For those still interested I got the Marshall and shot a few comparison photos. I still don't know if there is something wrong with the SWIT they gave me, but if not, then I'd definitely not recommend using it with component. I could not tell focus or color (though this is adjustable with sliders) It's much better in S-video (even better than the marshall in S-video).

But the Marshall with HD plugs looks the best of all. I only wish it had some kind of peaking or zoom so that you could better see the focus. It’s there, but it's not as hit-you-in-the-face focus as I was hoping. You still have to get your face in there and look hard. But you can tell when it's sharp because it has some aliasing on the edges (so I guess this is a little bit of peaking).

But it's still a pretty monitor and will certainly come in handy for adapter work and everything else (though I'll be relying on my Dell 24" as much as I can because it does give hit-you-in-the-face focus feedback).

The good things I can say about the SWIT are:
1.) Size (that extra inch may not seem like much but it really is helpful for comfortable viewing. If only it were sharper…),
2.) Weight (the Marshall is bulky and heavy),
3.) Price. ($500 less with accessories = considerable amount),
4.) Image flip (it's handy).



I do have one question for those who know more about this than I do. I'm getting some horizontal lines on the Marshall when using it in HD or composite with my JVC HD100. They scroll from the bottom to the top of the monitor about 1 inch apart. It's crazy annoying and I don't know where it's coming from. There's no problem when I view component output to my Dell monitor directly (but it transfers through if I go through the Marshall outputs). I tried getting some "better" adapters at Radioshack -same things, but gold. They didn't help. Could there be an issue with the BNC adapters still? Would something like this be better: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...goryNavigation Or should I be calling JVC? Thanks.

Here's the photos:

I never experienced this problem with the HVX200 (in any mode). Know anyone with an HVX? It would rule out the connectors. I'd guess that it's cam. setting, but I know nothing about the JVC.

Chad, I don't have that issue with the Marshall, and it sounds like a power/interferance issue. These monitors did have issues with flickering when used on HVX's, do a search on Marshall flickering HVX. Marshall reported it to be a calibration or power conditioning issue that was fixed. However, some users reported the problem persisted even after sending in for a fix.

You may have a defective unit? However, if your Swit was also acting up, maybe it's your camera? Are you able to hook the Marshall up to another camera to confirm the issue?

Chad, great comparison shots. I pretty much came to the same conclusion on the Marshall after doing my own tests. Once the Dell monitor arrives here, I'll be interested to see how it performs with the A1...but your grabs from it looked pretty good.

Peter, I seem to have misplaced my component hookups for my FX1 or I'd have tried that for sure. But I did try it with my DVD player via component and it gave a good clean image without the lines. I've got the LCD powered by my camera's Anton Bauer battery via a powertap to XLR cable. Here's the scoop on what I've tried with power:

On AC power the LCD shows less of a problem but the pass through outputs show the lines very badly on the larger HD monitor. BUT when I turn the Marshall off the lines go away on the large monitor...

On the camera's battery (shared power) both monitors exhibit the lines but the large HD screen less so. -Also stops when Marshall turned off.

On a separate battery both monitors look pretty clean and if anything have a faint flicker which is hard to detect/easy to ignore..

So it appears there is some sort of power inconsistency. It seems like the Marshall was intended to be powered by a single battery all by itself. I may have to rethink my power solution… Dennis, when did you say you’d have that rails-mounted battery done? ;-)

Chad, these monitors are sensitive to power, and a general read on the net indicates such. I wired a 7v canon battery adaptor in, and get about 10 minutes of good use then it flickers horribly. My alternative (other than constant AC), was to order a 12v battery belt pack to ensure plenty of juice. I also found that adding the battery to the monitor was too much for the noga arm anyway.

Chad, did you understood SWIT component out problem? Cable, camera or monitor?
Thanks

Alvise, I only had one SWIT and I tried multiple cables/adapters with it. Nothing helped and the camera was working fine. If the unit was not defective (and it could have been but I don't know), it is not at all good for focusing via component. S-video was workable, but you're paying $1000 for HD, not just S-video. Look for a 800x480 monitor with S-video or get the Marshall. Or take a chance that the one I had was defective...

