17Mar Haier 7″ HLT71 Video review.
So after spending a few days with the Haier 7″ monitor I had a chance to run all the tests I could think of. I also spent some time going through all the settings in the menu. The color and contrast aren’t amazing out of this monitor, and the screen isn’t extremely bright. But It will work fine for pulling focus, setting up shots, and framing. The built in battery made it just over 2 hours on both tests so you might want to have a few extra batteries with you. Unfortunately the batteries (part number HLT71BAT) are still around $20 so an extra battery is half the cost of the monitor itself. If anyone comes up with a better battery source let me know and I”ll post it.
The mounting whole on the bottom of the monitor wasn’t quit 1/4 20. I had to use a 1/4 20 tap to clean up the threads before I could properly mount this little guy. I was happy to find out that the monitor is much lighter then amazon published. The Haier 7″ monitor is also a bit thinner and lighter then my Lilliput monitor. The built in headphone amp also worked quit well.
For our UK friends I put my camera in PAL 1080p 25 frames and the monitor blinked then came back up. I don’t think you’ll have any luck with the tuner but at least the composite inputs take PAL.
I have the photo gallery up in this earlier post.
March 17th, 2011 at 9:16 am
Hey Deejay mine should arrive today (UPS says it outs for delivery) what size is the screw slot that you re-threaded. Wondering if I could find something at Lowes that will fit that could be used to prevent from having to rethread it and risk messing it up? I don’t have a rethread tool either?
Thanks for all the great tips I had everything in hand for the small monitor idea, however dealing with the Chinese company with the rechargeable 12V battery I was sent a defective unit and should have it in any day, hoping this is a better solution : )
George
March 17th, 2011 at 10:45 am
Not sure what size the threads are supposed to be. I when ahead and cleaned mine out as soon as I found the problem. I’m sure if you take the monitor down to a hardware store you can find the right size. I’m guessing it’s something close to 1/4 20 since the thread pitch is only slightly off.
March 17th, 2011 at 9:18 am
By the way I have never plugged my 7D or 5D Mk II into an ext video does hooking it into an Ext video source cut out the video on the camera or does it come on both screens?
George
March 17th, 2011 at 10:43 am
A soon as you plug the monitor in the screen on the back of the camera goes blank.
March 17th, 2011 at 11:58 am
Thanks for the review!
If you don’t have Magic Lantern, will audio monitoring still work? And does it only monitor while recording, or while in “standby”?
I have a 60D and a 7D so I’m wondering if audio monitoring will work with these two.
Also, will it monitor if I’m using a Rode VideoMic pro?
Thanks!
March 17th, 2011 at 3:45 pm
If you don’t have magic lantern installed you don’t get audio while recording. If you have magic lantern installed you get audio monitoring in standby and record mode. Magic Lantern beta is out for the 60d, but you’ll be out of luck with your 7d.
March 17th, 2011 at 11:36 pm
Could you connect the monitor to the camera via mini-usb?
Also, if it already has an antenna, could it make for an easier “wireless” SD monitor? Maybe with a UHF transmitter?
March 18th, 2011 at 8:20 am
The usb port on the monitor is only for firmware flashing. You’ll have to use canon’s AVC-400st cable.
You could use UHF transmitter like this VIDEO SENDER unit for $20. If you can find battery power and a method for mounting and adapting.
You might also want to check out CPM’s wireless video monitor transmitter set. Mounts and batteries are included so you have everything you need for $199.
March 22nd, 2011 at 5:40 pm
i just got mine today Do you have any suggestions for the monitor’s setting such as contrast to get the best output?
March 22nd, 2011 at 6:07 pm
There aren’t a whole lot of settings on this monitor. I just messed around with it tell I found something that looked ok. Nothing major.
March 22nd, 2011 at 8:21 pm
thanks great buy for the money i have liked it alot so far
March 25th, 2011 at 5:56 pm
Hey thanks for the tip, I got a Haierrr? delivered to Australia yesterday and it works sort of. 5DMk11 in PAL 1080p but the image seems a little squished top to bottom and it makes it difficult to use for framing. Is that normal? Do I have a dud or is there some odd setting I am not getting? Interested to hear if anyone else is seeing this.
March 30th, 2011 at 12:18 pm
Sounds like you might have a dud. I just checked mine again in pal mode and didn’t seem to have a problem. I’ve also received reports from people having problems with there camera cables causing noise. Maybe it’s your cable?
March 29th, 2011 at 11:32 am
What about the resolution for the focus ? Actually I am looking for an external monitor only for framing and focussing
March 30th, 2011 at 12:06 pm
If you are using the 5d, t2i, or 60d, the video output drops to standard definition when you hit record. So this monitor will still do the trick for focusing and framing, I would use it for lighting and exposure.
April 3rd, 2011 at 7:15 pm
[…] you start looking at tripods, it’s good to consider weight. As you start to add monitors, field recorders, and microphones to your DSLR RIG, it can be pretty easy to hit the 10 pound mark. […]
April 11th, 2011 at 8:20 pm
[…] for a boom mic, monitor, or field recorder. Just as an example I mounted my Lilliput monitor and Haier monitor to the carbon fiber rails on my CPM FILM TOOLS rig. The clamps hold firm and the arms give you […]
April 17th, 2011 at 1:48 pm
has any one tried the vizio 7″ led one yet?
