I need some serious advice?

A

allahkaram

Well-known member
Alright first off, let me confess. Before this DVXuser forums I had almost close to very little knowledge about lenses, rigs, lens mounts and such. After reading such critical reviews and demonstrations of all the very useful equipments that plays core part in making a good film or composition in this assence. I'm honored to be a part of this group.

Now my question or I shall say concern.

I going to make a biggest purchase of my life. I'm a student filmmaker. I'm currently going to the Art Institute of Chicago. We have Arri light kits, Shure boom mics, Mixer kits, XLRs, DVX100Bs, VX2100s and etc. All the equipments are for off-campus checkouts. Hasn't started my junior year yet. I'm creating a website that I will be launching soon, which will have all my work that I have done so far. Which doesn't contribute even a pinch compare to you guys. I do have a vivid imagination but sometimes I feel kind of trapped with limited equipments and resources that I have.

My parents are helping me financially to gather all the essential needs that can enhance my work in terms of quality.

Here is the list of equipment I came across after a long time of research and interviews with my instructors and former students.

My price range is $10,000

Panasonic HVX200
P2 16GB
Brevis35 HD bundle

Nikon mount
28mm F/2.8
85mm F/1.4

TFT Varizoom 7'inch monitor

Varizoom MediaRig

I need your thoughts on that and also if you were me what would you get instead?

Looking forward to some sincere advices and suggestions.

Thanks a million everyone for reading.
 
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Instead of a 35mm adapter, get a light package.

It will serve you soooooo much better in the long run. I got lights a few years ago and I will (or, try rather) to never shoot projects with out them again. Only now, am I thinking about a 35mm adapter.

Lighting is boring competitively, I know... but it really the only thing that will make your film look good. Ask anyone with a clue and my bet is they will tell you the same thing.
 
I recently interviewed Rodney Charters, the DP for the show 24, and he basicly said the same thing. Get a camera then lights and then sound.

He is a very straightforward guy. He thinks it is a great time to be a student. He thinks everything from the small HDV HD Handicams and up is really going to allow a new level of talent to surface. He is excited to see what is going to happen next.

So skip the 35mm and get some lights.
 
It seems like the poster's plan was to roll with the lights his school has. Not a bad plan, considering renting is very often a better plan than buying with lights, and rentals don't get much cheaper than Free! I guess the relevant question is how often can you check out lights and how long are you still in school for? We had access to tons of stuff when I was in school but around the end of any semester it was pretty hard to get anything without a really solid justification. Try shooting some interiors with an HVX and 35mm adapter and no lights and you'll realize you have problems that go beyond "It's ugly".

I would probably say that you'd do well to add a wireless lav or two to the kit, though, if your school doesn't have them. Pretty useful things to have.

Also, you make no mention of expendables, grip, etc. I could spend $1000 in a second on tape, tools, C-stands, clamps, black wrap, etc. That's all stuff that's invaluable on a shoot.
 
I totally forgot to mention that we also have Lav mics, bounce disks, flags, C-stands, gel kits and more. I will be using lighting for all my shoots without any doubt so that shouldn't be a problem.

Stuff that I have witnessed with my own eyes shot with 35mm is just so darn kool, more film like and thats what my work lacks right now. Its too videoish!

Any suggestions on the lens?

dougspice said:
It seems like the poster's plan was to roll with the lights his school has. Not a bad plan, considering renting is very often a better plan than buying with lights, and rentals don't get much cheaper than Free! I guess the relevant question is how often can you check out lights and how long are you still in school for? We had access to tons of stuff when I was in school but around the end of any semester it was pretty hard to get anything without a really solid justification. Try shooting some interiors with an HVX and 35mm adapter and no lights and you'll realize you have problems that go beyond "It's ugly".

I would probably say that you'd do well to add a wireless lav or two to the kit, though, if your school doesn't have them. Pretty useful things to have.

Also, you make no mention of expendables, grip, etc. I could spend $1000 in a second on tape, tools, C-stands, clamps, black wrap, etc. That's all stuff that's invaluable on a shoot.
Click to expand...
 
allahkaram said:
TFT Varizoom 7'inch monitor
Click to expand...
This is useless with HD, the resolution is too low and no component input. Better budget for a Marshall or at least the Ikan monitor when it becomes available.
 
allahkaram said:
Any suggestions on the lens?
Click to expand...

Yes, you don't mention a standard lens at all. For adapter work f/2.8 is a little slow, so I'd consider this a better package:

35mm f/1.4
50mm f/1.4
85mm f/1.4 or 1.8

That still doesn't get you anything truly telephoto but should be good enough for most work.
 
Why not wide angle and how big of a difference there is between 35 to 50mm? Sorry if I sound stupid?

dougspice said:
Yes, you don't mention a standard lens at all. For adapter work f/2.8 is a little slow, so I'd consider this a better package:

35mm f/1.4
50mm f/1.4
85mm f/1.4 or 1.8

That still doesn't get you anything truly telephoto but should be good enough for most work.
Click to expand...
 
35mm is wide angle, although just a little... at 28mm you'll be seeing a bit of distortion. Below 20mm things will start to look decidedly fish-eye.

