What is your Gear of Choice? at DVinfo.net

Raji Ahmed · May 2nd, 2010, 05:28 PM

Just curious what people here use for their main camcorder for weddings and events? And what software you use to edit? Would love to hear what your setup is like.

Much appreciated as always.

Adam Haro · May 2nd, 2010, 09:49 PM

We haven't switched to HD yet, not enough demand in my area yet. Our main cameras are a Panasonic DVC60 and a Canon GL2. We also have a JVC GY-DV300 for back-up. For detail and fun shots we use a Canon HV30 with a jag35 and I just picked up a Pentax K-X which will probably replace the HV30.

We have 2 edit computers with Premiere.

Hameed Aabid · May 2nd, 2010, 10:41 PM

Canon XH A1s as main
Canon HV30 as B-roll
Zoom H4n audio recorder
Edius 5 for editing and imaginate and After Effects for creating slideshows and photo montage

Nate Haustein · May 3rd, 2010, 12:38 AM

Without question my favorite piece of gear is the Glidetrack slider.

Other than that, XHA1 with Zoom H4n edited in FCP multi-cam.

Taky Cheung · May 3rd, 2010, 03:03 AM

XH-A1s as main cam
XH-A1 as B-roll
HV30 on Merlin steadicam
Comer 1800 LED light
Rode shotgun mic
Edit with Adobe CS4 and the Matrox RT.X2 add-on card.
Export to DVD and Bluray using Encore CS4
Olympus voice recorder to record vows in ceremony
I'm thinking of getting a Zoom H2 for all sound recording.

Michael Clark · May 3rd, 2010, 12:38 PM

My gear of choice or what I have? ;)

I use Canon HV40s and edit in FCP7.

Adam Gold · May 3rd, 2010, 01:00 PM

We don't do weddings, but for Stage Events we use four Z5s with MRC1k recorders, plus a Zoom H4n for audio. For Sports Events we add two FX7s to the mix for their long tele lenses.

We edit with Premiere CS3. Our editing workstation is an eight core (2 x Xeon Quad 5430) PC with 20 Gigs of RAM, 25 TB of RAIDed drives, and Vista 64. Will likely move up to CS5 when all the bugs are worked out and likely will upgrade to Win7 at that time as well.

Kren Barnes · May 3rd, 2010, 03:43 PM

2 Sony HD1000u
1 Sony SR-11 on steadicam
Azden wireless pro audio
Sony Memory stick duo digital voice recorder
PremierePro CS3
Encore for DVD authoring

Chris Harding · May 3rd, 2010, 04:51 PM

2 x Panasonic HMC72 Shoulder Mount Cams (yes, I like Panasonic and shoulder mount cameras!!)
2 x Azden wireless lav mics
2 x Rode VideoMics on the cameras

Edit on Sony Vegas 9 and author in Mediachance DVDLab

I was previously shooting on DVC20's!! and didn't have to go to HD but couldn't find an SD Panasonic camera that suited me that was true 16:9 so made the leap of faith to SD cards and HD. However at present I just transcode the HD to SD before editing as there is also no demand for BluRay here at all!!

Kelly Langerak · May 3rd, 2010, 05:07 PM

2 Canon 7D's
1 Canon Vixia HF20

Manfrotto Monopod
Miller Tripod
Reception Lighting ( A must have!)

Glidecam 4000 works with all of our cameras

A slider would be next, but we don't have the time unless we have a 3rd videographer.

I was scared to shoot with the 7D but now I LOVE IT! It does take getting use to thou.

