go ahead, spend my money
 

I own a PAL mx 5000. I've been lurking in the wings of this forum about a month her and learning alot. Many thanks for all the good information.
Now anyone who wants can spend my money: the challenge, tell me what you would buy to beef up my 'one man film company' equipment rack.

I shoot exclusively towards DVD films. Profile films, mostly for activity / adventure companies to use in marketing. But want to be able to take on wedding / indoor work as well to put a little more economic footing underneath.

I need:
- a good light that will hopefully power from the camcorder for interviews.

- An attached external (shotgun?) mike that can do a range of stuff: voices outdoors, concert / live performance / indoor. Something that wll gve me alot more capablity that what the camera mike can do.

- An independent unobtrusive mike for other interviews, wedding vows etc.

- An easy to use light meter. Never used one before

- A good wide lens for my panny.

- A 2nd camera which will probably be my first camera, since i already have a waterproof case for the mx, so that will end up being my 'smaller' stunt camera. Here I am leaning towards the canon xm2. It would be nice if some if my accessories could swap back and forth but that's asking alot.

I wll probably build my own shoulder mount and glidecam clone from the stablizer page unless someone knows of a killer place to shop those for cheap.

Two last considerations: i live in Norway so it's gotta be bought online, and hopefully as much as possible from the same place. Otherwise the shipping gets totally out of control.

The other think i often need to get where i am going on skis so portabilty / simplicity / barebones is an advantage.

Hmm, aren't you sorry you began to read this :-) Anyhow, come with suggestions if you like! Many thanks.

Lillehammer
snow falling down

Yes, for weddings, you'll certainly need a good light. If you're going to do a lot of lower light shooting, I'd sell the MX500 and buy a VX2000.

Before you part with your money, consider exactly what you will be mainly using a cam for.

If you think you can get away with the MX500 shooting weddings, I would consider a tripod firstly. A good one is the Manfrotto 055pro (legs), 128RC (head). You can always go better though. Next, would be a light that you can mount onto the tripod. If you still have some cash left over, consider a good mic with you can also attach to the tripod. A good one is the Senn ME66. But you'll also need an XLR adaptor such as the Glenbox, or Beachtek.

These items would be the most important, I think, for a wedding set-up.

Regarding a light meter, you won't need this for video. A wide angle? What for? Just press, "pause," and move the tripod/gear back.

Thanks. I figure on holding on to the MX because i'll need two cameras eventually... and it already sells new here for way less than what i paid for it just five months ago. Can't bear to think how much i'd loose by selling it. plus I really do like the camera. I shot a 40 minute extremesport film this summer for dvd that came out beautifully.

I have a decent tripod, but i would like to get mainly a light / microphone set-up that can move with the camera on a shoulder stabilzed mount. The wedding gigs will be for the money but most of the light / microphone use will be alot more mobile & often outdoors, for example in low norwegian winter light. The wide angle is more for the cinematic thing: for example for tight shots of surfers taken from the water, shooting rafters from within a raft, etc. Plus i've been looking at some of these posted shots from the 16:9 combined with the wide angle that look just great ...

my goal is to get one set of gear that will function reasonably well in bothe directions.

Alot of what is stumping me now is that there is absolutely nowhere to buy this stuff within a thousand miles, so the compatability issues are hard to be certain of, i.e. which lens wil work well, which mike / light setup might work well with the shoe, etc. I have looked through th b& h website, and a half dozen others, but it's hard to tell.

Thanks for the tips so far. I'll start checking around for the ME66.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com (B&H) is probably your best bet for a great selection and great prices. You can buy the Beachtek from Canada (cheaper/made there)---the Glenbox is made in the UK. See my links page for some good links for video stuff.

http://www.dvfreak.com/links.htm

"my goal is to get one set of gear that will function reasonably well in both directions."

That's always a challenge. I would just concentrate on the items I suggested. Later, you may find that you'll need something else. I do the odd wedding with an old 1 CCD cam, because it's good with low light; and I don't use a light. I don't edit on a computer, I just shot not to edit---shooting clip after clip, thus building a story. With shooting instructional videos, I may audio dub at times.

Emmet

get a steadicam, it makes the worst camera look great. Try to get on with ball bearings in the handle.

I dont like tripods. I think tripods and the whole "pan" thing is kinda cliche' for weddings, I would rather do a running pan withat steadicam. Tripods are good for still shots tho.

uhh, wideangle lens: yes. Raynox .3 is great, or a .5

Good luck

Use your steady legs. :)

That would be a tripod? :)

will the raynox .3 / .5 screw onto the mx500 directly or will i need an adapter ring?

as far as the steadycam, i have been looking at the glidecam 2000, and do you have a good tip for a good , reliable online online dealer? The dealer in sweden wants almost $650!

thanks for the linkpage frank i'm on my way there now...

I just checked that link page the other day. There's too much good reading over there.

