Should I get a D90?

I agree with you. The DSLRs can do some nice stuff and people will use them for whatever. 7D, D300s, D90 etc are all nice cameras. The DVX100's are still nice cameras and at $2500 they are not going anywhere for awhile. They are not a school room tool to learn manual controls and production companies are not sitting around waiting for a DP with a DSLR to come walking through the door so they can use they newest camera.

If you have the money you get the camera you need to get the job done.
 
The thread was started because Rebel ask if he should trade his DVX for a D90.(He wasn't asking about a 7D) I stand by what I said. No he should keep his DVX or buy the D90 plus keep the DVX100.

Rebel if you only care only about video then stay with a video camera. If you want both still/photography you have some hard choices to make. Depends on your needs. I know some people are using the DSLRs just for video but I wouldn't and that is a personal choice.
 
Yeah I would'nt get the D90 now. kinda late. and better DSLR out now 7D

Im actually bout to sell mine and upgrade to the canon 7d. but i also have the HMC150

good luck with your decision
 
If you wanted a good still camera and if you wanted to work around the D90 video the price is right. B&H Photo has the for $789.

krisjohn said:
Yeah I would'nt get the D90 now. kinda late. and better DSLR out now 7D

Im actually bout to sell mine and upgrade to the canon 7d. but i also have the HMC150

good luck with your decision
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My approach is to get the best camera you can or get what you need to get the job done. Your aproach is all anyone needs is a 7D?
I think you are missing the point JF and in doing so you are cutting down a whole lot of people, professional people who still use camera's like the DVX100.

Then you sum all this up by saying it is not about the camera.


JFEditorIV said:
If you want to think professionally and make a career out of filmmaking, go with Thomas Lew's approach. If you want to be nothing more than a videographer as a hobby and blend in with the pack, go with Zim's approach. That's really what it comes down to. It's not really about the camera, it's about the mindset.
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Sounds to me like if you want to "blend in" then go Canon...if you want to stand out, go anything else.
 
JFEditorIV said:
Your chances of getting hired to work with a better camera are extremely extremely low. A lot of companies/individuals want dps to work for free. There are a ton of student films being made by major film schools that are always looking for dps. They never have a budget. The best way to break into it and gain respect is to work for free. You have to accept that. And associated with not having a budget is going with the dp with the best camera possible. Every other person in that film school circle has access to a Sony EX1 with a letus adapter or knows someone with a 7d/5d. If you can't keep up with that, you are losing out on some great opportunities. The truth is, you can never be working hard enough. So if your mindset is lax about putting off getting a camera, that carries over to your mindset with everything else as well.
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I don't work for free. I also work with better cameras than the 7D (etc etc) all the time. From experience, I can say that people who are looking at your work for creative content don't care what camera you used. Maybe we are in totally opposite world's here but in my profession (that I do full time and get paid) people are not looking at my portfolio then asking me what camera I used.
 
I solved those problems by starting my own company. I'm not going to go work for free for someone else. I guess what I think a "indie filmmaker" is, is not what they teach in film school and I could care less anyway. Good luck gaining respect!!





JFEditorIV said:
Your chances of getting hired to work with a better camera are extremely extremely low. A lot of companies/individuals want dps to work for free. There are a ton of student films being made by major film schools that are always looking for dps. They never have a budget. The best way to break into it and gain respect is to work for free. You have to accept that. And associated with not having a budget is going with the dp with the best camera possible. Every other person in that film school circle has access to a Sony EX1 with a letus adapter or knows someone with a 7d/5d. If you can't keep up with that, you are losing out on some great opportunities. The truth is, you can never be working hard enough. So if your mindset is lax about putting off getting a camera, that carries over to your mindset with everything else as well.
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So the only camera's to use are a 7d/5d or a Sony EX1 with a letus adapter?

JFEditorIV said:
Every other person in that film school circle has access to a Sony EX1 with a letus adapter or knows someone with a 7d/5d. If you can't keep up with that, you are losing out on some great opportunities.
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I've tried the wedding work. It is not as easy as you think. Some really good people out there doing it and you shouldn't knock it man. I think you are getting some bad advice at your film school. You should just get a camera and make something. Don't knock what everyone else is shooting with. Everyone isn't going to use the same thing


JFEditorIV said:
Well if you want to be a wedding/event videographer the rest of your life go ahead, that's right for you.
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Thanks for the input guys the topics were very informative. I guess I do have some more research to do and look in to some more options. Thanks
 
JFEditorIV said:
Get that 7d and use those sd cards for your external audio recorder, which you will need for high quality audio. Doesn't sound that bad to me.
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And if it turns out you realllly need to upgrade to that new amazing Nikon dslr after you already get the 7d, just sell it on ebay. I'm fairly certain the 7d is going to retain its value for quite awhile.. and the 200/300 bucks you lose will be well spent in terms of experience and any possible jobs/money you've picked up while using it.