Chad Whelan · May 8th, 2010, 11:14 PM

Sony Z1U
Sony Ax2000
NRG varilight
Frezzi mini fill
Sony LED light HVL-LBP
Samson UM32 w/ sony ecm44
Samson UM1 w/ samson QL5
2 Bogen tripods w/501 heads
Bogen monopod
Rode NTG-1
Sony LCD sunshade for Ax2000 (overpriced, but I love this thing)
Patriot 16GB cards
Sennheiser headphones
Mac Pro, FCS
burning Blu-rays with an external enclosure and Pioneer 203 drive

Ian Holb · May 9th, 2010, 07:42 AM

2 Canon Rebel T2i
1 Canon HV20
Canon EF-S 17-55mm f2.8 IS USM
Canon EF 70-200mm f2.8L IS USM
Canon EF 100-300mm f4.5-5.6 USM
Rokinon 85mm f1.4
Sigma 30mm f1.4

Zoom H4N recorder
Sennheiser ME66 shotgun
Sennheiser Evolution wireless

Mac Pro (Early 2008) 8-core 2.8Ghz, 14GB RAM
Final Cut Studio 3

Tom Dickerson · May 9th, 2010, 08:12 AM

What I use now:
2 - Canon GL2's
1 - Panasonic PV GS300 (set real wide for that occasional cut away)
1 - Olympus Digital Voice Recorder
1 - Radio Shack wired lav mic
1 - Azden Shotgun mic
1- Rode Video Stereo mic
1 - Canon 50D for a few still shots to integrate into the final wedding video
Edit in Adobe Premiere Elements 4 on a 3.0 Ghz Pentium 4, Smart Sound and Digital Juice music libraries.

What I want to change to:

1 - Panasonic HMC40 (unless Canon comes out with an affordable prosumer model)
1 - Canon Rebel T2i
1 - H2 or H4N Digital Voice recorder
1 - Keep my Olympus Digital Voice Recorder
1 - Keep Radio Shack wired lav mic
1 - Audio Technica wired lav mic

Edit in Adobe Premiere 8 on a I5 Dell Studio w/23" monitor and perhaps add a bit to my music libraries.

For the limited number of weddings and short docs I do this setup will be fine. I also have a Smith Victor light kit (with 4 lights).

Will Tucker · May 9th, 2010, 11:09 AM

Main Cam: Sony Z5 (shoot in 30p)
(2) Canon HV30s (shoot in 30p)
UHF Lectrosonic Wirless Mic
UHF Sony Wirless mic
(5) I-River 700 and 800 series recorders
H2 Zoom
Sony LED light with light stick
Sony CF recorder for the Z5 w 4 16gig CF cards and 2 32gig CF cards

Monopods, tripids.

Adobe Premiere 4.0

I still have my 2 PD-150 cameras collecting duct in my closet. I just can't bring myself to get rid of them. They have come though in a pinch from time to time.

John Wiley · May 10th, 2010, 06:18 AM

Sony FX7 with beachtek XLR adaptor (main camera)
Sony SR1 (wide shot)
Panasonic GH-1 with Pentax 50mm f/1.7, Sigma 17-35 f/2.8-4 (Haven't used this on a wedding shoot yet but am super keen to. I've just been practicing and testing heaps so that when I do use it I'll be able to nail it every time!)
Sony UWP-V1 radio mic
Rode Videomic

Sony Vegas Pro 8
Adobe CS3 Master Collection (I only use Encore for weddings because I prefer to edit with Vegas and never need AE for weddings)
Intel Core i7 920 Workstation
Toshiba Core 2 Duo Laptop

Later this year I'll be hopefully be getting an NX5, or an HMC80 if I can't stretch for the NX5. My FX7 has been in the shop getting a back focus adjustment done so I've been renting a HVR-Z1 lately. I'm worried I'll go back to the FX7 and really feel the pain at dark recepions.

May 2nd, 2010, 05:28 PM	#1
Raji Ahmed Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 76	What is your Gear of Choice? Just curious what people here use for their main camcorder for weddings and events? And what software you use to edit? Would love to hear what your setup is like. Much appreciated as always.

