what kind of cameras do you use

rachel · May 15, 2004

:rolleyes: :D :blink: HEY, IM A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT AND I WOULD LIKE TO GET SOME INFO FOR A REPORT. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT TYPES OF CAMERAS YOU USE WHEN YOU FILM. OR ANYTHING THAT MIGHT HELP, I REALLY APRECIATE IT. THANKS!!

RACHEL :D :D :P :rolleyes:

Kevin Zanit · May 15, 2004

Depends what I need to do.

My general camera of choice is a Panaflex GII. It is simple, and reliable. If one needs more specialized functions/ lighter weight I would choose the Millennium XL.

I have also worked with, and like the Moviecam compacts.

This is for 35mm projects.

For HD my preference is a Panavised F900.

For MiniDV I like the SDX900 and the DVX100.

Kevin Zanit

Peter deWit · May 15, 2004

I'm a poor college student so I'm at the mercy of what my school gives me. So far I've used The Filmo, The Arri-S and the Arri-BL

harryprayiv · May 15, 2004

I am also a poor college student, but have actually gotten to use some pretty nice gear in the past year and a half, having some pretty good connections. I have used an Arri SR 2.9 and an SR 3 (both Super 16mm cameras). Also, I used an Aaton A-Minima (super 16/16), a Bealieau 5008 (super 8), Bolex RX4 and RX5's (regular 16mm MOS cameras), Arri BL hunk of junk, and I even got to do some tests on my boss's MOVIECAM SUPER AMERICA MARK III GOLD (which is for 35) ...he says that he needs some better glass for it, though. I really want to try the Aaton XtRPro (or whatever it's called.... heard on this forum that its better than the Arri SR 3, which I absolutely loved when I tried it) and I'd like to check out what the the Arriflex 535's can do and eventually when I get to work on a big production....Panavision.

Mitch Gross · May 15, 2004

I've worked in many formats with many cameras. Here's off the top of my head, and I'm sure I'm forgetting some.

Formats:

Double-8, Super-8, 16mm, Super-16, 35mm, Super-35, Anamorphic-35, Phillips open reel video, VHS, Beta-1, 3/4", Video-8, Hi-8, SVHS, Betacam, Beta SP,Mini-DV, M-II, Beta-SX, DVCPro50, DigiBeta, DVCProHD, HDCam.

I can't even begin to count the cameras. Probably at least fifty different models over the years.

What do I use currently? In Super-16 I shoot Aaton or ArriSR-3advanced. In 35mm I use Arri 545B, Arri 435, Moviecam Compact, Moviecam SL, Aaton 35-3 and the various Panavision models depending on budget or use. In MiniDV there's the Panasonic DVX100A, the Sony PD170 and the JVC DV500. In DVCPro50 there's the Panasonic SDX900. In DigiBeta the Sony 709 or 790. In DVCProHD there's the Panasonic VariCam and in HDCam there's the Sony Cine Alta.

Boy that's exhausting just to look at. Just try to remember all the connectors and menu functions on all the cameras. Then start thinking about all the accessories to connect to them all! Then there's lenses...

Thank goodness my mind is such a sponge for this stuff.

Peter deWit · May 15, 2004

I was thinking of looking for an Arri S to buy(I loved that camera) Just out of curiousity how much does one go for?

Mitch Gross · May 16, 2004

$1500-$2500, depending on lenses and accessories.

Max Jacoby · May 16, 2004

I work mostly with Arricams (LT and ST), Arri 535B, and the Arri 435 for highspeed/stunt work.

Jayson Crothers · May 16, 2004

If it's a 35mm Panavision show, I really like the Platinum. For non-Pana shows, the Moviecam (and I'm still a sucker for the older BL's - probably because I'm such a big guy - I like the heft of them). In 16 I really love Aatons.

As for video based formats; they change so quickly! Been using the DVX100A lately and enjoying the results.

Phil Rhodes · May 16, 2004

Hi,

Well, I'm not sure this'll be of much interest since I mainly shoot video, but I usually end up with either a DSR-570 (overwhelmingly the most popular,) DVW-790 or my own Panasonic AG-DVC200. I'm shortly going to have to upgrade to a 570, I can feel it coming - and that's going to cost me about £12,000 (US$20,000)

Ulp. And it'll devalue to uselessness within two years. Double ulp.

