ex1 for weddings??

[Giannis Pass]

Hello to all,
i am a wedding videographer from athens, greece and i am interesting to ex1.
I will shoot 100% weddings and only this.
I also have a sony dsr-400p dvcam but it is too heavy and there is no way to ''play'' with the camcorder.
For this reason i want to have a lighter camcorder.
I also want to have the 16:9 option and also the High Definition option.
What is your opinion for the ex1 for weddings?
Anyone of you shoots weddings with ex1?

[Paul Inglis]

I don’t shoot wedding but know a few that do use the EX-1. The EX-1R might suit you better as you can shoot in SD as well as HD. Also the cache might be a boon too. The tape-less workflow is great. The only draw back with the EX1/R in my opinion is the ergonomics when hand held. Shoulder mounts are available to help over come this though.

[Jonathan Palfrey]

Yeah the EX1 or EX1R are great for weddings, like Paul said the only drawback is holding the camera up for long periods of time handheld can be tiring, probably more so than you DSR400 although you can get shoulder mounts for the EX1 to resolve the problem

[Giannis Pass]

I am thinking to purchase also a Varizoom Flowpod for my ex1r and i seriously thinking for the Glidecam X10 with 4000 pro(stabilizer).
This two solutions i have in my mind for stabilizing.
What about the sxs cards?
What capacity are you using?
Do you believe that nano flash will be ok for me?

[Dean Sensui]

You should look at the EX1r. The improved near-IR filtering will help keep black items properly black. And the pre-record cache might be a huge help with those unexpected moments.

[Graham King]

I shoot weddings every single weekend (80 so far this year) with my EX1s. I highly recommend them.

I always always have my cavision shoulder mount (w/o hand grips). I'm a human tripod with that thing, using my tripod only for the ceremony and speeches. I can go all day with super solid camerawork. I've even gone a few times without using the tripod at all.

Definitely go with the EX1R for the IR handling and lots of other little improvements.

Here's some of my recent footage:

Monica + Adam on Vimeo

[Ross Herewini]

Hi Giannis,

I've been shooting weddings with my EX1 since December 2007. It is a great camera, with a few drawbacks, like weight hand held, odd balance.

Overall I am delighted with the camera.

Isn't the DSR-400 4:3? Most couples here in Australia wouldn't accept 4:3 these days. They expect 16:9. You could try trading up to DSR-450. That is a great camera, and 16:9.

A couple of my buddies have glidecam rigs, and don't use them that often any more. Some people swear by them though. Try doing a search on Dave Williams and Glidecam, he is a long standing advocate of using Glidecam during a wedding, and even sells DVD's on how to use it.

I still use a Glidecam 4000 with my EX1 for some shots during the wedding day and reception, great for capturing Kalamatiano, and Zembekiko, but not so cumbersome to put on and off all day.

[Tom Hardwick]

Glannis, the EX1 is a lovely wedding cam and I've used it quite happily. But the thing to ask yourself is do your clients pay for such esoteric kit? Thinking realistically you'll need two of them (backup and second cam) plus SxS cards and an edit system that can handle the files.

To make yourself more competitive in your neck of the woods it might be worth looking at shooting on two Z5s, for instance. OK, it's not such a good camera in the dark but the extra zoom reach does come in handy when you pick guests off from a distance. It's also a lot lighter, tape is absurdly cheap and kit insurance will be less.

And the thing is, will your clients notice the difference? What you clasp between your palms has far less influence on the final film than what's held between your ears.

Just a thought.

tom.

[Graham King]

I wouldn't call the EX1 esoteric. When I show prospective clients my work, they often comment on the incredible sharpness and detail. When I show them the low light footage they are okay with it. I don't know if that would be the case if the footage were nosier or if I had used a/more light

They don't realize it, but they appreciate the the additional pixels, better low light capability, and depth of field of the EX1's sensors.

[Tom Hardwick]

Couldn't agree more Graham but my thought was that the light levels and competition Glannis faces in Athens may make such an outlay unnecessary.

I shoot my weddings on Z1s while my pal down the road shoots on EX1s. We both make very similar films and both charge the same amount for a wedding film because that's the market we're in, and that's what the market will bear.

His films are sharper than mine, no doubt about it, but that's the least of the client's worries I'd say. The overall feel, structure and pace of the film has far more bearing on client satisfaction than simple picture quality.

He makes sharper films on his EX1, but I'm the better businessman.

tom.

[Graham King]

Good point. I suppose if I had shown my clients the same shot composition, etc. but at HDV resolution, they would've hired my anyway.

But then there's the tape factor. I don't want to ever go back to tape. Sliding the SxS card in my MacBook Pro and instantly watching full resolution footage is just amazing. I think it also depends on the volume of work you're doing. I do a pretty high volume and having to capture tape would make my life miserable.

Another thing about the full 1920 is that it's tv network friendly if you ever find yourself doing that kind of work.

But whatever you do, if you're going HD, make sure you get a camera with a high resolution LCD. I've shot on the HVX and I was looking at the screen like WTF is this!

[Tom Hardwick]

I like your description of the HVX screen. I shot a wedding last month on a couple of Z7s.

Let’s look at the top screen. The Z7’s is slightly smaller than the Z1’s but it’s considerably sharper. It also carries a lot more useful information, and you can have an electronic spirit level, a histogram, peaking and zebras all on display. It’s also much better in that it doesn’t overscan like the Z1’s does, so you see the fully recorded image. Sounds good, doesn’t it?

But the Z1’s screen is far better and for one big reason – it’s perfectly visible in bright sunlight. Many of you will know that I’m a great believer in filming strangers using a side screen, as approaching people with 2.5 kg of camera sticking out of your forehead (using the conventional viewfinder) can make the bravest of the guests apprehensive.

But the near invisibility of the Z7’s screen image in sunlight was a real shock to me. I’d far rather have a softer image that I can see than a sharper one I can’t. In the fright of the day I was at times reduced to pointing the camera and hoping, the top screen was as bad as that.

tom.

[Paul Inglis]

Originally Posted by Giannis Pass

Do you believe that nano flash will be ok for me?

The nanoFLASH is a great tool to have. But in your case I doubt it’ll make business sense. I think putting your money into two identical cams would be wiser.

Do you have any video kit? If not you’d be surprised how much everything starts adding up for accessories, audios, support, batteries, media, bags, tripods and heads, etc…

Then being able to edit the footage in post: hardware and software can cost a small bundle too!

Originally Posted by Giannis Pass

What capacity are you using?

Well I'd say that 16GB and 32GB Cards are the most popular. A 16GB card will give you just under an hour of record time, while a 32GB card is just under two hours.

[Graham King]

If you're shooting weddings get 4 32GB SxS cards. The initial outlay is significant but you'll feel good knowing you're recoding on reliable media and have enough to go all day without offloading.