Dustin

I think your rant was warranted dude. I feel this way alot about having to deal with ND filters/dual system audio etc. But I'm not able to afford something like a FS5 or anything close. And I like working on a budget so for the ultra low price of my dslr, I guess I just kind of accept the idea that this is NOT a video camera but rather a camera I am MODIFYING for video. Also maybe everything that could go wrong just went wrong that day. Either way. I totally understand your feelings man!

Appreciate it man! Like I said I'm planning this in stages but This is the first part. Got the small 198 today and the 528 isn't coming til Monday! Excited!

Ah those do look nice but yes I am taking this in multiple steps. I am getting a head start this year on some LED lights that I've already ordered...the 528S and the H198. Will be ordering a few more of the H198 but will then pickup either some lowel omni lights or the ones you mentioned! Also plan to make a few clamp lights at some point in the year. Appreciate the links! I had viewed the CAME-TV site but hadn't seen the red/yellow head lights.

So some people favor the 528s over the W. BH has already shipped...should I get a S and return the w? Is the 528W gonna be useless compared to the S? EDIT: Purchased the 528S. Will ship the W back. Hopefully I'll have some video with this and my setup soon for anyone else interested?

Admittedly I have experimented with grain all that much. Perhaps, I haven't figured out the best way to do it either. I know Lumteri in PP lets you add grain. Sorry if that doesn't help but I just don't have a need for it for my style. It's looked fine in Premiere the times I have used it.

As I await my order of two simple Aputure lights...This was a super cool interview I have to pass on! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHCUdXmshbw

Did you have to run this through something like neat video or is this straight and graded from the card? Love that Blackmagic look. Always looks very cinematic to me.

Thanks for that man! Well I couldn't resist BH low price on the Aputure 528 at the moment...$125 new! Here is what I went with to try...1 Aputure 528W, 1 Aputure AL-H198 and one of their Impact Air-Cushion stands. My plan is to put the 528 on the stand, put the 198 on a ball head/cheap tripod I never use. I will also pick up a reflector or make one. Also need to get some cheapo sony batteries but anyways...I'm pumped to finally be getting some lighting gear! When I get the money...I will definitely be looking at picking up some tungsten lights lowel/arri on the cheap as well! Can't hurt to have both in my kit.

That looks really awesome but is a bit out of my budget for now. Anyone used the Yongnuo YN 300 mkiii? At 60 bucks it might be useful for something...

Thanks man! Yeah IDK with what I've seen apparently Aputure has improved most of their lights to 95CRI+. I'm looking at the 528W which is on sale for $125. I was going to wait until after the new year but maybe I will pick up a cheapo $50 light or two for fun see what I can come up with. Then figure this all out after the new year!

Dude those are really cheap and def budget friendly! What bulbs do I need for them? Links? Edit: all the reviews I've found are horrible?

Nice! Any specific models you'd recommend? For my situation would you rather spend around 5-600 or more for some Aputure lights or find some lowel type lights for under 400? Or mixed?

Anyone else have suggestions on LED/Fluroescent/Tungsten kits or set of new/used lights around 300-600?

Are there any issues in mixing say a Lowell Omni type light with a DIY Clamp light and/or LED Lights. Like I'm probably gonna get that Aputure 198 light and/or one of those lights in Caleb's under $50 video simply because they are so cheap.

Would something like this Lowell Omni kit do the trick? I've realized eBay has alot of these lights individually or as a kit. Kit Link Here

Additionally if anyone has any links or suggestions for other lighting kits like a Lowell Omni or others link and suggest away!

I know cheap and quality don't usually go hand in hand but I am looking to get my lighting setup started this year. I have a budget that I'm hoping would be around $4-500 not including stands, but ideally I'd like to be under that. I normally shoot interview type films, documentary, and occasional short narratives. I am thinking perhaps of starting with 2 bigger (at least iPad size) LED panels and one smaller led panel. On the bigger panels I know aputure makes a wide variety as well as others. For the smaller one I was thinking of getting the aputure al198 (the $50 one), for a hair light as I could probably grab two of those. I know DSLRVideoshooter just did a review with small led lights under $50 but some of these or all have their faults. I've also seen on film riot making a cheap clamp light so I thought maybe I could swing a couple of those. I like LEDS because they don't get hot but I know on the cheaper end I can run into noise issues/Low cri/ magenta/green tints etc. so does anyone have any suggestions for a good quality, high cri light setup?

