I've got a new one
 

# too lazy to set up a tripod and think your hand is steady enough to do a zoom in low angle close up. The result footage is too shaky to use. It looks like uncle Bob handy cam footage.

I've recently gone back to working more off a tripod for that same reason. I like having the freedom of handheld but the benefits of a well composed, non-shakey shot outweigh my aversion to being tied down. We still do a lot of movement with the stedicam, just not as much handheld as before.

I'd say the #1 mistake is undervaluing your work.

As a side note, my parents use to refer to me as "our common mistake".

I could sign under many of those mistakes already mentioned.

And I have few new ones to add:
* forgot to take headphones one time - and that time the cable from wireless mic wasn't plugged correctly and I couldn't hear it... I was mad as hell at myself, don't even want to mention B+G.

Since that event I started to pack and test everything few days ahead of the event. Charging batteries few days ahead, then day before putting all equipment together to test and make sure it's complete.

* forgot to double-check in the contract about special instructions regarding video format (4:3 or 16:9). I was sure they wanted to 4:3 - ended up doing everything in 16:9. Luckly I changed it before reception.

# try to walk away from the camera while my headset still plug into the camera.

That's painful :-)

Those first few times out when you get your hands on a steadicam and end up using it way too much! I've been guilty of about everything listed previously as well at one time or another. Forgetting your tripod plate can also make for a bad day as well, I did this once and had to call my landlord to give my friend a set of keys to my apartment to retrieve it and deliver it to the church, he made it just in the nick of time. Thank god for good friends!

Lowering volume while band/dj is playing loudly, then forgetting to readjust levels during a tradition (cake cutting, toasts, departure) once the music has shut off.

jones

I have two. One was forgetting to switch off the ND filter when coming back into the church from some outside shooting. I was shocked at how dark it was in there, but didn't catch the mistake until the entire ceremony was over. I felt pretty stupid.

The other was the day I forgot my tripod. I will never forget that. It was 3 hours from my house so I had no way to get it - I didn't realize it until I unloaded the car. Luckily there was a Circuit City right next to the reception hall, so I rushed over there and bought the best one I could find (total crap!).

I felt really stupid then.

i've a new one just happened yesterday.

# accidentally touch the shutter speed wheel. Both of my camera XHA1 and GY-HD100 have a wheel to change shutter speed and it really easy to change with knowing it. I accidentally change the shutter speed from 1/50 to 1/500. Some of my preparation footage too dark to use.

Lots of this stuff has happened to me in the past.
Its why we are all, as pro's, now so dependable as service providers- we learnt the hard way.
I leave all my sturdy gear in my car boot all the time. Tripod, monopod, figrig, steadicam. That way they cant be forgotten.

As for this reverse trigger. It happened to me again only recently after years of it not happening. Im totally paranoid about it now.
I still wonder why we cant have a tapeless device that will constantly record everything the camera lens sees when its switched on. In other words automatically start recording as soon as the camera switches on and stop only when the cam switches off. And seperately record a tape to my liking (stopping and starting when I think I should be). That would be ideal.

There's a firmware upgrade worth paying for eh!

Production: Moving from the cold to warm and fogging up the lens.

Plenty of production stories but I should mention beginning to capture an hour long tape and come back after vegging out for an hour to see that 2 minutes in there was an error message and it stopped recording.

Seeing typos after you burn the DVD and not before. Setting first play to the menu and not the first video on the DVD.

A mistake I made over the weekend:
-HVX-200-

While shooting, I was zooming in manually and accidentally pressed the AWB while framing the subject...this was after I already set the whitebalance with a card prior to the shoot. So for the rest of that particular clip, the white balance was different.

JS

Yep we have all been there on that one. last year I was waitng for a firework display to start. I had 45 minutes to kill. I had filmed all the interviews, dance floor action....everything. Just waiting for it to get dark. got everything ready, and then two extremely attractive, and drunk girls started flirting with me. My head was turned for a split second....well a few minutes actually, and I had already hit the rec button. The fireworks started and I hit the rec button. Again. So I had the firworks filmed on standby.

Never again. Ever. They could strip and spread naked in front of me and all will care about is that little red light in the viewfinder. luckily I got away with it, because I quickly realised what had happened and after towelling the gallons of sweat off, I spoke to the firework guys, who said they were back there a couple of weeks later with the same display. I got it second time around. Thank god the weather was the same!!

Reminds me of a wedding where I was being fed in a separate room from the reception. At meal time, I stuck my camera in my bag to eat. It wasn't till weeks later when I was capturing the footage that I realized my camera was recording at the time.

20 minutes of footage of the inside of my camera bag....

Here's one
 

Put my camcorder on my monopod but failed to make sure that it locked in. The result.. a broken camcorder light.