I don't know about anyone else - but I've been working on equipment purchases over the past two weeks, and as fun as it seems like it should be to get new gear, it is wearing me down sometimes! It is stressful to spend thousands of dollars, hoping that you've done the best to research every choice and finally making one. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful that I can get new gear, and I do love that first time opening up the stuff... but getting ready and pulling the trigger to spend that money is stressful for me sometimes.

Anybody else go through this?

Yep,

Bringing the checkbook (and checkcard) for the new business to WEVA.

Me too, Roger... me too!

I love to spend other peoples money. Not stressful to me at all. ;-)

To those who don't have a lot of gear starting out, don't be too envious. More gear means more info to keep in your head about how to use it all during an event, which can make life on site more challenging. You spend a lot of effort carrying it in and out, caring for it, and getting it all ready and making sure it is all working right, everything has plenty of power, and all the buttons are in their right positions, and knobs are tightened so things don't fall apart. A person with one camera and one mic can concentrate on using it to its fullest to get good a lot of good stuff. Too much equipment can be detrimental. If you keep adding equipment, plan on getting someone to help you use it.

To those who don't have a lot of gear starting out, don't be too envious. More gear means more info to keep in your head about how to use it all during an event, which can make life on site more challenging. You spend a lot of effort carrying it in and out, caring for it, and getting it all ready and making sure it is all working right, everything has plenty of power, and all the buttons are in their right positions, and knobs are tightened so things don't fall apart. A person with one camera and one mic can concentrate on using it to its fullest to get good a lot of good stuff. Too much equipment can be detrimental. If you keep adding equipment, plan on getting someone to help you use it.

This is so very true... sometimes i wish i can just carry a tripod and camera bag thats it... more stuff, more work.

This is so very true... sometimes i wish i can just carry a tripod and camera bag thats it... more stuff, more work.Hmmm... I wonder if anyone has tried following the Dogme 95 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogme_95) Vow of Chastity for wedding video

I don't know about anyone else - but I've been working on equipment purchases over the past two weeks, and as fun as it seems like it should be to get new gear, it is wearing me down sometimes! It is stressful to spend thousands of dollars, hoping that you've done the best to research every choice and finally making one. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful that I can get new gear, and I do love that first time opening up the stuff... but getting ready and pulling the trigger to spend that money is stressful for me sometimes.

Anybody else go through this?

Bill,

The most stressful piece of equipment to purchase is the camera. Tripods, lighting, microphones are all going to last fairly well. The camera will likely become somewhat obsolete within a few years, that is the nature of the medium. Do your research, talk to trusted sources, handle some cameras, and finally make your decision. Then don't look back.

I went through it a couple of years ago between an XLH1 and a JVC HD100, and opted for the Canon. 3 1/2 -years later, I still love the Canon - never failed me once, and with a CD-Nano Flash I can opt to run uncompressed HD to Flash Drives to lengthen the camera lifespan. But less than a year after I bought the H1, Canon came out with the XH series for less than half the cost of the H1 - Don't look back.

Understand that the camera is a tool. If it costs $12,000, (or you get 2-$6,000 cameras) and you get 5 years out of it, that's $200.00 a month (about the same as renting a camera for 1 day).

Bill,
I still love the Canon - never failed me once, and with a CD-Nano Flash I can opt to run uncompressed HD to Flash Drives to lengthen the camera lifespan.

sorry if i'm being off topic but what do you mean by cd-nano flash???

Santo

sorry if i'm being off topic but what do you mean by cd-nano flash???

Santo

Santo,

HDV To HD-SDI Video Converters Professional Video Equipment HDMI To HD-SDI Television Studio Equipment (http://www.convergent-design.com/)

It hooks into any camera with an HD-SDI port to bypass the HDV compression, and record full blown HD, to multiple Flash cards. When I picked up the XLH1 - the HD-SDI port was there, but the only viable recorder at the time was/is called a Wafian, that is not at all portable and retails at $15k. The Nano Flash is new, but the previous version is an XDR that has been around for a year or two.

The XH-A1 doesn't have the HD-SDI port, The XH-G1 has the port - hence the $2,000 (?) higher price of the XH-G1.

There are multiple threads on the recorders here:

Convergent Design Flash XDR - The Digital Video Information Network (http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/convergent-design-flash-xdr/)

THanks for the info Ken.

holy cow.. how expensive is that thing. But that's the price you take for full-blown HD eh?

nice nice... I'm kinda glad in a way that my camera doesn't have HD-SDI.. otherwise.. hahaha..

Santo

Santo,

Actually the Nano Flash is cheap (relatively). Only $2995.00.

There is a lot of other things that I can buy with 3 grand. I guess it depends which one is your priority :)

I hear you Santo... that's why I haven't bought one... yet.

Oh man . . .equipment research is the worst. I love it and hate it. I see StillMotion and think "man I could get that if I had a flyer vest & sled, a few EX1 cams, and secondary ops that knew more about cinematography"....... but that isn't true. And besides, that is a crap-ton of cash for all that equipment. My market simply cannot support the prices needed to pay for that gear.

Then there is the equipment lust which just makes me dissatisfied with my current gear. What I need to do is shoot better and work at shooting better with what I have, not pine away for the equipment I cannot afford.

Jason, I totally agree with you on improving technique. You can't ever get enough in the way of learning/training, and that is really the key, because equipment comes and goes - but your skills are the consistent link in your product.

You can rent the best equipment available, but if you don't have the skills to use it properly it's not going to make much difference in the quality of your product. I think the trick is to get the best equipment you can afford - make sure it is good enough quality that you don't have to worry about it screwing up all the time - and then focus on using it to the best of your ability.

Wise words, Jason -

I buy and sell gear so I can keep up with the newer toys (at least the not too expensive ones!), but ultimately the camera can't make you a better shooter.

There are some things that will permanently improve your production quality - better tripod if you shoot that way, support rig (DVMultiRig or other stabilizer) if you prefer "handheld" or mobile shooting, good audio, and light augmentation for the appropriate situations, but really the critical component is the nut behind the camera!

Ultimately it's the content that matters, and how well you capture and edit those moments.

It's easy to get caught up in gear envy, but if you always remember "Content is King" it helps maintain perspective.

The bride and groom won't care how many chips your camera has, or how many megapixels, or how impressive your depth of focus was, whether your camera flew through the shot, or that the footage is a little grainy or even perhaps a teeny bit "off", color or focus wise... They WILL care whether you captured the essence of the day and the people they care about in a way that makes them smile deep down, shed a tear, remember, and relive a wonderful day...

The equipment you buy, particularly professional equipment is expensive. So you want to get it right when you purchase, so research and reviewing equipment and buying can become stressful. Nice when the new toy arrives, but then there is the learning curve especially if it's a complicated piece of equipment and this includes the software you purchase. Also you need to be balanced what you buy as this needs to be reflected in your costing for your events/weddings etc, that you charge.
And if your a one man band, then there is the preparation, shooting, editing until your final product is finished, all can be stressful, but when you get it right and the time and effort you put into it, the finished product becomes your masterpiece and it makes the stress seem all worthwhile.