I'm looking at the Nikon D7000 in the not too distant future, but I really like the convenience of the tilt/swivel lcd on my D5000 and I use it on almost every shot. So....I've been looking at the Marshall 5 inch and the Sony lcd also if I were to get the D7000.
My question is do these monitors provide full live view functions? I can't find any info regading this specifically. It's my understanding these are primarily for video. Any other thoughts on using them for stills? I shoot mostly landscapes and florals/macros.
Thanks.
Bruce, the short answer is yes, because it's up to the camera to send out the full signal to the external monitor through the HDMI port. For stills this makes it possible for a portrait studio to show real-time work on a big flatscreen. It's ironic that my 5D Mark II, the movie-making champion, only provides a standard def signal out of the HDMI port. Duh! Canon went to sleep somewhere on that one (Canon 7D users, you have the full HD signal). But check your Nikon manuals online and just verify that the full image goes out the HDMI port of the Nikon bodies, ESPECIALLY in stills mode. It's possible the HDMI port only heats up for video, although that makes no sense for the manufacturer to do that.
Actually, depending on what Marshall model you get, you actually get ADDED features. In the video world, their external monitors have this nifty feature where it paints a transparent pink mask over the parts of the scene (or image) that are not in sharp focus. This aids focus pullers during a shoot tremendously (during a movie shoot the cameramen don't focus, they just compose... a focus puller handles focusing). Think what that can do for still images in nature, you can dial right in and pick which tree you want out of focus and be totally confident that it's correct. Wild stuff, wonder what Ansel would think about all of this.
Bruce, I checked, you're good to go with the D7000, has full HDMI signal output. There are two Marshall monitors that will work very well. This one has a 5" screen and more bells and whistles including the exposure and focusing support, and this one is cheaper but sports a 7" screen and uses Nikon or Canon batteries. It doesn't have the focusing aids however. I saw that B&H Photo does sell them for about $100 cheaper. I may join you and get one of these, it's very hard to shoot macro or video without a flip-up monitor, and my knees aren't as good as they were 25 years ago, lol.
Wow, thanks for the great info Paul. Makes me want to run out and buy the setup right away. Of course better judgement will prevail.......
I'm assuming the "transparent pink mask" you referred to can be turned off. Duh! And I wonder how accurate it is. For instance, some AF systems are better than others, etc.
I couldn't come up with such detailed info, even on the Marshall site. Where did you find it?
Yes, it can be turned off, lol! The best thing about Marshall is that you can see them in bright sunlight way better than our LCDs. Info can be found here, just click on each of the tabs. The Features tab explains how the exposure and focusing filters work. For landscape images I would still use good ol' hyperfocal focusing, but if you get into some f2.8 work with an intentional blurred background, the filter on the monitor will help greatly.
Why aren't you looking at a D700? and something else for video?
Posted by David Bostedo on June 30, 2011 at 11:06 AM
...the "transparent pink mask"...
That's called focus peaking. It's the standard for video focusing, and is at least accurate enough for films. It's also now available in the Sony Nex mirrorless cameras for stills and video. I'd imagine it's not quite as good as a good autofocus system for stills, but better than trying to focus manually. For video, since your capture isn't all that hi-res, it's probably very useful.
Discussion
7 repliesMy question is do these monitors provide full live view functions? I can't find any info regading this specifically. It's my understanding these are primarily for video. Any other thoughts on using them for stills? I shoot mostly landscapes and florals/macros.
Thanks.
Actually, depending on what Marshall model you get, you actually get ADDED features. In the video world, their external monitors have this nifty feature where it paints a transparent pink mask over the parts of the scene (or image) that are not in sharp focus. This aids focus pullers during a shoot tremendously (during a movie shoot the cameramen don't focus, they just compose... a focus puller handles focusing). Think what that can do for still images in nature, you can dial right in and pick which tree you want out of focus and be totally confident that it's correct. Wild stuff, wonder what Ansel would think about all of this.
I'm assuming the "transparent pink mask" you referred to can be turned off. Duh! And I wonder how accurate it is. For instance, some AF systems are better than others, etc.
I couldn't come up with such detailed info, even on the Marshall site. Where did you find it?
That's called focus peaking. It's the standard for video focusing, and is at least accurate enough for films. It's also now available in the Sony Nex mirrorless cameras for stills and video. I'd imagine it's not quite as good as a good autofocus system for stills, but better than trying to focus manually. For video, since your capture isn't all that hi-res, it's probably very useful.
Troup-all my lenses except the Sigma 150 are DX. Full Frame would be nice but when I got started it wasn't practical cost wise.