Anybody using this setup? I've seen hundreds of articles and forums talking about using the 5DMKII for video with a field monitor such as a Marshalls, ikan, lilliput, etc. I shoot stills only for architecture and interiors of properties and I'm looking for a little larger screen to review my images on besides the lcd screen. I don't want to carry around a laptop to tether so I thought this might be an answer.
Is it only with LiveView or can you shoot normally and then just review your shot on the monitor? I just want to use the viewfinder to setup and take the shot and then use the monitor to see the results. Is it sharp enough to see details? I'm not worrying about color accuracy of the monitor just the overall scene framing and the lighting effects of my strobes. Thanks for any help. Sorry for rambling. :-)

I bought a manfroto clamp-on platform for my laptop that clamps onto my tripod for a similar use.

That way, I can also make all the settings manually, review the live histogram, focus and release the shutter. Its a 12 in Lenovo X200 laptop, and light and easy to carry along. I put a SSD in it, and the battery life is supurb.

It can also upload your images by wifi, if thats something you need to do.

A large monitor really helps get get your focusing precise.

I have the Sony CLM-V55 that fits in the hotshoe which is a very conveinent place to put it. I use it for architecture and shooting backings for film. Its fast to set up and very compact, does fine in bright light. I find the color is quite good. I use mine in live view, for framing and composition rather than the viewfinder, but it does a great job for reviewing, too. When I do backings, I am concerned about stitching together for ultra high rez images, so the monitor is key to seeing that I get enough overlap for panos. For review, its also great to have one, so, so much better than the back of the camera LCD.

scalesusa: Thanks for the feedback. I tried a netbook and it didn't work for me although I believe you would probably have the best control. A large monitor would be nice. I'm a one man show and it's too much to move from room to room.

timpdx: I'm not familiar with the term "backings" but it's good to know you had good enough detail to line up for stitching. If it'll work as a review monitor then that's what I was looking for. Thanks.

Thank you both for sharing your experiences.

It seems that many consider the limitation to using Live view 5-10X is the relatively small 3" LCD. It has reasonably high resolution (920,000 pixels) but one had to get quite close to use it as a focusing device. Using the HDMI output of the 5DII, one can use a 5-7" LCD for Live View. These units were all developed for dSLR Video use and are self powered, with 800X480 resolution. You mount the LCD in a small ballhead to your hot shoe (usually included) and plug it into the HDMI, it will show everything that now shows on your LCD.

Videographers have developed other useful monitor tricks like focus peaking, which is on a few of these mini monitors. Its very fast to see what is in focus with this technique and is described in this review
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/marshall_v_lcd50_portable_monitor.shtml

focus peaking is a feature starting to appear in Sony cameras and I anticipate will be very common for MF assist in several years. also with peaking

http://swiviusa.com/

There are many other similar products
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/762763-REG/Sony_CLM_V55BDL_CLM_V55BDL_Portable_LCD_Monitor.html

hhttp://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/712236-REG/Marshall_Electronics_M_LCD7_HDMI_B_CE6_M_LCD7_HDMI_CE6_7_Portable_On_Camera.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/760512-REG/Ikan_VL7_7_HDMI_LCD_Monitor.html

http://www.amazon.com/Lilliput-monitor-interface-dedicated-high-definition/dp/B0041I8UAO/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1324016732&sr=8-1-fkmr0

I use a Marshall 5 inch often on automotive shoots. We do a lot of car to car shots with a remotely triggered camera mounted outside the car, I can see what im shooting. It's also nicer to see the image on a big screen

Thanks all for the great resources and real life experiences. Looks like the Marshall 7" is on sale and uses the Canon batteries which might be a nice convenience.

rbethem wrote:
Thanks all for the great resources and real life experiences. Looks like the Marshall 7" is on sale and uses the Canon batteries which might be a nice convenience.

I have one coming today but I intend to use it primarily for video. From the reviews on the B&H website, it seems to work well outdoors even in bright light which is a major issue with the camera's own LCD.

You can get a hood, but my experience is the glass on the camera's LCD at least reflects back whatever is opposite it - such as the shirt I am wearing - much more than the sky, so I have taken to wearing black shirts - even in the heat of summer - to minimize reflections. I'm not sure if the glass on the Marshall LCD is as bad, but I do think the larger size will help either way.

In terms of turning it off for composing your shot and then just using it to review your photos, I guess you can plug and unplug the HDMI cable or remove the battery on the LCD (from what I gather from the BH customer reviews, there isn't an on/off switch per se), but that would quickly become a PITA and I'm not sure why you'd need to do it anyway. Assuming the image is visible in bright sunlight, focusing with Live View is fine and seems preferred to looking thru the camera's viewfinder to try to compose your shot.

Anyway, I'll try to check back once I receive and test the Marshall LCD.

Thanks 24Peter. I'd be interested in your thoughts once you've had a chance to play with it. I'd rather not use liveview at all and just shoot normally and then chimp on the monitor to see results. I totally agree turning it on and off would not be efficient and a total PITA as you say.
If you have the time, could you confirm that you can leave the monitor on, shoot a still normally (non-liveview) and then just push the review button and see the results on the monitor. That would be great if it worked that way. Thanks.

So I had a chance to play with it tonight and it basically works the same as if you had your camera hooked up via HDMI to your big screen HDTV. Any on-screen display (I have my camera settings display on the rear LCD of the camera between shots) will show up on the monitor and then after a shot, you can easily review your images on it. (The camera's LCD blacks out when you attach the HDMI cable to the camera meaning it's no longer possible to view anything on the rear LCD screen of your camera.) The only possible impediment to using the viewfinder while the LCD is mounted on the hot shoe is you might bump your head against it while shooting depending on where you have it positioned.

Overall I'd say its a pretty good value for $250 (after rebate). I wish the LCD's resolution were higher as that would help with focusing while shooting video (my primary purpose) since the HDMI output on both my 5DII and 60D drops to 640X480 while actually recording video (in between recordings you can zoom in/magnify to focus) (I think only the 7D and maybe 1DIV output full 1080 via HDMI while recording.)

The monitor comes with a bunch of accessories including a knockoff LP-E6 battery and charger (I don't know if the battery is chipped meaning you can't use your camera's charger - I didn't bother to unpack it yet.) Build quality is on a par with other budget China gear (including a 50th generation Xeroxed one page instruction manual) and doesn't inspire too much confidence in durability, but again for $250 it's fine. I didn't get the LCD until tonight so I don't know how it will work outside in daylight, but anyone serious about shooting video with a DSLR (even a 60D with swivel screen) should consider one of these. It really is a big advantage to view your shot on a 7" screen as opposed to the 3" camera LCD while you are shooting. In fact, the camera's LCD looks pretty small the first time you switch back to it from the Marshall.

As far as using it to review still images, it may or may not do the trick for you. I've never had too much trouble checking focus on my still shots by zooming in on the camera's LCD while reviewing my photos so I personally wouldn't buy the Marshall just for that purpose, but YMMV.

that's is a bummer about 640 x 480 on 5D2,

i know your primary use is video,

can you use the 7" marshal for live view?
does it crop the edges of the picture?
does it maintain 800 x 480 for live view (if possible)?

Thanks for the update 24Peter. That sounds like it might just work for me. I shoot all my interiors stills at f/11 at hyperfocal distance so I'm not too worried about focus. I'm just looking for a larger review screen to check lighting effects, framing and to pick up any little details that I may have missed like bad reflections, shadows, etc. This sounds like it'll work. I appreciate your feedback in the way you had it set up...exactly how I would use it. Thanks again. I can't wait to check out the awesome instruction manual. :-)