Mom looking for advice for graduation presents

J

jampwork

New member
Hey there all wise people. I think I have definitely decided on the dvx100b vs. the canon xl2, but since I am an extreme newbie I was wondering if someone could give me details on the following:

I only have enough money for the camera and then a mic setup and tripod. I am confused with exactly what I need to buy in addition to what comes with the camera if I'm to upgrade. What I've read here so far is that sennheiser k6/m64 is good. Do I need to buy something to put this mic onto the camera, or does the camera come with a shockmount. I'm sorry I'm really ignorant about this. If someone could treat me like I'm only about 10 years old and tell me exactly what I need to purchase to make the sound system better. Thanks a mil.

Jam:nads:
 
First thing is to decide what your going to use the camera for, this will help you get advice on what to accessorise the camera with. As far as tripods the best for the money is Cartoni Focus, you can read Jarreds review here:

http://dvxuser.com/articles/cartfocus/

After that there are a series of bogen sticks and heads, the lowest level you should go is a bogen tripod witha 501 head. It is the lowest priced of what is considered fluid movement heads.

For the mic you may wish to read Matt in StL posts on his mic tests. Many perfer the AT 4073a to the Sennheiser.

But again if you post how you think you'll be using the camera we can give you better advice.

Gopher
 
The camera does come with a mount for a microphone and most use it just fine (there are some upgrade options).

as far as tripods don't go overboard here for a first time setup, I haven't read Jarred's article just because I'm not in the maket for a tripod, but you can get a get Bogen (reputable brand) for a 9 pound camera with fluid head starting at $170. The essential part is "fluid head" and not "fluidhead like" etc.

Now in terms of being "done" buying things for an initial set up...
The bad news is there are TWO more things you HAVE to get.
The good news is they total about $35 dollars together:

(click the links to view in the B&H catalogue)
1)UV Filter (Canon)
$24
and
2)a short (1.5 ft-ish) microphone cable
$9.50
Now I say just two items, but that's assuming you are getting or have a case of some sort, either soft or hard.

Regarding the mic cable - won't work without it.

Regarding the UV filter:
A UV filter is basically a clear filter that color corrects for UV rays. The reason its a must is because it also doubles as a lens protecter. These start at $25 and go up. The lens on the DVX is very expensive and damage due to one of your son's friends playfully tossing his car keys into the camera is not covered under warranty. Everything else on the camera exterior can get scraped and bumped and the camera will still function. But obviusly a gouge in the lens, renders the camera nearly usesless. So $25 now is a VERY good investment.

Since you have to buy a filter I would invest a little more if you can as I strongly recommend the following:
Canon 72mm Filter set (UV, Polarizer, .8 Neutral density filter)
$114
It comes with with the UV (essential), plus a polarizer (the most useful filter -- it allows you to shoot through windows and into shallow water and get bluer skys by seeing through reflections), and a ND .8 (not necessary but a good perc in the kit).
$114 is a great deal on one critical, one essential, and one useful filter by a name brand lens maker. (Canon is the brand but these are 72mm circular filters and will screw onto the DVX fine)

(I don't work for B&H photo, they are just the biggest most stocked most efficient dealer - not necessarily the best, but OK in general, and best in terms of stock and efficiency)

For other accesories, I recommend the following in the following order.
  1. DVX user long life battery
    this lasts for 4 - 6 hour as opposed to a couple of hours I think with the batter that ships with it, and it's better to run your camera off battery whenever possible as opposed to plugging it in. It's $79 and STRONGLY recommended. I would get one now if at all possible. 2 or 3 hours goes by QUICK when making a short or shooting an event and your son also has no backup battery now. So he can use this battery and the one that ships with the camera as back up. Again strongly recommended, if not this round then next Birthday or for the Holidays or graduation bucks, etc. In fact, maybe the $25 filter and the $79 dollar battery would be a better combo than the more expensive filter set above.
  2. Shock mount for the microphone
    (each image is a link)

    $64.95
    +

    $9.95
    OR
    This is good too, made for the mic you have, and half the price of the above
    (you don't need the $10 light shoe), but the bands don't grip as tight and
    it doesn't get the mic away from the camera as much:

    $39.95
    while the camera does come witha mic mount that has adequate dampening, optimally its good to get the mic a little away from the camera to minimize camera noise and vibration noise from handling the camera - but again folks do fine with the mount that comes with the camera.
  3. boom pole
    there's a variety of lengths and weights ranging fromm $70 to thousands. Mine is about $140, 12' and aluminum. The cost has to do with length an material. Whether your son is graduating college or highscool he has young friends and can afford to save with slightly heavier boom pole. But these become essential for anykind of filmmaking. Without a wireless mic system it will be hard to get good sound in scenes without a boom pole ( a long stick held just out of camera view that gets the mic closer to the actors), and sound is actually more important than video for percieved overall quality.
For extra "Gift Flash" for minimal buck ($39) I would recommend this great little book:

It's amazingly well put together and will allow your son to build camera rigs like dollies and cranes that cost thousands of dollars for anywhere from $50 - $300 at the hardware store.

The boom pole and the book are the only things that are specific to "filmmaking" (which is what I am assuming he wants to do with it) the rest are good for any application as they involve basic stabilization, and getting quality image or sound into the camera.
 
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This Place!

This Place!

You know one of the reasons I have chosen this camera is because of this forum. You all are so generous with your time and expertise. I REALLY appreciate it. Thanks so much for all your feedback on the mic and tripod and filters. I understand much better now and am going to go to a film retailer today to play around with the different things you all recommended. I will post after I purchase everything so you know what I ended up with. Many many thanks and have a great day.






Go with the flow.:dankk2:
 
You are welcome.

One of the best included features of the DVX doesn't come in the box, it's this forum. I'm just playinhg forward what it has done for me.

But this forum is definately a selling feature for the camera.

The forum and Barry Green's book really add quality of experience and increased return on the investment.
 
I agree, I recently got a DVX and it has been a very positive experience both picking the camera out and figuring out how to use it because of the helpful people on this forum.
 
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