# Need some help choosing a basic video kit...



## Simon_ (Apr 2, 2012)

Oh hai!
Long time lurker, first time poster here.
I got to a point where I'll be making a bigger financial (camera-related) decision soon-ish. Me and a good friend of mine are often working on some small personal video projects, however as years pass we're getting closer and closer to the point where we might actually start making some money on it regularly (upto this point it was basically random shoots a couple of times over a year for friends/family).
*What we've got together is:*
- 60D & 7D as bodies
- Sigma HSM 24-70, Canon 50 1.4 and 70-200L 2.8 IS (the first one) as lenses we own
- about any Samyang lens one can think of available anytime due to working for the company 

Now I've been tinkering with the idea of expanding the set so I can do some stuff personally as well (currently we're living a bit apart due to different universities). I was eagerly waiting for the 5D mk III, however the quality/price ratio over the mk II isn't really that amazing.
Now before recommending the GH2 - I'm not a strict-video shooter. I probably take a lot more photos than I make videos. Answering the next probable question - I mainly shoot people and landscapes (I seem to be a fan of wide angles from the Lightroom statistics ), although given a proper lowlight DSLR, I could _probably get some orders to shoot concerts as well and actually get paid for that_. The only thing I've never considered so far is shooting sports.

*Now, with all this talk, I've considered two options *- 
- getting the mk III with the 24-105 kit (I wasn't a big fan of this lens until I saw it on an imaging fair I attended last week)
- getting the mk II with two lenses

In the end when it comes to lenses I want to get over time I'm pretty much set on 17-40L, 135L, 50 1.4 Sigma and then probably the 24-105L to fill the long gap between 40mm and 135mm. First one would be either 24-105 or 17-40, depending on the kind of deal I can get for either 


I absolutely love the handling of the mk III, especially since I'm somewhat used to the 7D one. I haven't tried the mk II much but I felt lost more often. Now, I can live with the 24-105 as the only lens for a while, the only problem is I'm having a really hard time justifying spending additional $$$ for the changes proposed by the mk III. And at the same time, I love the camera >_>


Phew, I tried to not make this look like a wall-o-text, hopefully it doesn't come out that way.
Pardon any grammar mistakes I've made, English isn't exactly close to being my first language 

- S.


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## Matthew19 (Apr 2, 2012)

The 24-105 won't really work for concerts unless you have the Mkiii and can drive up the ISO. It also distorts like crazy at 24mm. Not a problem with pics but for landscape video it may be. Of course I've heard the mkiii has peripheral illumination correction and distortion correction for canon lenses. I think this works in video mode so it may not be a problem either.


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## cayenne (Apr 6, 2012)

Simon_ said:


> Oh hai!
> Long time lurker, first time poster here.
> I got to a point where I'll be making a bigger financial (camera-related) decision soon-ish. Me and a good friend of mine are often working on some small personal video projects, however as years pass we're getting closer and closer to the point where we might actually start making some money on it regularly (upto this point it was basically random shoots a couple of times over a year for friends/family).
> *What we've got together is:*
> ...



You obviously have MUCH more experience than I do (I'm a complete noob), but I'm about to take the plunge with a $$ FF Canon.

I'm wanting to get the best bang for my bucks for video and stills...and what I've narrowed down to for starters is:

1. Canon 5D MkIII with the kit 24-105 lens
2. I can squeeze in maybe one prime, and looking at the 85mm 1.8 (about $420)

I actually might prefer something more wide angle to start with...but with what I listed above, I'm about at my limit, and I'm going to be getting Aperture...and then FCPX later...

I would like maybe to get the Canon 16-35mm 2.8....but man, I just can't swing the $1200 or so right off to bat.

So, likely going with what I listed, hoping to get the most of my initial outlay of cash.

I'm thinking to buy from Crutchfield, they have a 12mo no interest financing, and they have a points system I found out..which with this purchase will give me something like $238 in credit...which I could alter apply to a new lens...or maybe towards the battery grip later...

Again, I know you know what you need better, since you have actual experience shooting...mine is based solely on reading up on things, forums, and budget...but, thought I'd throw in my $0.02....

HTH,

cayenne


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## Simon_ (Apr 10, 2012)

cayenne said:


> You obviously have MUCH more experience than I do (I'm a complete noob), but I'm about to take the plunge with a $$ FF Canon.
> 
> I'm wanting to get the best bang for my bucks for video and stills...and what I've narrowed down to for starters is:
> 
> ...



Hello 

I'm pretty sure I don't have _that_ much more experience, trust me 
We seem to have the same problem from what I see - starting with the 24-105 vs "something more wide angle" - I'm still toying with the idea of getting the 17-40/4 first, however I tend to shoot a bit of video handheld and at anything past ~50mm that starts to look terrible. 

One thing I would recommend on the 'prime' part of your post - I wouldn't get it right away. If you're buying a 24-105, you could probably tell what you're missing the most, both aperture and focal length-wise after a short time, and buy according to that  However, I've read a lot of positive feedback on the 85 1.8, so I guess it wouldn't be a bad decision and it's probably not hard to sell it without losing much if you decide to ditch it in the end.

Wish I'd get no-interest options here, but those usually come up only around Christmas, the whole market still has too little competition here for something like that to be an option on a regular basis 
I also read a lot of stuff, watch both photos and clips taken with certain gearsets, however even though I spend a lot of time doing that (reading this forum for example!) I still try to avoid looking at everything possible at pixel-level - in all honesty I doubt I'll be zooming anything all the way to 100% or further in a real situation. I however am happy with the early reports that the 5d3 video coded responds very nicely to any vid post-processing 

- S.


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## cayenne (Apr 10, 2012)

Simon_ said:


> Hello
> 
> I'm pretty sure I don't have _that_ much more experience, trust me
> We seem to have the same problem from what I see - starting with the 24-105 vs "something more wide angle" - I'm still toying with the idea of getting the 17-40/4 first, however I tend to shoot a bit of video handheld and at anything past ~50mm that starts to look terrible.
> ...


Hmm....take a look at Amazon.com.....and crutchfield...they both offer credit for large purchases over a certain amount for 12mos interest free.

I've bought stuff on the amazon in house credit account...and paid it off 12 mos no interest. I was going to do the camera there too...but found that crutch field has a 12 mo interest free credit card option you can apply for and get at time of purchase....give that a look, it is year round for those offers.

Also, most of the places like Adorama and B&H, seem to offer the "Bill me Later" option, which gives you 6 mo interest free....again, this offer is not seasonal. YOu just have to have decent credit to get these offers and payment plans...

HTH,

cayenne


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## Simon_ (Apr 11, 2012)

cayenne said:


> Hmm....take a look at Amazon.com.....and crutchfield...they both offer credit for large purchases over a certain amount for 12mos interest free.
> 
> I've bought stuff on the amazon in house credit account...and paid it off 12 mos no interest. I was going to do the camera there too...but found that crutch field has a 12 mo interest free credit card option you can apply for and get at time of purchase....give that a look, it is year round for those offers.
> 
> ...



Oh I believe that, I've checked it myself quite a while ago, though I live in the third-world so we don't even get to buy at these stores here ;D (I suppose I could work something with Amazon - until they decide to make an actual store here, but with all the tax it would end up being more expensive than just buying it from a random retailer here -_-)
I'll probably pull the trigger on the MK3 around when summer starts, just so I can save for at least half the value of the cam


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