Getting started - package

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craigb

Member
Hello all,

Wonderful site - great contributions. I hope I am posting in the right place - please point me in the right direction if not.

I live in South Africa and have recently started up with a small video production business - tested the market, and now it is time to get more serious about it. Mostly corporate videos showing creative improvements. Also some other stuff aournd town on the golf course etc.

My question is this - I need to ship stuff from the US (B&H) and I would like to do it all together, so I need to make sure I have covered everything, and that I am going for the right stuff.

This is what my shopping cart looks like at the moment:

1) DVX100B
2) Rode NTG-2 mic with 1.5 ft XLR cable
3) SL-50 spare battery
4) Rode dead cat

I also need to do narration. Is the rode ntg-2 going to be ok for this?
What about a mixer - or is there another way of connecting the mic to the PC to capture the narration.

I already have a powerful workstation, so that is sorted.

I edit with Adobe premiere elements 4.0 - good enough. Should I be looking at going for the pro edition?

Obviously you need to know my budget - The 4 items listed above plus the shipping and duties are already about at my limit (Around $4000).

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks
Craig
 
Hi craig

Hi craig

I am in the exact same situation as you, and my shopping list is as follows;

DVX100be (allready ordered for $3000, the pal version, as I'm in norway)
Røde NTG-1 (as far as I know the only difference is the onboard battery capability of the NTG-2, and NTG-1 is a bit cheaper)
Røde mini boom pole
Shockmount
Røde dead-cat
5m XLR cable (for the boom)
2 XLR heads and 1m cable (gonna make a short one for mounting the mic on the camera if I work alone)

My budget is also $4000

My only doubt is not getting a decent tripod, but all my productions so far have been handheld, and I reckon I can borrow a tripod more easy than the rest of the stuff.
 
The rode is a nice mic and you can narrate with it. You do not need the boom pole because you can make it out of a painters pole. The shockmount is a must and the deadcat you if are outside. I use a 25ft XLR for the boom and a 6-8 inch for the camera.
 
I have done some more reasearch and asked at 2 retailers, and the NTG1 and NTG2 seems to have only margnal differences, exept the NTG1 only takes phantom 48v, and the NTG2 also takes AA batteries. The only reason I can se for spending $100 more on NTG2 is if you are planning to use it with a cordless XLR from some other mic kit.
But the thought of a cordless boom is pretty nice tho.
 
Hopefully I won't get shunned saying this on a DVX board, but I'd really get an HD camera at this time - you can get one for about the same range as a DVX such as the A1 for about 3k and it'll last longer as HD should be mainstream fairly soon.
 
I will agree with psynema, go HD. Yes it is going to cost a little more but you will be better off in the long run.
 
For the on-camera mic, I would suggest swapping out that 1.5' XLR for a short, coiled XLR cable. It's only ever as long as it needs to be so there's no cable wrangling and wrapping it around the handle, mic mount, etc.

I also agree on the NTG-1 suggestion. As for going HD, if you can afford it and support it in post, I would go for it.

Good luck.

~~Dave
 
Austinv said:
The rode is a nice mic and you can narrate with it. You do not need the boom pole because you can make it out of a painters pole. The shockmount is a must and the deadcat you if are outside. I use a 25ft XLR for the boom and a 6-8 inch for the camera.
Click to expand...

Good idea - yeah boom poles are a bit overrated - handy, but considering you can make one out of any sort of pole, broom stick etc, why spend a few hundred on that? It's more for narrative work IMO - corporate work, I've rarely seen a boompole in use believe it or not. I've gotten by without owning one for a while - interviews can use stands or wireless lavs (which sound great btw)

Also, save some cash for a tripod too.
 
umm a good tripod maybe...dunno what kind of work your doing but its pretty important for almost anything, unless you already have one
 
Thanks guys.

I have a decent tripod, but will upgrade soon. That is the kind of thing I am willing to buy locally.

I see on B&H that the Rode ntg-1 and 2 are the same price!

I am pretty much sold on the DVX100B - the HD can wait for later.
 
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