First off, hello everyone - my first post here. For the past few days, I've been reading a lot of great information written by a lot of great people in this forum. About half of what I know already comes from you guys - much thanks.
I'm trying to get everything in order to produce my feature film - as we have nothing as of now, we need to buy (or beg/borrow/steal) everything we need in order to produce the film.
For the past two weeks I've been trying to decide on which camera to buy. So far, it's starting to boil down to one of three options. I can go with something like 1) the HMC150, 2) a tricked out HV40 (DoF adapter, rail system, etc) or 3) a hybrid DSLR like the 7D.
I've been racking my brain over what to go with. If you read my post over at indietalk, you can see what sort of options I've been struggling with... http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?p=100340&posted=1#post100340
As of today, I'm leaning towards the 7D. To me it looks like the best bang for the buck: 24p, HD, 16:9, no need for a DoF adapter, not to mention it's also pulls double duty for photography. But would I be better off going with an another camera? Every time I think I've made up my mind on a camera, I read something to make me doubt my choice.
I'd love to hear from anyone who has experience handling the 7D, because it seems like it would be awkward to handle for someone who is used to shoulder mounted cameras. Will I have to spend a lot on accessories to make the 7D handle like a video camera? By this, I mean things like a Zacuto Z-Finder, a decent rail-like tripod mount system, or a shoulder mount or something.
Another huge concern is focusing. But I did read that I can feed the video out to an external monitor - I planned on running OnLocation anyhow so no big deal.
I'm also not sure which lenses would be best used for starting out. First I read I should start with a good prime, then I read I should start with a good telephoto for flexibility. Confusing.
Recording time is also something I worry about. Is there a way to record directly to hard drive with the 7D? Otherwise, I'll be forced to deal with whatever constraints the memory cards put on me. Based on budget, I doubt I would be able to afford anything more than two or three 16gb cards. About how long of 16:9, 24p, HD footage is that?
This is just a big purchase for me - in terms of cash and being able to start my film. I just don't want to end up having bought the wrong tool for the job. And.. yeah. At this point I'm just rambling. I'm starting to feel like I've gotten lost down the rabbit hole on this one...
A million thanks to anyone who can throw some advice my way. My head is still spinning from all the different choices in camera. :2vrolijk_08:
Edit: Like I said, new here. If a moderator knows of a better forum for this, could it please be moved?
I'm trying to get everything in order to produce my feature film - as we have nothing as of now, we need to buy (or beg/borrow/steal) everything we need in order to produce the film.
For the past two weeks I've been trying to decide on which camera to buy. So far, it's starting to boil down to one of three options. I can go with something like 1) the HMC150, 2) a tricked out HV40 (DoF adapter, rail system, etc) or 3) a hybrid DSLR like the 7D.
I've been racking my brain over what to go with. If you read my post over at indietalk, you can see what sort of options I've been struggling with... http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?p=100340&posted=1#post100340
As of today, I'm leaning towards the 7D. To me it looks like the best bang for the buck: 24p, HD, 16:9, no need for a DoF adapter, not to mention it's also pulls double duty for photography. But would I be better off going with an another camera? Every time I think I've made up my mind on a camera, I read something to make me doubt my choice.
I'd love to hear from anyone who has experience handling the 7D, because it seems like it would be awkward to handle for someone who is used to shoulder mounted cameras. Will I have to spend a lot on accessories to make the 7D handle like a video camera? By this, I mean things like a Zacuto Z-Finder, a decent rail-like tripod mount system, or a shoulder mount or something.
Another huge concern is focusing. But I did read that I can feed the video out to an external monitor - I planned on running OnLocation anyhow so no big deal.
I'm also not sure which lenses would be best used for starting out. First I read I should start with a good prime, then I read I should start with a good telephoto for flexibility. Confusing.
Recording time is also something I worry about. Is there a way to record directly to hard drive with the 7D? Otherwise, I'll be forced to deal with whatever constraints the memory cards put on me. Based on budget, I doubt I would be able to afford anything more than two or three 16gb cards. About how long of 16:9, 24p, HD footage is that?
This is just a big purchase for me - in terms of cash and being able to start my film. I just don't want to end up having bought the wrong tool for the job. And.. yeah. At this point I'm just rambling. I'm starting to feel like I've gotten lost down the rabbit hole on this one...
A million thanks to anyone who can throw some advice my way. My head is still spinning from all the different choices in camera. :2vrolijk_08:
Edit: Like I said, new here. If a moderator knows of a better forum for this, could it please be moved?