should i sell my dvx to get a 35mm adapter for my hvx?

[slimchrisp]

to make $ with my gear, i shoot weddings. hey, gotta do it. good money and i get to use my camera. right now i shoot with an hvx200a as my main camera, and i also have a dvx100b. coming in the mail tomorrow is an hv20.

so here's my question. would it be worth selling the dvx to get a brevis 35? i would most likely also pick up a second hv20.

i REALLY want to raise the bar on my camera work, and i am absolutely blown away with what people are doing with their adapters. now, i don't have an actual shoot where i can use the hv20 for a few weeks. my plan is to use both the hv20 and dvx, and see what i can do in post. if the hv20 fails abysmally, then it's not even an option to sell the dvx. assuming the hv20 works out though...

i feel like with the adapter i can up the artistic quality of my work. so with my tricked out hvx i can give clients something they will love, plus for my own projects i have the adapter to open things up as well. with a few hv20s i can grab b-roll shots to intercut with the hvx (vs hvx montage only). not the *perfect* solution, but in my thinking one that can make me happy and paying clients happy as well. not to mention i can market my work as all hd. the shooting part at least.

i have a 50mm lens for now, so i could get started learning to shoot with the adapter right away.

advice/opinions???

i'd especially like to hear from barry, hudson, luis and any of you other "yellow" guys.

 

[Huy Vu]

I'm not one of the "yellow" guy, but here goes...

I hope you're not planning on shooting weddings with the Brevis. That will probably get you fired pretty quickly. Narrative is a different story, but trying to pull focus on a live event will have you tearing your hair out. It's the wrong tool for the job. If your primary mean of making money is shooting wedding, then you need at least 2 cameras, and clients don't want to see you show up with the HV20 as a B-cam. Now if you're getting a healthy amount of work with narrative stuff, then it might be worth it to make an upgrade. But for what you're gonna be able to sell the DVX for ($2k probably) that's not even close to what you'll need for a full 35mm setup. It's about $1400 for the Brevis with flip, $300-400 for a rail system, $200-300 for a set of lens, $400-500 for a follow focus (used). Not to mention you need a monitor for focus, since the HVX has a poor LCD. All of it adds up quickly.

So think about where you're making money, and pick the right tool for the job.

 

[slimchrisp]

thanks for the input huy. for actual ceremonies and receptions i definitely would not go with the adapter. at least not initially. maybe when i have the gear and know how to where i could pull it off. but not initially. lower stress parts of weddings though (scenery, getting ready shots, etc) i would give it a go.

does this sound viable?

oh yeah, non yellow guys, by all means, bring it on.

 

[filmguy123]

depends on the client whether they'll mind an HV20 as the B-cam in a wedding. Since its a backup and wide shot, it probably won't make much of a difference in quality, but it will for image.

The DVX will be substantially better than the HV20 in lowlight... remarkably.

35mm adaptors are super cool... but if this is your business, go with the numbers for now. will this profit you, or is it more of a toy? You won't be using this for weddings, so...

 

[filmguy123]

thanks for the input huy. for actual ceremonies and receptions i definitely would not go with the adapter. at least not initially. maybe when i have the gear and know how to where i could pull it off. but not initially. lower stress parts of weddings though (scenery, getting ready shots, etc) i would give it a go.

does this sound viable?

oh yeah, non yellow guys, by all means, bring it on.

Be realisitc here too. That's an awful lot to carry around and takes an awful lot of time to setup and prep, then pull it back down, and its big and bulky... its not terribly practical

 

[Huy Vu]

depends on the client whether they'll mind an HV20 as the B-cam in a wedding. Since its a backup and wide shot, it probably won't make much of a difference in quality, but it will for image.

Image probably will be pretty similar if there's enough light, but the problem is appearances. If the clients paying for a "professional," they'll expect a professional style camera. Showing up with an HV20 hurts their perception of you in an industry where word-of-mouth is an important marketing tool.

It's a great point that setup time for a 35mm adapter is considerable and it's a lot of stuff to carry around. Focusing on the fly will be an issue, as will the light loss. I doubt if the added coolness factor of short DOF justifies the expenses.

 

[slimchrisp]

damn. i go to a bunch of gear heads for the go-ahead on getting a cool toy, and all i get is common sense.

thanks guys. the adapter may have to be pushed back. after all, i did just drop 6 grand on my hvx setup. man i have new toy syndrome bad.

