Please look at my "getting started" plan and advise if I'm on the right track

[A.J. Briones]

Originally Posted by Chad Rigal

I thought I had my mind made up on the camera. But my wife really wants to start out with the right camera for the job (instead of working up to it).

So, here's my new question:
How much better is the Sony VX2100 over the DVC30? Will there be a significant difference in quality?

I know with the DVC30, I'll definitely need a good on-camera mic to pick up the ambient audio... but it seems (from what I've read) that the stock Sony mic on the VX2100 would probably do fine for now. (I'm still planning to get a wireless lav for the groom/preacher - which I could run into my secondary camera). If I compare prices of the DVC30 plus a good mic (and maybe a beachtek) to the price of a stock VX2100, the gap isn't quite as big.

My main hesitation is that this isn't going to be a full-time gig (at least for a while), so it's hard to justify. I'm also inexperienced with manual controls on a camera, but I'm a fast learner. But we've also got a few other projects lined up since I first posted here. My mother in-law is the administrator at a nursing home and wants us to do an orientation video and a promotional short DVD (5 minutes) to send to new residents' family members that live out of town. Again, one part of me thinks I should by the cheaper camera and spend more on good audio... and the other part is saying (if it's that much better) get the better camera because the free stuff I'm doing now should look top-notch in order to get more referrals. More advice?

Thanks...

Chad

i'm not familiar with the dvc30, but i love the vx2100. i love it so much, in fact, that my xl1 sits in its case, unused. we do weddings with 3 vx cameras. i recommend starting out on audio with an iriver + giant squid mic... that combo won't hurt you in the pocket compared to a good senn wireless setup.

my business is currently part-time (i love my day job too much to let go of it) but we do about 20 weddings a year and pulling in about 50k a year on it, which is pretty much the most we can handle. we are actually turning down some weddings, since i don't want to waste a perfectly good saturday on a picky bride... it ends up working in their favor as well, you don't want a videographer you don't have good chemistry with.

it's a fun business and i love the fact that we are preserving one of the happiest and most emotional times of these people's lives. good luck!

[Chad Rigal]

Originally Posted by A.J. Briones

i'm not familiar with the dvc30, but i love the vx2100. i love it so much, in fact, that my xl1 sits in its case, unused. we do weddings with 3 vx cameras. i recommend starting out on audio with an iriver + giant squid mic... that combo won't hurt you in the pocket compared to a good senn wireless setup.

I had actually figured I'd have to spend a good $500 on a wireless pkg... I looked at the iriver/giant squid, but didn't like that I couldn't monitor it. But you've got me to thinking... As long as I know for sure that the church is recording the service and there will be a mic on or near the bride/groom (and I make sure before that they don't mind giving me a copy), then I might get by with just the iriver - at least until I get a little extra money for a good wireless setup. It would definitely be in the plans for the near future - and for sure if I run into a situation where the iriver would be my only source of audio.

I could probably also get by with the iriver on my other projects if you think the audio quality is as good as a good wireless lav. How does the iriver audio compare?

Chad

[A.J. Briones]

Originally Posted by Chad Rigal

I had actually figured I'd have to spend a good $500 on a wireless pkg... I looked at the iriver/giant squid, but didn't like that I couldn't monitor it. But you've got me to thinking... As long as I know for sure that the church is recording the service and there will be a mic on or near the bride/groom (and I make sure before that they don't mind giving me a copy), then I might get by with just the iriver - at least until I get a little extra money for a good wireless setup. It would definitely be in the plans for the near future - and for sure if I run into a situation where the iriver would be my only source of audio.

I could probably also get by with the iriver on my other projects if you think the audio quality is as good as a good wireless lav. How does the iriver audio compare?

Chad

i think you can get away with it until you have the dough for the wireless senn. thing is, even though you can monitor a wireless mic setup, what are you going to do if it malfunctions during the ceremony? it's not like you can make any adjustments to anything.

one thing to be aware of is the iriver's crappy software. it records to a proprietary format and you will need a pc (running windows) to convert it to mp3. i'm a mac house so we actually have to use a separate machine just to get the audio. also, the benefit of having a wireless xlr setup is that you don't have to sync the audio as it's already done for you.

after you do get your hands on a wireless mic setup, the irivers are good for redundancy. i've been to a church where the wireless was getting a lot of feedback and i could not figure out how to fix it. the audio came in clearly if both the groom and i were outside the church, but inside, it was a nightmare... the irivers recorded perfect audio and saved the show.

there's a dvinfo thread where the giant squid mic is compared to the senn lav mic and a regular shotgun mic, the results actually favored the giant squid... anyone here have a link to that thread?

[Chad Rigal]

Just when I think I'm about to make up my mind on one of the Sony's....

Panasonic just increased the rebate to $400 instead of $200. At Beach Cam, that brings it down to $2,835!

Chad

[Bob Costa]

The difference between amateur video and pro video is audio.