Emmet, don't know for sure but most likely you'll need an adaptor ring. Tom ran some tests with wide angles, so did Allan---and both posted here with their findings. It seems one of the higher-end Raynox wide angles cam out on top.

my Raynox HD3030 came with the adapter, no problems. No vignetting.

heres some samples captures I took

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...a/faaff08f.jpg

I tried searching HD 3030 on B&H, did't find it, only a hd 5000. The PAL mx 500 i have is labeled 43 mm at the threads, is that the same as yours? kind of hard to tell the compatability.

that link is you gave is currently refusing visitors from outside the site, but did i see those in another post, a car shot with four views including the 16:9? that looked sweet.

anyone ever used a hollywood lite? 2 month wait on steadycam jr.....

[link fixed]

I like it alot, it gives a good wideangle with very little distortion, to tell you the truth I was expecting more of a fisheye effect out of this .3 , however I do believe that this is the best for my needs- after all it is a SEMI-fisheye(more wide angle than anything) any more would be overkill.

I got mine from Bugeyedigital.com

and yes camera has a 43mm filter ring.

Raynox has 43mm HD5000 so you dont need an adapter, but those have been hard for me to find.

good luck

actually, the HD5000 comes with various adapter rings, including that for 43mm so you don't need to buy adapters separately. if I remember right, the native size of the HD5000 is 37mm.

my bad, I was thinking of the HD-6600PRO43

Who in the USA sells the Raynox HD-6600PRO43?

Would this be a special order via Allan Rejoso?

How much does this wide angle cost?

Is it better than the HD5000?

HD6600 is cheaper in the US Frank (by more than $30). Forgot the name of the US seller. It's in Robin's site. Perhaps Patricia knows.

http://www.digitaletc.com/go/item/2954 for the hd 6600. But the centerline rez spec is only 340, which seems much less than the hd 5000...?

Ok, somebody please explain the relevance of these data:

HD6600: Resolution at center 350 lines/mm (MTF 30%)

HD5000: Resolution at center 600 lines (MTF 30%)

so which is better 350 lines/mm OR 600 lines

According to Raynox Japan.

The 5000 does have a higher resolution at the center BUT, due to the bigger circumference and lower distortion of the 6600, the 6600 has the better �gtotal balance�h and thus the better performing lens in terms of video quality although it is only 6x zoom capable.

The upgrade to the 6600, the 7000 will also work wonders with these Pany cams although a 58 to 43mm adapter ring is required. HOWEVER, note that the 7000 weighs over 300 grams.

So there is or will be a Raynox HD7000, which is supposed to be the best but weights more. I can live with more weight, but can the cam? (Hopefully it comes with filter threads in the front? How much?)

HD7000....(Hopefully it comes with filter threads in the front? How much?)

Yes it has been out for months now I believe.
82mm filter threads at the front...very mean looking lens.

Thanks Allan. I'd go have a look at one but I doubt they sell it here. Any thoughts if it is better than the Pana wide angle?

To add...

HD7000: Res at center 540 lines/mm, full zoom capable, 313 grams...optional adapter rings for 37, 43 and 52 mm available.

It seems to be cheaper in the US as well.

Try the Raynox web site, www.raynox.com. I don't recall them addressing the threads issue, but I think their pictures are pretty good and you can pretty much tell if the lenses are threaded or not. B&H carries a lot of Raynox lenses, as does 2filter.com. Someone who owns a black mamba, by the way, showed me how he set up the Panasonic wide angle to accept filters and a hood. Not duct tape, but epoxy, the metal ring from a 72mm filter and very steady hands (for applying the epoxy without getting it on the lens). Looks good and worth considering, because the Panasonic is a very nice piece of glass - good shoot through and no noticeable barrelling (although I prefer the smaller size of the Raynox 5000).

Any thoughts if it is better than the Pana wide angle?

I'd choose the 6600 over the Pany wide angle any time...so the 7000 is even better IMO, but would need the support of the left hand I guess...well, the added weight should make the GS100 more stable right?

Thanks. Yes, it'll make it more stable. You just have to add a poker battery to make it balanced.

Just imagine if you screw on a lens hood into the HD7000. People seeing you with it might think you've got a VX2000. :)

umm not to go too far off topic but since the original thread was spending my money ...

i am looking at getting the azden smx - 2 mike, would i need a 120 dollar beachtek box or can i get by with the azden minjack to xlr cable for 15 bucks ... ?

You probably can get away with the azden minjack to xlr cable for 15 bucks, but why not the Beachtek? You'll get better controls.

well, mainly to avoid bulking up the camera - 'm going to be using it alot with either a steadycam or a hollywood light. i fact i am tempted to drop down to the azden sgm x, at settling for useable performance at less cost and bulk. . .

unless just an xlr/miniplug cable wll definitely do the trick (?), then i'll put the money saved from the beachtek into a better mike :-)

my wish list at B& H reaches well below the bottom of my computer screen now you see, so these last couple hundred bucks / couple hundred grams weight i must budget carefully...