Hi,
what's your mx500 equipment, microphone, lens, hood, and more...I would to say so I can compare mine with yours, maybe some accessories are unknow for me, let's start:

i have the mx500 (trying to find a hood :-( )
A shure c606 microphone when I have to shot dialogue scene
And a "few euros" tripos (it does not allow me to do panoramic, the head doesn't have a fluid movement)

and you?

For my MX300 this is my list:

3, "2-hour" batteries (good for 1 hour) UV, polarizer, several Cokin filters Manfrotto 128RC head / 055pro legs Apex 191 mic / Senn MZS6 shock-mount for hot-shoe cleaning cassette spare miniDV tape Lowepro Nova 5 soft case DV CaddieCome on, people, give it up.

manfrotto sort of smooth tripod
quickstream dv drive
hollywood lite steadycam
two big batteries
japanese waterproof suba case for swimming in rivers
raynox 5000, i like it so much it sleeps under my pillow
tiffen dv filter pack
azden smx-2 shotgun
hip pack that always has my canon digital rebel also, ready 2 go...
liquid edition for rescuing much of my film :-)

what i am missing is .....

a sunny / hazy day filter that allows me to achieve deep, good color saturaton on a foreground person, whilst also capturing the saturated colors in mountains / sky several miles distant.

i ge the foreground ok, but these beautiful skys and mountains consistantly look well laundered and faded ...........

i have tried both tiffen and pentax uv filters, no luck ....

Uh, I'm very poor....

Ah what's "Apex 191 mic / Senn MZS6 shock-mount for hot-shoe"?
I don't know, it's a microphone right? It's bettere than a classic microphone with cable?have you a link with price, carateristic...ecc.?

Uao, a professional equipment....

See this thread about the Sennheiser MZS6 shock mount:http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=22417 (It won't break the bank - $50 Canadian.)

See this link for the Apex 191 cardioid mic: http://www.apexelectronics.com

(Which also won't break the bank - $99 Canadian.)

You will need an XLR to 1/8" adaptor/cable, and you'll want a sock for the mic.

Emmet says "raynox 5000, i like it so much it sleeps under my pillow".

Whoaaa... How do you sleep comfortably ?? Don't do it man, you will hurt your neck !! ;-)

My list:

Raynox HD5000 WA lens (it sleeps alone)

43 MM Rubber lens hood (seems to work well when I'm not using the Raynox - no vignetting) http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=116974&is=REG

Panasonic 256 MB SD card

Panasonic AY-DVMCLA Mini-DV Cleaning Tape

Panasonic CGR-D28 Lithium-Ion Battery Pack (7.2v, 2800mAh)

B+W 43mm UV Haze 010 (MRC) Multi-Resistant Coating Glass Filter

Tiffen 43 mm Polarizer Filter

I need to get a Tripod one of these days

fit it between your shoulder and neck, plus u get wide angle dreams:-)

anyone want to solve my landscape problem .... ?

"anyone want to solve my landscape problem.... ?"

You mean this:a sunny / hazy day filter that allows me to achieve deep, good color saturaton on a foreground person, whilst also capturing the saturated colors in mountains / sky several miles distant...i get the foreground ok, but these beautiful skys and mountains consistantly look well laundered and faded...i have tried both tiffen and pentax uv filters, no luck .That's a DOF and white balance problem. With infinity, you'll get the background focused, but you have to also white balance that background.

that's what i was wondering about ..... i have printed out one of these blue warm cards... i'm going to see if that helps ...

i saw a nice documentary last night of a woman training for everest in a lush coastal landscape - brilliant foreground colors on her tent & clothes, deep saturation miles distant..... that's what i am after. can't figure out how they do it. (besides having anexpensive broadcast camera of course ....)

You should be able to get that kind of footage with the MX500. The resolution and the color saturation is there. It's a very capable cam.

PS: I put my friend, Buck, under my pillow at night. Buck model #119...and my wife now sleeps on the couch. :-))

That's totally funny Frank because the #119 (100th anniversary edition) sleeps beside my pillow at night.

My kit is a gs100K with no accessories as of yet...
I will get the senn k6/me64 w/ the at8415 shock mount when i finally get audio gear tho.

edit: How's the 191? I really need to upgrade the standard mic on my gs100 and i might not be able to afford the senn for a while.

That shock mount is better than the beyer 86?

I haven't used the Apex 191 yet. Bryan Beas sent me an XLR to 1/8" adaptor, which hasn't arrived yet. Yes, that Senn shock-mount is a lot better. See what I thought about the Beyerdynamic EA86 here:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=22085

Emmet,
Have you tried a polarizing filter?

Speaking of polarizers, I can't get my polarizer to work right on my DVL9500's because I can't see anything! Thanks to their low resolution LCD and viewfinder. On the other hand, my MX300's screens are high resolution so I can actually see when the glare is blocked when I rotate the polarizer.

might just be an exposure thing... is there more or less light on your foreground subject... next time you get the conditons you want go out and play around with f-stops... try going one and then two stops down from 80% zebra;s.... then go one or two up... compare the footage and see if it makes a difference...

Just my two cents...

