Dustin Posted December 10, 2016 Share Posted December 10, 2016 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? Liam, kaylee, Cinegain and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liam Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 Yeah, I'm blessed to not have enough money to upgrade ever. Also reminded myself the other day that my interest in gear is just a side effect, was never the point. Now I know how to use a camera, so I'll be a lot more prepared when I have a film ready, and my camera has done great things in good hands, so I'm done seeing any point in upgrading to a way more expensive, barely more capable camera with a new learning curve. A monthly film challenge would be really cool, but I don't think my mind works that way Cinegain and Dustin 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfoot Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 Keep working out your craft - invest in yourself, in projects that matter to you, build up your portfolio. That's it Getting better gear is only one step further of making up excuses... What kind of video would you see youself doing ultimatly? When I was going in school for tv production, we would create all kind of video just to find our style, our way. And we would also participate to every contest possible... Overall me and my roomate got over 5000$ in various prizes in thoses 3 years. It's great to pay back a bit of gear too and a great motivator. I don't even need to talk about the learning aspect of it ! Cinegain, Dustin and Orangenz 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinegain Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 Doesn't sound like you're actually overwhelmed by all the gear out there itself. Sounds more like you're 'tempted' or 'feel pushed' to get something you don't really need (/actually have the financial means for). In that case... club it down before it has a chance to evolve into something worse. Bunch of us suffer from G.A.S. otherwise known as the Gear Acquisition Syndrome, wouldn't know much about it, I believe it's the never ending or satisfying quest for the latest and greatest ... (yeah, about that... don't forget... the first stage is denial ). Just use whatever you have lying around. Don't ask yourself the question 'what if..?'... 'that must surely make me a better filmmaker'... a better camera makes for a better camera... that's it. That's all. See, that actually doesn't make a better filmmaker and doesn't make a better film either. It's more about the vision and experience you have. So focus on those things instead. Surely, you might hit a plateau where you've exhausted the potential of your gear and you need some new firewood to keep the fire going. New gear opens up some new creative freedom and possibilities. But you've got to have a need (and financial means or prospects) for it first. Imagine a first time DSLR shooter... they could get a full kit of expensive lenses, but there's nothing wrong with letting them explore the 18-55mm kitlens first. They will soon realize... 'oh, I'm shooting a lot of land-/cityscapes/astro starry skies... I'm using the wide range a lot'... or 'I love taking portraits' or 'I get noisy images in lowlight'. By USING the gear they have (not by comparing it online to specs of other gear) they notice what's lacking in their arsenal of tools and where there's room for improvement that would really make a change for them personally. I leave you with this... (this kid might have a better attitude than a bunch of us combined ) Liam, bigfoot, Dustin and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbp Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 It's good and bad. On one hand, there's an overwhelming amount of choices, as you said. On the other hand, even the crappiest are still pretty good at this point, so it's hard to wind up with anything junky. Most halfway decent lenses and cameras can make pretty good looking stuff these days. I make my living at this full time and I feel like I have 1/10th of the gear that half of the people on forums like these have. Sometimes it's people who don't even work in the industry, it's just hobby for them, and they *still* have piles of gear. Gear is nice but you don't need nearly as much as people will make you think, and improving your craft will go way further. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webrunner5 Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 I have to agree. Unless you are shooting 4k nearly any camera made in the last 4 to 5 years can make a great movie if you are skilled I don't care what the price. And if you want 4k cheap buy a Panasonic G7. Its what's between your ears, not in front of them, that make good film making. Stanley, Davey and Dustin 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cary Knoop Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 1 hour ago, webrunner5 said: And if you want 4k cheap buy a Panasonic G7. Agreed, although the GX80/85 is currently discounted heavily and has in my opinion a better color than the G7 and has no time limitations (in the NTSC region) so that may be a good alternative. Here are some shots made by the G7: Novim, mercer, Orangenz and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liam Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 12 minutes ago, Cary Knoop said: Agreed, although the GX80/85 is currently discounted heavily and has in my opinion a better color than the G7 and has no time limitations (in the NTSC region) so that may be a good alternative. Or