how much gear is too much?

[Chris Harding]

Hey Don

Now that is a monster!! I do really like using a grab 'n shoot camera and all up the HMC82's with the ENG rig (which takes the load off the front of the cam via a waist belt) and a dual receiver, Rode mic and LED light barely makes up 8lbs which is a lot better than 22lbs... apart from ceremony and speeches I can get away with all handhelds too which I just couldn't do with a small form camera (if I for instance, went down to the HMC40) With the front end supported by the waist belt and spring loaded rod of the rig there is virtually no weight you have to carry and it basically sits on your shoulder!!

However the form factor is still BIG so you still can't toss two cams into a camera bag which is a distinct disadvantage moving from venue to venue. I dunno if you remember way back in the 80's JVC had a Saticon tube camera (quite tiny) and a matching VHSC recorder and they both clipped into a shoulder mount P3 frame so it ended up as a full size camera ..of course you still had to fiddle around clipping in the camera and then the recorder and lock them all together BUT at the end of filming you could pull everything apart and toss it in a camera bag.

I will probably do some intensive DIY with 3/4" aluminium square tube at the weekend and see if I can fabricate a frame that will hold all my gear!!! If it works I will post a few pics...if there are no pics then you know it was a dismal failure!!!

Chris

[Michael Simons]

Originally Posted by Corey Graham

I shot a ton of weddings from circa 1995-2003, and for the most part hated it. Two giant shoulder-mount cameras in hard cases (you had to wheel each around), two extremely heavy tripods, multiple battery belts and power supplies with all the related cords . . . it was hellish.

But now that all the equipment is a fraction of the size and weight, shooting weddings is fun again. I'm in it to be creative, not for excessive manual labor :)

I started in '92 and the camera's didn't even hold the tape. I had to carry a seperate record deck.

[Don Bloom]

Chris, I still have my ENG rig from DVTec and I agree, it worked like gangbusters. I don't remember that particular camera but then sometimes I don't remember my wifes name either so....

Michael, I DO remember the recording deck. Had to love it (not). Limited by the length of your extension cord. Oh well, everyone and everything has to start somewhere.
Honestly one of my all time favorite cameras was the JVCX2B. Loved 'em. Sold them sometime ago for scrap. Let technology continue up up and away!

O|O
\--/

[Adam Haro]

For weddings we have 2 shooters. Each shooter can carry what he needs in 1 trip. Rig 1 is a Pana HMC40 in a varizoom case which also holds the audio equipment and LED light and a second bag with the camera tripod and light tripod. Rig 2 is a Pana HMC70 in a case with audio + LED light and a another case with a tripod and light stand. There is also a small backpack case that holds the Canon T3i and lenses.
Two people can handle all the gear in 1 trip.

[Corey Graham]

Originally Posted by Michael Simons

I started in '92 and the camera's didn't even hold the tape. I had to carry a seperate record deck.

What kind of cameras were you using? Betacam?

[Chris Hurd]

Originally Posted by Michael Simons

I started in '92 and the camera's didn't even hold the tape. I had to carry a seperate record deck.

Same here! I shot my first wedding in 1991 with a Panasonic 200CLE cabled to
a Sony BVU-110 U-matic deck. What a workout that was. Then I switched to Hi-8.
Camera + recorder = camcorder, what a concept, and a complete game-changer
at the time.