I will be buying one of these in a week or two and was wondering what other equipment I should consider. I have never owned a camera before either. I don't really care about having the best (as my budget doesn't allow it). Also, I plan on making short independent movies. Thanks.
A1 XH essentials for a newbie?
- Thread starter ejdge
- Start date
jenningsp
Well-known member
A Tripod with good legs and head.
you'll want to look into fluid heads - they give smooth pans and are just better. A Manfrotto 503 is probably best bang for your buck.
For the legs a set of Manfrotto 3251 - they are still camera legs and bloody heavy compared to video ones. but they support alot of weight, faster to set up, they're cheaper and are sturdier.
microphones-
the onboard mic is not that good. you'll want at least two mics. a shotgun mic for outdoors and a hyper cardoid mic for indoors.
the best bang for your buck ones are;
Rode NTG1 and a windscreen - the shotgun
Oktava MK012 - the hyper cardoid
if you only buy one, get the Rode. it's decent enough for most shots. the Oktava just gives nicer sounding audio for indoors shots.
Buy an extra battery.
And you cant forget a clear filter to protect your lens.
that should be it for starters.
in the near future you'll want these things as well.
lighting setups -
lighting is the key to making your shots look good. study this as much as you can.
however proper lights cost a fortune. i would never buy my own lights. rent if necessary or borrow from schools. you can get a decent cheap set of lights, but they aren't great and you need to be creative
you need at least 3 lights. 2 main and one sub.
you can get work lights from a hardware store, they come on stands and are decent. you'd get two 500w ones and a 300w one. (the globes in them are yellow tinted so you need to replace them with blue tinted ones.) then you need a couple of reflectors like car sunshades. at most this should cost a few hundred. that's cheap!!!
followfocuses and rails -
if you don't know what a followfocus is, it's a cog system that lets you control the focus of you lens from a wheel at the side of you cam, allowing much smoother focus pulls and better control. i didn't think this was necessary at first but now i do. the rails are to hold the followfocus and anything else you might want to add.
the best bang for you buck follow focus and rail set is the indifocus set. - indifocus.com
35mm adapters -
a 35mm adapter lets you use 35mm still camera lenses for shooting. these make the footage look more like film than video because of the shallow depth of field.
there are alot of makes ranging in price and the look. the limitations of this are they make the footage upside-down and lose light. research these more and you'll find out.
the letus35A ( in my opinion ) is the best bang for you buck. http://www.letus35.com/
you'll need to figure out how best suits you to flip the image while shooting.
some people use mirrors, some LCD monitors.
you can get the Letus35FE which has an inbuilt flipping system. but that loses alot of light. around 3 stops (the image is 3 times darker) which makes it ALMOST impossible to shoot indoor stuff. do lots of research on 35mm adapters. you'll want one.
a lens kit-
this is to go with the 35mm adapter. you'll need at least 3 lenses. a wide, a standard and a close up.
a wide is anywhere between 24mm - 35mm. with the widest aperture a minimum of 2.8/f. (any more than 2.8 (like 5.6 or 4) and the image gets dark)
a standard 50mm lens with 1.4/f or 1.8/f
a close up around 85mm with 2.8/f
if you do research on this stuff you'll find out more.
that's just about everything you'll need to shoot your very own indie feature. i hope it helps.
you'll want to look into fluid heads - they give smooth pans and are just better. A Manfrotto 503 is probably best bang for your buck.
For the legs a set of Manfrotto 3251 - they are still camera legs and bloody heavy compared to video ones. but they support alot of weight, faster to set up, they're cheaper and are sturdier.
microphones-
the onboard mic is not that good. you'll want at least two mics. a shotgun mic for outdoors and a hyper cardoid mic for indoors.
the best bang for your buck ones are;
Rode NTG1 and a windscreen - the shotgun
Oktava MK012 - the hyper cardoid
if you only buy one, get the Rode. it's decent enough for most shots. the Oktava just gives nicer sounding audio for indoors shots.
Buy an extra battery.
