GH2 DSLR Rig: Part 2 (External Video Monitor)

The DSLR Rig series continues on the path to glory for Panasonic GH2 owners and all other DSLR users alike. Part 2 deals with the Lilliput 569 GL/HO monitor and its abilities to help achieve critical focus.

Produced by:
Shattered Glass Productions

Rail & Follow Focus:

Lilliput Monitor:

Davis & Sanford ProVista Tripod with FM18 fluid head:

[heikoobermoeller]

I just tested it and it works fine! I have the Lilliput attached to the camera and feed the HDMI signal to another 7 inch field monitor. Works great, I´m happy I found this video and monitor, thanks again for posting!

[streamPUNK]

The arm, battery, shoe mount, and battery all came bundled with the monitor! It was purchased through Amazon, but you will want to check with the seller to make sure what is included.

[streamPUNK]

Thanks so much! I enjoy watching these kinds of videos so it makes me happy to know there are people enjoying mine!

[streamPUNK]

Monitor is a Lilliput 569 GL/HO, and the articulating arm for the monitor is CoolLCD brand, but you can find alternatives on Amazon and such. The battery for the monitor is a third-party version of the Sony NP-F550, and the rails and follow focus are all FOTGA DP-500 brand (search e-bay to find several different configurations).

[streamPUNK]

The tripod is the Davis and Sanford Provista 7518 with the FM18 fluid head. I got it for just under $200 and it comes with a bag, but it's down to $160 now on Amazon. It's a great tripod overall and the head is very smooth, but I'm starting to get a little wobble which seems to be a loose screw or bolt somewhere.

[streamPUNK]

Wow, glad I could help! I hope you like it. I've found it to be invaluable on many shoots. Some people have mentioned problems with video playback on the 7-inch and other Lilliput models. I haven't had that issue on the 5-inch and I hope you don't either.

[ThisLittleShow]

these videos are fantastic, so impressed with the quality of them

[streamPUNK]

Glad you like it! The monitor came in a bundle package from Amazon, and it was about $250 with all the accessories. I should've mentioned that, sorry. I keep hearing about the Shoot35 mattebox, so I'll have to look into it. I might get one simply for shading the lens (and looking cool), but I don't feel I need the 4x4 filter function since I have filters screwed onto my lens.

[streamPUNK]

Glad you pointed that out! I thought that might be a possibility, but I haven't tested it myself. I run audio through an external recorder anyway, but being able to feed sound through the headphone jack on the monitor would be pretty handy. Especially for DSLR users!

[Militia]

This was really well done. The whole series. Salute.

[bavideomaker]

Advantages of a cage over just rails, for me, are the many mounting points, a bit of protection, and stabilization for when going hand-held in situations where a shoulder rig won't work or wouldn't be appropriate.

[streamPUNK]

Ya, that is pretty funny! Looks like the belt isn't attached to the lens, so maybe I had misplaced it or something. This video was about the monitor mainly anyway, but I do look silly pulling focus with my hand while the follow focus is right there.

[streamPUNK]

It's a Davis and Sanford Provista 7815. Amazon has it down from $190 to $160, and it easily supports the weight of my rig. Just got the GH3 in the mail today!!! Trying to get a video of it up soon.

[streamPUNK]

Thank you very much! I enjoy watching these types of videos myself so it's nice to know that mine are being appreciated by others.

[streamPUNK]

I purchased the rails and follow focus from e-bay under the Fotga DP-500 brand name. The Lilliput monitor and accessories came through Amazon. For everything you see in this video, my total cost was $475. I've since added a shoulder mount and handle bars (seen in Part 4 of the video series) which brings the total to $590.
I should point out that I've noticed a pretty steep drop in prices for both the rail and follow focus online. You can get both together for just over $100 now!

[streamPUNK]

Don't worry, it's on backorder everywhere so you probably wouldn't get it until the end of the year. Plus it's pretty expensive now ($1300 for just the body), so I'll likely be waiting until next year to buy it. I'm perfectly happy with my GH2s for the moment and all the hacks available to improve them.
I purchased the shoulder support from a local seller, but the handle grip is from overseas so will take a few more days.

[streamPUNK]

It might because the camera may end up being to high for the follow focus gear to reach. I probably wouldn't use this combination anyway since a battery grip is, at least from my perspective, designed more for handheld situations. If you just want the better battery life, then an external battery with a DC cable to plug into your camera would be the better solution for a camera mounted on a rig.

[streamPUNK]

I still see rail/follow-focus combos on ebay if you search "dp500 dslr follow focus w rail" and I recently bought a cage with rails and a follow focus off of Amazon called the Opteka CXS-500 X-Cage Pro. Also a search of "Opteka Follow Focus rail" on Amazon turns up some very affordable items.

[streamPUNK]

I've never got the images to match, but my main priority has been to use this monitor for focusing. I reference my camera's LCD for color and exposure and then keep my eye on the monitor while shooting. I often find myself liking the image on the monitor more, but I have to bare in mind that it doesn't accurately reflect the look of the image going into the camera.

[doublejnyc]

Thank you so much. I JUST got a used GH2 and I'm so happy.