Easydive's Monitors

Easydive, italian and leadercompany in the sector ofuniversal housings and not only, opens 2019 with a big news, the external Monitors for Leo housings! But don't relax,Fabio Benvenuti, still promises a lot of surprises, keep following him on the social media pages and on the web site.

I consider the external monitor for underwater shooting a fundamental accessory for those who film underwater, by using DSLR or Mirrorless. Many of you may think that the external monitor is superfluous,since there is already a display on the cameras, but I can assure you that having an external and an adjustable monitor makes the difference while you are filming.

WHY IS THE EXTERNAL MONITOR SO IMPORTANT?

The cameras have been projected to take photos and the position to keep, comparedto those who make videos is very different. The photography is static and makes you focus for a few moments, the filming is movement and to make your video qualitative throughout the duration of the scene you have to keep a lot of things under control. While I'm filming I have to: hold the trim, control the tools, look at my mate, film, mantain a good frame, make the best use of the lights. These are the reasons why I consider the external monitor fundamental. Easydive has focused on realiability and functionality and in the absence of a unique standard for the management of the outgoing video signals, it had to create two different monitors.

> MONITOR BLACK MAGIC

It is compatible with Canon DSLR, mirrorless Canon and mirrorless GH4/GH5 Panasonic. You can mount it on the housings: Leo3, Leo3 plus, Leo Wi.

> MONITOR SMART VISION

It is compatible with mirrorless Sony. You can mount it on the husings: Leo3, Leo Wi.

FIRST LOOK AT THE BLACK MAGIC

As you know, I'm a "Canonist" so this first article will be focused on the monitor dedicated to Canon/Panasonic but soon I'll have the opportunity to usethe Sony Alpha 7M3 and there will be for sure an article dedicated to her! The monitor housing is made in aluminium, the opening is on the front, the hinged system, the closure with safety and the double o ring make everything very reliable. On the front a wide plexiglas and a lens hood assure a good view, then there are two threaded holes on both sides for the placement of the sphere that will let you choose the best position based on your needs and finally a lighting and power off button.

Inside of it you find the Blackmagic Video Assist monitor, a perfect accessory to be used even for external shootings, that has a lot of functions to set by using the menu like:peaking, zebra, guide linesmuch more. The monitor is provided without batteries, it accepts 2 canon LP-E6 or compatible, I made several tests and I suggest you to buy some batteries from 7.2 volt to 2040 Ah Li-ion , it is true that you can turn off the monitor whenever you want but as you well know, the battery life is never enough!

The cable with a rapid graft brings a signal to the monitor in SDI, this is possible thanks to a signal converter that Easydive positions inside the housing. I made several tests and I don't miss the 4K resolution while I'm underwater, I need the monitor to keep a good frame and to verify real-time the light cover. Inside the housing, in addition to the classic connections for the keyboard and the shot, like I anticipated to you,you will find the converter signal card to whom a HDMI cablewill be paired, once it is paired, you have to enable the external monitor on your camera with data and at this point you'll be ready.

The monitor is not neutral underwater, it will weigh down your housing and since it is detached from the body it will tend to unbalance the system, I solved everything with some floatingjibs Carbonarm and then I weighed down the visor of the Doom with some fishing weights, in this way I brought my housingback in trim! We conclude this first look at the new monitors, soon a video of the test into the sea, stay tuned !!