$10-$15k 7D Package: What to buy?

chris f

chris f

Veteran
The other day in passing I showed my supervisor the Perya town fair video and he was blown away and in turn called his supervisor in and she was blown away as well. They've been meaning to upgrade/supplement our current production gear and gave me the green light to put a proposal together for a 7D package in the $10-15k range.

Our current set up includes all the basics: small studio, lights, tripods, mics, green screen, backdrops, studio monitors, a couple of HVX200s, etc. This package might be used in our studio, but it's primary purpose will be for in the field/documentary shoots for 2-3 minute pieces.

That being said, what equipment would you suggest for an In-The-Field package in the $10-15k range? So far I've got:


*Camera Body
*Zacuto Z-Finder
*Zacuto Tactical Shooter

Lenses? Audio? Monitor? Other accessories?
 
Hi, you might want to add a 50mm lens and the Zoom H4N for audio. There's a lot of great reviews about that audio recorder perfect for VDSLR's. Hope this helps. Cheers!
 
A second body would make sense and you can use it for 3D if you get two 50mm 1.8 plastic fantastic lenses. It can also be set up for two views of the same scene which will help with editing and story flow.

Some other things to consider:

Car mount
Dolly
Crane
Cheap Steadi Cam
 
I would go REDRock shouldermount with 18" rails and the shouldermount offset, with DSLR quick release and rear mounted wieghts before I went Zacuto... it would be much more stable IMO
 
$10-15k is a large amount, you could easily get two dialed kits for that much.

but some goodies i'd want to build up my kit would be:
7D body, $1750
3x Canon batteries, $200
Z-finder, $400
zacuto tactical shooter, $1200
zacuto mini baseplate, $450
genus deluxe matte box kit, $1200
redrock follow focus w/gears on all lenses(up to 3), $800
Zoom H4n, $400
that totals $6400 with no glass

the redrock store has a 3 zeiss lens kit with follow focus for like $3200

and then adding the nice marshall 7", $1200 and thats with no battery

So you can see things quickly add up, but if you were to budget things properly you could easily have 2 amazing kits for under $15.000.
 
Buy an extra body, kit lens, and this lens Canon 16-35mm L 2.8.
If you don't get extra boy I would think for under $9,000 you could have a pretty over kill setup.
 
I'd invest on an expensive lens selection: Canon L II primes (85/1.2, 50/1.2, 35/.14, 24/1.4, 16-35/2.8, 70-200/2.8). That's a lot of money on the best still lenses on the market, that will keep their value independently of new camera threads. I'd go with Redrock accessories, since I think they'll be cheaper.
 
I think everyone here is just telling you to buy what they wish they could afford.

3D? LOL.
 
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For documentary, you'll want zooms.

Something on the wide end will be nice.

A 16-35 f/2.8 is fine - but how much low-light will you be doing? You may find more use out of a 17-40 f/4 (or even a superwide) and a 24-105 f/4 IS.

The 70-200 f/2.8 IS is one of the best lenses Canon makes, though you could probably get away with the 70-200 f/4 IS. It is lighter, cheaper, and has better IS than the f/2.8 model (though you will sacrifice a stop of light).

A 35 f/1.4 or 50 prime could be nice for interviews/beauty shots, but I would not build an armada of primes for documentary work. Play with some at your local shop and see what you like.

For your existing monitors, you'll probably want to use the AJA HA5 HDMI to HD-SDI converter.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=cart&A=details&Q=&sku=555772&is=REG

Do you have any samples of work online so we can see what style you shoot? That could help in determining what kind of equipment is right for you.
 
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Since you're going to be doing pure manual focus (most likely) do not limit yourself to canon glass. Look at high end Zeiss glass or even Nikon glass (theres a lot of great Nikon glass out there that is optically superior to its direct canon counterpart.)
 
I'll stick with my Nikon primes in the mean time, but for true form documentary, a zoom can't be beat. While it would be great to go with a Nikon zoom, most Nikon to EOS adapters do not have proper backfocus and will not retain focus throughout the zoom range.

It's all a bit of a trade off. EF glass has a short focus throw, but retains its focus. Old manual lenses are cheaper/have more focus throw, but may not retain proper focus.
 
Yea I'm thinking zooms will be the way to go, because most of the footage will be shot during live events. Although I'd like to have a prime or two for superwide establishing shots, macro, etc.

The videos will most of the time be somewhere between completely run and gun ala: http://vimeo.com/5745912

and something more controlled ala: http://www.therocksandiego.org/ministries/childrens/childrensvideo/

But we'd like to give our look and format a shot in the arm with a new setup and style.
 
I think for a doc this isn't a good route. I'd go EX3. That's a contraption on a 7d, break down and set up times, lose one little fitting and kaput!
To me, the 7d only makes sense as a B cam or low budget small package A cam. Seems like you're going against the whole concept. EX3 kicks serious a*s.
 
With a budget like that I'd go for a better audio recorder than the Zoom H4N. Zoom H4N is the poor mans $350 solution (although decent) to audio for dslr's. If it were me on that budget I'd pick up a used sound devices recorder, mixer and 416 off eBay to supplement it.

I know your question was more about the camera but with audio being 50%+ of a good quality production it is something you need to consider. I'd also budget some money for a wireless kit if you don't already have one.

Nice glass is a must, I have really seen the 7D shine with it.
 
To me, the 7d only makes sense as a B cam or low budget small package A cam.
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That's essentially what this will be. We still have the HVX's and other gear for when video cameras are needed or better suited. But want to go with something like the 7D for particular highly stylized pieces and supplemental B-roll for other pieces.

$10-15k is a number they threw out. I told them it would probably be a good amount less than that, but wanted to see if there's any equipment that I'm overlooking that might cause a solid camera package to creep up into that range.

I know your question was more about the camera but with audio being 50%+ of a good quality production it is something you need to consider.
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Audio is definitely one of the big ?'s I have and agree with your post. With a larger budget what would you suggest to replace something like the Zoom H4N for both 1-man crew type situations and for dedicated soundman situations?
 
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