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what cams o buy


tanyette wiggison

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Hi every one my name is Tanyette, I really am in desperate need of advice on what pro cinematic industry cam should I buy that does everything. I have been looking at Red, black magic, and many more I am still quite confused on the shopping for cams aspect. I WILL BE SHOOTING MUSIC VIDEO,COMMERCIALS,DOCUMENTARYS AND MORE AND I NEED THE RIGHT INDUSTRY STANDARD EQUIPMENT. CAN SOMEONE SHARE YOUR ADVICE.

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Hi every one my name is Tanyette, I really am in desperate need of advice on what pro cinematic industry cam should I buy that does everything. I have been looking at Red, black magic, and many more I am still quite confused on the shopping for cams aspect. I WILL BE SHOOTING MUSIC VIDEO,COMMERCIALS,DOCUMENTARYS AND MORE AND I NEED THE RIGHT INDUSTRY STANDARD EQUIPMENT. CAN SOMEONE SHARE YOUR ADVICE.

Just out of curiosity, why buy and not have your clients rent from an established rental house? Or do you plan on renting your gear to your clients? There are numerous pros and cons to either.

 

G

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Camera choice really depends on the market you're trying to address. These days you probably shouldn't buy unless you're going to have sufficient business recover the cost in less than 6 months. No camera does everything, you have to decide on what the camera is mostly going to used for, rather than what you hope to use the camera for.

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The most popular professional cameras:

Arri Alexa

Red Epic Dragon

Sony - F series

Canon

 

Buying the camera is the easy part. Will you be prepared for all of the rest that is required such as optics, filtration, support as in heads, tripods, batteries, matte boxes, etc? And paying the insurance to cover all of this annually is another cost. I'm betting that this is not the answer you are looking for but it's a reality. And as technology changes by the month, you must keep up to stay competitive. Take it from me! I own a camera equipment rental house in California and I live with these realities everyday.

 

To be clear, I'm not trying to discourage you but I am trying to point out many variables that you may not have considered. Finally, I would stay away from Black Magic. Too limited.

 

G

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Thank you so much I really needed your advice. I am starting my own production company and I will be doing independent films and biography's and also music videos. I would also like to do commercials to. I am just starting out and I want to make sure I have the right equipment rather renting or owning. so any advice you give me is good. Thank you.

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Thank you so much I really needed your advice. I am starting my own production company and I will be doing independent films and biography's and also music videos. I would also like to do commercials to. I am just starting out and I want to make sure I have the right equipment rather renting or owning. so any advice you give me is good. Thank you.

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Since you haven't mentioned previous experience, and what type of camera you 'now' use, it is difficult to make 'suggestions'.

 

For me... Any camera which has an 'entry' price tag of over $5K, I would rent if I thought I would need it. In particular for the ARRI class I'd also think about hiring an operator along with the camera. Same for Reds of the 'big boy class'. There is the Red Scarlet, but it is still pretty pricy.

 

Since I have no money, my budget is along the line of the Panasonic GH series, or Nikons. Why Nikon when everyone seems to only think of Canon... because I have a large number of Nikon lenses from my still life.

 

Speaking of Canon. I did a shoot a few weeks ago with a C100. The owner was shooting and even though he had just got the camera, we did 'ok' on getting usuable footage. I'm sure with time the fellow could figure out many more features and capabilities that we could have used.

 

However, while the C100 is 'under $5K'... that's just the body, and so one needs to add in a few lenses.

 

I think the C100 would be good for the music video/commericals part. Don't know about 'reality show'... what does that mean... but probably would work as well. It is a bit heavy, but with a shoulder mount probably as usable as most other similar types of cameras in more 'active' shooting situations.

Edited by jeclark2006
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Because you're looking to do sorta everything, I'd recommend a Sony F5 or the new AJA Cion. Something that can be good for run and gun with ENG options for reality but then also outfitted for single camera scripted production. If you can afford those. They're kind of midrange in price but offer a great deal of flexibility and have the trusted name brand associated with them.

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