HD Video Cam Recommendations for Weddings

J

johnedlt

New member
Hi!

Im new here. I have photography studio doing ad and wedding work. At present we outsource our wedding videos to another studio but wish to start our own team to maintain quality and control costs.

I hope you can help me figure out what cameras from panasonic and maybe sony I can consider investing in for mostly catholic weddings with indoor receptions.

My budget is about US$2800. The less expensive the better for us though.

Ill also need wireless audio, boom mikes, lapels and halogens with at least 1000W heads.

Thanks in advance for your help...
 
Decent camera that would work in low light is about $4k minimum
Decent wireless audio setup ~$1200
Decent set of lights ~$1500
Decent boom mics ~$1000

Take your pick.

Notice these are "decent" not Pro...

what kind of stills cameras are you guys using ing your studio? And what kind of lightsa?
 
I have been thinking and my first response is still "lol".

After that this may be doable.

* Panasonic DVX-100B $ 2,499.95 (better price used)
* Sennheiser Evolution G2 100 Series $489.95

You really don't need the boom mic or lights. I have done over 100 weddings in the last 3 years and used my on-camera light maybe 6 times. Never have I used AC powered video lighting for these events and have never seen them used.

This quote does however not include tripod which is extremely important. DO NOT SCIMP OUT ON YOUR CAMERA SUPPORT. Also, having done it when I forgot my quick release plate, do not think you can use a photo tripod.

Once you do 3 good weddings look into upgrades. Like Countryman Lav, Boom mic ETC.

Good Luck!
 
The poster said he wanted HD.

First, forget using just one camera to shoot a wedding. Two is an absolute minimum. Three is better. With a single camera, you're going to have a very boring video to watch. Either you'll have no cuts at all, or you'll wind up panning away at just the wrong moment. If you're shooting for free, you can get away with that kind of faux pas. If you're getting paid, then you have to do it right.

Forget boom mics. No one wants a boom hanging over their heads. That being said, a good external on-camera mic may come in handy shooting the reception.

You won't need more than one wireless lapel mic. Put it on either the groom or the minister, and it should be all you need for the vows and such. The other consideration is recording whatever music is in the wedding, but I'm no expert on that. There are others here who can advise.

And definitely forget lights. The bride will NOT want you setting up supplemental lighting. Remember, the purpose of the day is the wedding, not the video.

Absolute barest minimum, in my opinion, would be a couple of Canon HF200's ($599 each), a couple of decent fluid head tripods, an Audio-Technica wireless mic system (starts at $169), and a couple of Rode Videomics ($149 each) for shooting the reception. I'm sure this will be poo-poohed by some as not being 'professional' enough, and they have a point. But it's a start. Canon HV40's would be better ($780 each), as far as ease of editing. And get a better wireless mic if you can afford it.

What form will your deliverable be in? If it's a DVD, then the only real HD-format DVD's are Blu-Rays. Burning a Blu-Ray DVD isn't something you'll likely be doing yourself. From what I understand, the equipment to do it is either expensive or, for all practical purposes, non-existent. (Format wars, I believe.)

You'll need a decent computer and software for editing. Figure that into your startup costs.

As kgimedia says, plan to upgrade as you can. Let the work pay for the upgrades.

Again, all of this is just my opinion. Best of luck.
 
weve booked many weddings to date. The videography studio we outsource to get our videos done do a pretty good job with sony fx1000 and sennheiser wireless lapel, boom, 2000w lighting total. theyre edited in premiere.

currently we use a D3, D300s and D200 for our photography.

my fears are over and under buying the stuff we need. ive checked the hybrids and although they have artistic potential bec of high sensitivity and interchangeable lens maximum recording time is a deal breaker.

As for the vixia H200 suggested by chapelgrovefilms they seem like a acceptable alternative esp if we can produce good footage with better light from more cameras and edit them properly. im just afraid my couples may frown at the sight of consumer video cameras for their weddings.

Weve also checked Panasonic dvx100b's and the price fits. is there a way to upgrade the output to HD in post though in case we need to render in blu-ray?

As for the lapels i was surprised how expensive they are. aside from transmitters and the lapel they were also selling me a box??

sorry about the questions being a bit off but really appreciate all your help.

Big Thanks! - John
www.luminosistudios.com
 
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