It really varies. I would say more often than not, documentary, event, and narrative. I like the idea of having multiple cameras for the job. I do this with my 35mm film cameras. I have an olympus om2n that is my baby with a 50mm lens. Then I have a nikon from the 80s with autofocus and a 2.8 35mm lens but not exposure controls and is great for fun shooting. Might do the same to my video cameras some day

I was just shooting christmas stuff around the house last night and got inspired simply because it was very easy to get an actually decent image just off the bat. Again like those earlier said story is king. I am going to invest in some lighting gear and support gear this year. This camera game is very interesting though. As a parallel example take Guitars for instance. This is from my experience in years of playing. Take 2 guitars- a $400 takamine and a $1500 Martin. Yes the $400 Takamine acoustic is a perfectly capable, decent instrument. It will sound pretty darn good, you can set it up to play how you like, it will do the job fine. But eventually, you will start noticing the little details like maybe the sound while great could be a bit more full, and well rounded. Maybe the frets are a little rougher than you'd like, and the neck profile is thin, resulting in your hands cramping ever so slightly at times. Maybe, the acoustic preamp sounds a little tinny. Its only when you realize for what you play you've outgrown the instrument and actually need a better acoustic, the $1500 martin. Sure you don't NEED it, but it makes what you do easier and provides a playing experience the $400 Takamine simply cannot. Cameras are interesting because while a 3k Sony A7S etc. may provide 120FPS, 4k, S-LOG, all features you will not find in a $400-600 Nikon/Canon, you can't like the guitar say you NEED these features because it depends on the project/situation. So in the guitar case its kind of a natural progression for many people start cheap, change tastes/styles eventually upgrade to the expensive guitar. With cameras you MAY need a RED Epic for a project but the $400 used Nikon camera on the shelf at the local shop might also be all you need. Its very interesting I think!

haha thanks guys for all this! YES I'm assuming you guys have all seen Jon Olsen (I think I got that right) 8k vlogs. Like I appreciate it in a way but at the same time no thanks! I apologize if this was a personal rant and I feel like I just vomitted a bunch of thoughts into a big paragraph. But THAT said, my goals are to just keep shooting. I've been on a kick for a couple weeks now where I'll try a personal project a week. It doesn't even have to be planned but just for me having that goal/loose deadline pushes me to create SOMETHING. Also keeps my mind off of GAS. Sure it would be nice to have a 10bit camera with RAW but again as everyone knows these are just tools. Looking forward to another year of filmmaking with my favorite website!

Does anyone else feel just plain overwelmed by the choices we have in camera gear? I consider myself an intermediate level filmmaker. I have the basics down and at this point am trying to advance my skill set but I feel at times bombarded by the need to upgrade my camera/lens etc! I have been told by local film groups and companies I have a great eye and just need to put out more work. My very humble kit as an adult with a 9-5 and student debt consists of a Nikon d5300, a tamron 17-50 2.8, 28mm 2.8 (e series Nikon) and a 50mm 1.8 I have access too. I have a benro monopod that needs tightening and doesn't really work as well as an old tripod that will hold the camera steady. My audio gear consists of a tascam dr07mkii, and a (actually very decent sounding) $20 lav. As I'm a musician and into audio recording I also own a focusrite Scarlett 2i4 along with a condenser mic. I own no lighting gear. My rant ends at this: I have access to a 24p/60p 1080p camera. I have a decent lens, not a canon cinema glass but it will get the job done. Yet I constantly feel like I need to drop 5k and get the newest sony/canon/Panasonic XHZ and a ronin or 5axis stabilizer. Perhaps I should better spend money on upgrading my lights/rig/audio this year. My goal this year is to actually work on some shit and perfect my craft. Invest in stuff that will matter and when all that is done and I'm thriving with what I have, look at the camera game then. Rant over Would anyone be interested in a monthly film Challenge? Just to force the creative juices to flow and actually put something out?

So I noticed Cinema5d has a preliminary review on the camera. Upon reading up on it and from this thread my thoughts are this. I understand the small form factor of the camera but why in the world would I want to buy a camera that that has a heat issue and the manufacturer knowingly issues the camera with a workaround mode. This doesn't solve the problem. I haven't used this or the a6300 but if I'm spending my money, I want something that will work where I won't have to worry about burning my hands. While I love what I've seen from Andrew's new profile for Sony cameras, so far I'm not sure I can justify purchasing a sony in the future. Unless this heat thing is overrated? (I realize this probably depends on shooting style/environment conditions on set etc.).

Yup typically I just go to 1/2 playback. Maybe I'll try the new proxy workflow in 2017 soon enough.

What is the thoughts on this as of Dec. 2016? I'm still using an old d5300 on Premiere Pro CC 2015. I don't have the latest update with Proxy workflow but I do have the Lumetri Color panel upgrade which was huge! My computer is currently a 2012 MBPR with an i7 and 8 gigs of ram. I edit on a USB3 drive typically. I usually have no issues editing my projects which range from 30 seconds to up to 15 minutes with my typical work but when using Lumetri my computer struggles. Would transcoding to prores help the overall session speed and would I lose much of anything? Can anyone point me to articles/threads where this was RECENTLY discussed? Apologize if I'm bringing an old topic up and simply need to look a little harder. Can Adobe Media Encoder transcode to ProRes?

To all those using Nikon..whos using a flat/nikon flat profile or are you guys just using standard/vivid profiles? I tend to shoot on Standard but sometimes I'll mess around with Vivid or Portrait which I find in combination with various fluorescent light WB settings can help when filming in mixed light to get a good out of camera picture. I do mess around with Flaat 11 and Cineflat but TBH unless I'm shooting outdoors or with plenty of light I don't mess around too much with Flat profiles. I shoot on a d5300 which did away with the fpn from the sensor (D5200 big issue) but doesn't have the nikon flat profile.