May 3rd, 2010, 12:38 AM	#4
Nate Haustein Trustee Join Date: May 2007 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 1,313	Without question my favorite piece of gear is the Glidetrack slider. Other than that, XHA1 with Zoom H4n edited in FCP multi-cam. __________________ Nate Haustein PXW-FX9 / FCPX www.flightcreativemedia.com

May 3rd, 2010, 03:03 AM	#5
Taky Cheung Inner Circle Join Date: May 2007 Location: Los Angeles, USA Posts: 2,114	XH-A1s as main cam XH-A1 as B-roll HV30 on Merlin steadicam Comer 1800 LED light Rode shotgun mic Edit with Adobe CS4 and the Matrox RT.X2 add-on card. Export to DVD and Bluray using Encore CS4 Olympus voice recorder to record vows in ceremony I'm thinking of getting a Zoom H2 for all sound recording. __________________ LA Color Pros Blog RODE Authorized Reseller . Comer LED Camera Lights . TakyBox HTML5 Menu Generator

May 3rd, 2010, 12:38 PM	#6
Michael Clark Major Player Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Chattanooga, TN Posts: 244	My gear of choice or what I have? ;) I use Canon HV40s and edit in FCP7. __________________ www.clarkvideoproductions.com

May 3rd, 2010, 01:00 PM	#7
Adam Gold Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Woodinville, WA USA Posts: 3,467	We don't do weddings, but for Stage Events we use four Z5s with MRC1k recorders, plus a Zoom H4n for audio. For Sports Events we add two FX7s to the mix for their long tele lenses. We edit with Premiere CS3. Our editing workstation is an eight core (2 x Xeon Quad 5430) PC with 20 Gigs of RAM, 25 TB of RAIDed drives, and Vista 64. Will likely move up to CS5 when all the bugs are worked out and likely will upgrade to Win7 at that time as well. __________________ "It can only be attributable to human error... This sort of thing has cropped up before, and it has always been due to human error."

May 2nd, 2010, 09:49 PM	#2
Adam Haro Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Fresno, CA Posts: 171	We haven't switched to HD yet, not enough demand in my area yet. Our main cameras are a Panasonic DVC60 and a Canon GL2. We also have a JVC GY-DV300 for back-up. For detail and fun shots we use a Canon HV30 with a jag35 and I just picked up a Pentax K-X which will probably replace the HV30. We have 2 edit computers with Premiere.

May 2nd, 2010, 10:41 PM	#3
Hameed Aabid Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Virgo Supercluster Posts: 83	Canon XH A1s as main Canon HV30 as B-roll Zoom H4n audio recorder Edius 5 for editing and imaginate and After Effects for creating slideshows and photo montage

May 3rd, 2010, 03:43 PM	#8
Kren Barnes Major Player Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Winnipeg Manitoba Canada Posts: 415	2 Sony HD1000u 1 Sony SR-11 on steadicam Azden wireless pro audio Sony Memory stick duo digital voice recorder PremierePro CS3 Encore for DVD authoring

May 3rd, 2010, 04:51 PM	#9
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	2 x Panasonic HMC72 Shoulder Mount Cams (yes, I like Panasonic and shoulder mount cameras!!) 2 x Azden wireless lav mics 2 x Rode VideoMics on the cameras Edit on Sony Vegas 9 and author in Mediachance DVDLab I was previously shooting on DVC20's!! and didn't have to go to HD but couldn't find an SD Panasonic camera that suited me that was true 16:9 so made the leap of faith to SD cards and HD. However at present I just transcode the HD to SD before editing as there is also no demand for BluRay here at all!!

May 3rd, 2010, 05:07 PM	#10
Kelly Langerak Major Player Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Bay Area Posts: 522	2 Canon 7D's 1 Canon Vixia HF20 Manfrotto Monopod Miller Tripod Reception Lighting ( A must have!) Glidecam 4000 works with all of our cameras A slider would be next, but we don't have the time unless we have a 3rd videographer. I was scared to shoot with the 7D but now I LOVE IT! It does take getting use to thou.

