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Re: Wedding setup
I see Colin you have gone into this before earlier in this thread, so never mind, unless you want to chime in again.
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Re: Wedding setup
No problem Jeff.
I have never taken the TM900 above 12db, and its good. It is about my limit for any cam, anything above that and the lights come out. The set up of the TM900, as with any camera is critical. The detail is knocked down by -3 , colour -2 and exposure -3 for bright conditions (when in floating iris mode) These settings make a heck of a difference from the out of the box defaults. I got the XA-10 last week, having used one on four or five occasions. I have a job on a commercial pheasant shoot in Wales in two weeks time, and needed something small that would take 2 wireless receivers. I considered a Juicedlink box for the TM900, but I am not a great fan of harnessing my audio via a non fixed jack plug, particularly whilst hiking miles through woodland and valleys. And as mentioned earlier, having used the Canon on a few occasions, and liking it, decided to buy one. The job will almost pay for it, and its a nice little cam to have in the kit bag. (Boys and toys!!!!!!!) I hope to post some wedding service footage on Vimeo, with the TM900 and EX1 intercutting, it is very impressive, and the cameras match very nicely. Looking forward to putting the XA-10 through its paces on a paying job, knowing Wales, as I do, it will probably rain for 3 days out of 4 |
Re: Wedding setup
Good luck on your shoot. Many of us would like to see the TM900 and XA10 in low light (wedding?) intercut, that too would be interesting. I love having XLRs again, it's priceless.
And trust me, you can easily run the Canon at 18DB, try it if you haven't. For that matter try 20, it's freaking amazing. For wedding work even with sufficient lighting it is absolutely necessary for me when shooting alongside the GH2 with fast primes on them. |
Re: Wedding setup
Thanks for the input. I have ruled out the TM700/TM900 as I forgot it doesn't have a WA lens. I definitely want the option of using it for the wide shot and the GH2 for the manned shot.
If I decide go the video camera route, I'll probably have to save up for the G10. I've picked up some more gear since the last time I posted my setup, including another H2, an H1, and a cheap lav mic (which sounds surprisingly good for the price). I'm also seriously considering picking up an HD1000 Glidecam. I would rather have something like the Glidecam than a monopod, since I don't want to have to rely on the wide shot. I'd be appreciative of any more feedback. Already own: Panasonic GH2 Panasonic 14mm f2.5 Panasonic 20mm f1.7 2 x 16GB Sandisk Extreme SDHC cards 2 x Zoom H2 audio recorder 1 x Zoom H1 audio recorder Audio-Technica ATR-3350 Lav mic Rode VideoMic Ravelli AVTP tripod (for manned camera) Ravelli AVT tripod (for stationary camera) Final Cut Express LG Blu-ray burner GH2 AC power adapter Planning on buying: Second video camera Olympus 45mm f1.8 Toast 10 for burning Blu-rays |
Re: Wedding setup
mate get more cards. A 16Gb card is good for 1 hour in the full hd movie mode on a GH1!!
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Re: Wedding setup
I can actually shoot 2 hours on one 16GB on the GH2, but I probably should pick up some more just in case.
Are Transcend Class 10s fast enough for the GH2? |
Re: Wedding setup
Pretty much any class 4 or higher card is fast enough as long as you don't hack the camera. Hacking typically bumps up a datarate to make the quality higher so it needs faster cards. If you don't plan on hacking your camera then class 10 is really a waste. You may copy files a bit faster to your computer but it will not make your footage look any better.
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Re: Wedding setup
Thanks. I'll probably just pick up some 32GB Transcends Class 10s on Black Friday since they're actually cheaper than the Class 6 cards. I'm definitely not going to hack the camera for a wedding shoot for stability reasons.
I'm still looking into buying a steady cam for the reception. So far I'm liking the Glidecam HD1000. I should think it would be OK for my GH2 since the largest lens I'll be using is the Oly 45mm. Does anyone here use the HD1000? |
Re: Wedding setup
I don't use it, but have read countless reviews, watched many videos, and read every comparison thread I could find.
If you go to the B&H website you will see the largest issue with this and all stabilizers is that many people after initially buying them can't get the hang of them and then blame the stabilizer. The bottom line is the Merlin is considered to be more pro, and better built, but slightly trickier to balance. The HD1000 is considered a bit easier to use, but some don't like it's build quality, while others say it's very good. It is the one I would get, but I don't know if you're ready for a stabilizer, but that is up to you. I personally would have my camera gear nailed down before buying a stabilizer, but that's just me. |
Re: Wedding setup
Yeah HD-1000 is great, small, light, unobtrusive, so you can use it in many situation, I use it all the time, I like it so much I bought another one, the key is to spread the weight far apart as far as it goes then balance it right, then practice makes perfect.
The only negative is you will have to rebalance it often if you bang it around a lot, tiny bump can put it out of perfect balance, even when you are using quick release plate, and if you remove the camera and put it back on, it could sill goes off a little. |
Re: Wedding setup
Thank you both for your suggestions. I think I'll go with the HD1000, but I'm probably going to wait until I after I get the rest of my gear.
I also saw something called the Flycam Nano, but from what I've read it's not built nearly as well as the Glidecam. |
Re: Wedding setup
Hey Thomas I'm not sure how many outdoor weddings you shoot but you should really consider getting some faster lenses. I shot a wedding this weekend for a friend. We had a Sony EX1 a Panasonic HMC40 and a GH1 there. I finally broke down this weekend and bought the Panasonic 45-200mm lens. Best Buy was selling it in California for $260.00 which is close to the best price I found on Amazon so I bought it. The lens looked gorgeous along with all my other Lumix lenses but indoors it was next to useless. Granted it was a very dark venue at night but my 14-45 and 45-200 were useless. My 20mm Pancake however saved the day and kicked the living crap out of my HMC40. The only downside of course is the total lack of zooming and the horrendous auto focus on that lens. It bit me in the but a couple of times. Another friend with the EX1 could only stay for the Ceremony.
All of this made me even more think about just ditching both the GH1 and the HMC40 and spending the bucks on a 1/2" chip camera. Yes they cost a lot more but are well worth it. Trying to juggle between the flexible video camera and a more sensitive DSLR is a pain at a wedding. If I did weddings that would really be on my mind right now. Since I mostly do scripted work I'm fine with the GH1 for now but the next time a friend asks me to video tape their wedding I think I might just rent a EX1. |
Re: Wedding setup
I actually did buy some faster lenses. I posted my newest setup on page 3.
I'm selling my 14-45mm and buying a 14mm f2.5, 20mm f1.7, and a 45mm f1.8. The AF on the 45mm is supposedly lighting fast, so I think it'll work well for the manned camera. I'll probably keep the 45-200mm for other purposes since I realize that it's not nearly fast enough for indoor work. |
Re: Wedding setup
I got the 45mm today. Love it so far.
It turned out that the AVTP tripod's tilt was no good, so I had to send it back. I picked up a Manfrotto 560-B monopod, which I'm hoping to use for the ceremony and to switch between it and a Glidecam for the reception. |
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