What are the HDV/DV essential purchases?
 

Hi everybody I'm just getting started out and I'd like to know what everybody considers essential for production and what's better left for purchase or rental.

I plan on buying the JVC HD100U, a tripod, and sound equipment; I have access to an editing system. All the hardware I listed will be good purchases for me as they would be used on any production, but I'd like suggestions on the tripod and sound equipment.

I know I'd be looking for a fluid head tripod which I've seen range from a little under $1,000 and up, would one of the lower priced tripods still work well as long as it meets the weight requirements?

I'm probably more confused about what I need for quality sound than anything. Would an XLR mic solution plugged into the camera be good enough or will I need to invest in something like a DAT recorder? What type of mics would you suggest?

Other than that what else should I look into?

Welcome to DV Info Net, Tim. One step at a time. First, obtain a decent tripod and plenty of camera power. Then proceed to the next item. The key is to make this stuff pay for itself as you go.

Shouldn't this thread better be removed to the Open Dv discussion board?

I agree with Chris: a good tripod is the first thing you should think about, and some extra batteries.
Then you already can do the most important thing: shooting without worrying much.

Not to negate the priorities others have suggested but to clarify re sound ... there is really no such thing as an "xlr mic solution." XLR is simply a type of cable connector, nothing more. Professional grade microphones usually (but not always) use an XLR connector for several reasons - rugged strength, locks in place, allows for balanced circuits, allows for phantom power, etc. But having an XLR connector is not a guarantee of high quality nor is using a different type an indicator of poor quality - there are crappy mics that use XLR connectors and there are decent mics (Rode Videomic for one) that use other types of connector.

There is no doubt that the best possible sound quality is possible when using double system sound where the audio is recorded on a separate device. But that statement assumes a lot of things - major among them that you have a sound person in your crew who will be responsible for operating the mixer and recorder. It's true that professional quality stand-alone audio recorders are usually able to record higher quality sound than are the audio recording circuits in the camera. For instance, you can get audio recording equipment that can use a 24 bit 96kHz or even 24 bit 192kHz sample rate while DV recorded in the camera is locked into 12 or 16bit 48kHz. In many cameras it seems that the audio circuits themselves are almost a design afterthought and purpose-built mic preamps, mixers, etc are often higher quality. The question is, does it matter? If you've selected good mics and placed them properly, etc, so the only variable is recording in-camera or to a separate audio recorder, and are shooting the band at a wedding reception no one will know the difference. But if you're shooting live music on a soundstage, it may matter. And by the way, DAT is rapidly dissappearing for audio recording, being replaced by recorders with internal hard drives or CF card storage.

Thanks for the tips so far, esp. Steve and the sound info. Sorry about posting on the wrong board. :/

I think the biggest most important item is KNOWLEDGE. You are already gaining it by joining sites like this one and asking questions. I'm new at this stuff too and I am trying to learn something new every day. Have fun ask questions. And read and watch learning videos having to do with one facet of DV at a time: ie. Lighting, Sound, etc.