Suggestions on Equipment for a start up

[Garrett Low]

I don't shoot weddings but for how I would imagine shooting one I don't think having a 70mm as your longest focal length would be enough.

[James Manford]

Originally Posted by Nigel Barker

Those look like the 8 LED version of the 6 LED 5010As that we use (thanks to the tip from Chris Harding). The 5010As are much brighter than the 160 LED lights also available at around the same price so I guess that these would be really bright. They run for a good hour or so on clone Sony camcorder batteries.

I only mentioned hot lights because I thought that James recommended the OP get them.

Yes ... just watch Asian/muslim weddings on Youtube to understand why red heads are better than LEDs.

I have only ever been hired to cover the RECEPTION / WEDDING party of a muslim wedding.

But usually they have a Mehndi Ceremony where you'll have family doing full on bollywood style dance routines etc prior to the wedding/reception day.

Times like mehndi, you can't light the dance area with LEDS ... you need a permanent form of lighting. So redheads would be the most efficient thing to do the job to be honest.

We still need to hear back from the OP as i'm answering and recommending based on assumptions.

[Robert Benda]

Why the T4i? I'd suggest either the T3i to save, or the T5i since it fixed some more issues with the T4i.
If you want full frame, a mark ii can be had for around $1200-$1400 (including on this site).

I notice you don't have primes on your list. I use two or three all the time, along with
zoom: either a 28-135mm or a 70-200mm
Primes, I use the 50mm f/1.8 ($100). or a 35mm f/2 ($300-$400) are great for low light.
For a nice wide shot, I'm fond of the Rokinon 14mm ($350ish)
Good audio is so important, a respectable on camera mic like the Rode, and one or two external recorders, like Tascams.
Portable light like a shoe mounted LED

[Nigel Barker]

Originally Posted by James Manford

But usually they have a Mehndi Ceremony where you'll have family doing full on bollywood style dance routines etc prior to the wedding/reception day.

Times like mehndi, you can't light the dance area with LEDS ... you need a permanent form of lighting. So redheads would be the most efficient thing to do the job to be honest.

Those 5010A or 5080 LED lights chuck out plenty of light if you have the right camera. As the 5D3 can shoot by candlelight even if they were dancing in near total darkness a couple of those LEDs will lift the light levels enough without the danger of 800W tungsten lights.

[Andrew Maclaurin]

I have a sigma 50-150 2.8 but I never use it. I mainly use the tamron 17-50 2.8, canon 50 1.8 and a sigma 30 1.4 which I got on sale last week for 320 €. Having a 1.4 lens in your bag really makes a difference. I had to shoot a dance in almost no light and the 1.4 saved the day as even the 1.8 was struggling. I have found that I prefer wide lenses in situations which are more chaotic and I only use the 50 (or my photographer's 85 1.8) when things are calmer. I also shoot alone so I don't like to be changing lenses all the time incase I miss something

[Shahzad Mian]

Originally Posted by James Manford

"I wouldn't bother upgrading to the 5D MK3 ... what's the point?

My main reason of upgrading to 5D MK3 is to have less noise in high iso(i will like to have natural light in footage and this way i can set up shots quickly), no moire(am fed up of it, specially in 720p 50/60fps) and the timecode to sync up multicam footage.

Originally Posted by Adrian Tan

"That said, I'd add some sort of lapel microphone to your list if you don't already have one. Sennheiser or Sony wireless, or something like Tram TR50 plus Roland R-05 to place in a groom's pocket. Would also add something like a Shure SM58 dynamic microphone for placing up against speakers.

Well we don't have any vows in our weddings so i wont be need any wireless mic. For the mic against speaker i think i can place my zoom h4n there and record sound through its own mic.

Originally Posted by James Manford

When some ones parting with £1000+ to hire you for the day, they not only expect a good video but for you to look the part. And turning up with DSLR's just doesn't look that great.
And this guy resides in Pakistan, families in Asia always try and show off their wealth i.e. how much money they've spent sending their children off in to married life. They always like to send off their children in style (explains all the expensive gold & hired cars you see in asian weddings here in London) ... which is probably even more reason to not waste any money in the 5D3. If anything, buy yourself a Sony FS100 if you really want to upgrade.