April 18th, 2011 at 4:37 pm
What wires are you using for the Haier to hook into the 7D
April 18th, 2011 at 6:31 pm
I use the USB to RCA cord that came with my camera to plug my camera into the Haier monitor. If you’re looking for the cable, it’s only made by Canon (as far as I know) and it’s called AVC-DC400ST.
April 22nd, 2011 at 6:41 pm
[…] received a number of e-mails asking about larger battery solutions for the Haier 7″ monitor. The short (less then 2 hours) battery life just doesn’t seem to cut it for a lot of people. […]
April 23rd, 2011 at 1:21 pm
I picked up the Haier. Wow, this looks like crap. Only useable as a crane monitor I’d say. I’d rather just use an LCD viewfinder than this.
June 21st, 2011 at 11:31 pm
I purchased the haier hlt71 7 inch for my 60d.I do not have magic lantern.
When you switch to wide, the video output from the camera is stretched. While the screen fills near full horizontally, the picture is distorted.Also it does not fill vertically.
This may be because of the output from the camera?
If that is the case I would only purchase this for backup and for use on cranes, etc.
Could you let me know if there are any monitors out there that will take my signal and provide a full screen image like a HD television would for example?
Thank You for all of your work/reviews, they are great.
July 1st, 2011 at 11:44 am
I just got my Haier. I have a 7D. Why when i switch it to wide screen does it squeeze the shot? Any thing it can do about this.
Thanks
July 4th, 2011 at 6:07 pm
If you press the info button a few times it should adjust your display on the monitor. Mess around with it a little bit, I think that will solve your problem.
July 4th, 2011 at 11:14 am
For $5, here’s an adapter that fits the M6 threads in the Haier and gives you a true 1/4 20 to mount to…keeps you from potentially screwing (pun intended) up the monitor’s threads.
http://www.thorlabs.com/thorProduct.cfm?partNumber=AS25E6M
July 4th, 2011 at 5:57 pm
That looks Great!
July 19th, 2011 at 7:45 am
Hi! i’m interested on buying a monitor for my 7D. What I whant is only a monitor so I can see what i´m filming because when i lower the camera to film close to the floor (using a cam caddie) I can’t see the image, is this Haier 7″ HLT71 monitor what i need??(knowing that i want something cheep…) what would be the pros and cons??
thanks!!
September 1st, 2011 at 3:08 pm
Hi, if I am using a T3i with Magic Lantern installed, will audio monitoring with this monitor work on the T3i as well?
January 7th, 2012 at 4:14 pm
Just wondering am i not supposed to see the output of the camera while I have an external monitor hooked up. If so is there any way around this so i can have both a monitor and my on camera lcd display at the same time.
February 9th, 2012 at 8:21 pm
The monitor shuts off as soon as you plug something into the video output. As fare as I know there isn’t any way around it.
March 3rd, 2012 at 9:25 pm
[…] job considering the price. I know the price of the Haier 7 inch monitor has gone up since I did the video review almost a year ago. But since you guys check out the site all the time you get first dibs on it. $44 […]
April 20th, 2012 at 7:52 pm
Hello Deejay, I got a monitor just like the one you have in the video. When I plugged it into my Canon t2i it worked fine, but then after putting Magic Lantern on the t2i it doesn’t work. It shows the “Ensure a lens is attached” screen (I’m using a Nikkor 50mm. It shows this screen for a few seconds, then it says “Headphones are connected” and then it shows “No signal.” I know the monitor has power, I know the cable works, because I’m able to see that first message, and I know the monitor has worked before. is it something I haven’t set in Magic Lantern? I’d really appreciate some advice on this. Thanks in advance.
February 26th, 2013 at 12:42 am
Hi Wayneburg and Deejay, I too am having a similar problem. If I load a card without ML, I can get video on the monitor. However, with ML my monitor is dead, a grey line/no signal….any thoughts since April 2012?
February 26th, 2013 at 7:37 am
Depending on your camera, you’ll want to check your ML settings. In audio there is a selection labeled something like “audio monitor usb” if that is turned on you wont get any video through the usb port, if it is turned off you will get both audio and video through the usb port.
March 5th, 2013 at 10:27 am
So I found the a/v feature and turned off the headphone monitoring from a/v and it worked…once. It seems that it just doesn’t work well with ML. Works fine without ML, but it will either cause the camera to be unhappy, or will just put out the grey line of death. I was really hoping this monitor would be a match for my t2i. But, only on card without ML.
March 5th, 2013 at 2:10 pm
You might want to make sure your “save” settings are correct in ML. If you set it up correctly you should have the same results every time. I’ve used this monitor and others with the t2i many times with no problems.
April 3rd, 2013 at 12:46 am
The link to the monitor is $159 bucks. Hmmm, I must of missed the boat on this one!
April 3rd, 2013 at 6:50 am
About a 2 months after the video was posted it jumped to $70 and the price has gone up slowly since. This monitor is definitely not work $159.
July 6th, 2013 at 10:17 pm
hi, i just want to know if that monitor is also suitable for laptops? i mean if it can be use as laptop monitor.
July 7th, 2013 at 12:22 pm
If you have a laptop that outputs composite then possibly, but for more modern laptops a 7″ hdmi monitor might be a better choice.