Phil

David Mullen ASC · May 16, 2004

I haven't worked with as many cameras as Mitch has...

I'd say that over all my low-budget feature work, I probably used either an Arri-BL4 or a Panaflex GII more than any other cameras, mostly due to budget reasons. The last three 35mm features have been on Panaflexes.

I shot one feature on the Arri 535B. I had a Moviecam Compact on one show as a second unit camera, so I actually wasn't the one using it. I've also had the Cameflex on a show as a C camera. I've used the Arri-BL3 and BL-Evolution. I once used the Russian-made Starcam. My first feature was with an UltraCam, until it crapped out. I guess I've been lucky to have shot so much 35mm. I've used the Arri-2C, Arri-III, and Eyemo.

I've never used an Arricam yet, or even an Arri-435. Nor the Aaton 35III or Moviecam SL. Again, mostly due to budget reasons.

In 16mm, I've used: Arri-S, Bolex, Arri-16BL, Eclair NPR (more than all the others), Arri-SR, Aaton-LTR and XTR. The one feature I shot in Super-16 was with the Arri-SR3.

In video, I've used the Panasonic DVX100, Sony PD150, and Canon XL1 -- but all only briefly. I used to shoot with betacams all the time for infomercials and EPK's, the Sony 600's I think. Probably had more experience with Sony Betacam than any other video camera until I started shooting HD. Shot a little with the DVW-700's. In film school, I used 3/4" U-Matic camcorders and some Hi-8.

Have shot several features using the Sony F900 HDCAM, the last two with the Panavised version. Not shot with the Varicam yet.

Can't forget the decade of just shooting with my Sankyo XL60 Super-8 camera...

GeorgeSelinsky · May 16, 2004

In 16mm I shot with the Bolexes (a few models, my personal is the non-reflex S-4 model which is probably the best non reflex one), I've also shot with an Arri S, CP-16, Arri SR I and II. Forgot, maybe something else too.

In 35mm it's been the MOS cameras, the Arri IIc which you see me with in the picture, the Eyemo, the Russian Konvas.

Concerning video I'm usually bad at memorizing the model numbers but I've shot with a few ENG style DVCams a few times, then in Mini DV on the pro end, the Canon XL-1 (which I like), and a few others. I cut my teeth in Hi-8 on the Canon A-1 and later, L-2 which I own, and I've also used some ENG style Hi-8's.

Then in Super 8 I've shot with my Nizo S-40 (the best camera I've ever used I think, simple and fun), a sound GAF Super 8 camera, forgot I must have shot some others too. Then in Regular 8 the Kodak brownies (a few of those) and the Bell and Howell one (which is a lot like a mini Eyemo that you can hold in your palm).

I'm sure I'm forgetting some other stuff.

I don't like the idea of using many different cameras. There's one saying I like, "Beware of the man who owns only one rifle. Chances are he knows how to use it very well".

- G.

Jayson Crothers · May 16, 2004

David, what's the Starcam like? I can only imagine....

David Mullen ASC · May 16, 2004

The Starcam looks a little like a Moviecam Compact. Actually it worked OK for a while other than taking forever to get up to speed. But then I lost a shot due to some odd shaking to the image, so the producers decided to replace it since we couldn't figure out what had happened.

Mitch Gross · May 17, 2004

The "Starcam" is the name given by one LA company that took some Kinor 35H cameras and did some basic mods on them, including a PL mount. It's a little more like the Moviecam Super than the Compact though, and one big difference is that the mirror shutter is offset to the dummy side of the camera rather than below the lens port. If you get one that's been reworked by Slow-Motion, Inc. in LA then it'll have reliable electronics and a hardened steel drive shaft instead of the weak regular steel. These old parts have respectively caused camera shutdowns and uneven running & registration. They don't have the brightest viewfinders out there but they are otherwise built like tanks, like seemingly all things Soviet.

I was once told there were only about 100 35H cameras built during the mid-eighties, and there were only a handful reworked as "Starcams." There's often a 35H up on eBay; if fact I think there's a well-used looking one on there now. Back in the early 90s after all this former-Soviet gear became available in the West, I was once offered not one but two complete 35H camera packages "new in the box" -- which meant they were sitting in a Russian warehouse for about six years -- complete with a ton of accessories and a dozen primes and a zoom in EACH PACKAGE, all for something like $20K. The second package was included to use as spare parts for the first, which is never a good sign.