General Which one of these purchases would be best for my DSLR

Which one of these purchases would be best for my DSLR

  • Matte Box + DSLR Baseplate + ND Filters (ND3, ND6, ND9)

    Votes: 2 8.3%

  • V3 Follow Focus or Wireless + DSLR Baseplate (Wait until the new FF comes out - If not, V2)

    Votes: 3 12.5%

  • Sachtler FSB4

    Votes: 2 8.3%

  • Built up my Rig (Custom Quick Release Shoulder Mount -to- Tripod Rig)

    Votes: 2 8.3%

  • Lighting Kit under ($1200)

    Votes: 13 54.2%

  • Something else??

    Votes: 2 8.3%
  • Total voters
    24
D

DDirector

Veteran
Im no rich guy, or do this as a living. Im a college student. Ive been saving up money for my next big purchase for my camera.

The ONLY equipment I have is what is listed in my sig. I am selling my 50mm to raise more money.


I made a list of things I was thinking about purchasing to add onto my rig.
*Redrock equipment

1) Matte Box + DSLR Baseplate + ND Filters (ND3, ND6, ND9)
So I can shoot outdoors with shallow DOF, plus it looks cool! <-- I am looking most forward to this

2) V3 Follow Focus or Wireless + DSLR Baseplate (Wait until the new FF comes out - If not, V2)
Pull focus easier

3) Sachtler FSB4
I only have a shoulder mount, so this would be nice. But, I usually use my schools

4) Built up my Rig (Custom Quick Release Shoulder Mount -to- Tripod Rig)
Easily and quickly remove my camera from shoulder mount to tripod

5) Lighting Kit under ($1200)
So I can light my set. But, I do have access to school lights

6) Something else??
 
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DDirector said:
So I can shoot outdoors with shallow DOF, plus it looks cool!
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Well, you might just want to look into a Fader ND, although I've heard mixed things about them depending on people's luck and between teh different brands. Are the school lights easily available to you? Or is it a hassle to rent them? Cause my first gut instinct would be to put my vote toward a nice lighting kit or tripod as the above poster has mentioned. best of luck.

eric
 
711 said:
Well, you might just want to look into a Fader ND, although I've heard mixed things about them depending on people's luck and between teh different brands. Are the school lights easily available to you? Or is it a hassle to rent them? Cause my first gut instinct would be to put my vote toward a nice lighting kit or tripod as the above poster has mentioned. best of luck.
eric
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Not a fan of the Fader ND. Id rather use the 4x4 ND filters. Which is why I am considering getting a Mattebox. Plus, it makes you look more serious and professional.

And yes, I can rent lights quite easily. There are not many of them, but enough to do a decent job. But if I have to shoot somewhere out of town or during off school months, I cannot use them - Which hasnt happened to me yet and wont this summer as I wont be shooting at all. I feel most safe renting these from the school. But, still considering buying them for some reason.

Tripods in our school are crap. Workable to a certain extent, but they can get very annoying. With all the equipment I can rent from the school, a tripod would be the best choice to have of my own.
But, really that necessary? With the IS on the lens and the shoulder mount, the steady shots I get look Very still. I've been shooting all my videos like this so far. A tripod is second on my list following the Mattebox & Filters
 
forget the fader..its crap. Go with normal ND's though i'd forget the whole mattebox thing unless you are shooting with modern lenses. they tend to be longer...the vintage lenses (which i luv) are pretty short. a mattebox on them to me is more hassle than not.
 
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In this day of DSLR filmmaking, tripods and lights just aren't sexy anymore. I'm guilty of it myself at times, but everyone seems to fetishize big lens kits, elaborate rigs with matte boxes and follow foci and mounts for mics and Zooms, etc. All filmmaking paraphernalia that doesn't necessarily contribute much to filmmaking. Like I said, I'm guilty of it myself. I want a Glidecam. How many shots warrant a Glidecam in my style of shooting? Probably not so many, but Glidecams are sexy. The fact of the matter is that it's incredibly convenient and helpful to just put the camera on some sticks and then have the freedom to carefully compose a shot, direct actors, fiddle with lights and mics, etc. I don't feel you can be as careful if you try to shoot everything with a shoulder rig or steadicam. I also buy fast lenses to reduce dependency on light kits, but proper lighting just looks better and shooting wide open without lights is a similarly careless style of shooting.

I'm not saying you're guilty of any of this and I already implicated myself in this line of thinking, but it's just a roundabout way of agreeing with others that tripods and light kits are crucial. However, if you have access to these things through school and want to build up the other aspects of your kit in the meantime, that's okay too. Just don't spend all of your money and then graduate so you don't have $1k to spend on a tripod and no longer have access to the school's equipment.

