Matthew Greiner Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 (edited) Hey guys, These past 6 months have been pretty good to me in terms of work and I'm starting to think about ways I can reinvest some of the income I've made back into equipment in order to a) make myself more marketable as a dp and camera assistant, b ) make it easier for me to do my job well and c) turn a profit by taking small rental fees here and there on gear I bring to each production, etc. My question is, what does everybody consider to be the best options for investment items that don't lose value as quickly, yet are often in demand on set. As a camera assistant, my first inclination is to invest in a great monitor like a smallHD dp7 knowing that I might be able to ask for an extra $50 or 60/day on top of my normal day rate and that it would also help me do my job easier, while being a great monitor for jobs I take as a dp. The next item I thought about was getting a Dana Dolly as they're only around $800 and they go for ~100/day on productions. That's a pretty good rental rate and for lower budget sets, they're very useful. So does anybody have gear suggestions for someone starting out investing in equipment who would like to purchase quality items that would be useful to oneself, yet also make some money on the side that wouldn't depreciate quite as fast as say a camera body? Obviously, lenses are what many will say, but aside from cheapies, they're a bit out of my price range at the moment. Edited March 27, 2015 by Matthew Greiner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Brereton Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 The Dana Dolly is a great investment. Mine has paid for itself many times over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Satsuki Murashige Posted March 28, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted March 28, 2015 For an AC: Camera Cart - Magliner/Filmtools, Yeager, Backstage, Innovativ, RocknRoller On-board Monitor - TVLogic 5.5, 5.6, 7, SmallHD AC7, DP7 Director's Monitor - Panasonic 17", Flanders 21" Wireless: Teradek Bolt Pro plus rigging Filters - 4x5.65 ND set, 6x6 ND set, Rota Polas, whatever diffusion filters your DPs regularly use Matte Box - Arri LMB-25 Follow Focus - Arri FF4, Preston F/I, FIZ 3 Tripod - OConnor 2575D, 1030, Sachtler Cine 30, Video 18, Ronford legs Lenses - Angenieux, Canon, Cooke, Fujinon, Leica, Zeiss Support - Ronford Baker RBQ Don't undercut the rental house prices, just match prices and save production on pickup/drop off costs. DP: All of the above, plus any lights, slider, Easyrig, and other specialty stuff that you always use The Dana Dolly is great but you need to figure out how to carry various sizes of Speed Rail. I have a Honda CRV that can take 6', which is about all I every really need. Your needs may vary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Bill DiPietra Posted March 28, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted March 28, 2015 My question is, what does everybody consider to be the best options for investment items that don't lose value as quickly, yet are often in demand on set. Lighting & grip. Every production needs them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Greiner Posted March 28, 2015 Author Share Posted March 28, 2015 For an AC: Camera Cart - Magliner/Filmtools, Yeager, Backstage, Innovativ, RocknRoller On-board Monitor - TVLogic 5.5, 5.6, 7, SmallHD AC7, DP7 Director's Monitor - Panasonic 17", Flanders 21" Wireless: Teradek Bolt Pro plus rigging Filters - 4x5.65 ND set, 6x6 ND set, Rota Polas, whatever diffusion filters your DPs regularly use Matte Box - Arri LMB-25 Follow Focus - Arri FF4, Preston F/I, FIZ 3 Tripod - OConnor 2575D, 1030, Sachtler Cine 30, Video 18, Ronford legs Lenses - Angenieux, Canon, Cooke, Fujinon, Leica, Zeiss Support - Ronford Baker RBQ Don't undercut the rental house prices, just match prices and save production on pickup/drop off costs. DP: All of the above, plus any lights, slider, Easyrig, and other specialty stuff that you always use The Dana Dolly is great but you need to figure out how to carry various sizes of Speed Rail. I have a Honda CRV that can take 6', which is about all I every really need. Your needs may vary. This is an excellent list, Satsuki. I really appreciate it. I'm working in NY and at the moment living very central without a car so I've been a little hesitant about getting a camera cart just yet, but that's a good idea a little bit later down the road when I might have a stronger relationship with one of the bigger rental houses and can store it there. At the moment, I've got a couple 4' sections of speed rail for a proposed dana dolly set-up from a previous shoot I could build with, but as I don't have a care that is something worth considering. I realize that somewhere down the line, I may have to abandon my dream of remaining without private transportation in NY (please shoot me), but we'll see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Greiner Posted March 28, 2015 Author Share Posted March 28, 2015 Lighting & grip. Every production needs them. I have considered lighting and grip, but for now, I think I'd like to maintain smaller items since as I mentioned above, I don't keep a car in the city at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Adrian Sierkowski Posted March 28, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted March 28, 2015 If you haven't got a car you'll quickly run into issue with most of the bigger stuff. I'd say the best investment, and it's a large one, is a good wireless follow focus and wireless video system. That's something you can generally carry on you even on the subway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Satsuki Murashige Posted March 29, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted March 29, 2015 Ooh yeah, without a car and all that walking to do in NYC I'd just stick with a TVLogic in a small Storm Case and call it a day. I hate taking anything beyond a run bag on the subway when I visit, no way I'd do it everyday. Park all the bigger stuff at CSC or Panavision if they'll let you. You might have to get a shop at some point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Greiner Posted April 2, 2015 Author Share Posted April 2, 2015 Ooh yeah, without a car and all that walking to do in NYC I'd just stick with a TVLogic in a small Storm Case and call it a day. I hate taking anything beyond a run bag on the subway when I visit, no way I'd do it everyday. Park all the bigger stuff at CSC or Panavision if they'll let you. You might have to get a shop at some point. I have a storage unit, so assuming I could loop that into runs when PAs are going out picking up things, it could still work. I would never ask this of a production I was crewing on, but if I was DPing I might get away with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Adam Frisch FSF Posted April 5, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted April 5, 2015 For all of you thinking of the Dana dolly, there's a Swedish dolly I grew up with that's similar. The difference is that this one rides on straight ladders. Ladders you can get at Home Depot, so you can travel with it and always have access to track. It's a real simple and cool design. I used it a lot on my early music video stuff. Just chuck a ladder down and you're ready to go. No need for stands or assembly. It's cheap as well. http://www.cameradolly.se/cameradolly.se/Eng_Home.html He's even added a new electric model which didn't exist when I started out. Here's a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S41tdouQGBI&feature=youtu.be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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