Dustin

I think I'm gonna try doing more handheld this year or camera movement in general! Gonna try to do more with the strap for sure. I've seen those pistol grips that might be worth a shot too? Probably gonna get a cheap shoulder rig or something at some point. I see no point in buying a gimbal at the moment when my camera doesn't do autofocus great anyways.

So I have a d5300, besides using lenses with stabilization, what would you guys suggest for handheld shots? I already own a benro monopod. I have in the past used that as a ghetto steadicam on the shortest length. I also have tried using just my yongnuo flash to give the camera some weight with my strap around neck. So from here a couple questions: 1) Is it worth the money to get something like a ~$150 eBay shoulder rig, or the Roxant stabilizer? 2) Do I just need to practice my technique/utilize my monopod? 3) Without getting a gimbal would a shoulder rig or handheld stabilizer (Roxane) be help out for stabilizing moving footage? I own a tripod and a dolly wheel add-on.

Of course and I agree with you. But again right now, I'm not a FCPX guy, I'm in PP. I can't see myself switching anytime soon. And yes I understand higher specs can result in bad battery life but I'm used to this on my MBP anyways.. Also software/hardware optimization that macs have with MAC OS is one thing I would miss. In the recording field..I had a crappy mid range pc laptop that struggled until I switched to a mac. In some instances things on mac "just work".

Okay could you give examples?

Exactly. I have no issue paying a premium as long as I feel like I'm getting a premium. I get it prices go up, economies change, but just IMO apple just doesn't give you good specs for the money. Putting build quality aside it makes no sense that for under $1500 on a windows laptop I can get at least a UHD screen, 16gigs of ram, SSD drive and the latest i7 processors. Also decent graphics card. I love macs but for me I can't say for certain I will be purchasing one when mine eventually gives out/needs change

Update. I've basically been told to either take it to apple or buy another one since that video and over heating issue is common with the mid2012 retina. Hopefully it will keep humming on another year or so as I just don't have time to take it to apple as I use this for my 9-5 as well as side work. Like I said it's working but it's fate is apparently sealed

Wow. Well apparently Apple says my model is one made from 2011-2015 that may have issues with graphics card. The replacement is free but mine is out of warranty and it says its not qualified for any repair. Yet this ends in 2016. Link here. I run my footage from a usb 3.0 g tech drive. 1tb 7200rpm. My laptop runs hot all the time. Maybe I have a dud but I'm taking it to a shop to get looked at today. (They specialize in mac). Surely with the difference in my model and yours being 8gb that alone isn't responsible for how much better yours is running in Premiere Pro!

What kind of footage specifically are you working with? H264? ProRes? Raw? Also since yours is from the same year, does yours run very hot when editing video/photos? Or even watching YouTube videos?

Pardon my late night rant from yesterday. I had been dealing with Adobe Support for 2 hours over a simple issue in Photoshop that got sorted out. Turned out I just needed to rename preferences and upgrade to new version. Things run mostly smoothly here but even just editing 1080p video in Premiere Pro and doing very light color grading can sometimes make my computer sluggish. Really just switching to Lumetri panel bogs things down a bit regardless of resolution. I know it seems from what I've read FCPX and the new macbooks edit faster and while I wouldn't say I'm dependent on any particular software..My experiences with Adobe have been good for the past 3 years and I don't want to switch at the moment. I can see in the next 1-2 years I will be needing to either get a new laptop though. I hope it will be a mac as I LOVE mac os but it seems the PC realm definitely offers the most value if you are only looking at specs and not the whole ownership environment. This new macbook pro has most of the features I'd want in a replacement but isn't the graphics card a little weak? Also again its over $2k.

