Want to take video creation and production into the modern era?
Video production monitors have become an extremely important part of television, broadcasting and film production today. In fact, since monitors showcase exactly what is captured without any modifications or improvements, they provide a realistic picture critical to video production.
Ask any TV production team or motion picture crew and they’ll tell you that they use top quality field monitors that can be placed on/off camera and manned by camera operators and assistants, and include many useful features that may not be found in on-camera displays.
If you’re an avid vlogger or pro photographer, a basic video monitor can be a worthwhile purchase to check your composition, framing and even your focus for the videos you create.
In this post we’ll explore why you need a video or portable field monitor and provide some worthwhile recommendations.
Key reasons why you need a field monitor:
An external, battery-powered mobile display, a field monitor shows you the exact same picture that is being recorded to camera. Here are a 3 key reasons to get one:
- Ranging 5″-9″ in screen size, much larger than standard camera displays, a field monitor is excellent for viewing all details clearly within a frame.
- For solo interviews, it can get difficult trying to conduct the interview and view what’s happening on the camera that’s recording. An external field monitor is great to keep the frame in focus and make sure you get the best take possible.
- A monitor can come in very handy especially when filming overhead shots of large crowds or even close-up video for product demos and reviews. Great for YouTubers!
In most situations you’ll be connecting your camera to the monitor using HDMI or SDI – both are capable of sending AV signals over a single cable.
HDMI is great for transmitting clear and crisp HD quality and 4K images, and is available on most cameras today. SDI is more commonly found on pro-quality cameras used for broadcasting.
Most of the monitors available in the market today should be suitable for beginners and even intermediate users, and will suffice most daily production projects.
However, more complex work may require advanced features that can come from pro-quality video monitors.
Pacific Radio carries entry-level to pro-quality video monitors from leading industry brands such as Lilliput and Marshall. We’re sure to have a model that fits your needs!
Entry-level Video Monitors
Lilliput A7s Full HD 7 Inch Monitor With 4K Camera Assist – $159
Need a dependable video assist that won’t burn a hole in your wallet? For just $159 the Lilliput A7S 7″ field monitor is a MUST buy. This compact beast is optimized for DSLR & Full HD Camcorder and includes an IPS screen, 4K HDMI input/output video, peaking, zoom, histogram, grid, aspect ratio, image flip, audio meters, color temp and more!
Marshall M-LYNX-10 10″ A/V Lynx LCD Monitor with Composite, HDMI, VGA, and Audio Inputs
A compact 10″ LCD monitor, the M-Lynx-10 is great for industrial, AV, and security applications. It offers digital image processing, 2D comb filter, Composite, S-Video, VGA inputs, dynamic noise reduction and more. Slim, portable design!
Advanced Video Monitors
Marshall M-LYNX-702-V3 7″ Rackmountable 1024 x 600 LCD Display – $789
A budget friendly pro-quality video monitor excellent for control and routing rooms, fly packs and numerous other video system applications. HDMI and 3GSDI compatible along with analog inputs, audio de-embedding, built-in LED indicators and a host of other features!
Lilliput BM150-6G 15.6″ 6G-SDI 4K Broadcast Director Monitor with 6G-SDI, HDMI, VGA & DVI – $1799
Specially designed for studio production and profession film makers the Lilliput BM150-6G comes with a full 4K (Ultra HD – 8.3 million pixels) resolution monitor, HDMI 2.0/SDI connectivity, and 6G bandwidth speed. Get the highest possible picture quality in a portable metal design, with a host of special features!
Have questions about which video monitor will work best for your application? Contact us or browse online at Pacrad.com today!