It all depends on what you shoot though. If you do ENG, a shoulder mount might be crucial to you. Some people love to pull focus all day long and refuse to stop down the aperture, so a follow focus is crucial to them. Me, I like tripods so I can move around without the camera until I'm ready to press record and then I can just watch the screen. I don't like lights because they're a pain in the ass, but I sure like how the footage looks after I beat them into submission.

Finally, I see no mention of sound. Are you interested in being a one-man band and, therefore, in need of a sound recording solution? Or are you only trying to be a cinematographer and work in some kind of crew where someone else is already covering sound? Or maybe you already have a sound kit that you don't mention in your signature and it serves you well. If you don't have a sound kit and you're planning on shooting your own films, then sound should probably be a higher priority than any matte box or follow focus.
 
Okay, so I'm going to try and go for the Tripod but, the Carbon Fiber version of the Sachtler FBS4 is not for sale right now.

As for lighting, is there even any good kit for under $1200?
It seems that I will only be able to get one good light for that amount. Not a set.
 
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I'd say...

DON'T BUY ANYTHING!!

Go shoot first. Shoot the stuff that you expect you'll most frequently shooting....do that until you find that you have some equipment needs. You'll find that you can buy GAZILLIONS of things....and everyone want to sell them to you. That's fine....but the REAL TELL....is shoot....then get what you are lacking to improve the work you do. Just my .02. :)
 
lights and tripod. without those two, nearly everything else youve mentioned is mostly useless.
 
Yeah, I guess I might as well stick with the tripod.
But, since I shoot a lot of stuff outdoors, I will still be buying those ND filters & the filter holder photographers use instead of a Mattebox.

The Sachtler FSB4 Carbon Fiber, that's a good tripod to have, isn't it?
Might as well make or buy a dolly if I get the tripod.

What's funny is - There is not one vote on a tripod. lol
 
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Sachtlers are awesome but I've found them to be overkill for DSLRs. You can get a still-great tripod for less than half of a carbon fiber Sachtler. You seem to post a new thread every week about some expensive new equipment you're going to buy, but never post anything you've shot. Focus #1 right now should be building a reel, not buying a matte box.
 
nicksnow said:
Sachtlers are awesome but I've found them to be overkill for DSLRs. You can get a still-great tripod for less than half of a carbon fiber Sachtler. You seem to post a new thread every week about some expensive new equipment you're going to buy, but never post anything you've shot. Focus #1 right now should be building a reel, not buying a matte box.
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Which one do you recommend? ;)
 
nicksnow said:
Sachtlers are awesome but I've found them to be overkill for DSLRs. You can get a still-great tripod for less than half of a carbon fiber Sachtler. You seem to post a new thread every week about some expensive new equipment you're going to buy, but never post anything you've shot. Focus #1 right now should be building a reel, not buying a matte box.
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Its not just for my DSLR. Its mainly for it, but I am using other kinds of cameras all the time. I tried the Manfrotto tripods, and did not like them. The 504 is the best one, but still not the greatest. The Sachtler was my fav out of all of them. Sad that its the most expensive, but I can sacrifice this for once. I just hoped it could hold a bit more weight than 8.8lbs.

And no, I don't post every week that I am buying something. I don't even remember the last time I did. It was a while ago. Not saying I haven't asked several time before. I know I did before. But, this time I AM buying something. Last time I just couldnt decide, or something came up that I needed the money for something else. Or, I did end up buying it.

Most of the stuff I do is for school. I dont do as much stuff that is personally mine. I cant post the stuff that is done for school. If its my own personal stuff, yes. I will post it. But, so far I havent done much of my own work to be posting it. I am going to be working on several shorts right when school is finished. If I finish it on time, I will show them. Im not free to shoot videos 24/7 ...Just so you know. Not to make it sound mean or anything.
 
Tripod, batteries, sd cards, lenses...

I would get the essentials first. I have no rig or focus rings or anything. Start with what you absolutely need to get started and then work with your budget. A good tripod, a camera and a lens is enough to get you started.

Does your school have facilities to edit because software, compter and so forth is a whole 'nother ball of wax which gets expensive quick.

I use a tripod from target I got for like 20 bucks. Yeah I'm man enough to admit it. But I can get a steady shot and that's all I care about. I would love one of the better ones - which I will eventually get but when you're on a budget you gots to do what you gots to do. For the sd cards I use transcend class 6 from amazon - never had a problem. For the lens you can use kit to get you started. From there I would get a better wide - 24 or 28 will come out around 50 on the crop sensor. I use my nikon 24 2.8 with an adapter all the time. You can find for like a 100 bucks on ebay.

Here's the cheap shoulder rig that they did the movie "Monsters" on...

http://www.amazon.com/CowboyStudio-...MQ7S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1296820687&sr=8-1

It's cheap but check out search engine for Monsters. It's in theaters so I guess it's good enough.

It all depends on budget - how much you have to spend.

Hope this helps.
 
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