I own a SWIT and I am able to focus with it just fine.

There you have it. Mine must have been broken somehow. It was nothing but guess-work when using the HD inputs. It looked like there was a slight double-image as well.

Via (sd) y/c or (hd) components?

I tested the Swit and the Marshal side by side but I'll admit I never even considered the s-video input on the swit. I plugged the Marshal in s-video because they have another monitor that's 500 less without HD inputs, it's the same lcd with a different scaler. The s-video on the Marshall was worse than component on the swit, it was almost frighteningly bad. In a head to head the Marshal wins easily, nobody will tell you otherwise. Good Luck, Charles.

so, can someone post a link to what constitutes the "right connectors" for the XH A1 to Marshall monitor connectors? i just bought a Marshall and the XH A1 component cable is not compatible, and the boys at radio shack had no answers, so can someone tell me how they got these two units to play together? please and thank you....

Assuming that you have the supplied Canon DTC-1000 cable with the latching sub-D to triple RCA type component connectors, you just need three RCA (F) to BNC (M) adaptors.

http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.c..._1938_23685448

As it's not really the best practice to use adaptors on anything critical, my solution was to chop the canon cable down to a two foot cable terminated with three new BNC's for the component inputs on the Marshall. Less cable = less weight

It would have been nice if Canon had terminated the cable with BNC's and provided RCA adaptors. Would have been a more pro solution.

thank you, jay. that's exactly what i needed. the pictures help. now i hope i can find these locally(not so easy around here, without a trip to the big city), so i can use the monitor for a shoot on tuesday.

modding the cable as you suggested seems to be the best solution.

Does anyone know what price Canon sells the DTC-1000 component cable for? Or if the camera side connector is some proprietary part? It would be nice to have a short modified cable for situations such as this as well as keeping the original cable.

Bill

I'm not sure what people are doing to get such horrible results with the SWIT, but I have had no such problems. Hooked up to the components out of my XH-A1 it looks great. As far as power consumption goes I had a friend use it the other day and only had to replace the Canon 950 battery once during a full day of shooting. There were no reports of flickering. Also he was using a 35mm adapter and was able to focus using only an s-video connection.

So it seems to me that some of you got faulty monitors or it's an issue of user error.

i don't know if this helps, but i got the adapters and, using the XH A1 and component in, i'm getting the annoying flickering. i hooked an XL2 up via S-video, and the monitor is fine, so i'm thinking that the RCA to BNC adapters are the weak link. these adapters don't seem to provide a very tight connection, so i'm thinking that Jay's suggested cable mod is a good idea and am going to look into it.

when it's not flickering, the picture is very good. i'm sure when i get this figured out, i'm going to love having this....

good question, bill. i'm going to call them monday and find out--if i can get another cable, then i'll feel safer proceeding with modifying the original.

if anyone else wants to try, canon's direct sales number is 800-385-2155

canon does not have these available through their accessories department. "call back in a month" is what i was told. they did, however, steer me to this site, where it is available as an accessory.

http://www.shop-canon.com.hk

plug DTC-1000 into the search engine, and you'll see the cable available for $280 HK (hong kong dollars...)

$1US = $7.8147HK, according to the yahoo currency converter....

so the cable is available for about $36 US dollars, if my math is correct (and it rarely is!)

so anyone wanting to mod their cable--or anyone wanting both a long and a short cable-- might want to buy one of these first.

the fine print, once you go to the shopping cart....

"Our on-line ordering service extends only to Hong Kong residents, and we will only accept orders from, and will only deliver goods to, persons who are resident in the Hong Kong SAR"

so i guess we're SOL on the cable, at least in the US....

Thanks for the info. I can't imagine it being exclusive to overseas, at least for very long. And if it IS around $36, that's a lot less than what I thought it might be. Time will tell.

Bill

I found this in the States. Says it's in stock.

http://www.avalive.biz/Canon/0976B00...ductDetail.php