Looking back at new gear during 2018

J

J.Brown

Well-known member
As each year goes by in this business I'm getting tired of the endless bombardment of new gear. It's not easy when so many have their main content focused on the new indispensable thing you just gotta have to work. How much written on places like Cinema5d or Newsshooter are related on anything but new gear? How much on this forum doesn't involve new hardware?

Frankly it's about time to stop listening and stop the gear frenzy.

I really tried this year to do just that and purchase as few things as possible yet I bought a little bit to much. Some things were good. I got hold of a used Sony A7RIII to replace my A7RII and A7SII. This was a good move. I replaced my three Aladdin Bi-Flex panels with two M7. This was also a good move reducing complexity. I also made my Sony FS5 and FS7 kits complete by adding little things so that I don't have to move gear between the kits. Also a good move.

A purchase I really didn't want to do was a new Macbook Pro for editing. Ridiculous expensive but it's the only laptop I like to use.

Then I bought a few items that were totally unnecessary. A fixed frame for the Aladdin panels from DOP Choice. A piece of metal junk. A large Manfrotto roller which just didn't suit how I roll with my gear. I hate large bags. A bunch of photo backgrounds from Manfrotto which are okay but also totally unnecessary.

So in retrospect I somewhat managed to reduce purchases during this year. But it's not easy to resist given the shitstorm of new things being pushed.
 
I was going to sell both my cameras this spring and lay low on the work front until either the A7SIII or a proper update to the FS5 came out... then I got a bunch of rather big gigs, so the past few months I have shot and edited 3 music videos, one circus trailer, one huge outdoor circus show and just recently a concert in a beautiful old theatre.

As the intention for selling and having a break was to update most of my gear I had quite a list of things to buy, but wanted to wait to see what Black Friday had to bring.

Maybe the best thing I bought was a camera bag, so I now finally can bring the FS700 with the Odyssey7Q pre-attached to the camera. Wow, what a difference that made!
Also got the Sachtler Flowtech 75 tripod, and that also makes a huge difference. Those two combined kinda makes up a bit for the cumbersomeness of the FS700/7Q combo.

On top of that I got the Sony GM 24-70/2.8 and 70-200/2.8.

And lastly the Atomos Ninja V so my A7S could shoot more than 29mins for recording the concert. Also finally shot with it in 4K for the first time!

Oh, also got a 2TB for using as edit drive for current projects. It's already too small.

And I got the new MacBook Pro. Which I kinda regret, especially since they brought out the Vega version...

So quite a lot of stuff for a year that was supposed to be about selling and waiting :D
 
It's not easy laying low on camera stuff. The lurking feel of that new thing that just "gotta be had then I'm good" is hard to shake.
 
J.Brown said:
"gotta be had then I'm good"
Click to expand...

This is the dangerous thing!

I think it is a combo of stuff not delivering.. not making you 'good' and expectation creep.

I think my resolution is to rent more or charge as very specific line items.

--

My Lupos brought at the end of last year (2X panels 2 X'2k' fresnels) my Animom transmitter (I want a second!) and atomos monitor have really stepped up my game as I can now deliver something that feels like a 'set'

..Some 'big movie lights', wireless lutted vision to the director with great playback.

--

Im lining up for another big ticket.. Movi Pro.. that is very much a result of my Ronin not delivering... then I will be done

(apart from replacing my BM Micro with a Zcam E2 getting a second wireless transmitter.. and 4 more lights!)
 
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Sold a boatload of older still stuff this year, all of my Nikon gear was off to KEH and Amazon to sell. Sold it all, did okay.
Had to buy a new iMac 27" 4.2GHz as my old 2012 iMac finally bit the dust, the entire graphics card subsystem was starting to fail

Wasn't planning on buying any new cameras or gear but discovered after shooting a lot of C200 Cinema RAW Light with it's DCI aspect ratio that my main documentary lens, the 18-135 STM IS
had really bad vignetting in the left hand corners, could see the IS function working with the black corners so I am going to sell it and bought the 24-105 USM IS II to replace it as my main all purpose lens.
It looks better and being FF, it doesn't have the corner issues. We are conforming our film to UHD so not the end of the world but even with UHD and turning on the EF-S function, the corners were still
too dark. So didn't want to buy a new lens but kind of had to as we are still in production and I didn't want to shoot even more with the 18-135 STM IS. Our editor has begun editing with the proxies and asked, what's with the black stuff in the left corners?
It's really obnoxious that Canon made the APS-C crop 1.6X for all of the EF-S lenses and APS-C cameras but then makes the C200 17:9 a 1.5x crop. I thought the EF-S function took it in to 1.6X but apparently is doesn't quite make it? Even see it on my
17-55 2.8 IS so I will probably sell that lens too which is a shame because I like the lens.