And you cant forget a clear filter to protect your lens.
that should be it for starters.
in the near future you'll want these things as well.
lighting setups -
lighting is the key to making your shots look good. study this as much as you can.
however proper lights cost a fortune. i would never buy my own lights. rent if necessary or borrow from schools. you can get a decent cheap set of lights, but they aren't great and you need to be creative
you need at least 3 lights. 2 main and one sub.
you can get work lights from a hardware store, they come on stands and are decent. you'd get two 500w ones and a 300w one. (the globes in them are yellow tinted so you need to replace them with blue tinted ones.) then you need a couple of reflectors like car sunshades. at most this should cost a few hundred. that's cheap!!!
followfocuses and rails -
if you don't know what a followfocus is, it's a cog system that lets you control the focus of you lens from a wheel at the side of you cam, allowing much smoother focus pulls and better control. i didn't think this was necessary at first but now i do. the rails are to hold the followfocus and anything else you might want to add.
the best bang for you buck follow focus and rail set is the indifocus set. - indifocus.com
35mm adapters -
a 35mm adapter lets you use 35mm still camera lenses for shooting. these make the footage look more like film than video because of the shallow depth of field.
there are alot of makes ranging in price and the look. the limitations of this are they make the footage upside-down and lose light. research these more and you'll find out.
the letus35A ( in my opinion ) is the best bang for you buck. http://www.letus35.com/
you'll need to figure out how best suits you to flip the image while shooting.
some people use mirrors, some LCD monitors.
you can get the Letus35FE which has an inbuilt flipping system. but that loses alot of light. around 3 stops (the image is 3 times darker) which makes it ALMOST impossible to shoot indoor stuff. do lots of research on 35mm adapters. you'll want one.
a lens kit-
this is to go with the 35mm adapter. you'll need at least 3 lenses. a wide, a standard and a close up.
a wide is anywhere between 24mm - 35mm. with the widest aperture a minimum of 2.8/f. (any more than 2.8 (like 5.6 or 4) and the image gets dark)
a standard 50mm lens with 1.4/f or 1.8/f
a close up around 85mm with 2.8/f
if you do research on this stuff you'll find out more.
that's just about everything you'll need to shoot your very own indie feature. i hope it helps.
Jay Rodriguez
Coffee Member
jenningsp nailed it
Jim Duggins
Active member
You should look at my "should I buy an A1 for my indie movie?" thread asking the same questions here:
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?p=876747#post876747
Here's another thread on the same subject I started at DVinfo.net that had some different questions and answers:
http://dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?p=632521#post632521
If you scour over both threads, you should have enough info to make your own decisions and feel confident in your choices. I bought pretty much everything from B&H Photo, which is a Canon-authorized and reputable dealer which has good prices. Be careful of buying the A1 for cheaper than you see it on B&H ($3,250 after mail-in rebate) as it may be a rip-off.
Note that the Impact BP-970 Battery is $35 cheaper than the official Canon BP-970. Unlike other generic batteries, it fits the A1 like a glove and lasts a long time (some reports are up to 8 hours).
Also note that you can get the Libec-22 Fluid Head Tripod for $400, rather than Bogen/Manfrotto being recommended here, which is $500. The Libec works great and saved me $100 that I could put toward other goodies.
Check out the Spiderbrace 2 Shoulder Mounted stabilizer ($85 after S&H). It's lightweight, sturdy, and attaches in seconds. Perfect and economical if you want to do a lot of hand-held work. The A1 is a bit heavy (4.5 lbs.) for extended handheld, so the Spiderbrace 2 can be a good investment.
Get an LCD lens-cleaning pen, like the Carson or Hakuba ($10). The Carson has a brush on one end and a special cleaning tip on the other. Woirks great!
Don't forget a case to protect your camera. The Petrol Rolling Wingbag comes with a free rain cover ($190) and is nice, sturdy soft case. If you live in a rainy state like WA, the rain cover is a necessity. A bit heavy to lug around very far by hand or shoulder strap, but it has a handy tote bar and wheels. I am able to cram most everything into it. The official Canon hard case is $350, which is insanity (even if typical of such cases). You could take the $160 you save by getting the Petrol instead and apply it to more goodies. Other folks highly recommend Pelican cases.
