HD DSLR Production Kit – Pro Kit – With Pricing

By this point you've literally invested thousands into your HD DSLR production kit but to truly bring it up to the "pro" level you will be spending a bit more. Still, if you contrast this with the cost of an equivalent video camera from just a few years ago - you are saving at least $80,000, that is if the HD DSLR pundits are to be believed.

Any kind of photography, movie making or video production endeavor is a limitless hole of money with great gadgets to consume every nickle in your checking account and then some. But I believe some investments are worth it. Here are a few that fall into that category.

• The Miller DS-20 Tripod: Frankly, up until a few months ago I hadn't heard of this brand but apparently every other pro in the HD DSLR community has and they sing its praises. The DS-20 is a fairly entry-level model from the Miller line with a cost of "only" around $1,500. As a rule of thumb, the heavier the tripod the more stable a platform it's going to provide but this model is 12.4 pounds and the DS-20 in particular gets great reviews. I bow to the wisdom of the crowd.


• I've already recommended the Zacuto Z-Finder Pro. The one thing you should be aware of however is that if you plan on building a rail system rig at some point, their new Gorilla plate mounting system is incompatible with any rail system except those made by Zacuto itself. So I am going to recommend going "old school" and purchasing from Zacuto a stick-on mounting frame for just $6 each. This is the way I am going because I'd like to build a rail system-based rig at some point in the near future and it may or may not be Zacuto-based. (See my next item!)


• Rail Systems. Researching this topic for my own needs was super frustrating. There are so many options but the best ones from brands like Zacuto and Redrock Micro are, simply put, very expensive for what it seems you get. Then there are tons of cheaper alternatives out there but it's darn hard to sort through them all. Ideally what you want is a system that will work both while mounted to a tripod and then also be able to quickly transform into a stable shoulder-mounted system. As it turned out, Philip Bloom just released his thoughts on the subject and came to much the same conclusion as myself; start with a simple tripod-mounted solution and then build your rig out from there. The core of the solution is Zacuto's DSLR baseplate that includes a short section of rails. If you have a smaller lens attached your camera the rails are just long enough, according to Zacuto customer service, to hold BOTH a Follow Focus and Matte Box but more than likely you'll end up purchasing some rod extensions pretty quick to meet all your needs. The best news is that the baseplate is "only" $420 which in the rails-world is peanuts.
  
  When you're ready to add on the shoulder-mount component, check out the Zacuto Cross Fire. Since you've already bought the Zacuto DSLR baseplate and some rails, you should be able to purchase the additional parts you need for under $2,300.
  
  (Technically speaking the Cross Fire isn't a "shoulder mount" rig since it uses a gunstock-type device to push the rig into your shoulder, not rest on it)
  
  Purchasing Zaucto gear, you're buying a premium piece of gear with an equivalent price tag.


• Working with fast prime and zoom lenses at near wide open f-stops, getting pinpoint focus is very difficult using just the focus ring on the lens itself. Just a tiny, tiny movement of the focus ring in either direction and you've lost your focus. That's where a follow focus comes in...it begins by adding plastic gears that go around your lens. Because these gears have a larger radius than the lens itself, you can focus much more precisely because you have to twist "further" before the focus point begins to change. Redrock Micro is known for its great gears. They come in an industry standard size which means you don't have to buy the Redrock follow focus unit in order for them to work.
  
  The next part of the solution is the follow focus unit itself.
  
  For a "pro gear" list like this, some people will disagree adamantly on my next recommendation because the follow focus I am going to steer you towards is among the least expensive on the market; the D|Focus FollowFocus v2 now sold by Jag35. It's only $135 but yet performs quite well which in my mind makes it the best value out there. Granted there are several "better" brands that are more strongly constructed, have a bit less "play" in them and are overall considered more "professional" choices. Both Zacuto ($1,350+) and Redrock Micro ($495-$722) have strong products in this category but be prepared to shell out the big bucks. I say, try this one first and see if you like it before spending the extra cash.


