I have $4k to set up my 7D. I Have a list. Please take a look.

The 17-50VC is $200 more and the non VC is about $20 more than the 7D kit is what I mean
 
I've used pretty fast nikon lenses for years as well. I'm not too fond of The kit lens I have. I wish I would been more educated on the intial purchase I could have saved myself some money.
 
Buying CF cards without knowing much about them, I though i needed the fastest ones known to mankind. So I bought the Lexar 300x and it worked great. Then I lost it !!!

Decided to replace it with a Sandisk 30m/b that Costco has on sale and it works great, plus it's half the price!
 
I love the 50mm 1.8 but I haven't been able to fit a lens gear on the focus ring because it is slanted. Not sure if anyone has been able to solve this little issue but that may cement the decision to go for the 1.4

Have the Tamron 17-50 and love it but wish I had the VC version. Would recommend that.
 
I'm going 1.4. Now the hard part is going to be parting with the cash. I can feel that heaviness in my chest already.:(


I love the 50mm 1.8 but I haven't been able to fit a lens gear on the focus ring because it is slanted. Not sure if anyone has been able to solve this little issue but that may cement the decision to go for the 1.4

Have the Tamron 17-50 and love it but wish I had the VC version. Would recommend that.
 
Now i'm stuck with the descsion to either get the Tokina 11-16 (much easier to fly with the Glidecam) or the Tamron 17-50 2.8 VC. I can't afford both due to major Car issues. I was thinking of just waiting on the Tamron and use my Kit lens for now. Because I will be doing a lot of glidecam work on the feature I was hired to shoot.
 
i have a glidecam pro 1000 that i got on ebay for $100 shipped, in mint condition.

No need to spend that much on a 3 lb camera.

jon!
it starts at 3 lbs
add rails, FF, mattebox, battery, monitor, Micorophone or h4n and it easily weighs much more
 
Thanks. very informative.

It's not about the .4 stops, it's about getting a quality focus ring and eliminating plasticy focus noise. I loved the 1.8 but I now HATE the build quality. It's kind of pathetic how poorly made it is. Great image quality, but since the DOF is so shallow,you need a reliable way to focus it. Because of the extremely cheap plastic ridges, and very very short turning range, it is impossible to use on an important shoot. You can't even wrap a follow focus gear around it without it slipping off. And you can't get any audio with a mounted mic while focusing this camera. You need to constantly focus to be in control of that DOF, so one of them has to go.

Sure you can buy it and use it for a few shoots and have it be worth $100 already. But everything you buy should be your friend on set and last a long time. You will outgrow the 1.8 very quickly.

I suggest the merlin with the stabilizer. Using the merlin on big cameras like the dvx and hmc sucked. It kills your arm. I sold it because it didn't work for either of those. I wish I kept it for the lightweight 7d. But it wouldn't have mattered since I only own the 50mm 1.8 and you can't keep anything in focus for motion. Combine it with the vest and use a wide angle with limited focus requirements and you're good. I also used the glidecam hd and the merlin seems more professional and adjustable for a smaller camera. But vest or no vest, the merlin will get thrown around more in a light wind than a glidecam.
 
Well here is what I bought. Most of which should be here this week.

Tokina 11-16 2.8
Canon 50mm 1.8
3 X Kingston 8gig x133 CF cards
1 more 8gig Sandisk Extreme
Glidecam HD4000 (wanted the HD2000 but got the 4 for the same price)
MiniHDMI>HDMI cable
Zoom H4N (Still need SD cards)
ZaZa Slider
Indifocus Rods with quick release
Redrock Micro 4" grip Rod. (already have many RR parts, making stubing with Indirods)
1 Lacie TB Hard drive
2 More Canon Batteries
1 AC adapter


All in all it doesn't seem like a bad start to me. Thanks Hunter. I dropped the total budget by about a grand. babies need new shoes.
 
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