Had been planning on eventually getting a new gimbal to replace my Crane V1, the joystick died and it was out of warranty and trying to get a Zhiyun repair may not really exist. Other than the joystick going out,
it's been a workhorse for about two years, I liked it, so I bought the Crane 2. Then had an end of year work windfall and needed the write off so I bought the Fujifilm X-T3, 18-55mm f/2.8-4.0 OS and the 16mm f/1.4. If I like
the X-T3 as much as I think I will for gimbal, stock footage and still shooting, will sell the 80D and about half a dozen lenses. But it has to prove itself before I sell off the 80D which I have really enjoyed shooting with the past couple of years.

At least I can say all of the gear I bought is making me money and as far as the camera, I had a good client who had me shoot with the 80D and Crane who specifically asked if I could get a 4K gimbal camera for the upcoming shoots so I feel
justified that this wasn't just GAS. 2019 will be the year shooting a LOT of stock, all over the Western US and I am going to try shooting stock table top as well as I love doing table top, it's so much fun to creater, art direct light and shoot your own little world.
 
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he 18-135 STM IS
had really bad vignetting in the left hand corners, could see the IS function working with the black corners s

A typical 'not delivering' followed by a replacement that didnt desire but had to have.
 
morgan_moore said:
my Animom transmitter (I want a second!) and atomos monitor have really stepped up my game as I can now deliver something that feels like a 'set'
...wireless lutted vision to the director with great playback.
Click to expand...

Sorry to OP for thread derail - but Sam, what Animom wireless system are you using? And assume it's the Atomos (Sumo ?) that is providing the "wireless lut" to monitor? I ask because I've got a shoot coming up in early January - and have been researching wireless monitoring systems... it seems Teradeck maybe the only one to provide LUT assistance at the transmitter or receiver.
 
I have a ninja flame which provides the luts and records for playback (I don’t keep the files) - it’s not big enough to be a proper “set” monitor to be honest.
I think the sumo has the same abilities and is big enough to feel like a proper “set” monitor.

I have the cheap ânimon transmitter - it’s hdmi only - I’ve just paired it with an amazon hdmi splitter to get a local feed before transmission

Have a scroll down my Twitter feed and u will see pics of both https://twitter.com/sammorganmoore/media
 
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I know what you mean. I spent more in 2018 than any other year. There were several big improvements I wanted to make that required significant gear purchases so I'm thankful I have been able to step up my game. But the constant draw to get more /get better seems to always be there. This would make life easier. This would give me the edge. This is better than what I have....etc.

Years ago I made a goal list of things I wanted to do and things I wanted to buy. I found this helps to make it happen and now much of the list has been accomplished. Moving forward I plan to aggressively fight GAS and I thought about ways to do it:
- make a hard list of what is needed and buy nothing that is not on the list
- stop reading on forums because it's there I often find out about new stuff.
- stay off sites like B&H.
- ignore emails from companies telling me about their new thing.

I'm making a short list of the few things I yet need and will add them to my price drop email notification list without needing to visit the actual sites to watch prices. Anything else I can do without for at least a few more years unless something breaks. I realize this will make me fall behind in knowing what's out there but when the time comes that I need something major I can research then.
The positive thing about gearing up as I have done is that I won't need to buy much in the next several years while I save for my studio and the 2018 expenses spread over the next several years will help me with taxes during those years.
Now after saying all that, how much or it will I actually do? Probably not stay off the forums. I think making the list and buying nothing not on the list is the best approach for me. :)
.....now which new lens should I buy?!:Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)
 
As it happens Im doing my accounts.

Here we see not only the LED lights I bought but all the other crap.. hard drives, little bits of grip, tools

And £1000 from CVP where I cant even rememver what it was for!


