Nice thread!
I shoot with a Canon XF305 Great camera! Love the Beefy 50 Meg per sec and the 422 color. 422 cant be beat! Everything is really crisp and sharp. And the color rang is sick! For "Porn Sex" I like it that way better than a DSLR.
But for Music videos I use a Nikon D4 with a Ninja 2. I capture at 220 Megs per sec and at 422 color. (broadcast quality)
When I shoot Run and Gun DSLR, I use a Juice link Pre amp. Its a must for clean DSLR sound!!
When sound is important, I capture sound externally with a Sound Devices 702 External recorder. The pre amps and sound capture with this cant be touched!
Here is a simple sound test to give you an idea how important a pre amp is when shooting a DSLR
https://youtube.com/watch?v=KKVeBqhXMvM
DSLR Video cant be beat for the film look, but the DSLR sound is pretty bad.
My Mic's are Sennheiser MKH 60 and an MKH70. Yes they are expensive, but will last you a lifetime.
And I hate being cabled up, so I use Sennheiser 2000 series Wireless solution. Its pricey, but CNN uses it and I don't get the clicks in my audio that can be caused by people texting on set.
And lastly, I can actually handhold a a DSLR with this Rig i put together.
Problem: Getting nice depth of field shots for for teases and story line and still getting a nice movement with sex in crystal clear focus.
Solution: Light the set up enough to hit F10 and use a 17-35 lens. Yes, 17-35. Why? because the longer the focal length, the more compressed the background.(depth of field)
Image stabilization? I have shot porn for 11 Years, I got a super steady hand with no shake. (I spend 3 times the time behind a camera monitor than I do with my kids and family.)
This is not stuff I just read about, this is through serious trial and error on my own time, not on my clients Dollar.
Sound, Pre Amps, DSLRs, Field recorders, Wireless Sound solutions, etc. 7 weeks plus on my own time! I don't take what peoples I don't know opinions on some forum at face value. (Not meaning the GFY forum). (GFY, I know the shooters and respect them and their opinions)
Best advice I can give, is read up and actually do your own research before you buy anything. Or do what I do and buy it all, test it and send beck what suck and doesn't fit your style.
At the level, I and others on this board are at shooting, we cant afford to make mistakes. We cant turn in, bad sound, fucked up picture, fucked up focus, etc.
I never claim to be a know it all, but where I shoot at, its very competitive, all of these shooters are serious studs and when I shoot, how ever I choose to shoot it,(DSLR or Camcorder) you better believe, i will know what I'm doing before I do it.
This board has always been a 2nd home to me and feel free to post questions of call me up for any advice. Im the guy that will share everything I do and point you into a direction that is right for you.
Just dave