DSLR for weddings

[Ian Atkins]

I own GH3s. They aren't full frame, but as long as you use fast primes, the video looks great at receptions.
I like the GH3/GH4 because it is small, light, and has all the features I need out of a video camera: headphone jack, mic input, host of frame rate options, etc. I can be very unobtrusive and also don't have as much fatigue as I did with other cameras. I've had the GH3 since it launched.

If I were jumping into DSLR right now, I would either get the GH4 or the A7s. 4K isn't as much of a consideration for me at this point, but if you want to future-proof your gear for the next 5-10 years, it would be part of my check list.

The big thing to consider are the lenses. The bodies will come and go, but if you put your money in the proper lenses, they can last much longer. So when you weigh your options and budget, consider what it will cost you to get the lenses you need from one camera vs another and whether or not those lenses have the potential to carry over to other bodies.

[Paul Ekert]

Considering that cameras by an large tend to come down to a person all required taste, and that 4k editing presents some clear logistical problems for editing, wouldn't it be best for the op to hire various gear and see what suits?

[Noa Put]

4k editing presents some clear logistical problems for editing

If you are talking about harddrive storage, 4K doesn't require more space then 1080p, a GH4 as example has 1080p codecs with a higher bitrate then 4K. The only thing you need to consider if you plan to edit 2 or more 4K camera's together in a multicam sequence as that does require a intermediate codec but one 4K stream with a few 1080p streams is no problem, even on a bit older systems. Also colorcorrecting and trowing on a yuv curve on one native 4K stream is no problem either if you use the right NLE.

[Michael Silverman]

Originally Posted by Paul Ekert

Considering that cameras by an large tend to come down to a person all required taste, and that 4k editing presents some clear logistical problems for editing, wouldn't it be best for the op to hire various gear and see what suits?

I think that there are definitely lots of benefits to renting gear before buying if you can use it in a variety of situations during the time while you have it. I was looking for a b camera to use with my C100 last March and I did lots of research and saw that with the right picture profile people were able to match the 70D with the C100 quite well. I bought the 70D without renting it and for the first few weeks the cameras worked very well together. I was shooting lots of b roll footage in well lit situations and although the footage didn't match perfectly the two cameras were close enough.

However, when I started the wedding season I quickly discovered that the 70D was not nearly as good in low light even with very fast lenses. I also noticed how much softer and less detailed the image was compared to the C100. After a few weddings I realized that I had made a mistake in trying to match these cameras together, but it took about two months to find this out.

So I would say that if you're going to spend the money to rent a piece of equipment, it's a good idea to really test it out in lots of different situations to see if it really does everything you need it to.

[Kyle Root]

I just ordered a Nikon D750 yesterday. I got it mostly for photography, but I definitely plan to use it as my "beauty shot" camera for wedding videos, in place of my Nikon V1.

I'm really curious to see how it works!

[Kyle Root]

My first real wedding is still a few weeks away. But, I did just complete a 4-day shoot with 27 models for a local photographer and used the D750 for it, and man it does some awesome video! If you've got Nikon lenses, definitely consider the D750

Here's the short highlight reel for the "Behind the Scenes" -

2016 Senior Model Collection - Maria Moore Photography on Vimeo