I just looked up Ready Rig's on B&H's website, and they're $1,900. I can shoot gorgeous video with an HD video camera that costs less than that.

I'm sure you can. But when you are shooting scenes and holding that camera and your back is killing you and your arms are falling off and you have to struggle to change settings (especially if you're using a ring light with ballast)...then you REALLY appreciate the Ready Rig.

One of THE best investments I ever made.

And since I make my living doing this...I'm not so sure I would want to try and shoot "gorgeous" hd video with some consumer cam. No offense to you, but I really enjoy what I do and I would no sooner use cheap gear to shoot movies than I would trade in my Jeff Beck Signature Custom Shop Strat and Bogner amp for a cheap Korean strat and a solid state amp.

Using that Ready Rig. Watch the vid of what it can do...for the price it's the most amazing thing.

The next step up from that are companies making rigs that cost 10's of thousands of dollars and can't do what the Ready Rig does.

thx for all the infos folks.

Robbie, not sure if you rent but i just got an email from borrowlenses and noticed that the cine lens is available
http://www.borrowlenses.com/product/...24mm_T1.5_Lens

Bro this is all you need to get awsome stable video with a DSLR http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...Section.ht ml

Thanks dyna_mo I didn't even know that site existed!

Thats the beauty about film making process, everybody does it differently. Nobody is wrong.

Borrowlenses.com is awesome. Just dropped off two at the post office that I used for a shoot on Sunday.

They can have gear to you within 24 hours if you need it.

I got a nice Carbon Fiber one from a chinese company with a Manfrotto 501 clone for this same price.

Fucking love it.

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/New-B...933939501.html

they really are. i've pretty much rented everything up until i bought the d600, checking out bodies, lenses, flashes. really help me sort out a kit that suits my style. i was glad to see they lowered shipping prices a while back too. top notch operation!

ok, that's badass, how short does it collapse to?

Guy I shot with this weekend splurged on a C300, because that's what he's saving his pennies for.

Kinda nuts to spend $500 to have to test something, but beats spending $6500 only to find out you bought the wrong camera.

For that, they are awesome.

C300 is definitely nice for those of you out there with Canon glass.

Does everyone here shooting with Canons use Magic Lantern?

Less than 36''. Probably closer to 28''. It's nice with an almost 7lb cam on it, weightwise.

that's my experience too, i had originally planned on going with a 70-200 f2.8 , just knowing how many shooters use that glass and how badass it is in both nikon and canon mounts, but after checking out the canon mark ii with it i realized it was not going to work at all for me! it's too much tele for me and it weighs a ton.

That's what we had hooked up to the c300. And I thought my setup was heavy.

this one looks nice too,

quick release though on all of these, ugh, proprietary. i have another brand

The quick release on the one I posted and the Manfrotto are identical.

The Chinese can clone anything..

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

Wow great post man. Thanks for the info on the sound...what the fuck do you do anyways read everything you can about every piece of equipment. Nerd.

Im a contract Director for Brazzers.com And I shoot music Videos.


Just Dave

Nice to find knowledgeable people.:thumbsup

I know my shit.


If i don't know, I don't pretend and if I'm not sure but read it somewhere, i will state that as I pass off the information.


So many good shooters and Webmasters on this board have helped me along the way, I always feel that I should always pass it on and help others along the way.


I will always give out all of my tips and tricks to anyone who asks. I don't keep secretes that i don't share. The better they get, the better I have to be! I Even share with people I compete with. Why? Doesn't matter what you know, its how you apply it and are you willing to put the time in as I did.


You can ask anyone in adult, I way put my time in. I put the time in that my competition wont put in. I treat learning and business like training for a Brazilian Jui-Jitsu fight. The more time in, the better you will be at anything and everything you do in life.



Just Dave

Dave is the guru the industry and has more equipment than anyone I have ever seen in adult. He can talk about gear for hours and he knows his shit. If you are on a small budget and want to run and gun get the Rode Video Mic Pro it has a +20 DB setting on the mic that allows you to turn you levels down to the lowest setting on your DSLR but you still get a good signal with plenty of headroom for post while maintaining a clean signal to noise ratio. I shot this short in one day run and gun style with a manfrotto monopod and a Video Mic Pro. http://vimeo.com/61293675

Im sure the audio could have been better with a boom operator and a dedicated audio recorder, but we didn't have a production assistant or the time since we did it with a $0 budget and one camera. You can hear it when the camera is closer the audio is more intimate. A boom operator would have made the sound twice as good but it was still usable for not having an audio guy.

Dave post some of your music video work the stuff you and Craven did for Hollywood Undead was sick!

Bump this back up, because I like a good camera thread.

this week's shoot was yesterday.

i stayed with my original plan of using the dslr on a tripod to capture an overview while i shot the handheld.

i did take the dslr off tripod and shot some handheld and it didn't turn out too good, i am not used to shooting video without an articulated screen.

i'm going to work on it though, i'd like to take advantage of the camera's ability to record vid.

nevertheless, we did use the headphones as an extra prop! :upsidedow

http://i.imgur.com/oPND19H.jpg

Get yourself a magnetic magnifying viewfinder and that monopod. I promise it will make all the difference in the world.

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/New-B...933939501.html

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/LVF-4...685861995.html

spot on.

i was thinking i definitely need that monopod,

was also figuring a monitor mounted on the hotshoe, i do have an hdmi-out on the cam body.

you recommend an mmv over a monitor?

For what you are doing, yeah. You'll be more mobile for sure.

I have a 7'' Lilliput monitor, and it looks ridiculous and is pretty unwieldy mounted on the camera on the monopod.

I think you'll see a HUGE difference in what you can do with the viewfinder and a monopod with a fluid head on it.

hah, that lilliput is the monitor i have in my shopping cart! i think i will pick up both the monitor and the viewfinder, it would be much better if the viewfinder works out, i need to have a pretty lightweight rig.

For the price, it's a great monitor. It works well with my main camera, and doesn't look like a huge eyesore. :winkwink:

you know what, i was looking at it wrong, pun intended :winkwink: i was looking at it like how i currently shoot video- live view, hold the camera out away from my eye.

but with the viewfinder, i can shoot video holding the camera up to my eye!

that's pretty huge right? hmmm.......

Yeah, it's an extra point of contact. Helps keep your movement stable.

Thanks.


Your work has always been top Notch! You have always been on point with what you do. Turning out Great things on a budget, is key. Thats where I think Porn Shooters are really good at. Good content on a budget.


HAHAHA! Funny! Me and Craven are pulling the permits and prepping for another Hollywood Undead Music Video shoot this Tuesday. Got the Kid from Breaking Bad in it.

Seems like every time we do these, we are in some kind of competition with some Big Name music video director.


Our 10K budget versus the other guys 250K Budget. Funny shit!!!


Just Dave

Last time we got tried out this is how it went down:

Craven called me up and said that the Record Label doesn't think that we are any good because we are porn shooters. We got no budget and they guy who shot their other video for 650K had a bigger lunch budget than we have as a Video Production budget.

Me: Fuck Em All! Bring it!!!! Im in!!!

650K Video Production cost shot on film:



Ours for 5K Production Costs shot on MK2s and a lot of favor cards we pulled



Once again we are up against a big-time Music Video director, but at least the Music Label knows we are capable and we have a way better budget and a pretty sick concept. Being friends with the band is a big Plus and Craven being super tight with all of the members of the band and the time he spent on the road with them is also a huge advantage for us.Shit!! I would do this stuff for nothing!


Fun Stuff!


Just Dave

Very very special. :2 cents:

Excellent :)

Great info in this thread :thumbsup