Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Video Monitors for 5DMK2

Working on a project to improve the clarity of my HD video. I am finding it challenging to manually focus the Canon's 5D Mark II, due to the design of the live view mode and physical camera angles. A tethered monitor can be useful to improve my visibility.

These days, very few people are made of money, and I am not one of them. I couldn't consider purchasing an LCD monitor for a service that will not be offered to clients. So I need to figure out a way to resolve this issue without having the additional expenditure. BTW, I did some internet window shopping for a monitor and learned that (prepare for sticker shock) JVC makes a monitor for this purpose. I am sure it's a fine monitor but my pocketbook opened up and laughed.

The next obvious option was to use my notebook, a little big to carry but should work great tethered. But I have a few problems with this idea. It's not as portable as I would like. The HP notebook I have been using has a poorly designed shell. HP has been addressing this and other issues. Netbooks might be an option but I have heard that they could not support most software applications and with small battery life may not be a good option.

Then I remembered that years back, we had purchased a video walkman for my kids (SONY DVE7000S). We have not used that walkman in many months. The monitor was used for long road trips and those came to a halt with the gas prices that rose through the roof. So reusing this video walkman just might work. BTW, a quick search for it reveals that now sells used for $120-150 online. Now to get the right cables and see if it's compatible.

I am getting a black and white screen. Time to go to the manual, I'll keep you posted.

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