Hi all,

I was wondering if you could make some equipment suggestions for my 5dmk2. I'm looking for things that aren't too pricy but are of genuine quality. I'm happy with my current setup, however, I've had it for over two years now and I could really use some new things to liven my work up.

Currently I own (and this is everything):

Canon 5D mk 2
Canon Battery Grip BG-E6
Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 (lens)
Azden SMX-10 (microphone)
Hoodman Cinema Kit Pro (eyecup)
Gitzo Series 2 Carbon 6X 3 Section G-Lock (tripod)
Promaster 6867 Ball Head 3 (mount)
GlideCam HD-4000 (stabilizer)


I'm looking into getting the following:

A jib crane (that perhaps can attach to my tripod and support the weight of my rig)
A monitor (to see what I'm filming with that jib)
A dolly (also working with that monitor?)
A lens or two (including the Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L?)
A light

I shoot a variety of different things and I like close ups and landscape type shots. I guess I'm looking for the most versatile, least expensive, and best quality equipment there is...(aren't we all?). Any suggestions help!

Please and thank you,
~Eric

Whoa, Eric.................

I hate to shoot you down on your first flight, but there is a reason for all those other forums here on DVinfo, and no, it's not so "The Government" can spend more money, it's so the appropriate questions get asked in the appropriate places and get the best advice going from people who know about that particular speciality.

Posting such a wide ranging set of questions in a particular camera Forum is a bit like walking into your Dentists and asking about knee surgery, wrong place, wrong people.

So, my suggestion?

Slow down, READ through the Forums that are implied by your queries and search for answers that have probably already been supplied ad nauseum to such questions already.

There's litterally thousands of them, just about anything you want to know will be in that little Google bar at the bottom of every page.

You WILL NEVER get the best advice here on DVinfo by "shotgunning" questions in one particular Forum, when they DO NOT relate to that Forum, simple as that.

Don't get me wrong, you'll get idiots responding, but what do they know?

Why would anyone owning a EOS camera be a specialist in jibs, dollys, monitors or lighting (or all 4 put together - we're now up to 1 in 10,000,000,000 odds?).

Think smart, you'll get a lot more out of DVinfo.


CS

So as not to appear like an idiot responding I'll just address the questions directly regarding the 5D2 & thus appropriate to this forum. If the 85mm F/1.8 is your only lens then I suggest a bit of variety by including some other focal length lenses in your bag. With my 5Ds I generally use the 16-35mm F/2.8L the 24-105mm F/4L IS or the 70-200mm F/2.8L IS II & occasionally the 24-70mm F/2.8L & 50mm F/1.2L when my wife isn't using them. Without a wide angle or even a standard 50mm lens you shooting must be rather limited.

Nigel...........

Consider yourself absolved of the "idiot" tag, very sound advice on the lens front.


CS

I hate to shoot you down on your first flight, but there is a reason for all those other forums here on DVinfo, and no, it's not so "The Government" can spend more money, it's so the appropriate questions get asked in the appropriate places and get the best advice going from people who know about that particular speciality.

CS

Thanks for the advice Chris, I just figured I'd ask those who use canon DSLRs to shoot on a regular basis to recommend the equipment that works best for them, rather than grab advice from someone who uses a prosumer camcorder and might recommend what works best for their camera instead per-say. My mishap! I was never the best at forum use, however, I will be taking my questions elsewhere.


With my 5Ds I generally use the 16-35mm F/2.8L the 24-105mm F/4L IS or the 70-200mm F/2.8L IS II & occasionally the 24-70mm F/2.8L & 50mm F/1.2L when my wife isn't using them. Without a wide angle or even a standard 50mm lens you shooting must be rather limited.


Nigel, thank you very much for the lens suggestions. I've read good reviews on both the 16-35mm F/2.8L and the 50mm F/1.2L. I will be looking into them more momentarily!

Ill respond on the crane part because I abuse mine non-stop...

How much are you looking to spend on a jib and what kind of shots are you looking to create with it? If you simply want up and down motion with tilt thats what almost any jib can do, but if you want multiaxial tilt control you need to look into something bigger with a motorized head.