There are a million and one extra's to get (some of which are necessary and some which may not be), so be prepared to shell out thousands more than the cost of your camera. You'll need at least another several thousand dollars to get an editing suite set-up if you don't have one already.
Good luck!
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?p=876747#post876747
Here's another thread on the same subject I started at DVinfo.net that had some different questions and answers:
http://dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?p=632521#post632521
If you scour over both threads, you should have enough info to make your own decisions and feel confident in your choices. I bought pretty much everything from B&H Photo, which is a Canon-authorized and reputable dealer which has good prices. Be careful of buying the A1 for cheaper than you see it on B&H ($3,250 after mail-in rebate) as it may be a rip-off.
Note that the Impact BP-970 Battery is $35 cheaper than the official Canon BP-970. Unlike other generic batteries, it fits the A1 like a glove and lasts a long time (some reports are up to 8 hours).
Also note that you can get the Libec-22 Fluid Head Tripod for $400, rather than Bogen/Manfrotto being recommended here, which is $500. The Libec works great and saved me $100 that I could put toward other goodies.
Check out the Spiderbrace 2 Shoulder Mounted stabilizer ($85 after S&H). It's lightweight, sturdy, and attaches in seconds. Perfect and economical if you want to do a lot of hand-held work. The A1 is a bit heavy (4.5 lbs.) for extended handheld, so the Spiderbrace 2 can be a good investment.
Get an LCD lens-cleaning pen, like the Carson or Hakuba ($10). The Carson has a brush on one end and a special cleaning tip on the other. Woirks great!
Don't forget a case to protect your camera. The Petrol Rolling Wingbag comes with a free rain cover ($190) and is nice, sturdy soft case. If you live in a rainy state like WA, the rain cover is a necessity. A bit heavy to lug around very far by hand or shoulder strap, but it has a handy tote bar and wheels. I am able to cram most everything into it. The official Canon hard case is $350, which is insanity (even if typical of such cases). You could take the $160 you save by getting the Petrol instead and apply it to more goodies. Other folks highly recommend Pelican cases.
There are a million and one extra's to get (some of which are necessary and some which may not be), so be prepared to shell out thousands more than the cost of your camera. You'll need at least another several thousand dollars to get an editing suite set-up if you don't have one already.
Good luck!
Any thoughts on this tripod?
http://www.amazon.com/Manfrotto-351...5?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1175036257&sr=8-1
http://www.amazon.com/Manfrotto-351...5?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1175036257&sr=8-1
speaking of the 501 -- there may be a new version called the Bogen/Manfrotto 501 HDV
I wonder if its much different than the standard 501 -- has anyone bought or seen one ??
"Redesigned to accommodate evolving video technology, the Bogen/Manfrotto 501HDV now features improved drag in both axes and switchable counterbalance for the latest ultralight high-definition camcorders. In addition, controls have been repositioned and reshaped for superior operational ergonomics. A sliding camera plate helps balance uneven payloads due to outboard batteries or matte boxes, dual rosettes permit left- or two-handed pan arm configurations, and the rear-mounted spirit level facilitates rapid setups. Naturally the 501HDV includes the unbeatable Bogen/Manfrotto 2-year warranty with an additional 3-years after registering online or by mail.
Key Features
•
Fixed counterbalance optimized for 5.5 lb (2.5 kg) payloads
•
Fixed fluid drag enhanced with Teflon friction assist
•
Sliding camera plate for uneven camera/lens payloads
•
Dual pan arm rosettes for left- or two-handed configurations "
I wonder if its much different than the standard 501 -- has anyone bought or seen one ??
"Redesigned to accommodate evolving video technology, the Bogen/Manfrotto 501HDV now features improved drag in both axes and switchable counterbalance for the latest ultralight high-definition camcorders. In addition, controls have been repositioned and reshaped for superior operational ergonomics. A sliding camera plate helps balance uneven payloads due to outboard batteries or matte boxes, dual rosettes permit left- or two-handed pan arm configurations, and the rear-mounted spirit level facilitates rapid setups. Naturally the 501HDV includes the unbeatable Bogen/Manfrotto 2-year warranty with an additional 3-years after registering online or by mail.
