Need some buying advice

Markitto

Markitto

Well-known member
Hi new here. I been looking around on this forum for a couple of days and it's really a nice community here :)

Anyway, I could really need some advice. Im going to shoot a documentary in a couple of month and i been thinking of using the DVX100b for the job. My problem is I will climb a lot, mabye run and so on. Therfore I need some solid, light but good accessories (tripod, case, mic..).

I though for example to get the pelican 1520 to be sure that nothing happens with camera but that may be hard to carry around. I want a good tripod but small and not to heavy.

Some advice will be very much appreciated.
 
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for security purposes, definately pick up one of those suckers.

What will you be using for sources of lights?
documentaries generally run by the three point lighting scheme, not a rule though. But you should always have some form of lighting.

Will you be taking lots of moving shots? I have a found a glidecam to be a great friend to the dvx, it adds alot of production value and saves you from using a dolly or crane for smaller scaled shots as the glidecam can somewhat replicate these movements.

Definately a mic, if you can afford it, get a shotgun and maybe two lavs. If not a shotgun should be fine, mounted to the camera.

After that, you just need your motivation and you can fly free birdie, fly
 
Well actually im going to skip lighting. Where im going there is no electricity, no road and I may need to climb a lot. Theres a lot of outdoors scenery so I don't feel that it's worth to carry around a lighting kit. Im also kind of thinking of getting the Kata HB-207 instead of the pelican cause i realised it's just not possible carry around one of those. :)

Glidecam is really nice but a bit unesesary for this production. I really need a small and light, but good quality tripod though.

Im definately going to get a mic and shotgun. Any good advice there? Im not very good with sound recording >_<.
 
THE DVX travel setup

THE DVX travel setup

Hey Markitto,

I took the DVX on a trip similar to what you are describing last year in Nepal. I used a system with two cases: One hard case similar to a Pelican for travelling, rough weather, etc.

Then for days out shooting, I switched to a LowePro MiniTrekker. The DVX fits snugly in it, it's well padded and comfortable to wear on a motorcycle, the back of an elephant, etc.
It also has a nice tripod carrying setup that held my Manfrotto (purchased in Kathmandu).
The Mini-Trekker also had space for a small shotgun mic and a Bescor KLK-65H light kit, which was just $180 from B&H.

The BATTERY that came with this light kit probably saved my trip. Before leaving, I bought a $40 adapter (also from B&H) which allowed me to connect the DVX to the Bescor brick battery's cigarette-lighter style connector.

An insane hail storm struck while I was in the jungle. Power was out for two days and I ran down all my regular DVX batteries. The last battery died after I had hiked for two miles in rhinoceros territory to catch a herd of elephants crossing a river.

So I pulled out the Bescor battery, plugged the DVX in and said a really big prayer of thanks for not missing those shots.:)

SUPER BONUS GEAR...I just got a Steadicam Merlin :love4: which packs very small and revolutionized my shooting style. Wish I had it on that trip....

Just my two bits....
-Michael

Michael Thomas
Monark Pictures
Santa Cruz, CA
rhinoceros47@yahoo.com
 
Thanks for the reply SantaCruzMichael. I will actually pass Tibet and the trip seems to be pretty similar so your advice is very much appreciated :)

I been doing many projects before but this is the first time a will travel to a place for a long time (4 month) so Im very careful of what to bring.

I got some questions :)
How many batteries did you bring? I thought of bringing 7 of those DVX batteries. Don't want the same thing happen to me in the jungle :)

Im pretty sure on bringing
Manfrotto 503 + 755BK
KATA HB-207 Backpack
Oktava mk012
Rode NTG-2
Boom Pole 9
Highwindscreen
Headphones
Lens Cloth, Blower etc.

Im also thinking to get some kind of matte box because of it's very "light" up in the mountains. Do you think its necessary or not?

Is the KATA HB-207 Backpack safe enough for that kind of trip or is a hard case really necessary?

I also have problems on chosing some kind of lightsource:
(http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?p=553673#post553673)

I thought of getting some kind of LED light that could run on the camera battery. But the Bescor KLK-65H type looks intersting. For how long could you use it with the battery?

Anything else you should think of bringing? The Steadicam Merlin sure looks nice but a bit pricy :)
 
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Sounds close

Sounds close

That sounds like a pretty good rig, Markitto. The Kata pack looks nice and the Oktava mic is pretty versatile, although I don't have experience using it as a shotgun.
I liked the option of the extra hard-case, but it's probably not necessary.

I would add a circular polarizing filter to the list and not worry about the matte box.
The indieSnap matte box is very nice for the price, but too delicate for extreme travel. As far as the more expensive matte boxes, it looks like your money would be better spent elsewhere, especially if you are travelling light.
Also, you'd have to remove and stow the box every time you put the camera away.

As far as batteries, an array of the big DVXuser batts sounds great. I only had three 2400mAh batteries with me.
Also, I'd pick up a voltage converter before you go to use with foriegn outlets. I wasted a whole day in Kathmandu looking for the right one to run the Panasonic charger.

Got a white balance card?

-Michael

Monark Pictures
Santa Cruz, CA
 
For white balance I recommend the EXPODISC. I love that thing and use it 99% of the time. It is expensive but so quick and accurate. I hang it around my neck inside of my shirt so it doesn't bounce and never even notice it's there. It has a snug compression fit so that I push it into my lens, including filters like polorizer, and I point it at my light source and push the button. No need to hold a white card or set the card somewhere awkward and point at it , frame it with zoom or get real close, you just push it in and set the white balance button.

I have the 755b legs with the bowl and the 501 head. I climb trees with that setup and the leveling bowl is also very quick, so nice I use my digital SLR camera on the setup too. The legs adjust all over the place and it's lite enough to run up mountains trying to get sunset shots.
 
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