5DMKII Equipment List

[Ryan McHugh]

Hey everyone, I am currently shooting with 3 Canon 5DMKIIs and am looking to expand and invest in 3 more...I have a list going of accessories and things I need. I have hit a blank wall with what else I may need. Could you guys' and girls look at my list and see if there is anything else I might need/want for my 5d rig setup? If you see something that is also not worth it please let me know...

THANKS:



Video:

• (3) – Canon 5D MKII’s or MKIII (if it comes out) - $2499/camera
• (4) - Canon Normal EF 50mm F/1.4 USM Autofocus lens - $349/lens
• (2) – Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 70-200mm f/2.8l USM Autofocus Lens - $1289/lens
• (2) – Canon Zoom Wide Angle EF 24-70mm f/2.8l autofocus - $1349/lens
• (4) – Sennheiser MKE 400 Compact Video Camera Shotgun Mic - $199.95/mic
• (6) – Hoya 77mm UV Filter - $49.95/filter
• (2) – Camera Deluxe Backpack 200EG Canon – $44.95/Bag
• (6) – Canon LP-E6 Rechargeable Lithium Ion Battery – $64.99/battery
• (6) – 32GB Compact Flash Cards
• (4) – Davis & Sanford Provista 7518 Tripod w/FM18 Head - $189.95/stand
• (2) – Pocket Dolly Basic V2 - $499.95
• (2) – LCD Viewfinder LCDVF Digital SLR Viewfinder - $169.95
• (4) Cavision RS5DM2SET-S DSLR Shoulder Mount Package - $499.95/mount
• (4) Cavision RFD15BC Basic Mini Single Wheel Follow Focus for Canon Lenses - $349.95
• (1) Artic Butterfly 724 Sensor Cleaners - $120.95
• (1) Custom HP Video Editing Computer - $3,500
• Digital Recorders

[Anton Chernenko]

Hm...I wonder how do you manage with all your 3 5D mark IIs without all these lovely equipment?
:))

[Ryan McHugh]

Well I have some of it, all ready I just need some more... Especially where its 4-6 units. lol

[Bill Davis]

It's a foolish question unless you tell us what you're TRYING to do with the rigs.

Equipment SERVES purpose. Without that purpose well-defined, all you'll really ever accomplish is give yourself a short thrill by virtue of satisfying your need for acquisition.

Who's going to USE these? What does that person understand about video making? Are they competent shooters or newbies who will stick the camera on AUTO and pretend that's OK for making videos?

Are they making digital movies? Are they doing corporate work? Will they be stuck in the back of a big auditorium shooting presentations - or will they be trekking through fields to shoot wildlife?

Those examples require VERY different kit purchases.

Explain WHY you're even budgeting for a tripod if feel it's OK to budget LESS for this critical function than for the memory cards that will go obsolete in a few months. I've NEVER met a 189 dollar tripod that was worth spit for video production. At that level, you can lock off a still shot - but you'll NEVER be able to make smooth, professional camera moves.

Explain what you want to DO. Where, how and why. And THEN you can develop a sensible gear list.

NEVER before that process is clearly understood.

[Daniel Browning]

Originally Posted by Ryan McHugh

anything else I might need/want for my 5d rig setup?

Matte box, ND filters.

[Bill Pryor]

Better quality protective filters, ND filters--.3, .6, .9--, sound gear (cheap mic on camera won't do you much good for anything but picking up traffic noise, a better quallity tripod.

[Ryan Postel]

Originally Posted by Bill Davis

I've NEVER met a 189 dollar tripod that was worth spit for video production. At that level, you can lock off a still shot - but you'll NEVER be able to make smooth, professional camera moves.

While I agree with everything Bill Davis said, I'd have to say 'never say never'. I had never used a sub $1000 tripod in productions before, but I now own the tripod Ryan McHugh listed (Davis & Sanford Provista 7518 Tripod w/FM18 Head) because the head is THAT smooth and professional. Best bang for the buck tripod I've found. But the clips aren't the greatest.

[Bill Davis]

Ryan,

I like to keep an open mind. So feel free to post a clip of your tripod facilitating a nice, VERY slow pan with consistent rate and smoothness with the camera set at something more than 75% of it's zoom range.

The kind of action that someone might encounter while videotaping a stage presentation from the back of the house. Also the kind of scene where jumps and hitches in camera movement can be VERY distracting.

Also I'd like to see a shot where you tilt down about 75 degrees with a realistically outfitted camera (decent life battery, LCD monitor and wireless receiver mounted) and then release the pan bar such that the tripod and head would HOLD that shot without tilt-locking it.

Every true professional tripod can do these things. So far, I've not run into a cheap one that can.

I'm not saying that the new inexpensive tripods are totally crap. Just that there's a reason that expensive tripods and heads are expensive. It's the amortization of development trial and error over time to achieve excellent operation.

But if the engineers have solved these things at this kind of price point - that would be incredible and I'd be extremely interested in the development.

OTOH, if they are providing half the quality of action at 1/20th the price that's also incredible - but it's NOT insignificant if you want to be a craftsman rather than one of the hoards of practitioners for whom "good enough" will always be "good enough."

Time and equipment march on. That's why the open mind is so critical these days - on both sides of the issue.

[Bill Pryor]

The biggest problem with cheap tripods is bounceback--when you pan and hold at the end of the pan, the head wants to shift back a little instead of staying perfectly still. The cheapest tripod I've ever found that has no bounceback is the Libec 38, and their 22 is close. Also, when you load up a 5DII with rails, follow focus, quick releases, heavy lens, mattebox, etc., you need a head rated to at least 18-20 pounds. Not that the package will weight that much, but tripod heads seem to be rated much software requirements are with memory--ie., you CAN run FCP on 512 megs of RAM...but not seriously. You CAN put 8-10 pounds on a 10 pound head but you won't like it.

[Richard D. George]

Sell one of the 5D Mk II's and get a really good, true fluid head tripod with decent legs, such as a Sachtler FSB or a Vinton Vision Blue.

Get a true wide angle zoom, such as the EF 16-35 f/2.8/L II.