May 8th, 2010, 11:14 PM	#11
Chad Whelan Major Player Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Deep River, Connecticut Posts: 261	Sony Z1U Sony Ax2000 NRG varilight Frezzi mini fill Sony LED light HVL-LBP Samson UM32 w/ sony ecm44 Samson UM1 w/ samson QL5 2 Bogen tripods w/501 heads Bogen monopod Rode NTG-1 Sony LCD sunshade for Ax2000 (overpriced, but I love this thing) Patriot 16GB cards Sennheiser headphones Mac Pro, FCS burning Blu-rays with an external enclosure and Pioneer 203 drive __________________ ___________________________ www.ChadWhelan.com

May 9th, 2010, 07:42 AM	#12
Ian Holb Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Canada Posts: 127	2 Canon Rebel T2i 1 Canon HV20 Canon EF-S 17-55mm f2.8 IS USM Canon EF 70-200mm f2.8L IS USM Canon EF 100-300mm f4.5-5.6 USM Rokinon 85mm f1.4 Sigma 30mm f1.4 Zoom H4N recorder Sennheiser ME66 shotgun Sennheiser Evolution wireless Mac Pro (Early 2008) 8-core 2.8Ghz, 14GB RAM Final Cut Studio 3

May 9th, 2010, 08:12 AM	#13
Tom Dickerson Regular Crew Join Date: May 2009 Location: Mesa, Arizona Posts: 86	What I use now: 2 - Canon GL2's 1 - Panasonic PV GS300 (set real wide for that occasional cut away) 1 - Olympus Digital Voice Recorder 1 - Radio Shack wired lav mic 1 - Azden Shotgun mic 1- Rode Video Stereo mic 1 - Canon 50D for a few still shots to integrate into the final wedding video Edit in Adobe Premiere Elements 4 on a 3.0 Ghz Pentium 4, Smart Sound and Digital Juice music libraries. What I want to change to: 1 - Panasonic HMC40 (unless Canon comes out with an affordable prosumer model) 1 - Canon Rebel T2i 1 - H2 or H4N Digital Voice recorder 1 - Keep my Olympus Digital Voice Recorder 1 - Keep Radio Shack wired lav mic 1 - Audio Technica wired lav mic Edit in Adobe Premiere 8 on a I5 Dell Studio w/23" monitor and perhaps add a bit to my music libraries. For the limited number of weddings and short docs I do this setup will be fine. I also have a Smith Victor light kit (with 4 lights). Last edited by Tom Dickerson; May 9th, 2010 at 08:20 AM. Reason: added info.

May 9th, 2010, 11:09 AM	#14
Will Tucker Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Fort Worth, Texas Posts: 51	Main Cam: Sony Z5 (shoot in 30p) (2) Canon HV30s (shoot in 30p) UHF Lectrosonic Wirless Mic UHF Sony Wirless mic (5) I-River 700 and 800 series recorders H2 Zoom Sony LED light with light stick Sony CF recorder for the Z5 w 4 16gig CF cards and 2 32gig CF cards Monopods, tripids. Adobe Premiere 4.0 I still have my 2 PD-150 cameras collecting duct in my closet. I just can't bring myself to get rid of them. They have come though in a pinch from time to time. __________________ Sony HVR-Z5, Sony PD-150, Canon HV30, Adobe Creative Suite 4

May 10th, 2010, 06:18 AM	#15
John Wiley Trustee Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Byron Bay, Australia Posts: 1,155	Sony FX7 with beachtek XLR adaptor (main camera) Sony SR1 (wide shot) Panasonic GH-1 with Pentax 50mm f/1.7, Sigma 17-35 f/2.8-4 (Haven't used this on a wedding shoot yet but am super keen to. I've just been practicing and testing heaps so that when I do use it I'll be able to nail it every time!) Sony UWP-V1 radio mic Rode Videomic Sony Vegas Pro 8 Adobe CS3 Master Collection (I only use Encore for weddings because I prefer to edit with Vegas and never need AE for weddings) Intel Core i7 920 Workstation Toshiba Core 2 Duo Laptop Later this year I'll be hopefully be getting an NX5, or an HMC80 if I can't stretch for the NX5. My FX7 has been in the shop getting a back focus adjustment done so I've been renting a HVR-Z1 lately. I'm worried I'll go back to the FX7 and really feel the pain at dark recepions.