If you’ve been wishing you could splurge on a 27-inch Apple monitor but just can’t see yourself spending that kind of money, Monoprice has a cheaper solution for you. The company’s 27-inch offering uses the same LG IPS LED panel as Apple’s, but a Monoprice monitor will only run you $391 as opposed to the $1,000 you’ll spend at Apple. Read more…

We’ve shared some interesting digital to analog conversions here in the past (e.g. printing iPhone photos using an enlarger), and here’s another one: create a digital wet plate by shooting a photo displayed on your computer monitor.

Wet plate collodion photographer Tony Richards recently saw this idea being mentioned online and decided to give it a shot. He pointed his camera at an image on his Apple iMac screen, and eventually got the wet plate seen above.
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Wondering whether or not the shutter speeds on your camera are accurate? Instead of taking it to a shop or buying expensive testing equipment, you can use an old television or CRT monitor as a simple shutter speed tester! Camera enthusiast Rick Oleson has an easy to understand diagram showing what you can expect to see from the screen at different shutter speeds. For a more technical explanation and tutorial, check out this article that appeared in a 1967 issue of Popular Science.

You already own a shutter speed tester [Rick Oleson]

Video monitor maker SmallHD has just announced the DP-SLR, which they boast is the smallest HD field monitor on the market. The DP-SLR is 5.6″ diagonally (or 4 x 6 x 1), and has a resolution of 1280 x 800 at 270 ppi. As the name implies, it’s designed for use with DSLRs with video capabilities.

The monitor mounts on the camera’s hotshoe and connects to the body with an HDMI cable. The standard monitor also has a component connection. The higher end model includes a 3G SD/HDI, which puts the monitor on par with professional monitors for broadcasting.

But tech jargon aside, this pint-sized monitor is a pretty huge step for folks who shoot video with DSLRs. The DP-SLR is compact, so it won’t compromise the mobility of a DSLR, but allows more viewing space than the camera body’s monitor.

The functionality might even encourage some videographers to jump ship in favor of a more compact video DSLR.

At $899 for the standard model and $1199 for the model with 3G SD/HDI, the unit is a bit on the pricey side compared to most small field monitors, but it still remains affordable.

SmallHD’s website is taking pre-orders for the monitor, and says that the product will be available this July.