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Hardware Review: Portable HD Monitor Solution – Sony DVP FX820 DVD Player
Welcome to the DOJO!
Is any one else as tired as I am from the holidays? Sheesh, I think I get more worn out from the end of the year holiday “vacation” than from any amount of work. Something about large numbers of relatives and in-laws decending upon my home just plain sucks the energy out of me. I’m ready to get back to work and get some rest!
One of the upsides of this particular holiday season is that I always wind up getting some pretty cool gadgets I might not have otherwise purchased for myself. My beloved wife seems to pay extra attention to all the gear I talk about in the final months of the year, makes a list and then goes out and picks the stuff up. I’m pretty sure I’ve got the best wife in the entire universe!
For this particular Christmas, I found a handy little item waiting for me Christmas morning, the Sony DVP-FX820 Portable DVD Player
As any indie or guerilla filmmaker out there knows, HD (high definition for the neophytes out there) monitors are expensive as heck, which puts them out of reach for most low budget filmmakers. Unfortunately, with more and more of the industry turning to HD for production, it’s quickly becoming a requirement to have one. This is even moreso the case for those of us who have 35mm adapters, such as the Letus, Brevis, JAG35 or TwoNeil adapters, in our toolkits. The LCDs on even the larger cameras can be a pain to focus with and the tiny little LCD on the Canon HV20/HV30 is just plain brutal.
So what are guerilla and indie filmmakers to do? Well, the answer comes in the form of the Sony DVP-FX820 Portable DVD Player
The Sony DVP-FX820 Portable DVD Player
1. The Sony DVP-FX820 has a resolution of 800×480
2. Its screen size is 8″ (which is a lot more managable than the 10+” screens a number of us had been using)
3. The Sony DVP FX820 is foldable (meaning the screen folds flat onto the base)
4. It swivels so you can mount it upside down, has controls on the screen itself instead of the DVD tray (so it is still accessible when folded)
5. Comes with a car charger
6. Has a battery which lasts approximately 5 hours (mine ran for about 5 hours and 10 minutes in one stretch this past week).
7. Displays more image than the HV20/HV30 built in LCD screens (has less overscan and shows nearly the entire area you are filming, keeping you from accidentally getting unwanted items in your shots)
8. Sells for under $145
This DVD Player is one of the best accessories to come on the market for the indie, guerilla or low budget filmmaker in a very long time and finally gives us a fantastic option for viewing HD or 35mm adapter footage while filming.
The only downside is that the monitor is a little bulkier than a normal external camera monitor and will add a little less than two pounds to your rig’s weight. That being said, I ran around with one mounted on my Canon HV20 shoulder-mounted rig this past week while filming a music video and had absolutely no problems at all. If you shoot on a tripod, a steadicam or with a shoulder mount you will be golden…if you’re shooting all handheld then you’re going to need to make sure your arms are buff!
If you are a guerilla or low budget filmmaker looking for a great HD-quality external monitor for your camera, with a bright screen, long lasting battery, swivel base and a car charger, for under $145, then the Sony DVP-FX820 Portable DVD Player
That’s it from the DOJO for today. Until next time, Keep Shooting!
- Mat Nastos, Film Sensei
http://www.FilmSensei.com
Nice. Will like to see pics of it mounted to the shoulder rig.
January 19th, 2009 at 12:21 pm