 

[William_Robinette]

Unless you are delivering most of your stuff in HD, I don't know why you would get an HV20 and use it over a DVX along with your HVX. The Pansonics will match much better, esp if the destination is DVD and as said before the DVX will be wonderful in low light. You might even think about using that during receptions over the HVX for that extra stop.

Forget about setting up and taking off the Brevis during a Wedding. It doesn't take terribly long to do, especially if you know what you are doing, but it will take more time then probably have.

 

[scharky]

My minimum gear reccomendation when shooting with a Brevis

Camera
Brevis
Lenses 12-24mm, 50mm, 85mm, 105mm and 80-200mm 2.8 (you could get away with just a 50mm, but this is what I usually bring).
15mm rails
7" Marshal LCD
Brick Battery for 7" LCD
DV rig pro for hand held as rig now ways about 20lbs.
Clamps and arms to put everything together.

If I am shooting handheld this is my MINIMUM setup. I refuse to shoot anything with a 35mm adapter with at least a 7" monitor, especial when the HVX lcd is as crappy as it is.
You will also want a rail setup becuase it is more solid, no lens movement and before long the weight of the adapter will ruin the lens ring on your camera without it.

I also usually use a mattebox, but that is not always necesary.

With this setup it takes about 10 minutes at least to strip off the camera or put back on, not something you want to do at a wedding.

The only way I could reccomend using a 35mm adapter at a wedding is if you have an entirely separate camera setup with all of the above gear attatched that you can just grab and shoot, all the while being able to switch back to your bare camera at seconds notice.

 

[Jared Meyer]

so here's my question. would it be worth selling the dvx to get a brevis 35?

The guys at http://still-motion.ca/ use the Brevis for weddings. They've produced some fantastic stuff with it. It can really take your image to the next level - that said, I think they usually have at least 2-3 camera ops per wedding. For a solo wedding shoot an adapter is a bad idea, for all the reasons others have mentioned. But I did just want to throw out there that it is used, and I would recommend pursuing it if you had at least one other shooter with you.

i'd especially like to hear from barry, hudson, luis and any of you other "yellow" guys.

The "yellow guys" are pretty smart, but I don't think any of them have ever done weddings. Actually I think Jason might have done a few. I'm sure they'll chime in to correct me if I'm wrong, that is, if the shame isn't too unbearable But, as cool as he is, you definitely don't want to be getting advice about shooting weddings from Hudson, of all people. :grin:

 

[slimchrisp]

The guys at http://still-motion.ca/ use the Brevis for weddings. They've produced some fantastic stuff with it. It can really take your image to the next level - that said, I think they usually have at least 2-3 camera ops per wedding.

they are actually one group i've looked at. cinematicbride.com also. and oh yeah, no way i would do this a) solo or b) with just one camera.

But, as cool as he is, you definitely don't want to be getting advice about shooting weddings from Hudson, of all people. :grin:

lol. he's actually been anti wedding forum in another thread. but i've been digging some of the articles on his site.

 

[filmguy123]

Image probably will be pretty similar if there's enough light, but the problem is appearances. If the clients paying for a "professional," they'll expect a professional style camera. Showing up with an HV20 hurts their perception of you in an industry where word-of-mouth is an important marketing tool.

I should have worded that better. When I said quality will be similiar, but image won't, what I meant by "image" was your "appearance" or the "image" people have of you and your gear. So we are on the exact same page there Bad wording on my part.

 

[filmguy123]

Camera
Brevis
Lenses 12-24mm, 50mm, 85mm, 105mm and 80-200mm 2.8 (you could get away with just a 50mm, but this is what I usually bring).
15mm rails
7" Marshal LCD
Brick Battery for 7" LCD
DV rig pro for hand held as rig now ways about 20lbs.
Clamps and arms to put everything together.

Minus the camera, how much did this setup cost you? I am considering a similar setup, but not for weddings.

 

[scharky]

Minus the camera, lets see.
Lenses, about $2500
Rails Mattebox $700
7" Marshal LCD $1500
x2 brick batteries $200
DV rig pro $500
Misc clamps and support $100

So your looking at about $5500 without camera. But honestly out of all my gear, and I say this alot, the DV rig pro has been the one thing that has stayed in my arsenal and has been the most valued piece of equipment. I have had it for almost 4 years now, it has taken a beating and looks like crap, but just as sturdy as the day I bought it.