2nd Cam Options help at DVinfo.net

Steve Berg · June 29th, 2009, 08:15 AM

Morning all. I’m breaking into the Wedding biz in the NYC area. I have scraped together all the essentials of my kit HMC150, mics, Lights, Cards & Battery galore and am basically there and feel I have all the gear I need to be safe on a shoot. What is starting to get me nervous is not having a second cam. At this point I do not have a budget for a second HMC150 , so I was looking at some less expensive HD options. I came across the Kodak Zi6. And it does 720P @ 60FPS. I am basically looking to use this only for the ceremony as an unmanned cam and mount on a light stand in the back of the rooms to provide some quick safety cuts of the precession and ceremony and the entrance to the reception and maybe first dance. I was looking at examples on Vimeo and they look impressive. Anyone have any thoughts or experience using this cam or small HD pocket cams successfully. THis would be a stop gap till I build my book.

Thanks,

Denny Bryant · June 29th, 2009, 09:45 AM

I've got the Zi6 but only use it for the kids messing around the house & such .. never tried to use it for anything more than that. In good natural lighting it takes pretty good video but once it gets a lil dim inside it's not so great .. not sure how it would mesh well with your current cam. If you'd like I can take some sample clips for ya & post up somewhere so you can see what a raw, unedited, non compressed file looks like.

Steve Berg · June 29th, 2009, 09:52 AM

Thanks Denny - that would be perfect. would you be able to post from a ceremony? I really just want something to cut to for the ceremony for a few seconds here and there just in case and to mix it up a litte. I had the same concern mixing the HMC150 with the Zi6. But I think with a little Magic Bullet and some filters it can pass for a few second cut away. Thoughts?

Thanks again.

Denny Bryant · June 29th, 2009, 09:58 AM

Unfortunately I don't have any ceremony footage to post from it; only home movie type stuff. If you're good with such as that you very well might be able to make it work ... I myself probably couldn't make it happen though :)

Steve Berg · June 29th, 2009, 12:11 PM

Thanks,

This is helpful!

Denny Bryant · June 29th, 2009, 01:11 PM

Steve, did you get the email with the link that I sent you?

Rob Morse · June 29th, 2009, 02:48 PM

Don’t take this the wrong way but since you say you want to get repeat business, I wouldn’t suggest shooting with the Kodak Zi6. If you’re that concerned, which you should be if you’re getting paid to shoot, take the $150 for the cost of the Zi6 camera and rent a decent camera for the shoot. I can guarantee you the camera will not handle a dimly lit room. You’ll be spending a lot of time in post trying to fix what you shot and that’s if it’s usable at all.

Stephen J. Williams · June 29th, 2009, 03:47 PM

steve...

It might also be a little difficult to white balance the camera to your HMC150.

If you want to shoot 2 cams then you should just rent another. I agree with Rob 100%.

I'm in the same position. I've been shooting single cam weddings for the past few months.
I'm also max'd out on my budget and cant afford another camera. I have a 2 cam wedding in August where I'll be renting.

You can also try just shooting single cam. For me, I go to the rehearsal... I explain to the celebrant and the bride that I'm a single cam shooter. Which means I need to be in this particular spot during this time... Basically just solving all the potential problems the day before. Also you can see how the ceremony will go (who's where at what point).

I don't do anything fancy during the ceremony. I save all of my "somewhat" creative shots for the photo/video shoot and reception.

Good luck either way.

Steve

Rob Morse · June 29th, 2009, 07:04 PM

Why not charge accordingly and find a local shooter that has a comparable camera? That will solve the problem for you until you can save enough to buy what you want.

Lukas Siewior · June 30th, 2009, 07:32 PM

Steve - agree on renting 2nd camera. For $150 you should be able to get HVX200 or HMC150 with bare minimum accessories.

Also remember about your "image" when working with ppl. They see cheap POS camera and will think that you are an amateur. Not a pro. Of course it is not true but customers who are not into this stuff have tendency to think that bigger camera = more money = better services.

Jason LeFrense · July 1st, 2009, 09:35 PM

Rob has made some good points. I wouldn't spend money on equipment if its not going to help improve the quality of your work. The last thing you are going to want happen is your good camera mess up and you are stuck shooting the rest of the day with the Kodak.If you want to keep business coming in I would either rent a cam or hire a shooter and charge it to your client. Actually I would even take a loss on my first wedding and get great cams and shooters before I shoot with something that is not going to look the best.