Key Features
•
•
•
•
Polle
Active member
I have another question, one which so far I haven't read the answer to anywhere (is that sentence correct?).
Anyway, concerning the A1, I'm wondering what filter system I should buy into. Should I buy a system like Cokin, with rectangular glasses or should I start collecting threaded filters, which can be screwed on on top of each other?
I'm guessing, when I want to buy something like the Cokin-system, I won't be able to use the supplied camerahood, am I? But screwed-on filters, do they permit the hood to be used?
And finally, who here uses graduated filters? I see disjecta uses them quite a lot. As does the production crew of Top Gear, apparently*.
*Yes, I've spent a two days reading most of the XH-A1 threads
Anyway, concerning the A1, I'm wondering what filter system I should buy into. Should I buy a system like Cokin, with rectangular glasses or should I start collecting threaded filters, which can be screwed on on top of each other?
I'm guessing, when I want to buy something like the Cokin-system, I won't be able to use the supplied camerahood, am I? But screwed-on filters, do they permit the hood to be used?
And finally, who here uses graduated filters? I see disjecta uses them quite a lot. As does the production crew of Top Gear, apparently*.
*Yes, I've spent a two days reading most of the XH-A1 threads
Polle
Active member
I have another question, one which so far I haven't read the answer to anywhere (is that sentence correct?).
Anyway, concerning the A1, I'm wondering what filter system I should buy into. Should I buy a system like Cokin, with rectangular glasses or should I start collecting threaded filters, which can be screwed on on top of each other?
I'm guessing, when I want to buy something like the Cokin-system, I won't be able to use the supplied camerahood, am I? But screwed-on filters, do they permit the hood to be used?
And finally, who here uses graduated filters? I see disjecta uses them quite a lot. As does the production crew of Top Gear, apparently*.
*Yes, I've spent a two days reading most of the XH-A1 threads
Anyway, concerning the A1, I'm wondering what filter system I should buy into. Should I buy a system like Cokin, with rectangular glasses or should I start collecting threaded filters, which can be screwed on on top of each other?
I'm guessing, when I want to buy something like the Cokin-system, I won't be able to use the supplied camerahood, am I? But screwed-on filters, do they permit the hood to be used?
And finally, who here uses graduated filters? I see disjecta uses them quite a lot. As does the production crew of Top Gear, apparently*.
*Yes, I've spent a two days reading most of the XH-A1 threads
ejdge said:
ok first off, never buy anything unless there is an actual need to do so. Once you get into this there are countless things that you will want to buy and will think I need this and need that to make anything decent. Ive seen great shorts made with little more than a DVX100, tripod and a mic. Ive seen poor shorts made with a XDCam, full grip, audio etc etc.
Having your own does enable you to practice whenever you like, but you dont need a lot to do that. So
Microphones: read the audio section of forum for best bang for buck. I wouldnt buy an Octava straight of the bat until you have read whats most suitable for where. The Octava hyper cardioid for example works great in smaller rooms that sound very flat but arent so good in an room with a lot of echo. Then at this level how good do you want your audio to be? Using an additional premixer for audio will greatly increase your sound performance if you know how to use it and there are some cheap single channel options around. Do you need it to record audio? No.
Lighting: Jennings said lighting is the key to making your shots look good. Im going to be anal here and say no it isnt. But instead, light is. Properly done in daytime you can manipulate natural sun coming through a window to become a great looking 3 point light set up. I could go into detail as to how, but thats a lot of typing. But it is true that to learn to manipulate light is the key factor of lighting.
Seriously for now, forget rails, 35mm adapters et al. Learn to get the most out of the above then make considerations into updating.
You mention buying filters, dont - not yet. As I said have a need befoe you buy. If you buy a bunch of 72mm screw on filters now, and then move to a mattebox for example well youll need to buy them again. Just start with a clear screw on and then work out whats out there and does what.