DP1 + steady cam?

[Dale Guthormsen]

Good afternoon,

Is anyone using a dp1 on a steady cam?

How is it working out for you and how do you view it?


dale

[Andrew Dean]

Heya Dale,

I've rigged my dp1 onto some imitation steadicams, but never a proper one. (i jokingly stuck it and a hv20 onto my steadicam merlin, but that hardly counts) It seems that people with real steadicams invested in nice transflective or green-only monitors already.

See some big flaws in general using the dp1 on a steadicam (branded or not).

1.If you mount it down on the bottom as you should, its fairly far from your face and you lose most of the benefit of the higher rez screen

2. its not that bright. It would work fine indoors, but outdoors could easily get washed out if its open and down away from you.

3. its a reflective screen surface. This means that the "mirror effect" would be particularly bad hung down low - reflecting the bright sky.

4. You'd pretty much have to use the sunshade, but it would be of limited use at that location and angle. The sunshade works great when i'm able to block the reflections behind me with my body, but if i stand back, it gets hard to see really quickly... and the sunshade would then limit the field of view, which sucks.

Don't get me wrong, since I have a dp1, i'm happy to shove it on a steadicam that doesn't have a better monitor option already... but I couldn't recommend it for that. If steadicam is one of your main uses, for the same price I reckon you'd be better off with something transflective or ultra-bright, even if they are low rez.

For dual use as steadicam and HD focus monitor... heh. I don't think any monitor does both of those great.

my 2c anyways. Cheers!

[Dale Guthormsen]

Thanks andrew,

Wouldn't it be nice if you could get some transreflective cover to go over the monitor for that??? They make them for cameras if I recall!!

I am going to try it, I made an angled shade box for it that uses the 1/4 mount holes to be held in place.


Dale

[Robert Turchick]

I have a matte finish screen cover on mine that works pretty well at getting rid of reflections. I agree that the monitor isn't bright enough unless you stuff your face in it. And the sun shade makes it work great but useless on a steadicam.

My buddy and I are going to try something with his steadicam... I will be the "focus puller" using my DP1 and he'll take care of the walking/framing stuff. He's got the whip for his follow focus so it should work....we'll see!

[Trevor Meeks]

Originally Posted by Robert Turchick

My buddy and I are going to try something with his steadicam... I will be the "focus puller" using my DP1 and he'll take care of the walking/framing stuff. He's got the whip for his follow focus so it should work....we'll see!

Sorry, but it won't work. By using a whip input to a follow focus on a steadicam, you're effectively rendering the steadicam useless by introducing physical input to the rig at a point other than the center of gravity. The only legitimate way to pull focus on a steadicam is via a wireless FF.

Good luck.

As far as DP1 use on a steadicam rig, I don't have a steadicam-branded rig, but I do use the DP1 on my Glidecam X-22. I don't operate a LOT outdoors on full daylight, but I have used it at night, indoors (a lot) and in the late afternoon and evening and it's fantastic. The size is decent if not a tiiiiny bit large for the rig, but it works perfectly. No, these monitors are not super strong in bright sunlight on a steadicam rig, but I did just make my own angled shade for it out of cardboard and black tape, and I'm gonna see how that works. Honestly, like I said, I hardly ever operate outdoors in bright sunlight as it is so I really haven't got any solid input on that point.

I'll get some pics up of my DP1/X22 rig with the 1D Mark IV when I get back from NAB.

By the way, I've checked out the DP-SLR at the SmallHD booth here at NAB, and it's ABSOLUTELY beautiful. A number of people have already commented on how perfect this monitor will be for steadicam rigs, notably the pilot.

[Sean Seah]

Man I'm tempted with the SmallHD. I heard the battery life isnt fantastic thou. Hope this new one is better. No peaking function right?

[Trevor Meeks]

Originally Posted by Sean Seah

Man I'm tempted with the SmallHD. I heard the battery life isnt fantastic thou. Hope this new one is better. No peaking function right?

You really have to see a monitor like this to understand that you do NOT need peaking at all. With a resolution that is near print quality on an LCD (1280x800 - I think equates to around 270ppi on the DP-SLR) the details is unbelievable, and peaking is not necessary at all.

The battery life is fine on the DP1 - around 2.5 hours per battery. The DP-SLR has around 4 hours of battery life... dunno how that could be seen as a bad thing. Batteries charge in about an hour to an hour and a half, so having two batteries, one on charge, one working, will last you all day.

Also, the DP-SLR supports input voltages up to 17v, meaning you can power it off of an Anton Bauer or other unregulated source. You aren't tied to the SmallHD batteries.

I stopped by the SmallHD booth at NAB and spoke to the crew a few times, saw the monitors and they're absolutely beautiful. You'll be quite impressed.

Enjoy!