Do your clients care, what camera you use?

Postmaster

Postmaster

Dark Side of the Camera
Okay, this is a very techy forum and we are all pretty anal on tech details in cameras.
But do your clients really care, what camera you use - as long they like the end product of course?

Most of my clients never see the camera anyway, cause they are not on set.
The agency - at least - ask me sometimes if it is SD or HD.
When the clients show up on set, they have no idea what they are looking at.
Since the HVX looked like a hobby camera (compared to a Digibeta), and the FS100 is even smaller,
I "blow it up" with rails, huge mattebox and all the bells and whistles - just in case, someone needs some confidence boosted.
And we all know, folks are impressed with that sort of stuff.

But actually I never run into a situation (and I do that since years) that a client even said something about the camera.
They are concerned about all kind of things, makeup, acting, screenplay andwhatnot - but my gear or any technical aspect as lenses, codecs, storage and so on..? Nope.

How about you guys?

Frank
 
Postmaster said:
But do your clients really care, what camera you use - as long they like the end product of course?
Click to expand...

depends on the client and genre of work but here in NYC the answer a lot of the time for jobs I've seen is YES.
In fact the camera type is often specified in the ad or request for proposal.
 
Never. The images the client has seen from past work is enough....fingers crossed. I've had to fly to a lot of locations where size mattered and I still get my daily with just a 5D and 2 lenses.
 
Yes. A large number of my clients are very tech savvy, and these days even the average person here's camera details quite a bit. But it depends on your client- if you're shooting for different people than I am it might not matter. I have also used HDSLRs as a marketing point, since a lot of people hear about how great the 5D is without knowing why. So if I through that in they think I'm on the cutting edge. But maybe that's not in your marketing plan. There's really no answer for that.
 
Whenever I see a job where camera is specified its always the same culprits. Red, Phantom, Alexa, 5dm2, 7d, f3, and sometimes ex1 /3

Often the agencies where'm I'm working on web design gigs I'm friends with the broadcast producers and I see the jobs being put together before they are sent out. They're tech savvy alright
 
Indirectly, yes they do, even if they never see it or specify it. The camera used has a direct impact on the budget, crew, etc. It also a major factor in the quality of the deliverable to the client. So 100% yes. The only reason they shouldn't care is if you're in radio.
 
Depends on the client. Corporates very rarely have any concern as long as you turn in a good product. Agencies tend to care. When I crew without of towners they often have a shoot format theyre already shooting to so I need to match. MV producers usually have something in mind. And then there's those that say what do you think?

I'm usually only the producer in my Corp gigs so it's generally the only place where I use my trusty Af100 apart from my own projects ( just shot a doc in Japan with it for example).
 
It depends. Some people yes, some people no. I shoot with the FS100 now, but before that the AF100 and before that the 7D. I am really glad I don't have to answer a million questions about the 7D anymore when shooting. "That's a video camera?!?" The worst was doing live events and people stopping to pose and me having to say "No, we are shooting video" :) Almost wanted to make a fake body for the 7D when I was shooting it.
 
Rick Burnett said:
The worst was doing live events and people stopping to pose and me having to say "No, we are shooting video" :) Almost wanted to make a fake body for the 7D when I was shooting it.
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Well, can you blame them?

I mostly shoot FS100 in the moment, F3 or RED if the job calls for it or the budget allows.

I have an upcoming gig for a bank image film.
Since the budget is tight (yes, it´s a bank) and it´s for the website only, I try to get the best out of my FS100.
But no word about the gear - they didn´t even ask if we shoot SD or HD.

Frank
 
sometimes they ask, this for 2 reasons. some are anxious the get the most bang for the buck (silly, because if they ask for a red , i will rent one and they will pay for it anyway), or
because they want to make sure it will look good (silly also, since the quality of the final product is not related to camera model).
Usually i try to balance with safety and easy. For example, short shots in uncontrolled light condition, i take my EX1, knowing that with HD and good low light behavior i will be
able to correct. Usually it is short corporate speach in company corridor.
For event with more action , i got the sony Fx1 with good low light behavior, and 3CCD, so no risk with flashes, jello or any other artifact from CMOS.
As C cam , i got the HDR-TD10, so i can even shoot 3D. For special purpose, i use T2i, while it is not really a video camera. For instance the T2i stay mostly unused since customer rarely
offer condition to shoot with or ask for artistic cinelook. (i shoot mostly events like music band, fashion show, theater, and corporate business).
 
The only time a client ever asks about a camera is when they want to use a canon. That's the only time I ever had to take that request. The last time there was a concert this week and I suggested they use EX1s at least, so we could sync the cameras up but the director insisted on 5D's. Worst camera for that kind of job. Didn't take it. The other guys who took it (friends) went through hell. Kept saying 'we do it in post'.

Only time they ever make the point of what camera is when they're hot on a 5D.
 
Occasionally ... but more often than not when camera is mentioned, its just some ad hack trying to sound knowledgeable. ;-)
 
Postmaster said:
Well, can you blame them?

I mostly shoot FS100 in the moment, F3 or RED if the job calls for it or the budget allows.

I have an upcoming gig for a bank image film.
Since the budget is tight (yes, it´s a bank) and it´s for the website only, I try to get the best out of my FS100.
But no word about the gear - they didn´t even ask if we shoot SD or HD.

Frank
Click to expand...

I don't blame them because it looks like a stills camera :) Because it is. Still didn't make it any less annoying. Haha.
 
In the world I travel in, it is usually specified to be Panasonic P2 or a Sony EX-series camera. Occasionally there is a firm "NO DSLRS!". I shoot with an HPX-170 and a Canon 60D. It used to be a lopsided 70/30 between the Canon/Panasonic, but now it's pretty much flip-flopped. Personally I use the Canon when I need control of the DoF. When I want ease of use/better image overall, I use the 170. I also do a lot of mixing with the two.
 
Gary Huff said:
In the world I travel in, it is usually specified to be Panasonic P2 or a Sony EX-series camera. Occasionally there is a firm "NO DSLRS!". I shoot with an HPX-170 and a Canon 60D. It used to be a lopsided 70/30 between the Canon/Panasonic, but now it's pretty much flip-flopped. Personally I use the Canon when I need control of the DoF. When I want ease of use/better image overall, I use the 170. I also do a lot of mixing with the two.
Click to expand...

We do a lot of things similarly where I work. The training content we do is on the EX-1; the narrative content is on the 7D or a mix of the two cameras.

Then again, it's not entirely a client-based relationship, although our clients are other departments inside the company, who wouldn't know what is different in an EX-1 from a 7D or from a stack of pancakes.
 
Rick Burnett said:
What do you shoot with? :)
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Well first I was:
1.jpg
And:
2.jpg
Then I was:
3.jpg
Then I got a:
4.jpg
And a:
5.jpg
Now I'm:
6.jpg7.jpg
I also got:
8.jpg9.jpg9a.jpg
I use 'em on:
gc1.jpggc2.jpg
SmoothieR Rear View_72.jpg
Merlin-only-3_4.jpg
steadijr-1-lg.jpg

And a:
Clipper2_silo_72.jpg

But it all began with:
browniehawkeye.jpg

And a:
Diy-Steadicam07.jpg



+1111111:thumbsup:

:)
 
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