Cheers

Since we are in the mood for measuring equipment, and Frank has posted on the MX300, I'll join in with my MX350:

* MX350
* 3 x 2.5hr batteries (1 Panasonic, 2 brandless)
* 43mm to 52mm adaptor ring
* 52mm to 55mm adaptor ring
* Azden 990 mic
* 55mm UV(0) filter
* Video light (brandless, lasts 15 mins)
* Home made stabilizer
* 64MB MMC (not used currently, photos from the MX350 craps)

Below shared with my Fuji S602zoom digital camera:
* 55mm CIR-PL filter
* 55mm Graduated grey filter
* 55mm ND+4 filter
* 55mm cross star filter
* 55mm Close-up +4 filter
* 55mm infra-red filter (yes, this works on the MX350)
* Hoya rubber hood for 55mm
* Fuji's 0.8x wide angle convertor (55mm mount)
* Fuji's 1.5x tele convertor (55mm mount)
* Slik U9000 tripod
* Velbon quick release for tripod
* Mini tripod (brandless)
* Lowepro Specialist 80AW waist pouch/sling bag
* Lowepro Sideline Shooter waist pouch
* Tatonka bag
* Ziploc bags (for rain)
* Digi-cabi 30L dry cabinet
* Blue/green screen fabrics

Editing on a Powerbook G3 400MHz 256MB RAM or an Athlon 800MHz 512MB RAM machine. On the Mac, iMovie and Final-Cut-Pro, on PC Premiere. All compression (e.g. to VCD, DVD, WMA) done on PC.

I make an extra few hundred bucks (US$) a month with this set up.

thanks for the advice guys, keep it coming. foreground is correctly exposed, backround hazy without color or detail. I have tried my polarizer but it's not solving it either. That might be my lack of skill with it - it's the circular type and i can't reall see any differences when i rotate it ....

i'll try both that and the zebras agan today ...

That's a lot of stuff, Yow. Did I mention I have 2 soft bags? They're the Lowepro Nova 5 and Lowepro Vidcam 2. I especially like the Nova 5, even my new mic fits inside! foreground is correctly exposed, backround hazy without color or detail. I have tried my polarizer but it's not solving it either. That might be my lack of skill with it - it's the circular type and i can't recall see any differences when i rotate it...i'll try both that and the zebras agan today.Look carefully as you slowly rotate the polarizer. Look for glare, and keep your eye on the glare while you slowly rotate the polarizer. Once the glare is gone, you'll know that you rotated to the correct position. Try to avoid shooting into a light source, instead, position yourself so that the source is behind you or off to a good rearward angle. A big Hoya lens hood will also help with blocking unwanted light from the sides. I found that the stock MX300 lens hood isn't so good---too short---so I got a Hoya for it. B+W hoods are great too (but pricey).

i also have a mx-500 with a JVC supercardoid shotgun mic and a no name 2x converter mentioned in another thread. I have taken some quite nice stuff with it. definately got its uses. don't have a tripod but have a monopod. however i use my dads 055 manfrotto. should get one of my own someday. i use fuji tapes. cheapest and best. i also have two batteries. one 850mah and one 2000mah. pretty happy with that set up for my first cam and also only being 20.(little secret though. i owe my folks 1000 for it though). until then i will have to let my dad film his birds with it. but that doesn't bother me as long as it is getting some use. Tip guys out there getting into video cameras. never leave home without a good mic. it is well worth it. oh yeh and another one never look back.
Justin

bugger me it looks like yow wins the contest here.

good on you mate. some of us could only envy.
i just have to say it though. hahahahahah
i have a mx-500.

lol
Justin
one day i hope to have enough money to buy what i need.

Yup. That Yow does a lot of shooting, so he needs his gear.

Allan seems to think Hoya hoods are the best. I can't argue with that. I've got a Hoya on every lens and cam I own, except for my DVLs.

Emmet,
Does your problem look like this? (http://www.cokin.com/cokin-data/composants2/pages-filtres/filtre-020st.html). Seems Frank uses Cokin filters, maybe he knows of a 1/2 blue that you could use for the upper part of your photos.

Actually, I didn't look far enough on the Cokin site. Would this (http://www.cokin.com/cokin-data/composants2/pages-filtres/filtre-123st.html) work?

wow. if i could even get the results in the 'before' picture i'd be a happy clam.

thanks 4 the tip guy. i will spend some time on the cokin site now.

Well, the set was built over 3 years, with money gained from shoots. It helps that the still camera shares much of that fort eh video camera.

As for shoots, I am the guy people go to when they can't afford the big boys, but have a little money to spare. It's like I'm the pawn shop next to the goldsmith.

Please don't get the disease "equipment envy". Every piece that I have has it's use, not to be placed on a shelf. Here in Signapore, there are many rich people who buys cameras (expensive DSLRs) and shoot in Auto mode.

Just a note, it is very interesting to place the IR filter on the camera on a hot and sunny day, the scene changes dramatically!

Seems Frank uses Cokin filters, maybe he knows of a 1/2 blue that you could use for the upper part of your photos.Here are some Cokin filters to consider: Blue 82A Gradual Grey G1 Gradual GreyG2 Gradual Grey G2 light Gradual Blue B1 Polarizer Blue Varicolor Blue/Yellow Gradual Fluo Blue 1 Gradual Fluo Mauve 2 Gradual Fluo Pink 1.