New to HDSLR world! Need advice from 7D and other APS-C owners.

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kylemaggy

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On Black Friday I acquired a 7D, and like I said in the title I am new to the HDSLR world. I did a lot of research leading up to the purchase, but I still have a few questions. I understand lenses, settings, workflow, editing, etc...but where I am lacking is knowledge is in what way I should approach assembling a rig. I am a college student, so I need to find the right balance between quality and price. So here are my questions about assembling a rig, I listed them in the order that I plan on buying them (correct me if i am wrong), Please make recommendations on brands/models:
  1. Tripod & Head (needs to be able to support a slider & other accessories)
  2. Complete Shoulder Rig (want it to be mountable to tripod without modification, would like it to come with follow focus, matte box, rod system, top handle etc...)
  3. AGC Disabler/XLR Inputs Box & Shotgun Mic (eventually I will record sound separately, but until then I would like to approach sound recording this way)
  4. Slider that can be mounted on and off tripod.
Advice is appreciated. I have about a $2500 budget.
 
1. One of the nice things about DSLR video is that you can often get away with tripods made for still cameras instead of heavier video camera ones (as long as you get a good fluid head, that is). But if you're planning to mount a lot of stuff to it (slider, etc), I'd recommend the Manfrotto 547 video tripod along with a 701HDV head.

2. I'm probably not the right person to answer this, my "rig" for going off tripod is extremely minimal. There are some really great options out there, but it could add up in price really quickly. Maybe some other forum members can pipe in with specific recommendations. Personally, I found that if I'm off-tripod and not using a steadicam or a monopod, a cheap shoulder brace with a handle bracket added for support is more then enough for my needs.
Now, I'm not knocking them- I think if you've got the budget for it, a good rail system tricked out with accessories can be pretty cool and at the very least give your clients some confidence that you mean business. But depending on what kind of shooting you plan to do, you might be better spending money on other things first, like lenses and audio gear.

3. That's tricky. If you plan to record sound into the camera, you really picked the worst Canon for it. Magic Lantern is the way to go (it not only disables AGC, but gives full control of analog Preamps as well as headphone monitoring), but is compatible with any Canon HDSLR except for the 7D (more on that below).
If you really want to "trick" the AGC off and deal with the noisy preamps and only one channel of audio, the JuicedLink DT454 will do what you want. But then you have to ask if the price is worth it compared to a separate Zoom H4N recorder. For almost the same money, the Zoom will give much higher quality. You can also build your own AGC defeat tool by creating an mp3 of a loud steady noise on one channel of audio. Then use an audio player to play it and use a line splitter to insert your mic channel on the other side, feeding it all into the camera. But you'll still need an XLR amp with phantom power if you intend to use a good mic.

4. The Konova slider is a really nice option that won't break the bank. I love mine.

Now, if I may just rant for a moment- you say you did your research leading up to the purchase of the camera, so I assume you already know the pros and cons of shooting with a 7D. The 7D is an excellent camera, and a lot of people who bought them a year ago are still doing amazing things with them.
But the thing is, I know a lot of people who wouldn't pick the 7D if they were starting over again today. Is there any particular reason you picked this over the 60D or Rebel T2i/T3i? (breakdown of various HDSLR models here.)

Also, you mentioned that you are already aware of lenses so I won't go into that. But some good glass is a more important than some of the things on your list, IMO. What about lighting? What kind of shooting do you intend to do with it?
 
I went with the 7D based on the type of shooting i'm going to be doing (mostly music videos, action sports edits, small commercials/promotional videos, and b-roll in short/independent films). I won't be doing to much on my own thats involves the need for capturing dialogue or foley. In addition to getting a great deal on it, I was already somewhat familiar with shooting with it (my sister has shot with a 7D since graduating from NYU).

I have been thinking about the 501HDV head/manfrotto legs tbd, and either proaim 20-c dslr kit or a jag35 rig kit...opinion?
 
Quality shoulder rigs that don't break the bank can be hard to find (you get what you pay for), but there are options. Right now I'd suggest you head on over and check out the Gini Rigs, they're affordable, and get great reviews, and you can get a full rig (with shoulder mount, and a basic follow focus), for around 460 after shipping. See this Cheesycam article for more details. You'll need some focus gears for the follow focus, look into these to start, and nab one for each of your lenses.

For a Matte Box, look into the TrustMT line, they're swing away which is nice, and I've seen good reviews. They can be found on Ebay (there's a plast and a metal version, make sure to opt for the latter). Around 360 after shipping. A set of 4x4 Tiffen ND filters (.3,.6.9), runs around $450, used for cheaper, but be careful.

I second Mr.Gilden's Konova suggestion, $349.

Look at Craigslist, you can find a lot of very affordable studio mics that are great for recording music, but usually not vocals.

For your shotgun, look into the Rode NTG-3 (once again, looked used) $699 new. (Though the NTG-3 can be used indoors with proper placement, you're probably going to want a Hyper-C and a lav mic as things go forward). The Octava MK012 is a decent starter for the hyper at 395, and the Sennheiser G3 kit with Rode Pin Mic runs around 900.

So right there your at between $2,000 to $2,200 ($3100 once you toss in the Juiced Link and tripod). Cables, headphones, mic protection, etc, your up to around 3700+ (which I know is over your budget).

Do you need lighting? If so, look into Coollights.biz

I should note that the above is based on pure research, I'm about to make a very substantial investment into gear, and have scoured these forums for countless hours. It's astonishing how many little odds and ends there are to get, and how quickly those all add up.

Best of luck and grats on your new cam!
 
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Lighting is not an issue right now, I have access to my schools art department equipment when needed. However, eventually upon graduation I will need to invest $$$...

I guess my biggest issue is that I am worried about piecing together my shoulder rig, tripod mounting plates, etc... I don't want to order things and then get them to turn out they don't fit together or are not compatible, and there are no stores nearby that I can go in and have them assist me in assembling a kit. I Have gone onto various shoulder rig manufacturers websites and attempted to put together a kit, but I am completely lost when it comes to mounting plates, rails, mounts, etc...

This is the reason im leaning towards picking up the dslr 20-c kit by proim on indiefilmdepot...
 
The gini rig has a 1/4in screw mount at the bottom, same as any standard tripod head. Just buy a spare
Manfrotto quick release, bolt it on if you like
 
"check out the Gini Rigs, they're affordable, and get great reviews, and you can get a full rig (with shoulder mount, and a basic follow focus), for around 460 after shipping"

can't seem to find any in this price range on there site...did you mean used?
 
kylemaggy said:
I went with the 7D based on the type of shooting i'm going to be doing (mostly music videos, action sports edits, small commercials/promotional videos, and b-roll in short/independent films). I won't be doing to much on my own thats involves the need for capturing dialogue or foley. In addition to getting a great deal on it, I was already somewhat familiar with shooting with it (my sister has shot with a 7D since graduating from NYU).
Click to expand...

Interesting, although none of that is specific to the 7D's strengths (mostly, the ability to output live HD during filming to an external monitor). Did you read that sticky post that I linked to?
Either way, its a great camera and welcome to the club!
 
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In the article you'll see several links that have a "find prices" graphic beside them. The fellow that makes them sales under several variants of the name, but he usually has 5-6 rigs up at any given time, in several different configurations. Most of them are auctions starting at 399, which is what you bid, if there's more than 1 bidder, he's known to contact both and offer them at their bid price.
 
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