Buying camera and audio equipment (approx. $5,000)

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catchintime

Member
I want to buy a DV or and HD camera and I want to buy a pair of lavaliere mics and any accessories that I might need. I have approx $5,000.
 
Go with the canon a1. Bh has it for 3000. Then get some camera acc. and then your mics. The other choices will be the hvx 200a for $4600. Hpx 170 $5000.

So maybe a canon a1, decent tripod (bogen, libec), lav mics and possibly a condenser mic.

should come out with a nice little package there.
 
catchintime said:
I want to buy a DV or and HD camera and I want to buy a pair of lavaliere mics and any accessories that I might need. I have approx $5,000.
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To do what with? Can't get a decent answer without that. I didn't see any mention of lights. Is all your shooiting outoors in the sun? No grip equipment either.

Are you shooting for the web? Broadcast? Just for giggles? Is this your first video camera?

Lot's of stuff we need to know to really help you.
 
I don't need lights because my script takes place mostly outdoors. Naturally, I would be sending the movie to film festivals. I'm not really interested in putting on the web. I have a condenser microphone already. I have a portable disc recorder.
 
catchintime said:
I don't need lights because my script takes place mostly outdoors...

...Naturally, I would be sending the movie to film festivals.
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Write this down and tape it to your refrigerator door. Revisit that in a year's time.

You're going to need lights. Or at least grip if you're going to be doing ANYTHING you might submit to a festival. You're going to need sound too, but you don't know it yet. It's ok, most people start in exactly the same place.

I am of two minds as to what to recommend. I could recommend you get a HMC-150/JVC GY-HM100, or something similar. By the time you get a tripod and a couple filters, you'll be at your budget. And you'd have a really nice camera you could grow into. But then you'd realize how much you really do need lights, grip, and sound, and have nothing left to handle those needs with.

Or I could recommend a consumer based camera like the HV20, which would leave room in your budget for the things you'll need, but don't yet realize you'll need.

Hang around here a while and learn. By some good magazines on filmmaking (I recommend ASC and Videography), look around the web at how other shooters who are submitting to indie film festivals go about their work. There's some really good stuff out there if you're willing to learn.
 
I understand lights are important but in this particular script most scenes need to be shot in the day and inside. 99% of the shots will be outside in the day. I only have $5,000 and I have to make sacrifices. I want good sound and I want to get the best camera that I can.

I put it simply... what camera? What lavalieres? and what I will need to record sound from lavalieres onto my camera.

If I find myself in a situation where I need to buy lights I'll go to home deput and buy lights for 27.99.
 
Ok,

Considering we know nothing about your script, or the look you want, I'd say a Panny HMC150, Sennheiser G2 Lav with Countryman B3/B6 mic or Sanken Cos11 mic.
 
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If you want to play the movie on your portable devices, you could use the Video Converter for Mac, there is some other converter software for Mac users, such as 3GP Converter for Mac, AVI Converter for Mac, DAT Converter for Mac, VOB Converter for Mac, FLV Converter for Mac, MP4 Converter for Mac, M4V Converter for Mac, MPEG Converter for Mac, MOV Converter for Mac,etc.
 
AccurateFilms said:
Lighting can be done for under $200
get some worklamps and suspend paper or filters in front. Anyone agree?
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No, we don't agree. You can buy a $200 camera, and a $20 mic, and some $20 lights and shoot whatever you want. Been there, done that.

If you want to submit to festivals, and actually have someone consider your work, you're going to need to do a bit better.

Although I don't use my worklamps any more, I still do use other inexpensive lamps for certain things. So it's not necessarily using the most expensive lights that's required, but the level of control (or lack of) with these kinds of lamps is really limiting.
 
You wanna buy 5k of gear to produce one script? If you plan on making more movies in the future as a hobby then buying seems like a good idea, but buying for one movie? Sounds like renting would be a better option.

You need skill as well as gear. If this is your first movie ever, and you plan on buying all this stuff and making a movie for a fest as your first movie I think you'll be dissapointed with the turnout (at least I'd hope you'd fail miserably because if you didn't then what would that mean for all the guys who have been doing it for years?). A killer script is only half the battle.

If you insist on buying though then I guess an hmc150 would be my recomendation. That leaves 1500 for sound and lighting. Or i supposed trying to get a cheap used dvx100 would also be a good idea. If you budget is 5k$ getting a 5k$ camera would be nutzoid so hvx200 is outa the question imo. As for laveliers, Typically for narratives a shotgun mic and boom is a much better option unless you plan on having tons of really wide shots.
 
This is what I would do. But this is just me if my budget was 5k.

Hv30 - $600

Full HD Redrock Package - $2000

Lenses - $350-$400 (Nikon 28mm f2.0, 50mm 1.4, 135mm f2.8)

Image West Blue Line Fresnels 3x 1k lights- $1000

Home made Dolly - $100

Shotgun Mic - Audio-Technica 4073A BH package with mount and cable - $560

Used fluid head Tripod - $300

Misc Used Gels - $50 1/2 CTB, Diffusion

Total - $5010 give or take a bit.


Dude, get lights. You will need them. Even outdoors. And this is assuming you have a computer already that can handle HDV editing. Should have at least 4 gb ram. Although you "might" be ok with less.

I would say forget lav mics and ADR your dialogue. Outdoors you will pick up all kinds of noise and its hard to make it sound good unless you know what you are doing, which you might, but I don't know. Use the shotgun as a reference for dialogue and you will definatly want it for foley and location sound.
 
What Jimmy Moss said sound EXCELLENT. HV30 + adapter beats the crap out of a prosumer cam without for narratives imo. Accept I might consider getting a cheapter adapter setup. With good content, an hv30 and an adapter will look like any other pro camera.
 
PerroneFord said:
No, we don't agree. You can buy a $200 camera, and a $20 mic, and some $20 lights and shoot whatever you want. Been there, done that.

If you want to submit to festivals, and actually have someone consider your work, you're going to need to do a bit better.

Although I don't use my worklamps any more, I still do use other inexpensive lamps for certain things. So it's not necessarily using the most expensive lights that's required, but the level of control (or lack of) with these kinds of lamps is really limiting.
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Sorry if I disagree completely! Just to name a couples of examples, Robert Rodrigues make it to Hollywood with a 2 cheap flood lamp kit and a bunch of friends, and the GREAT Cassavetes always stated that he never valuated art direction and cinematography!

Any good festival will always accept your film based on its content rather than it's footage and I'm the living proof of that! I have two of my films screened around the world and both were shot with a Canon XM2 with the sound recorded from a AKG CS1000 to a Sony minidisc recorder.
 
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Take a look at a used hvx200, really no image difference outdoors in daylight between it and the hvx200A. In doors and low light yes. These can be bought used for $2500 (no p2) or $3k for one with a 16 gig card. "Departures" new Nat Geo series is shot on an older hvx outside and just got awarded several cinematography awards. It looks so sweet! That cam looks awesome outside with lots of light! That should leave you with with some cash left over for some other stuff.
 
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