Do monitors really need to be so tiny?

[GeoffRG]

If the camera manufacturers ever get their act together to the extent that a tablet could be connected to a camera wirelessly, as if it were the camera's own monitor, there wouldn't be a problem. The screen on the camera could remain small but a much larger screen would be available to those who wanted it. the largest iPad has a 13" screen which should satisfy the majority who want a larger screen.

Obviously there would be a trade off, battery life for the camera would be reduced significantly by powering the communications between camera and tablet. Your choice. Personally, I find camera monitors adequate for my needs.

 

[MJ_Photo38]

I find them alright.

I'd prefer a smaller screen and physical buttons rather than a large screen and no buttons at all.

The Leica T and TL already tried this, and this wasn't good.

The Zeiss ZX1 also tried, and also failed.

--
(G.A.S. and collectionnite will get my skin one day)

 

[nikonzednaikonzee]

If the camera manufacturers ever get their act together to the extent that a tablet could be connected to a camera wirelessly, as if it were the camera's own monitor, there wouldn't be a problem. The screen on the camera could remain small but a much larger screen would be available to those who wanted it. the largest iPad has a 13" screen which should satisfy the majority who want a larger screen.

Obviously there would be a trade off, battery life for the camera would be reduced significantly by powering the communications between camera and tablet. Your choice. Personally, I find camera monitors adequate for my needs.

It wouldn't even have to be wireless- a wire would do. As long as it behaved exactly as the screen on the back of the camera.

 

[Bob A L]

Excellent idea. I was always a staunch viewfinder only guy until I by accident found out how useful using the lcd can actually be in many instances. I like your idea.

 

[Guy Parsons]

Here's my toy, sometimes used in awkward and small situations like for model trains....

The camera LCD is basic settings only, no images and it measures about 25mm diagonal, The remote controller does show the camera image and is about 35mm diagonal. The yellow Velcro is a loop that fits on my finger.

It all works fine for purpose. Bigger LCD and it would be a real pain to use.

 

[jjdp]

Tough sell. :-D

Primarily useful for video of course. Black Magic is the only one who offers a sizable built in monitor though the whole thing is much bigger. Would be cool if someone like Sony could do something similar but less bulky.

That Galaxy NX looked cool.

 

[Chris R-UK]

Tough sell. :-D

Primarily useful for video of course. Black Magic is the only one who offers a sizable built in monitor though the whole thing is much bigger. Would be cool if someone like Sony could do something similar but less bulky.

That Galaxy NX looked cool.

But it was a flop.

 

[musicshootr]

Every time a manufacturer makes a feature controllable by the touchscreen instead of a physical button/dial/joystick, I get mad, so less screen and more buttons suit my style. I hate touch to focus, for instance. I would prefer that every camera have an AF joystick. I hate EVFless cameras, I'd rather have a smaller screen and a bigger EVF. I hate single-wheel-operation styling (like on the EFM cameras and the Sony ZV1) and prefer button-per-function design, at least when it comes to controlling the exposure triangle. I would go so far as to say I would accept a smaller screen if it gave me more buttons, dials, and a joystick. I'm already on touchscreens for everything else. I want a camera to be tactile. I often fold my Zf's screen in, and my biggest beef with the camera is the lack of joystick.

 

[Joseph S Wisniewski]

Looking at the back of most cameras you could easily have a 5" monitor by moving the buttons or getting rid of them.

And upping the size of the battery substantially. To keep the same brightness, power use goes up with the square of the diagonal. (5/3)^2 = 2.8

But if you're going to rely more on the monitor and less on hard buttons, you're probably looking at wanting to increase brightness so even more than 2.8x the power.