Time is money.

:bath:
 
You seem mixed up and why do you keep talking about weddings? (by the way you can make a lot of money doing weddings). Lets try and get this straight. Like many people I'm independent. I buy my own gear. I pay for the films or videos I'm making. I'm doing what I want to do. With any luck at all I'll make a few good films down the road.

My advice was that Rebel should keep his DVX and buy the D90. It really depends on what he can afford to do. What he needs to do. Everyone has different needs. The 7D is not the best camera a person can get. It is a good camera but not the best. I plan on buying a new DSLR one of these days. Most likely it will be a Nikon. But I know what I want to do with it. I know what I need. I'm not going to buy a camera "just because everyone else has one" Maybe you should take your own advice and go drop $1800 on a 7D.

The DVX100's are still nice cameras and are getting used out there everyday.


JFEditorIV said:
I don't go to film school. Far from it. I teach myself everything and work hard for free. I jump on the sets of projects made by other film students to learn from them and their equipment, without having to pay the tuition. When you compare our outlooks, I'm not the one with the bad advice. I'm trying to motivate a bit. It's not about the camera, but it's also not about having a dvx. All I've heard you say is stay with the dvx, start your own company, don't work for free. You have to be aggressive, be a go-getter and network. I want to work in the film industry. I'm not going to get there by doing weddings. I don't know what you future goals are but regardless, you need to make some investments and take some chances along the way.
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I really don't want to make more waves here or anything, so this next post is just a post to show what can still be done with the DVX.

Macgregor's work with the DVX and the Cinemek adapter:

http://vimeo.com/369591
http://vimeo.com/3163904

Of course it's not as good as HD, but I would take that kit up against any DSLR today. In fact, I would trade in my DSLR for that kit.
 
There you go again about the weddings?
After I typed about luck I thought that would get the response you gave. Hey some of it is luck. Some hard work etc,etc. But you have the 7D so I guess you will hit the big time soon. Well good luck
 
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If the 7D and the DVX100's are not perfect cameras why are you still trashes the DVX100? Trying to justify you buying a 7D? Look at the films made with the DVX100. 100's of them. I was looking on Vimeo at some of the videos from the D90 and there are some great stuff made with it. Sorry you think they are not considered professional?

Again use whatever you want.



JFEditorIV said:
Obviously you can make a lot of money doing weddings. But if you get into weddings seriously, video is more like a hobby to you. Your other statements support this.

Keeping the dvx isn't a smart move, but it's better than a d90. The dvx is not better than a 7d/5d. The d90 doesn't provide enough manual controls and options to be considered professional or be taken seriously in the video dslr market.

I already have a 7d and if you payed attention to the videos you get as a result of clicking my link at the bottom, you would have seen that. I sold my dvx for $1550 and got a new 7d for $1700. Tell me that's a bad deal. You can't go wrong.

Dvx's are still getting used but if you want to learn more as a filmmaker, a 7d is the best thing for a dvx owner, mainly since it translates so well in price. The 7d has enhanced my creativity with lighting. It is very rewarding in a sense that it picks up on more details and accents. I still don't use high ISO's. It picks up a lot more than the dvx even at the lowest ISO setting. When I had the dvx sitting around, I didn't want to do much with it. I ended up using my friend's HMC-150 all the time. Now that I have my 7d, I find myself taking it everywhere, finding all kinds of great things to film. This camera is very exciting and doesn't hold you back one bit.

There's no reason to keep the dvx AND buy another camera. A move like that is for people that are insecure about technology. Whatever camera you buy after selling a dvx, can also be sold at a later date when something newer comes out and the price will carry over once again. Once you get your hands on something better, you won't want to pick up the dvx. It doesn't reward your filmmaking abilities as much. If you jump on to the 7d forum, you will see a bunch of posts about people eager to sell their d90s for 7ds, people that already did, and people that considered the d90 but are glad they didn't get one.

The 7d isn't perfect, and of course there will be better dslrs soon. But you don't need a perfect camera. You just need one that will reward your efforts as a creative thinker and a filmmaker.

"With any luck at all I'll make a few good films down the road"? What kind of outlook is that? If I was the one who posted this thread, I wouldn't take advice from the guy who said that. Like I said before, I'm trying to promote continuous growth as a filmmaker.

Do you have any online links to your work?
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Well if it's about talent dude, then what camera to use is the least of an artist's decisions.

If the OP can get a D90, fine. If the OP has rare talent, what is produced will dump on the 7D or whatever any mediocre filmmaker can do with very expensive equipment.

I think the real point is that, will a little bit of help, video on ANY dslr can translate to outstanding results. Technology has never been a limitation for the most creative people. Talent AND hard work is 100 times more important than technology.
 
It sure seems to me that the lack of manual controls on the D90 constrains and inhibits anyone who uses it...talented artist or total hack.
 
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