Hi,
I'm excited this is my first positing in the forum after reading the so many threads there are sharing great information, I think you guys are doing a great job!

Ok, here's my situation. I'm going to shoot a weeding in two weeks and I need to purchase the following accessories for my DVX100A:
1)Wireless microphone system for the Bride/Groom dialog
2)Audio recording device for the officiant (minidisc recorder?, something else?)
3)A tripod and fluid head
4)On-camera light and diffuser. I'm allowed to use one therefore I'm planning to shoot in 24P and deliver in DVD.
I have a K6/ME66 mic which I'm planning to use as well...

I can't spend out more than $1,500 for all the listed stuff.... Can anyone please suggest me the best quality brands and models to buy for the money?
I know you guys have posted a lot of recommendations answering similar questions (I read many of them) however I haven't come up with something that fits...
I certainly appreciate your word on this.

Ruben.

P.S. please let me know if you think I'm missing anything on my list...

Check out the Cartoni Action Pro tripod. Very light, fluid head, spreader, carrying bag. It should set you back about $600. The B&H link is below. I'm not sure I would shoot a wedding in 24P. You really need some good lighting to make the DVX shine in 24P, also reception halls and house of worships are very dark, so even your on-camera light may not do the trick. Try hiding a wired microphone near the area where they will be taking their vows. Wireless is good but any movement of the gown or tux will be recorded. I had a friend who actually did voice-overs with the bride and groom because the lav was the only audio he had for the vows and it had a lot of static. The bride and groom understood and came in after their honeymoon to record it.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home;jsessionid=Aak266qq4E!305613077?ci=1&sb=ps&pn=1&sq=desc&InitialSearch=yes&O=SearchBar&A=search&Q=*&shs=cartoni+action+pro

Thanks for your reply, Ernest. The Cartoni system is certainly nice but pushed me back a couple of hundreds of what I had budgeted for sticks and head... I went for the Bogen 3246/503 system instead from B&H.

I got a dimmable Bescor on-camera light that I plan to use until I can afford a decent lighting kit. However, I couldn't find a soft box for it. I checked a Cool-lux soft box for about $75 but I'm not sure it fits the Bescor light. Any suggestions on how to build a diffuser/soft box?

Thanks.

I would add a lens controller to that list... it'll change the way you shoot from a tripod. See this page for an example (http://www.dvinfo.net/panasonic/articles/tanaka1.php).

Reuben, I just used a piece of diffusion material and some small office clamps and basically clamped the diffusion material on the small barn doors on the bescor. Not too pretty but it got the job done.

Is the VariZoom controller the one to go for? Particularly, I don't like the fact it can't control focus, but I guess no controller does that for the DVX100A because of the lens/camera construction or I missed the latest and greatest and there is one that does the trick?

For a difusser I built one using a heat resistant plastic sheet I bought from the crafts store, worked great and had enough material to build about 10 of them.

If your handy with a soldering iron you can esily build your own zoom controller. Check out the do-it-yourself project over at DVXuser.com. I've built 2 already, one with a potentionmeter and one with pushbutton switches. Both work great. And the best part is they are cheap to build. Helleva lot better that $200.