San Diego based photographer Robert Benson sent me his latest tech creation which is a wireless video monitoring solution that works off the analog signal coming out of cameras like the Canon and Nikon DSLRs. I love people that are makers who hack things together to create affordable solutions for thier professional challenges.
I was pleasently suprised at the quality of wireless video that was being sent over the airwaves by a small transmitter attached to the analog AV ouput of the camera. Robert's new version of this setup has an even better casing for the transmitter and 9V battery sans the black tape. The monitor itself if a mobile DTV that used to have an analog AV input. Robert has modified the lightweight 7" device by dropping in an analog video reciever into the plastic casing of the mobile TV, which is powered by the same rechargeable battery that powers the LCD screen. This reciever is routed through the AV input of the TV, making operation as simple as pushing a button.
In 16x9 mode, the screen is a bit stretched, but it's still easy to get focus see the framing. It's a great tool for times when you are doing a car mount or some other special mount where you just need a simple monitoring solution to see if you got the shot right. For on-set follow-focus operations by the A/C, I would probably go with an SDI or HD-SDI wireless solution. But at $200, it's a great tool to have that will help you in a pinch.
Robert is giving away one of these cool monitor systems on his blog. Also, check out the video "Fight" on his website, it's very very awesome.
Snehal Patel
Director/DP
FearlessProductions.tv