General What do you think is a good next investment in my situation?

D

DDirector

Veteran
I have been thinking about getting one thing for my camera, then I found this other thing I would like, then another, and so on. But, I only have $1240 CAD. So, which of the following would I need most?

Personally Own: Canon T2i, 50mm f/1.4, 17-55mm f/2.8 IS, Redrock Shoulder Mount
Use The School's (Dont need): Tripod, Lighting, Audio

Out of all the things I could come up with, here is what I have (Used):
- Redrock EVF (Wait until it comes out)
- Redrock V3 + Whip (Wait until it comes out - If I can afford it)
- Redrock Matte Box + ND Filters/Grad?/Pol + DSLR Baseplate + Tripod Platform + 9" Rods (To have a tripod & Shoulder Mount Setup)
- Small HD DP6
- Glidecam 4000pro or HD
- Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 IS (I don't think I can even afford this used yet)
 
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so you do no have a shoulder mount yet? check out gini.1989 on ebay. He has sweet rigs that you can low-ball offer and he'll accept. I'd say get a good shoulder mount for a few hundred $400 ish and then eventually get a followfocus and a monitor, something cheap like the lilliput ($200) works great with these cameras.

Another fun tool you can pick up might be a macro lens, the tamron 90mm f2.8 macro is pretty good and not that pricey i think... might help you get something more telephoto and also allow you to do some cool closeup work and still fit in your budget. Either that or an 85mm f1.8 prime.

edit: i'm just thinking of ways to improve your video. Mattebox i find more cumbersome than anything although a good set of ND filters will allow you more creative control for sure.

The glidecam I feel isn't a very good product in terms of actual usability... i'd recommend a small slider instead, more control.

follow-focus can certainly help with those difficult pulls and can make your rig more ergonomic.
EVF? may or may not be good.
Lenses of any kind are always a good investment.

just my thoughts.
 
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Moojangles said:
so you do no have a shoulder mount yet? check out gini.1989 on ebay. He has sweet rigs that you can low-ball offer and he'll accept. I'd say get a good shoulder mount for a few hundred $400 ish and then eventually get a followfocus and a monitor, something cheap like the lilliput ($200) works great with these cameras.
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Oh snap! I totally forgot to write that :S I added it in.

Good points though. I'll keep thinking.

As for the follow focus, I have a slight feeling that my school will have one. It is a film course. They have a lot of equipment, but not all of it though. But, I'd still probably prefer getting my own as theirs might be old and not as good.
 
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anything by arri will work wonderfully though you will need to get focus gears for your lenses. I have the shoot35.com cinefocus, it works fairly well but there are definitely areas where it could be improved and it is pretty pricey, but nowhere near as pricey as an arri and it shows why.
 
Im sticking with the redrock gear if I were to be getting that stuff. Its cheaper and as good.
I have NEVER considered getting anything from arri. It is way too expensive, especially if I only have $1240.
If I were to buy anything, I would get it from one of the places I mentioned in my first post. Im not asking where to get the stuff from, but what stuff mentioned would be required or highly required to get first.
 
Just to add a little perspetive. To be technical, an investment is something that increases or holds value (or maybe allows you to earn). This gear loses value right after buying it. When I think about buying something I consider the cost/benefit and I'm becoming a little wary about spending too much on a DSLR platform because the landscape of digital cinema is changing so rapidly. I've spent over $2500 in the last week on a follow focus, monitor, Z-Finder, Zacuto baseplate, monopod, cables, lenses, etc., for a short I'm shooting. If I don't really need them on the first day of my shoot I'm going to return all but the monopod, Z-Finder and maybe the 28mm lens.

I guess what I'm saying is that I'm trying to decide what I REALLY need and what I don't and avoid being caught up in the gear grab.

Sorry if this answer was more philosophical than you were looking for.

A.


Moojangles said:
so you do no have a shoulder mount yet? check out gini.1989 on ebay. He has sweet rigs that you can low-ball offer and he'll accept. I'd say get a good shoulder mount for a few hundred $400 ish and then eventually get a followfocus and a monitor, something cheap like the lilliput ($200) works great with these cameras.

Another fun tool you can pick up might be a macro lens, the tamron 90mm f2.8 macro is pretty good and not that pricey i think... might help you get something more telephoto and also allow you to do some cool closeup work and still fit in your budget. Either that or an 85mm f1.8 prime.

edit: i'm just thinking of ways to improve your video. Mattebox i find more cumbersome than anything although a good set of ND filters will allow you more creative control for sure.

The glidecam I feel isn't a very good product in terms of actual usability... i'd recommend a small slider instead, more control.

follow-focus can certainly help with those difficult pulls and can make your rig more ergonomic.
EVF? may or may not be good.
Lenses of any kind are always a good investment.

just my thoughts.
Click to expand...
 
I got the jag.35 d-focus (follow focus) plus their dslr mount and rods - really excellent stuff, especially at their price point. I wouldn't buy an sd monitor (like I did) - I think the hdmi marshall 5'' monitor (as reviewed recently by Philip Bloom) looks great and will probably be my next purchase. Your glass looks very good but there's an older L series lens out there, the 100-300 f4-5.6 (or something like that). I picked one up cheap and it's a really nice sharp lens. Not f2.8 for sure, but still a bargain if you can find one second hand. You'll find a loupe useful - I bought a zacuto z-finder and prior to that, a hoodman loupe. I would say go for the hoodman as the price difference i don't believe is justified. And if money was no object, a sachtler fluid head tripod. I used to think panning and tilting was some black art i'd never get the hang of, until a friend lent me his for a day.

my .02
 
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mr bill said:
I got the jag.35 d-focus (follow focus) plus their dslr mount and rods - really excellent stuff, especially at their price point. I wouldn't buy an sd monitor (like I did) - I think the hdmi marshall 5'' monitor (as reviewed recently by Philip Bloom) looks great and will probably be my next purchase.
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IMHO the SmallHD DP6 seems to be a much better monitor

mr bill said:
You'll find a loupe useful - I bought a zacuto z-finder and prior to that, a hoodman loupe. I would say go for the hoodman as the price difference i don't believe is justified.
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I personally dislike the loup. From the Hoodman loup to the Z-Finder. I just don't like it at all.
That's why I didnt put it on the list. I would also have to purcahse a whole bunch of accessories to offset my camera too, which will be costly.

mr bill said:
And if money was no object, a sachtler fluid head tripod. I used to think panning and tilting was some black art i'd never get the hang of, until a friend lent me his for a day.
Click to expand...
Don't need a tripod as stated in original post.
 
hmm.. any more thoughts?

I'm still thinking about the matte box as I would like to use ND filters outside & for the crew & talent, it makes everything look more serious & professional.
Maybe a monitor instead of the matte box?

I dont know, what do you think?
 
Sigma 30mm 1.4 ($430ish) used one this weekend, nice. I also have a 17-55 2.8 but the sigma was impressive to me.

I would NOT recommend getting the Glidecam. (IMHO) I don't even know if it would work right with something as small as a DSLR. (I had mine for a vid cam) Build quality was good, Had no problems getting it to balance correctly but the design was terrible. The handle was NOT under the center of gravity and for long shots it would kill your wrist.
(imagine picking up a briefcase with 10 pounds of stuff in it....No problem......now turn the briefcase 90 degrees so the handle is on the side instead of the top. hold it out that way for a minute or two. NOT fun and starts to get shaky after a bit.
 
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