• As a video production pro, you are not only in the image making business but also just the image business - yours. One of the most often expressed concerns you will hear from video shooters going from their large and bulky video cameras to the svelte and comparatively minimalistic HD DSLR is how their clients will respond when they see the camera.
  
  Our clients are not video pros and therefore don't know a DSLR from a hole in the ground. Actually, I take that back - because they do recognize a DSLR, it's what cousin Ed brought to the last family picnic to take a few snaps last summer. And their not completely wrong. Yes, they are going to judge us on our size because that's one of the few clues they have to go on to determine what's "professional" and what's not.
  
  All this is simply to say that one of the best reasons to get a Matte Box to add to your rail system is because it looks cool to clients. Is that silly and shallow? Maybe. I'd be willing to bet that a vast majority of Matte Boxes on DSLR rigs today are actually being used for nothing more than as a sun shade for the lens - not a single filter is ever inserted.
  
  So here's a mid-range option for a DSLR Matte Box from Genus ($707) or here is a nice one from Redrock selling for $852. If I had the extra cash I'd go for the RedRock and just consider it a "customer relations" expense.
  
  
• Light Kit. So far I haven't really mentioned supplemental light at all. LED and Fluorescent lights are great because they don't throw off heat along with the light thus keeping your talent nice and cool. Speaking of cool, Cool Lights is a Chinese reproduction of the popular Litepanels LCD lights which sells for just $450 each plus whatever you spend on light stands, bags etc.
  
  With the high ISOs the DSLR cameras are capable of, I think you won't need as many artificial lights. That said, lights do more than just get you basic illumination and exposure for your video, they are used to set mood as well. I have a Litepanels Micro which I originally bought to sit on top of my AG-HVX200 but now may be re-purposed for supplemental lighting with my Canon.


• Getting Your Camera in Motion. One of the hallmarks of cinematic video is a moving camera. We've already mentioned shoulder-mounted rigs but there are lots of other options too. Here's a short list to get your imagination going with some sample pricing.
  
  Slider. GlideTrack
  
  
  Steadicam. Glidecam - later add an optional arm/vest.
  
  
  Dolly. Microdolly.
  
  
  Jib/Crane. Kessler Crane.
  
  
• Monitor. A monitor is a great addition to your kit. When attached to a rig, it makes it easier for you to focus and film as well as giving clients/directors an opportunity to see your framing and to review clips in the field. Marshall is the brand recommended by lots of professional shooters, including Philip Bloom.


• I'm not sure how much longer this piece of kit will be needed but right now, the Canon 7D and T2i DSLRs have no built-in way to monitor audio as you record it which is an insane oversight. 3rd party software like Magic Lantern give us hope that Canon will one day wake up and give us a firmware update that will address this issue. Meanwhile, with a dual system audio approach, you can attach headphones to something like your Zoom H4N but it's not nearly as convenient as being able to record and monitor great sound right in your camera. That's where an audio pre-amp box like those from BeachTek and JuicedLink come in. Right now I favor the JuicedLink DT454 for $420.

Okay, there you have it, my thoughts and recommendations for a very useful Pro-level kit for your HD DSLR video productions.

Comments

[Films Ma 31/05 « Digitaa]

[...] http://crowdigitalmedia.com/hd-dslr-production-kit-%E2%80%93-pro-kit-%E2%80%93-with-pricing [...]

[Melina]

Hey there,
If you use an audio pre-amp box like the JuicedLink one, does the camera record two channels of audio that you can edit separately in post-production? (In case you are using two different mics) If not, this would be a major hassle if one of your audio sources is bad. Would you get separate channels to edit if you use the separate Zoom H4N to record?

[Steve Crow]

Hi Melina,

I can tell you for sure that when using the Zoom H4N you can get two separate audio tracks with which to edit since this is exactly what I do when I connect two wireless mics to my Zoom.

I will be renting a Beachtek box in the next few weeks and will test out what happens when you connect two different audio sources into the camera but my guess is that one mic would record to the right channel and the other to the left.