advice on purchase

[dm78]

hi I'm shooting a documentary soon and need affordable tripod (that won't crap out) for my recently purchased dvx100b. I'm not an amateur but my technical knowledge is lacking in terms of what's good these days.

also need to buy:
-a lighting kit that I can travel with (put in baggage claim?) - i'll be taking a plane
-a case, bag or backpack for dvx100b, labtop, tripod - that isn't terribly large or clunky
-lavs (i will be running sound myself for now - are wired or wireless better? - what are good models, prices and where to buy)
-lenses - no clue what brand is good for the buck
-filters - no nothing about them really except for using ND on an xl1 years back
-battery pack, charger
-tapes

any suggestions, price comparisons, stores that'll ship expedited method are greatly appreciated. quality for the price is what i'm looking for.

THANKS!

 

[Jeff Anderson]

Whats your budget like? You're going to get responses all over the place without a budget.

You said quality for price so I'm going to give you some moderately/conservatively priced suggestions.

Anything checked in a plane is going to need a sturdy hard case - look at pelicans, but there are a few other comparable brands that I cant remember

Tripod - I dont particularly like them but for the money the Bogen 503 combo is a decent tripod and sticks. I've got miller solo sticks and a libec h38 head that I love but its a tad more costly, and there are mixed feelings out there on the libec head, but I like it alot.

Lights - Tell us more about what you need to light. My new travelling suggestion is a few stands and a bunch of vidleds for interview lighting. Go find MattinSTL's post where he demonstrates the possibilities with a few of these tiny battery powered lights.

Bag - If you want a bag for a camera, acc, and a laptop then look at the KATA bp207. It says it will hold a tripod but not a nice big video one I speak from experience on that.

lavs, wired is better, but if you need to roam obviously wireless is better. Tram-tr50, sanken cos-11, countryman emw/b3/b6 are all good lavs to look at. Sennheiser G2 wireless setups are pretty much it in bang for the buck wireless setups.

Lenses - The one on the front of the camera does well - are you looking for a WA adapter or something?

Filters - I'd get a UV filter just to protect the lens. Two ND filters are built in and will suffice for most applications.

Batteries - are you really wanting to go some Anton Bauer type of route? Lots of options here. The 5600 mah batteries from Spec-Comm and DVXuser are good long run affordable setups. And I just got a two position dolgin charger that rocks. They have a 4 position one also.

Tapes - I use an HVX mainly, so I'm tapeless, but the Panasonic MQ get reccomended most often although it seems like they got replaced with a new line? Just buy lots of the most expensive tapes from panasonic.

As far as retail outlets go, B&H will have most of this stuff and has all the normal shipping options. Their service can range from excellent to horrible, but most of the time for normal orders I've never had a problem. Spec-comm is also a great vendor, as well as Full Compass. There are many more but thats who I mainly deal with and check first. Go authorized and dont get scammed by prices that seem to good to be true.

 

[dm78]

Budget for accessories is 1k to 3k total.. depending on what fits my needs..

i appreciate your moderately/conservative suggestions..

tripod - still looking at the models you mentioned. range: $400 - 600

Lights - lighting documentary interviews. some in office, home, hotel suite, conference room. could u possibly point me to the MattinSTL posts..there are so many! thx ... need to be able to take the kit on the plane or check in baggage if that's possible..i'll be bringing suitcase, Kata HB-205 GDC Hiker Backpack, tripod, lighting kit, and suitcase/bag for supplies.. considering ordering the 1604 divider case

Bags - just ordered the kata above..thought the 207 was a bit too expensive..seemed about the same to me though we'll see..

lavs - going with sennheiser i think

filters - ok .. i'll look around for brands

batteries - bought 2 pack from dvxuser - thx! probably getting the dolgin charger

tapes - thx ..

Thanks for your help!