Does anyone have experience with these, if so can I hear some pro's and cons or reviews? I have a canon XHA1s and while it does take fantastic HD video, the 2.8" display is certainly lacking. I have a hard time making sure I have the correct focus while filming and I'm contemplating getting a 5" or 7" external monitor I can mount to the hotshoe so I can get a larger and clearer display of what the camera is recording. There's such a range of prices on these, I've seen them anywhere from about $100 to $3000. I'm not looking to break the bank, but if I can find one that will work nicely for my needs and is a decent price I'd like to get it.
I run the SmallHD 7" monitor and really like it. In use it on all of my cameras including my XH-A1. The only problem is that the XH-A1 does not have HDMI out so you have to use Canon's special cable which can be hard to find these days. I have an extra one that I would be willing to part with. You really want a true HD monitor for focus purposes. I tried cheap ones and they are fine for framing a shot but suck for trying to focus. HD is the only way to go for focus work.
The AC7 LCD. I bought it last winter when they first released them and were marking them down $100. Still at $599 the current price is good for what it is, IMO. I have the Canon battery back plate for mine, so I can run the same batteries that my 7D uses, which makes it very convenient. Like I said, I tried a couple lower end monitors before that and they really did nothing more than to help me frame the shot. I primarily got the AC7 for shooting video on my DSLR because that is where I personally struggle the most when it comes to holding focus. But the beauty of the AC7 is that I can take it to any of my other cameras including the new XA20 which is arriving at my office today.
Me? I self film 100% of my hunting ... I like the challenge of self filming, it is the most rewarding, and it takes up the vast majority of my time. I film other hunters for my company video work and for my sponsors.
Skywalker, I ran the same camera years ago and had the same difficulty. I bought a 7" shoe mounted screen and it greatly improved my visibility of my target, however the extra time it took to set it up on every hunt was really a drag and i resorted back to the standard camera featured screen and rolled with that.
Like I mentioned earlier, the problem with the XH-A1 is that there is no HDMI out. So you have to use either a AV cable or their stupid D-terminal to component cable. The D-terminal cable gives the better image, but you have to use their cable and it is like 5' long. It is obnoxious dealing with all that cable and difficult to hook up in the dark. I could never get a color image on my monitors either. Always black and white. Maybe it was a setting or something that I had wrong but on all three monitors that I tried, B&W is all that I could ever get on screen. I ended up scrapping the monitor and just always shooting video on the small screen. I would use a combination of AF and MF techniques. It was a good camera but I sold it last week on eBay. If it would have had an HDMI output I'd have been tempted to keep it. But after owning newer cameras that have both HDMI and better quality on camera screens, I knew that the XH-A1 had to go.
