Stupid, or not so stupid?

M

mcbob

Veteran
I own an AF100, so I usually don't need another... except for one upcoming day job.

I could rent, yes, and eat up about 20% of the day's budget...

OR...

I could beat the system by purchasing somebody's slightly used AF100 with or without extras and then selling it the day after the shoot is complete.

Am I very very stupid, mildly stupid, or not necessarily so stupid?
 
I would say not stupid at all, depending on what rental rates you could expect to pay. If you find someone renting it for $150 or less, then just rent it and be done. But if it's going to set you back $300 or $400, then yeah, if you have the capital available to support buying a second body, reselling it right after could work out fine.
 
...or it could blow up in my face since the shoot happens just before Canon's Nov.3 "big announcement" and a possible deluge of used AF100's...

Maybe I just need to make a friend with an AF100. Anybody like hunting, fishing, and lending out their camera equipment on the cheap?
 
Does the shoot need two main cameras or is one going to be a B camera? You could maybe get a GH2 if it's just a B camera.
 
Andy Olson said:
Does the shoot need two main cameras or is one going to be a B camera? You could maybe get a GH2 if it's just a B camera.
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A guy I shoot with here in Toronto ---> also on the board "BGundu" uses a GH2 as a B cam, and It cuts in great. (Yes owners / pixel peepers / blow hards may claim to see the diff, but no client / viewer will).
On the side of the 'BIG' announcement from Canon; I can't believe that it'll make a huge diff short term.

G.
 
mcbob said:
...Maybe I just need to make a friend with an AF100. Anybody like hunting, fishing, and lending out their camera equipment on the cheap?
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Wish I could get away to help you. I was the director and usually a one man band field shooter/editor on an outdoors show we did here back in the '80s. Had some great experiences. It would be fun to revisit that with modern equipment instead of my 30+ pound 3/4" rig from back in the day.

- Greg
 
Shooter said:
A client on a $1500 shoot calls the shots!

Someone needs a reality check.
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mcbob said:
Indeed they do
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I'm confused… Do I understand this correctly?

You have a job coming up where you need two cameras - presumably with two operators, lights, grip, other assorted equipment, and maybe an extra helper just to set-up and shlep stuff.
-Are you shooting sound?
-Are you doing post / edit / cc / graphics as well?
-The client is paying $1,500. (or there-abouts)

… and you can't get the client to Ok your GH2 as the B roll cam? I watched your Vimeo test of matching the AF & GH, it looked decent enough.

I guess I don't understand your business model, or the market segment that you are trying to serve. I have 'Charities' that I work with and I heavily discount my rates (I loose money, but I still pay my crew full rate; is that the case?), at no point has any of those charities ever tried to dictate the gear I use. They seem to understand that paying pennies on the dollar means some level of compromise, and that I wouldn't do something to undermine my own credibility.


So I guess I would have to agree with 'Shooter' --
Shooter said:
Someone needs a reality check.
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I'd shoot the client 2 different prices...
#1 your current budget with your gear, GH2 as B cam.
#2 Budget with the added expense of the rental.

You'd be surprised how quickly cheap clients change their minds when it's them eating the extra expense of the rental.

And I surely would not purchase a second AF100 and then try and sell it, for a $1500 shoot.

Good Luck!

Dave
 
Also there surely has to be someone in your 'hood with an AF100 that you could barter a day with? It's always great to work with other camera guys who share the same equipment.

G.
 
Reality for me is that the client has said they'd rather not use the GH2 (an idea I did float), and I don't have a 2nd large-chip camera to meet their expectations. I knew at the bidding offset what budget I needed to cover a more than decent (for me) day rate plus a body rental. It's a stage production, no lighting from me, sound is XLR-in from a mixer (now running to both cameras plus sound recordist for triple redundancy), shot from one position on a riser with one camera as a static master, hand off cards at the end of the night and done. I've solo'd similar setups multiple times for a heck of a lot less.

So yeah, I did check reality, and it checks out fine - whether I have to rent or not.

...and yes, it'd be a treat to work with another local-to-semilocal AF shooter, even if it's just them coming along and drinking a Cherry Coke in the background while they vigilantly ensure I don't do sordid, un-Christian things with their camera.
 
mcbob said:
...or it could blow up in my face since the shoot happens just before Canon's Nov.3 "big announcement" and a possible deluge of used AF100's...
Click to expand...

No matter what Canon announces, I would personally bet money that there will be no deluge of AF100s.
 
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