2nd Camera for Weddings

BigTime

BigTime

Active member
Anyone have any advice...I'm looking to buy a second camera to use along with my DVX to shoot weddings. I know what you are thinking--just get another DVX. Well, I might do that but ideally I want something in the under $2250 range and something that performs excellent in low light (wedding reception halls, churchs).

I've heard good things about Sony's PD150s and there are some good deals on eBay for those (~$2000).

Here are some of my concerns, though:
-will mixing the footage between PD150 and DVX (especially if i shot 24pa) be way too messy, not to mention matching colors?
-does the pd150 (2lux) perform significantly better than the DVX (3lux)? at weddings, i like to be as discreet as possible, without using a lot of lighting.

are there any other cameras out there that fit with what i'm looking for (relatively inexpensive, good in low light)?

thanks
 
sony vx2100 has a 1 lux rating and is absolutely great for low light situations. If you use magic bullet software and some CC you can get a damn close image to a 24p shot of the dvx.
 
skatetpcdotcom said:
sony vx2100 has a 1 lux rating and is absolutely great for low light situations. If you use magic bullet software and some CC you can get a damn close image to a 24p shot of the dvx.
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I owned 2 VX2100's for a while and ended up hating them. If you plan on just doing 60i to 24p conversion, you'll run into a lot of issues with that... loss of resolution and an incredible waste of time are a couple of them. So while I don't own a DVX, I'd still recommend it over the Sony as I've had far better results in low light with it than with the Sony. Dont waste your money on something that'll cause you frustration... save a little more and match your cams or get a used one... I've seen them recently in the marketplace section of this forum for right around your price range.

-pastywhiteboy
 
pastywhiteboy said:
I owned 2 VX2100's for a while and ended up hating them. If you plan on just doing 60i to 24p conversion, you'll run into a lot of issues with that... loss of resolution and an incredible waste of time are a couple of them. So while I don't own a DVX, I'd still recommend it over the Sony as I've had far better results in low light with it than with the Sony. Dont waste your money on something that'll cause you frustration... save a little more and match your cams or get a used one... I've seen them recently in the marketplace section of this forum for right around your price range.

-pastywhiteboy
Click to expand...

you can't say the vx2100 has bad lowlight capability, but ofcourse if you match cameras then obviously you'll get better footage and itll be easier to match.
 
thanks for the tips. I haven't been satisfied with the DVX in low light to this point, which i why i was thinking of trying something else, but i've been looking at some tips elsewhere on the forum that might help me get better results with the DVX. I think i'll do some tests and see what i can pull off with the DVX.
 
skatetpcdotcom said:
you can't say the vx2100 has bad lowlight capability, but ofcourse if you match cameras then obviously you'll get better footage and itll be easier to match.
Click to expand...

No, I definitely won't say that the VX2100's have bad lowlight, but the way that Sony achieved the low light capabilities (on the very same chips they used in the VX2000, might I add) has detrimental effects on other functions of the camera, mainly the auto-focus. So if you aren't planning on using auto-focus then they are, for the most part, decent cameras.
 
BigTime said:
thanks for the tips. I haven't been satisfied with the DVX in low light to this point, which i why i was thinking of trying something else, but i've been looking at some tips elsewhere on the forum that might help me get better results with the DVX. I think i'll do some tests and see what i can pull off with the DVX.
Click to expand...

Have you been shooting low light stuff at 1/24th shutter? What settings do you normally use?
 
yeah, but it ends up looking pretty grainy. i read in another post that you can get much better results by adjusting the white balance, which i haven't been doing, so i'm eager to try that.
 
Hi, I have another general question.
Seems to me that many of the "posters" here are in the wedding shooting business.

Just out of curiosity.

1. How much time do you average spend on post production?
2. Do you have fixed templates in post you use to speed up the editing?
3. Do you add music to the original sound track?
4. What are your deliverables (DVD's including label etc.)?
4. How many of these weddings can you do in a week?
5. Can you make a decent living out of it (what is the going price you charge for such a production)?
6. Were you a wedding photographer before?

Anyway, that sort of questions. I live in a part of the world where weeding are mostly fotographed still.
I did a funeral once for friends.

Thanks, Dries
 
I am relatively new, but here are my answers:
1. 40 hrs
2. no, but maybe i will develop one, but i doubt it.
3. yes
4. multiple dvds, all raw footage on dvd, custom case, labels, etc.
5. i do it part time and only take on 1 a month max. i have another full time job. weddings are a hobby business.
6. nope
 
BigTime, like heisest said I would get another DVX - it may be a bit more expensive to start with but you'll seriously lose that much money in the time it takes to match the camera's especially if you want to shoot in 24p.

I shoot weddings and have gotten great results with the DVX even in not ideal lighting conditions. One thing I have found is that communication before the wedding about lighting is something that needs to happen. Talk to the bride and groom - they are hiring you so we know they want a video they can watch. A dimly lit ceremony always seems natural at first but if they realize that chances are they aren't going to remember much of the day until they see it on video, I have found they are more than willing to turn the lights up a bit. Just state the need clearly and graciously - most people have no idea we deal with these issues...
 
I just picked one up for less that and it's like new with less than 40 hours on it. I'd definately go with matching cams...it really sticks out when you cut between shots from different ones. And honestly, I'm having a hard time understanding all this critique of the DVX low light performance in weddings. Every wedding I shoot is on a DVX in 24pa mode no less. I filmed an outdoor nightime reception with almost no light and guess what....it looked pretty dark....but it was dark so that's normal...you see what I'm saying? I watched the DVD with my client and they didnt bat an eye....they knew it was nightime and when they were watching it they were simply transported back to the way it really was.
 
So how do you guys get around the "music legality" issue? :cheesy:

I had an idea; bill them for a DVD that includes your own legal music, and then as a free aside include a version with the REAL music that they want to remember their wedding by, and make them provide you a legally obtained copy of the music for you to use. This way, you're not being paid to use copyrighted music and you're also not giving them music on their wedding that they didn't already own.

Thoughts?
 
I make the video the Bride and Groom want....period. I think it is fair use as it is for deeply personal cinema rather than commercial products. As the priest told Willem Defoe in Boondock Saints, the law of God is above the law of man.
 
Daniel_Runyon said:
I make the video the Bride and Groom want....period. I think it is fair use as it is for deeply personal cinema rather than commercial products. As the priest told Willem Defoe in Boondock Saints, the law of God is above the law of man.
Click to expand...

I'm sure the RIAA's lawyers would disagree with you slightly. ;)
 
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