]

Hi Terry,

Thanks again..... this purchase will be an important decision for me,
and you have been very helpful.

I'm looking forward to hearing your practical experiences from your shoot.... is that next week 01 June? (good luck)

Your info about the mounting was also useful.... I think I will purchase a shoe mount and then probably machine something when I get it (for underneath)

I will prob. end up getting it from b&h - although their price is more..... I will group the purchase with other stuff and this makes it convenient.

Are their any other accessories you recommend with the LCD.... like a hood perhaps or other things.
I will get the Tekkeon MyPower 3450 also.

thanks
Shawn

[John B. Nelson]

Has anyone used this HD LCD monitor? I'm looking to purchase a monitor I can attach to the A1 and this one seems to be better than VariZoom. Couldn't find any references to it in the forum. Thanks. :)

http://www.ikancorp.com/pages/monito...00hd/index.htm

-John

[Scott Saracen]

Hi John,
I have had it for about 6 months and I love it. Great for framing and focus. Don't really trust it for color all that much.

It kind of has a cheap feel to it, but for the money you get a great picture. I would recommend a larger battery and charger. Even with the monitor turned off, if you have the battery in it is drawing power from it.
Also, every time I remove the battery I feel like I'm going to break the plastic casing, but it has proved to be much sturdier than it feels.

I would say that if you can afford the Marshall or even better the Panasonic, go for it. But in this price range, you can't go wrong with the Ikan.

[John B. Nelson]

Thanks Scott.. Framing and focus is my main concern, I can always correct color in post.

Adorama has a nice package: the monitor, what looks like a nice metal hard case, a lithium battery and charger for $849.00.

Well we'll see.

-John

[Terry Martin]

This is the report I promised after shooting an event yesterday. The setting was a standard community center theater, and the event was a local ballet production (featuring my wife, so I was “nominated” to produce the video).
I shot a similar show last year, with just the A1 and it’s LCD and manual focus. Last year produced reasonable results, but I found lots of slight focus errors in post. That spurred me on to do the standard field monitor research (everything costs too much for too little). Ended up going with the Totevision LCD 703 for price/performance reasons (rugged monitor for <$600, and multi use tekkeon battery for just over $100). The totevision and tekkeon were custom mounted on the tripod to the left of the A1. The system was judged a great improvement, but up to now my partner was running the A1, and I was shooting HV20 fill.

My Results:
The totevision is definitely a most useful focusing aid, makes it easier to frame, and to my surprise was a great aid in adjusting the aperture. The totevision was mounted near the A1 LCD, but running without the data overlay… which was now the key use of the A1 LCD. This time I did shoot with A1 autofocus because of the action and because now I have come to trust it more. I was prepared to go manual, but I could see exactly what it was doing and I approved. I have had no surprises in post on a HD monitor. There was clearly more detail in the totevision than the A1 LCD. Due to the “artistic” variations of the stage lighting, I manually adjusted the aperture from 2.0 to 5.6. I used to rely on A1 LCD zebras, but I was drawn to just judging the light level from the totevision picture… seemed more natural and responsive than the A1. I will probably do some lab testing to see how to use this more in the future. I should point out that the A1 was connected to the 1080i component input, and an HV30 was connected via the composite input. This made setting up the HV30 easier, but did not make HV30 focusing any easier because of the SD signal.

At one point, I looked at the totevision, and the A1 LCD together and I knew the investment was worth it. In all fairness, I believe that there is possibly little functional difference among the sub $1500, 800x480 field monitor options… other than the physical features and batteries etc. The totevision appeals to me because they added no cost to support some type of battery mount. The tekkeon batteries are a great universal battery, and are useful beyond the totevision.

Reminders… you will need BNC to RCA adapters if you use the stock A1 component cable.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...le_BNC_to.html

Bottom line… Totevision and it’s 800x480 HD signal cousins are useful, even though there will certainly be something better next year,… but then the totevision dvi connector would then serve the new wiz bang field computer/ recorder. Good luck all.
Terry

[Shawn Levin]

Hi Terry,

I am truly appreciative of your help here....
Your information and 'review' of the TOTE VISION was inspiring... and thanks for reminding me about the BNC's
Thanks for all your effort.

I am going to go with the TOTE VISION....
(unfortunately it is costing me a bit more from b&h.... their list price
was $630 - $70 more than ggvideo) !! I have other items I am ordering and it just makes the shipping safer and more practical (remember I'm all the way down here in South Africa)
I have spoken to b&h and they have reduced their pride to $599.... seems a real shame to throw the extra $$ away but b&h are good)

Also... I will use the Tekkeon MyPower 3450.

Does the TOTE VISION have a remote ???
Do you have a TOTE VISION bag/sunshade (hood thingimajig) ??
If so.... would you recommend ?

One thing that you said that is SPOT ON..... specially about these LCD's
>>> everything costs too much for too little !!

When I get my LCD in about 2 weeks time I will share my findings here...
and hope to catch up with you again on this thread.

Shawn

[Terry Martin]

Shawn
First, spending a few extra bucks at B&H is well worth it in my opinion. I have done it many times… I appreciate the reliability.

The base monitor ships with nothing but a small wall wart power supply.

It looks like there is an IR sensor for a remote, but I can’t imagine why I would want one. The input selections have dedicated hardware buttons at the bottom… very handy and fast. I saw the bag and sunshade, nothing special, you could easily find a local substitute.

There are two small screw holes on each of the two sides. This makes it possible to mount stuff. In my case I fabricated a detachable plastic screen, flush against case front, but not touching the recessed LCD. This is for protection in the equipment box, and in crowded areas.

I also mount it with a small ball head in the bottom ¼-20 hole. The idea was for the ball head to adjust for best viewing, however, last Sunday I just set it up and forgot to “adjust” … didn’t seem like I needed to optimize the angle. If I shot outdoors, it would be easy to make a DYI sunshade because attaching to the metal case is so easy.
Terry

[Jonathan Mark]

Originally Posted by Shawn Levin

Hi Terry,
I have spoken to b&h and they have reduced their pride to $599

Is this true? I was just about to order exactly the setup to Japan but the price is still 629.95.