I just got $12,000 and want a camera!

DerrickTempleton

DerrickTempleton

Well-known member
This summer, my car and my DVX were stolen and destroyed. 2 separate incidents...it's a long story and isn't important.

I did have car insurance, and Geico decided to scrap my car and write me a check for 12k. Homeowner's insurance on the DVX is inconclusive but I'm assuming I wont get a dime.

So...I see 4 options, I wanted to ask around, get some brainstorms on how to spend this money.

option 1) do as best I can to replace my original car, leaving no money for the camera

option 2) blow all the money on a camera setup (hvx+p2s+macpro)

option 3) get an XH-A1 and a car roughly 60% as good as my old one

option 4) invest all of it and sit around with nothing for a year or two

I'm still in school so I can bum rides or cameras from friends...but it's just not the same! Leaning towards option 3. Show me the light!
 
Where's the option where you: Find a great script, rent a camera package, and shoot a short or something? =P
 
6) Get the A1, the 35mm adaptor, lenses, support gear (tripods, steadicam, car mount), and a 2nd hand car that does the job. When you've had enough of the car (and the a1), put a car mount on the car and film it plummeting down a canyon.
 
You're in luck! I just happen to be selling a camera for exactly $12k.

s100manual.jpg


Send me a PM if you're interested. :)
 
DerrickTempleton said:
option 1) do as best I can to replace my original car, leaving no money for the camera

option 2) blow all the money on a camera setup (hvx+p2s+macpro)

option 3) get an XH-A1 and a car roughly 60% as good as my old one

option 4) invest all of it and sit around with nothing for a year or two

I'm still in school so I can bum rides or cameras from friends...but it's just not the same! Leaning towards option 3. Show me the light!
Click to expand...

1) Safe bet, but that money could go further than just a car
2) Really cool idea, but then you still have no car. Unless you have paying jobs lined up for the new gear, it's a foolish idea
3) If you just buy a junker so that you can spend more on a camera, you'll be looking at a less reliable vehicle that you'll end up spending more cash on fixing it
4) Really safe bet, and you can spend that year planning a movie which will net you nothing when done, and cost you more out of pocket and time spent

It would be nice to know what you do for work. If you are a full time student, the camera is just an expensive toy to play movie maker with. If you use the camera to freelance or shoot weddings, then you need to get a replacement and reliable transportation to the gigs.
 
I would choose option four personally. I always find when I come in to a large amount of money that when I invest it and sit on it for a while, 6 months or more then I really know after that time if it's what I want. More times than not I have chosen something else by the time I dip into the investment.

If you can bum cameras and rides, then there's no reason to blow it yet. Hold tight, you'll thank yourself later. imho.


www.ricardezphoto.com
 
I was in your situation last summer. Didn't have a DVX but I did have a 1986 Saleen Mustang (one of only 200 made) with a fresh paint job get totalled by a cokehead swerving all around San Francisco who took off right after I got his license plate #

I went with option 2 (though I didn't have enough to get the adaptors). Bought the HVX and a beater car. It's still running, though I had to spend another $500 on a heater core. Otherwise? I've already paid it off with the work I've done, though I didn't have a camera before this one and had no networking connections or resume experience, the camera helped me get all that.
 
Don't spend 12k on a camera package unless you have gigs lined up.

I would vote 4, as your needs will clearly reveal themselves in a years time.
 
Lots of valid arguments to consider...it's becoming easier to tell the responsible choice.

I got the dvx by a stroke of luck: winning a grant to make my documentary. The doc was finished shooting this summer, so technically I don't need it anymore. And there's always more grants to apply for...

The car, on the other hand..no one is gonna plop a car in my lap unless I win Wheel of Fortune. Although I can get by while I'm in college, afterwards I'll certainly need my own car, so why not get it now and stop bugging my friends every time I need groceries?

Anyway I'm gonna sit on it until I hear back from homeowners insurance just to make sure they don't actually pay me for the stolen dvx. I appreciate all the advice.
 
While you're waiting to make this decision, check out www.ingdirect.com . Presently they have a 4.50% interest rate just for their free savings account. Even if you only put half of your savings in there, you'd have an extra $250 or so in a year. When I was saving for my DVX, I found it really helpful to have a savings acct. It might be a good idea to throw some of that money in a mutual fund while you're at it. PM me if you want to open an ING acct, I'll send you a referral link and you'll get $25 for joining.
 
Paid 1000 bucks for my CRX, its body is still mint, paint still shiny and has 320k on it. (i got it with 150k back in 2001)

No need to spend fat bank on a car with expensive insurance when a good ol Honda will get ya where ya need to be. I rely on the 88 CRX for the daily commute from SF to San Jose for the past 2.5 years and even further from Tracy before that.
 
I bought an 82 Mustang for 20 bucks once (this was in 92 or 93)... got it home and immediately pulled out the 4 cyl engine and threw in a 5.0L from an 89 GT... Then again, I was a mechanic for 4 years so I could do anything that needed to be done myself...
 
the extent of my car knowledge was acquired playing Gran Turismo when I was 13. Anyway, I have on good authority that a lot of old people buy cars, put 5000 miles on them, then sell them real cheap. And there's a lot of old people in Phoenix...
 
DerrickTempleton said:
the extent of my car knowledge was acquired playing Gran Turismo when I was 13. Anyway, I have on good authority that a lot of old people buy cars, put 5000 miles on them, then sell them real cheap. And there's a lot of old people in Phoenix...
Click to expand...
And if they should die in those cars, you can get them even cheaper!:thumbsup:
 
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