Please Help. DSLR video noob

[Takenbyvultures10]

I have been taking photos for about 2 years, and am still learning new things everyday and every time i pick up my camera. That being said, I have been asked to create the official video for a music festival this summer, and I want to start getting my pieces together to make this happen. I'm going to be shooting video and photos on the same camera (Nikon D600) and I have very little ideal what/how I'm going to make this happen. I have begun to mess around with taking videos on my camera, but i want this video to look professional, and not like a Girls Gone Wild video, all shaky and bad. I'm thinking I'm going to need a steady cam rig, a shotgun mic and a light, as I will be shooting often at night. Do I not need any of these pieces? Are there any lenses that I should look for to use? Is there anything else that I'm overlooking? What would be the most cost effective way to make this happen, as I will not be getting paid for this, but if it turns out well it could lead to some pretty good paid gigs later. Any help, and any suggestions would be absolutely awesome. Thank you very much.

 

[grafxman]

I've been shooting a lot of video with my Canon 7D and 6D. I have nearly 500 videos on my flickr pages. Most of them shot with a DSLR. Frankly speaking it's a real pain. I have to use the view screen so I have to hold the camera in front of me like a point and shoot camera. It's a bit heavy and even though I use stabilized lenses the videos come out shaky. I use a neck strap that's adjustable and hold the camera tightly at partial arms length with outward pressure. That gets it about as stable as it gets but it's not enough. The sunlight completely washes out the view screen as does some overhead lights. It takes superb videos but requires serious support and some sort of shade over the view screen. It also requires frequent focusing if I'm moving or the object of interest is moving. Finally I got aggravated enough and bought this:

Canon XA20 Professional HD Camcorder 8453B002 B&H Photo Video

I also bought the 1.5 accessory lens. It costs some bucks but with it you can easily get steady videos hand held. It's absolutely terrific. In addition to the usual stab system it has an active stab system that can be selected. As near as I can tell that works by slightly cropping the edges of the video so the rest of the video is completely solid. It's just amazing. You don't need a tripod with it. It has low light capability. With a couple of 128MB memory cards you'll probably be able to record most of the day depending on what mode you select. I think the bottom line is, if you're going to video an event, a camcorder is the way to go. Furthermore it takes pretty decent snapshots.

If the camcorder is beyond your bank account then get something like the stuff on this page:

view screen shades | B&H Photo Video

As you say, you will probably need a steadicam, shotgun mike, etc. I bought a shotgun mike for my 7D (Rode) only to discover it protruded into the viewfinder area so I was unable to use the viewfinder with it on the camera. You may try to get by with a monopod but practice a lot first. Hope this helps. Good luck.

 

[brunerww]

Hi takenbyvultures and welcome to the forum!

The problems outlined by grafxman are very real. DSLRs all lack video viewfinders, and most of them have poor video autofocus, awful video image stabilization and noisy internal sound.

You can certainly overcome these problems by buying a camera more suited to video - such as a $978 GH3 mirrorless camera, a $1298 Sony RX10 large sensor superzoom or the $1999 XA20 that grafxman recommended - but you've already invested a lot of money in your Nikon, so it probably makes more sense to buy a few accessories than to buy a whole new camera.

Let's go through the solutions to your DSLR's challenges one by one:

Viewfinder - least expensive answer (with decent quality) is probably a $90 Hoodman 3.2" viewfinder loupe. This will allow you to use the LCD as a viewfinder in bright lighting conditions without washing out the screen.

Stability - For what you're trying to do, I would get a shoulder rig. A tripod would give you rock solid images, but would be a challenge to move it around at a music festival. A stabilizer is probably next best, but my stabilizer spends most of its time in the closet because it's a complex piece of machinery and hard to balance and "fly". I would get a shoulder rig as the best balance between stability, mobility and ease of use. That said, I recommend the $200 Kamerar SOCOM as the best value-for-money rig on the market today. It is a less expensive version of the excellent Photography & Cinema PR-1.

Focus - the $140 Kamerar FF-3 will work well with your Kamerar Socom (or any) rig. Overcoming this challenge is probably the toughest, because it requires the acquisition of a new skill, not just a piece of hardware. It's not impossible, it's just not trivial. You may want to practice before the event.

Audio - I would get a Tascam DR-60D preamp/external recorder (on sale right now for $220), a $27 attenuating cable to plug the recorder into the camera, and a $330 Sennheiser pro mic with a $70 wind muff, a $9 XLR cable to connect the mic to the recorder and a $15 shock mount. In a pinch, you can connect the mic directly to the camera with a $15 Hosa MIT-156 XLR to 3.5mm transformer/adapter.

I have a Tascam DR-40 and a pro mic and this is the approach I use. You'll get a lot better sound than from a Rode prosumer mic, and you'll have a backup track in case something goes wrong.

Hope this is helpful and good luck with your project!

Bill

 

[vimwiz]

noisy internal sound.

*This*. I have to use a very expensive USM lens in order to not hear the AF motor in any recordings.

 

[Takenbyvultures10]

Bill,

Thanks a ton for your input, I think I have most of my rigging issues fixed. I'm going to be borrowing a buddies shoulder rig and follow focus. The part that I'm concerned about now us the audio. Because this is going to be just a recap video, I'm going to cut the board audio over my recorded audio for the most part. I was just hoping to catch some good audio bits to drop in and break up the music. Am I still going to need all that fancy audio equipment or, would the shotgun connected to my camera be sufficient? Also, I have access to a few Zoom recorders. I'm fairly certain that I can attach a mic to them. would that be a sufficient route?

THANKS A TON,

Nate

 

[brunerww]

Hi Nate - sorry it's taken so long to get back to you. For quality sound, I recommend you not plug your mics directly into the camera. DSLR preamps are notoriously bad. If you have Zoom recorders, you can plug your mic into the recorder and the recorder into the camera with a $27 Sescom LN2MIC-ZOOMH4N and get a high quality track on the Zoom with a backup track on the D600 (make sure to hit "record" on the recorder, I've forgotten that a few times ).

Here's my setup with a $30 Kamerar hot shoe extension on top of the camera to hold my mic, top handle and recorder:




Good luck,

Bill

 

[runnah]

My video setup.

Rode Shotgun mic
Sennheiser wireless kit
elvid lcd screen
85mm lens there but most of the time I use a 35mm IS USM lens or a 50mm USM lens.