About looking the part that's not a major concern as here you get a lot of unwanted attention from people when you are shooting so the less you are visible the better it is and beside you can put on a shoulder rig with matte box and follow focus etc on your cam and it will definitely look the part :)

[Shahzad Mian]

Originally Posted by Daniel Latimer

You can also rent gear as you need it. Especially when you are first starting out and may not have the income from weddings to support purchasing gear. It also gives you the option to try out gear without destroying your budget.

Unfortunately we don't have much gear renting services here and the ones available are big studios and they charge pretty high for it to be a viable option for me.

[Shahzad Mian]

Originally Posted by James Manford

Yes ... just watch Asian/muslim weddings on Youtube to understand why red heads are better than LEDs. Times like mehndi, you can't light the dance area with LEDS ... you need a permanent form of lighting. So redheads would be the most efficient thing to do the job to be honest.

I do have 4 of those red head tungsten lights with me but they are all 1000w and i cant find any lower watt bulb here :/ so i don't usually use them much cause they are a pain in the u know where :P The reason i am getting those Switronix TorchLED Bolt led's is cause i can tune in color temperature and match it with my environment and they have a strong throw as well.

[Shahzad Mian]

Originally Posted by Robert Benda

Why the T4i? I'd suggest either the T3i to save, or the T5i since it fixed some more issues with the T4i.
If you want full frame, a mark ii can be had for around $1200-$1400 (including on this site).

I notice you don't have primes on your list. I use two or three all the time, along with
zoom: either a 28-135mm or a 70-200mm
Primes, I use the 50mm f/1.8 ($100). or a 35mm f/2 ($300-$400) are great for low light.
For a nice wide shot, I'm fond of the Rokinon 14mm ($350ish)
Good audio is so important, a respectable on camera mic like the Rode, and one or two external recorders, like Tascams.
Portable light like a shoe mounted LED

I am assuming you haven't read my first post completely. I do have Rokinon 35mm 1.4 and a Tokina 11-16mm 2.8 for wide use. Also i mentioned purchasing the rode mics and an on-cam led's as well.
About the T4i and not T5i or T3i, well not T5i cause its more expensive here and nothing much changed from T4i and for no T3i cause i get a 29min multiple file record time on the T4i. here in our country the T4i is priced around 600$, the T3i is around 550$ and T5i is around 700$ for bodies only.

[Adrian Tan]

Originally Posted by Shahzad Mian

Well we don't have any vows in our weddings so i wont be need any wireless mic. For the mic against speaker i think i can place my zoom h4n there and record sound through its own mic.

Shahzad, maybe no vows, but I bet you do have a priest (or more than one priest) who does a lot of talking! Does he need to be miked up?

All this stuff on "to spend or not to spend" is at the end of the day pretty subjective, I have to admit. Can you "get by" with on-camera sound for ceremony and a Zoom's internal microphones for speakers? Well, people have disagreed with me on this point before, but I do think it's your personal taste as to what you consider "acceptable" or "good enough" sound.

[Shahzad Mian]

Originally Posted by Adrian Tan

Shahzad, maybe no vows, but I bet you do have a priest (or more than one priest) who does a lot of talking! Does he need to be miked up?

All this stuff on "to spend or not to spend" is at the end of the day pretty subjective, I have to admit. Can you "get by" with on-camera sound for ceremony and a Zoom's internal microphones for speakers? Well, people have disagreed with me on this point before, but I do think it's your personal taste as to what you consider "acceptable" or "good enough" sound.

hmmm yup we do have a priest who do take vows from the bride and groom separately like in different rooms, i shouldn't have mentioned no vows in earlier post though. Anyways don't u think the Rode Videomic's on cam will sound good enough or do i need to hook them up with couple of lavaliers which do remember will be intrusive specially in the case of the bride. On the H4n against speakers, i will look into getting the Shure SM58's if they sound much better and beside i will have 1 direct input from the dj system into my H4n as well.
Right now i am looking to cover my bases and have a balanced set of equipment and will for sure be getting more stuff soon enough.