Spend the money on the Senn G2 kit, and shoot it with a camera-phone if you have to (just kidding to make a point). You can upgrade the camera later.

[Randall Allen]

Originally Posted by Bob Costa

Was this a paying gig or a hobby?

Sort of. I work in for the local public library. We air 5.5 hours of programing weeknights for the Public, Education, and Government channel on our local cable system. We were approached by a local group that wanted to use our studio. They had no clue what they were doing so we sort of took over the technical aspects of recording the interviews. Video, Audio, and lighting.

So yes I got paid but only in the manner that I was on the clock at the library, the museum did not pay us or me anything.....but I did get a nice certificate of appreciation from them last night!!!!

Randy

[Randall Allen]

Originally Posted by Chad Rigal

I'll definitely have to look into that. I planned to get a lot of "B roll" from the items he brought back with him, but do you have any pointers about where I can find some "stock footage" to add to my video? I looked at a place (buyout footage, I think) and found an old movie that might work... but they wanted $350 for it! I found the same movie on DVD for $5... but if I understand correctly, the company that put it on DVD has the rights to that, so I can't use it. Any advice on this project would be greatly appreciated!

Sorry, no ideas on stock footage. The VHP is actually an Oral history project. They are only interested in the veteran's stories. A lot of folks put it on video because it allows you to preserve things like pictures, diagrams and other artifacts but all they want for the interview is a plain background. No editing, no voice overs, nada. From the videographer's point of view it is actually boring, but the stories the veterans were very interesting.

Randy

[Bob Costa]

Thanks Randy!!

I actually like shooting biographies, and am always looking for new ideas on how to get paid for them. You are right that there are no technical challenges, but finding someone's "life story" in editing is always interesting to me. The themes of their life always come out.

[Chad Rigal]

Originally Posted by Randall Allen

Sorry, no ideas on stock footage. The VHP is actually an Oral history project. They are only interested in the veteran's stories. A lot of folks put it on video because it allows you to preserve things like pictures, diagrams and other artifacts but all they want for the interview is a plain background. No editing, no voice overs, nada. From the videographer's point of view it is actually boring, but the stories the veterans were very interesting.

Randy

I gotcha now - so when I finish my project, I'll just send them a copy of the unedited interview tape. I bookmarked the website so I can find it later.

Thanks.

Chad

[Chad Rigal]

Originally Posted by A.J. Briones

i think you can get away with it until you have the dough for the wireless senn. thing is, even though you can monitor a wireless mic setup, what are you going to do if it malfunctions during the ceremony? it's not like you can make any adjustments to anything.

one thing to be aware of is the iriver's crappy software. it records to a proprietary format and you will need a pc (running windows) to convert it to mp3. i'm a mac house so we actually have to use a separate machine just to get the audio. also, the benefit of having a wireless xlr setup is that you don't have to sync the audio as it's already done for you.

after you do get your hands on a wireless mic setup, the irivers are good for redundancy. i've been to a church where the wireless was getting a lot of feedback and i could not figure out how to fix it. the audio came in clearly if both the groom and i were outside the church, but inside, it was a nightmare... the irivers recorded perfect audio and saved the show.

there's a dvinfo thread where the giant squid mic is compared to the senn lav mic and a regular shotgun mic, the results actually favored the giant squid... anyone here have a link to that thread?

I just ordered the Giant Squid mic... but now I'm looking for an iriver.

From what I read, most of you are using a 795 or 895. I also read something about avoiding the "T" model. Is this referring just to the new T30? Because the only 895 I can find is an 895T. Is that the one I need?

Thanks,
Chad

[A.J. Briones]

Originally Posted by Chad Rigal

I just ordered the Giant Squid mic... but now I'm looking for an iriver.

From what I read, most of you are using a 795 or 895. I also read something about avoiding the "T" model. Is this referring just to the new T30? Because the only 895 I can find is an 895T. Is that the one I need?

Thanks,
Chad

i have the 795. i can't really speak of models i have no experience with. good luck!

[Chad Rigal]

Originally Posted by A.J. Briones

i have the 795. i can't really speak of models i have no experience with. good luck!

Is that the same as the iFP-795T? Or is the model ending with "T" something different?

Thanks again
Chad

***on edit... I think it's the same thing. I found somewhere else that list it as Model: iFP-795 / Part#: iFP-795T I'm not sure why. Anyway, I'm ordering it.

[Chad Rigal]

Just thought I'd update y'all on our decision...

We finally decided to go with a pd170. I was leaning strongly toward it already and I noticed Sunday that the price had dropped by $100 - that was the last bit of encouragement I needed. Funny how when I started this thread, I only planned to get a gs400.

Now, if I could only convince the wife to add that $100 to our tripod budget! Oh well, I'm off to the tripod forums... no telling how long it will take me to decide on that... I had hoped to get by with $150-$200. But now I'm thinking I need a minimum of $250 (if not $350). Any quick suggestions would be appreciated.

Chad