I do very precise jib moves with my 7D (often like setting up a shot @ f/2-2.8 on my 24mm and do thin DOF axis pans with my remote control head on things in the scene and isolate them with the DOF) and I could not imagine being limited to just tilt control from a 1 dimensional jib, but ymmv. 85mm without a USB follow focus or the like I would never recommend doing on anything thats not a static object.

For lenses, if you want to start doing crane shots, your gonna need wide. I usually shoot with my 11-16 so the 17-40 would be a good replacement in 5D land (f2.8 vs f4 but close enough).

For my monitor when using the crane I use a Indiprotools Pro5 reference monitor (focus peaking, false colors, but not much outside of that). Wouldn't recommend for critical focus, but for wide crane shots is plenty adequate.

*edit* Extra note here - if you plan on using a motorized head jib, also be aware that essentially scraps local sound capture because of the wine of the servos. Im sure your needs are much more basic though.

For lenses, if you want to start doing crane shots, your gonna need wide. I usually shoot with my 11-16 so the 17-40 would be a good replacement in 5D land (f2.8 vs f4 but close enough).

For my monitor when using the crane I use a Indiprotools Pro5 reference monitor (focus peaking, false colors, but not much outside of that). Wouldn't recommend for critical focus, but for wide crane shots is plenty adequate.

Justin, thank you for your response.

I'm looking for very smooth shots from a high to low pan (and vice versa). Lets say I'm filming a stationary car. I'd like to be able to pan over part of the roof and all the way down to the rims. I've been looking into getting the 14-40mm for a while so I could use that on the crane. I don't think I'd need a motorized head jib just yet... but definitely a multi axis head that I could manually adjust.

Also, I've been looking into the Kessler pocket jib (pro?). I'm assuming I'd be able to operate it from the front, without a monitor just yet (I'm definitely looking to get one in the future however, so I'll keep the indiprotool pro 5 in mind, which is not bad at $300 either!). I see the pocket jib doubles as a dolly too... Do you think I could get away with something like that?

~Eric

I have the pocket jib with dolly wheels and track and it works great. I use a 75mm to 100mm bowl adapter to mount my tripod fluid head in it.

Note that it can take three people to operate - one moves it on the tracks. Another handles the jib and tripod for framing. A third pulls focus.

The K-Pod is fantastically solid. I only wish it had a bowl so I could use it as tripod sticks for events. I also wish it were faster to swap the dolly wheels and pads.

The jib is especially good. I had to tighten up some bolts to get it solid, and after that, it's been a treat. It's compact, sets up quickly, and works great. A friend of mine has a cheaper jib and it was almost impossible to use without some bounce as we stop the movement going up or down. The fact is that when you put the camera at the end of a long stick, every tiny bit of flex and roll is amplified.

I'm looking into getting the following:

A jib crane (that perhaps can attach to my tripod and support the weight of my rig)
A monitor (to see what I'm filming with that jib)
A dolly (also working with that monitor?)
A lens or two (including the Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L?)
A light

I shoot a variety of different things and I like close ups and landscape type shots. I guess I'm looking for the most versatile, least expensive, and best quality equipment there is...(aren't we all?). Any suggestions help!

Please and thank you,
~Eric

Least expensive and best quality there is....hmmm...This might help: Comprehensive Guide to Rigging Any Camera - 1 Introduction to Rigging | wolfcrow (http://wolfcrow.com/blog/comprehensive-guide-to-rigging-any-camera-1-introduction-to-rigging/)

It answers most of your questions, except the lights.

I have the pocket jib with dolly wheels and track and it works great. I use a 75mm to 100mm bowl adapter to mount my tripod fluid head in it.

Least expensive and best quality there is....hmmm...This might help: Comprehensive Guide to Rigging Any Camera - 1 Introduction to Rigging | wolfcrow

Thank you both very much. This is very useful knowledge!

I believe I'm going to purchase the Kessler 5' dolly track/wheels, and save up for the pocket jib in the future. I also think I'm going to go with the Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM Lens and possibly the 16-35mm F/2.8L as well...still reading the the intro to rigging however.

~Eric

...to be fair: Sareesh gets credit for the 2nd quote. :)

Best of luck with your gear choices!