June 29th, 2009, 08:15 AM	#1
Steve Berg Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: NYC, NY Posts: 28	2nd Cam Options help Morning all. I’m breaking into the Wedding biz in the NYC area. I have scraped together all the essentials of my kit HMC150, mics, Lights, Cards & Battery galore and am basically there and feel I have all the gear I need to be safe on a shoot. What is starting to get me nervous is not having a second cam. At this point I do not have a budget for a second HMC150 , so I was looking at some less expensive HD options. I came across the Kodak Zi6. And it does 720P @ 60FPS. I am basically looking to use this only for the ceremony as an unmanned cam and mount on a light stand in the back of the rooms to provide some quick safety cuts of the precession and ceremony and the entrance to the reception and maybe first dance. I was looking at examples on Vimeo and they look impressive. Anyone have any thoughts or experience using this cam or small HD pocket cams successfully. THis would be a stop gap till I build my book. Thanks,

June 29th, 2009, 03:47 PM	#8
Stephen J. Williams Major Player Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 768	steve... It might also be a little difficult to white balance the camera to your HMC150. If you want to shoot 2 cams then you should just rent another. I agree with Rob 100%. I'm in the same position. I've been shooting single cam weddings for the past few months. I'm also max'd out on my budget and cant afford another camera. I have a 2 cam wedding in August where I'll be renting. You can also try just shooting single cam. For me, I go to the rehearsal... I explain to the celebrant and the bride that I'm a single cam shooter. Which means I need to be in this particular spot during this time... Basically just solving all the potential problems the day before. Also you can see how the ceremony will go (who's where at what point). I don't do anything fancy during the ceremony. I save all of my "somewhat" creative shots for the photo/video shoot and reception. Good luck either way. Steve Last edited by Stephen J. Williams; June 29th, 2009 at 04:03 PM. Reason: Need to learn to proofread

June 29th, 2009, 09:45 AM	#2
Denny Bryant Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Raleigh, MS Posts: 48	I've got the Zi6 but only use it for the kids messing around the house & such .. never tried to use it for anything more than that. In good natural lighting it takes pretty good video but once it gets a lil dim inside it's not so great .. not sure how it would mesh well with your current cam. If you'd like I can take some sample clips for ya & post up somewhere so you can see what a raw, unedited, non compressed file looks like.

June 29th, 2009, 09:52 AM	#3
Steve Berg Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: NYC, NY Posts: 28	Thanks Denny - that would be perfect. would you be able to post from a ceremony? I really just want something to cut to for the ceremony for a few seconds here and there just in case and to mix it up a litte. I had the same concern mixing the HMC150 with the Zi6. But I think with a little Magic Bullet and some filters it can pass for a few second cut away. Thoughts? Thanks again.

June 29th, 2009, 09:58 AM	#4
Denny Bryant Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Raleigh, MS Posts: 48	Unfortunately I don't have any ceremony footage to post from it; only home movie type stuff. If you're good with such as that you very well might be able to make it work ... I myself probably couldn't make it happen though :)

June 29th, 2009, 12:11 PM	#5
Steve Berg Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: NYC, NY Posts: 28	Thanks, This is helpful!

June 29th, 2009, 01:11 PM	#6
Denny Bryant Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Raleigh, MS Posts: 48	Steve, did you get the email with the link that I sent you?

June 29th, 2009, 02:48 PM	#7
Rob Morse Major Player Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 427	Don’t take this the wrong way but since you say you want to get repeat business, I wouldn’t suggest shooting with the Kodak Zi6. If you’re that concerned, which you should be if you’re getting paid to shoot, take the $150 for the cost of the Zi6 camera and rent a decent camera for the shoot. I can guarantee you the camera will not handle a dimly lit room. You’ll be spending a lot of time in post trying to fix what you shot and that’s if it’s usable at all.

June 29th, 2009, 07:04 PM	#9
Rob Morse Major Player Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 427	Why not charge accordingly and find a local shooter that has a comparable camera? That will solve the problem for you until you can save enough to buy what you want.

June 30th, 2009, 07:32 PM	#10
Lukas Siewior Major Player Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Lyndhurst, NJ, USA Posts: 408	Steve - agree on renting 2nd camera. For $150 you should be able to get HVX200 or HMC150 with bare minimum accessories. Also remember about your "image" when working with ppl. They see cheap POS camera and will think that you are an amateur. Not a pro. Of course it is not true but customers who are not into this stuff have tendency to think that bigger camera = more money = better services.

July 1st, 2009, 09:35 PM	#11
Jason LeFrense Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Sydney Canada Posts: 126	Rob has made some good points. I wouldn't spend money on equipment if its not going to help improve the quality of your work. The last thing you are going to want happen is your good camera mess up and you are stuck shooting the rest of the day with the Kodak.If you want to keep business coming in I would either rent a cam or hire a shooter and charge it to your client. Actually I would even take a loss on my first wedding and get great cams and shooters before I shoot with something that is not going to look the best.