50mm is a "normal" lens... no distortion. A lot of great photographers have worked with nothing but a 50mm lens. They are cheap and fast. The difference between it and a 35 is not huge, but I've found that a 35mm is a good compromise, especially for cramped interiors where light matters. But, personal preference: I don't really like a lot of distortion on most of my shots.
 
Why not skip the HVX?
You have access to DVX100Bs, so depending on what your planning to shoot, SD might be enough, even with the DV compression...
That said DV50/100 is so much better and if your parents are backing you up - go shopping...;0)
 
I agree with several things here before you get the adapter and lenses,

get your own sound, depending on what you're using it for, get a wireless lav, or a nice shotgun, shockmount/pole. trust me been there, undergrads are lazy, so there will always be big heavy light kits in the cage, but the shotguns are the first to go. you can get a good shotgun for 350, there is one in the marketplace forum here for like 250.

as far as the adapter goes, I've only worked with spinners, I've heard from others that the spinners are better than the vibrators, but you should be able to find good footage witrh both and makeup your own mind, the brevis looks a bit to yuppy for me, film gear is supposed to looke big and boxy and mean, film gear if your trusted ford econoline van, not your corvette.


also keep in mind, that the resale value of the adaptersis always shrinking, when you get out of school you might find it easier to get and adapter over lights, since your parents are fitting the bill, get some lights, at least a good 1k fresnel, and two floods, or a flood and a boft box setup.

Jason
 
i'd go 50 at 1.2

you'll use the 50 more often, and at times you may need that extra light, unless you buy that light kit lol

Jason
 
I'm going to step out on a limb here based on footage posted here by Aram Bauman using the Brevis and a cheap Sears zoom. A decent zoom in the f2.8 28-105mm range will serve you very well with the Brevis, particularly with our new CF1L imaging element. The lack of vignetting, even with slower lenses, has opened up a lot of lenses for use with the adapter. If you have lights (as you've mentioned you do), a zoom indoors would work just fine. Otherwise, consider the f1.4 50mm as a good lens to start with.

I had to cringe a bit when a used Brevis adapter recently sold on ebay for $300 more than a brand new unit ...
 
allahkaram said:
Stuff that I have witnessed with my own eyes shot with 35mm is just so darn kool, more film like and thats what my work lacks right now. Its too videoish!

Any suggestions on the lens?
Click to expand...

I'm also going to agree with everyone recommending getting lights over the adapter. If your images look "videoish" the number one reason behind this is most likely lighting. If a shot is lit well, it looks filmic, if it's not, it doesn't, and the default is usually to say it looks like video. Having a light kit at your fingertips 24/7 to play around with and experiment with is going to increase the look of your work much faster than an adapter when you have to check out the lights with a limited amount of time to use them.

I'm in a similar boat as you. I'm starting up a production company and have been eyeballing the HVX since before it came out, but I don't have the capitol for it right now. I'm contemplating buying a light kit and just using the one chip sony camera I've got right now so I can at least show what I can do. If I can make the sony look good, then I'll be able to justify to my clients spending money on the HVX. I would use this same philosophy with the adapter in your case.

Your work will benefit so much more from experienced lighting than shallow depth of field. Plus you can always fake the depth of field in post :)

Just my humble opinion.

-DES
 
Thanks so much everyone. You guys have been tremendous help. I've also consulted with Barry G and he recommended me a light kit under my budget that looks pretty promising to me;

http://rostronics.com/proddetail.asp...l600W3lightkit

Also, he also suggested Letus35 over Brevis. First of all its alot cheaper, second
its lighter and more handheld friendly.
About the lens, do you guys know any places that have used lenses except B&H?
What do you guys think about the new Zeiss 85mm 1.4 T Makco campare to Nikkor 85mm 1.4?

Once again, I owe you guys a big one!!!
 
I think the Zeiss lens offers very little real advantage in this application. It's a sharper lens, with better glass, but on an HVX that hardly matters.

The best place for used lenses is usually http://www.keh.com
 
Save your parents money for the time being, and don't buy anything.

If your school has all of the equipment you mention, why do you want to go out and blow a wad of cash now, while still a junior? Develop your imagination and vision further and use the gear that is available to you at the moment. When you are a senior ( or graduating) you'll have a better idea of what will be useful to you and what kind of gear you want to work with- buying gear is not a substitute for developing your vision or tastes. It's a tempting subversion to think otherwise. Hold off on spending the big coin.

If anything, spend some money on a good set of cans for monitoring audio, and put a basic grip kit together: A clamps, C-47s, gaffer tape, gels, some stingers and put them in a duffel bag. These are the items that you'll be shooting day in and day out with- but that most college equipment check outs don't have, or are missing, or are in bad shape.

DON'T buy a Brevis (or equivalent) right now. It would be a foolhardy waste of money given your position and experience. It's not going to make you magically creative, and there are many other things you can do to give your footage a film look- for free. As mentioned post treatment, understanding and manipulating DOF and last but not least, lighting.

If the equipment cage at your school is particulary bad and the gear is in particularly bad shape or has limited access, then you may want to consider some bigger purchases. "May", being the operative word. That being said, I'd only consider the basics, and that may not mean buying a camera.

Good luck.
 
That's all really excellent advice. Unfortunately it's pretty hard to argue with "Daddy's writing me a check," so I can't fault the guy for going on a splurge.

Even so, there's a really good argument to be made for putting all that money into an actual production for your reel, and not just on gear.
 
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