Guys I think my macbook could be on or nearing its last legs. It is a 2012 MBPR with the nvidia 650 and i7 as well as 8 gigs of ram and a 250gb ssd with a 1tb usb 3.0 drive. I leave the nvidia card on all the time per Adobe support's request as I was having trouble in premiere with it switching in between the two. Lately it has been glitching just while browsing the web and I'm hoping the graphics card isn't failing. I'm gonna take it to a local repair shop in town that specializes in macs and have them run some diagnostics ( the shop has excellent reviews in my area) but if worse comes to worse and I eventually need a new laptop, I'm torn which route to go. I would have to buy it on a card but I don't want to spend more than $1500 really I'd like to spend less. I'd like to get an i7, at least retina quality screen, ssd drive, 16gb ram and a good video card for editing. I've come to love my macbook and the apple ecosystem but it seems you get more tech for the money on Windows and I'm fairly good with computers. Also I'm running Premiere Pro not FCPX. Am I unrealistic in my price? EDIT-- I just realized I could run apple diagnostics and did so and said nothing wrong.. Also maybe it just needs a good internal clean? I must say since I got this computer ( it was a new refurb from apple) it runs very hot whereas my brothers macbook air doesn't run anywhere near as hot. Granted I do photo/graphic design/video editing on this but even while watching youtube videos it gets VERY hot.

This video looks soo good man. On the handheld technique...did you use a strap to balance it out with your neck or literally just hands close to the body? Or another method?

From what I read it's basically a much cheaper, full-fledged photo editor like Photoshop. If I ever got off the adobe suite I would probably get this.

I would go with the a6000 if it was just between those two options. You might want to consider used or ebay though, I think you could find a d5200 at least for that price. Maybe even a d5300. Or like Liam says a g6 would be nice too.

Oh nothings wrong with youtube...I was just a little pissy that I had to reupload videos from my hard drive rather than use google drive. (Maybe it's because I didn't have google drive installed on my computer but oh well!)

So it looks like in terms of cheap I will be using a YouTube account since I get unlimited uploads. I wish there was a way to embed videos from google drive but apparently that isn't possible. Lame. Not quite sure I will use Wordpress but I found a few cool looking sites on theme forest.

IDK how I missed your response. Great thread already. Apparently the awesome looking wix site I designed will be too expensive for me. Might go with Wordpress still as it may end up being cheaper...not sure yet!

Right that's what I figuered. I'm still trying to figure out the best option. I was thinking of using bluehost for their Wordpress integration as I've used them before...but I made a mock up site on Wix and their pre-made sites actually look exactly like I'm wanting already without having to do any work.

Well I guess if I want a .com domain and enough bandwidth for videos I will just have to pay $100 at one of these sites. Might go the Wordpress route as I've had a wordpress site last year.

Anyone?

I am at the point where I need to create a good portfolio website. I'd ideally like one with a very minimalist theme and the ability to either host or embed video content. I have viewed and started making pages on the following sites: wix, weebly, square space. Would it be best to buy a domain name from something like godaddy or should I buy from the website builders? Trying to do this on the cheap and keep costs around $20 for the year if that is possible!

Andrew I applaud your article. One of the reasons I've followed this blog/forum nearly daily for the past year or two is your style. In a way, you seem to be the Anthony Bourdain of the camera world (I mean that as a compliment). You aren't afraid to tell manufacturers here is why your camera sucks and what it needs. That constructive criticism is exactly what is needed in this industry. I applaud you sir.

I agree those are all really awesome to have. I cannot yet afford something of that caliber without taking out a loan. Yet I have to say, even with Sony color issues as they may be...Sony seems to really put a ton of features in their cameras. All those features are ones I'm wanting in my next camera upgrade. I already said in another thread how I am upgrading my lighting kit this year (from having nothing!) but in the distant future Sony definitely has my eye!

@Oliver Daniel Question for you...Is there a particular reason you currently favor an fs5 as opposed to the a7sii? I personally would like to someday own a camera that is in the video form factor if anything else, for the ability to go handheld without a rig. Would you say that the stabilizatiom we are seeing in the new cameras will soon/already make it possible to do solid handheld without a rig?

Got the H198 yesterday and my sony battery today. I must say...MAN THIS LITTLE GUY IS BRIGHT!! I can't wait to hopefully shoot some stuff this weekend and put it to use. Was supposed to get my 528S today but darn snow storm or something delayed it til Monday.

When I take out my Nikon d5300 to make videos or even take photos, I will hear probably 1 in 5 times, "Oh it's not a Canon" or "What are you shooting with, a Canon?".