get both! Aaaaaand we arrived at the opposite of the point of the thread Dustin, mercer, noone and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davey Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 1 hour ago, webrunner5 said: I have to agree. Unless you are shooting 4k nearly any camera made in the last 4 to 5 years can make a great movie if you are skilled I don't care what the price. And if you want 4k cheap buy a Panasonic G7. Its what's between your ears, not in front of them, that make good film making. OP - put this on your fridge and keep it there before somebody talks you into buying a Red Weapon 8K for b-roll or some other ridiculous thing. Dustin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Posted December 11, 2016 Author Share Posted December 11, 2016 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! Davey 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercer Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 1 hour ago, Cary Knoop said: Agreed, although the GX80/85 is currently discounted heavily and has in my opinion a better color than the G7 and has no time limitations (in the NTSC region) so that may be a good alternative. Here are some shots made by the G7: Nice work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfoot Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 2 hours ago, Dustin said: 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 saw that hahah ! I find them soooo boring to watch or listen... can't even go through one video without switching, way too long. They are kind of pointless for what I saw, sure Olsson is an athlete but damnnnn, so many pointless small talk with super duper rich dummy guys, a bunch of chicks, surfing or ski, boring travelling/life choices, small talk, repeat. Would like to try that Lambo for a winter spin though ... ! ! ! Or see him teach kids around how to get better at core principe for sport action - training - eat well - training - repeat ___ I like Chase Jarvis for inspirational vlogs; the one who started "the best camera is the one you have with you" Anyway, life is a cycle, the wheel haven't yet to be re-invented... We see a lot of retro 480p stuff, cheapo green screen, cheesy overlay theses days getting a ton of attention. Just have fun and create Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercer Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 Maybe a company will kickstart a 480p raw camera. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Wake Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 lol http://nofilmschool.com/2016/12/can-you-tell-which-video-was-shot-50k-red-weapon-and-iphone-7-plus Dustin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axel Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 10 hours ago, Dustin said: Would anyone be interested in a monthly film Challenge? Just to force the creative juices to flow and actually put something out? Yes. Didn't meet the deadlines of former competitions, but the challenge was refreshing nonetheless. You could start a new thread. Suggestions for a fictional/narrative theme: recently ... Or for a doc: The unknown ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Wake Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 the question is when Iphone will shoot 10 bit 8K will we sell our gear to buy Iphone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vesku Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 4 hours ago, Cary Knoop said: Agreed, although the GX80/85 is currently discounted heavily and has in my opinion a better color than the G7 and has no time limitations (in the NTSC region) so that may be a good alternative. Here are some shots made by the G7: Beautiful images and places. Why overexposure and clipped highlights in many clips? Is there problems in G7 dynamic range? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfoot Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 3 hours ago, mercer said: Maybe a company will kickstart a 480p raw camera. Casio is pushing a 1.37mp action cam that woudnt be suprising! Haha Anyway a canon 7d used is 500$ and you can upscale the raw video up to 2555x1437 without much lost of quality (or most viewer noticing) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercer Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 5 hours ago, Vesku said: Beautiful images and places. Why overexposure and clipped highlights in many clips? Is there problems in G7 dynamic range? Sometimes, when you shoot wide and you want to nail exposure on your subject, you decide to let the sky, or something else, run a little hot. webrunner5 and Stanley 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webrunner5 Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 55 minutes ago, mercer said: Sometimes, when you shoot wide and you want to nail exposure on your subject, you decide to let the sky, or something else, run a little hot. Yeah the G7 is not a DR king for sure. And low light is pretty poor also. You are not getting an Arri for 400 bucks LoL. But for the average audience they probably will never notice the difference truth be known. Porn films come to mind now on Digital or 60 years ago on 8mm. Nobody was looking at the films from an artistic viewpoint, they were looking at the content LoL! Good material wins over great film making any day. Now if you have both that is called a smash hit Oscar winning movie. Hard to do that. mercer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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