LED LUPO £1,832.00
CVP.COM (no idea) £1,037.70
LED LUPO £1,000.00
LED LUPO £988.00
WWW.B-HAGUE.CO.UK CD xxxx £397.20
RS COMPONENTS CD xxxx £349.22
STG-ELECTRIC.CO.UK CD xxxx £237.35
STAGE ELECTRICS CD xxxx £228.40
STG-ELECTRIC.CO.UK CD xxxx £197.52
HAWK-WOODS LTD CD xxxx £184.80
WWW.FFORDES.COM CD xxxx £178.50
BELL TOOLS CD xxxx £130.25
WWW.THEMETALSTORE. CD xxxx £129.42
WWW.FFORDES.COM CD xxxx £108.50
WWW.FFORDES.COM CD xxxx £98.50
WWW.TOOLSTATION.CO CD xxxx £89.73
AMAZON UK RETAIL A CD xxxx £85.99
CURRYS CD xxxx £84.99
STAPLES UK CD xxxx £66.96
CVP.COM CD xxxx £43.32
BELL TOOLS CD xxxx £39.19
SIMPLYBEARINGS CD xxxx £35.37
Amazon UK Marketpl CD xxxx £34.29
WWW.THEMETALSTORE. CD xxxx £22.27
Amazon UK Retail CD xxxx £18.98
CLEVEDON DIY CD xxxx £14.55
Amazon UK Marketpl CD xxxx £14.49
PEARCES HARDWARE CD xxxx £14.00
AMAZON.CO.UK CD xxxx £13.99
RS COMPONENTS CD xxxx £13.91
PEARCES HARDWARE CD xxxx £13.18
MAPLIN BRISTOL BS7 CD xxxx £13.05
AMAZON UK RETAIL A CD xxxx £11.64
WWW.TOOLSTATION.CO CD xxxx £9.03
STAGE ELECTRICS STAGE ELECTRICS £0.00

Total £7,736.29

of which

£2,878.59

Is little gubbins.

Edit CVP.. DJI focus, 13 sandbags, 2 baby plates.
 
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I honestly don't know how many things I've bought over the years just because they might come in handy. My FS7 bag is full of little "good to have" things. Do I use them? Not really as I use the things that I'm used to work with and that I know my way around how to use. In my storage room there's boxes full of these "good to have things" not to mention the unhealthy amount of camera bags I own. I really have to stop it so I'm glad I managed to keep it sane during 2018. Previous years has been ugly.

Looking into 2019 I aim to buy nothing. I'll probably fail at that but chances are higher I will end up with less junk at least.
 
For some people the best way (besides losing interest) to control the syndrome or the habit of purchasing new gear - or more gear - is to find an additional hobby that's inexpensive.

For those whom may possibly have a shopping addiction (it's a very real thing) and the luxury of discretionary income (it's naturally enjoyable for humankind to purchase things), it helps to trick the brain a little bit because it's no doubt a never-ending cycle as there will always be something you'll end up buying (if you can) no matter how you currently feel.
 
I will agree with you, NorBro. Using myself as an example, I've had a nagging shoulder injury(thankfully not my right) and sporadic shooting schedule that more or less made me decide to step out of the gym for almost the last month and in that time I've probably bought at least $7k-$8K in gear. Well over $6k in just the last week. Granted, it is December and a lot of us do buy a lot of gear at the end of the year, but when you have other things to keep you occupied away from "work", it's easier to put the toys out of your mind.
 
morgan_moore said:
As it happens Im doing my accounts.

Here we see not only the LED lights I bought but all the other crap.. hard drives, little bits of grip, tools

.......
Click to expand...

I had no intentions of buying this much stuff this year and I think it would scare me if I added it all up right now.

8x 4' Quasar Crossfade tubes
2x Nila Boxers
2x Litepanels Geminis and softboxes & eggcrates and BT dongles
2x Westcott Ice Lights
Sachtler Flowtech 100
2x Hive 200C's
Teradek Bolt XT system
BrightTangerine mattebox
Mavic 2 Pro
Sanken CS-M1
Plus all the "little things" like cables and hard drives and the like.

Heck, I may not even be done. I'm renting an Easyrig Vario to see how I like it to see if I may get in on the Group Buy Travis is running on REDUser. I used to laugh at the guys that used them, but as I get older and look down the road and look at how much less ergonomic and balanced our cameras are getting and at the "style" a lot of productions want to do now(handheld for 20 hours straight). I don't want to be like one of my friends who is only about 10 years older than me that has already had a hip replacement really bad back problems(may have had surgery)and his doctor just told him to put down the camera, because BOTH of his shoulders are literally done and need surgery(possibly/probably replaced).
 
Perhaps we should have a little contest to see who spent the most this year. :smile: Admitting is the 1st step, right?
 
morgan_moore said:
he 18-135 STM IS
had really bad vignetting in the left hand corners, could see the IS function working with the black corners s

A typical 'not delivering' followed by a replacement that didnt desire but had to have.
Click to expand...

I was never a fan of the 24-105 but at least it's FF!
 
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