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Skateboarding => Skate Questions => Topic started by: NFLYoungboy on January 11, 2018, 04:37:44 PM
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For someone considering picking up filming, what's a decent starter camera to invest in? Also, what advice would you give if you have any? Any response would help.
Also we'll exclude phones, soooo yeah.
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My advice is to use the search option of this messageboard.
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Whats your budget? what type of footage(hpx style or dslr or vx) do you like? How much gear are you willing to lug around?
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Whats your budget? what type of footage(hpx style or dslr or vx) do you like? How much gear are you willing to lug around?
Hypothetically, I'm willing to save up and drop around $500 to $900. I don't mind carrying around heavy shit all day. I like VX, but that shit's hella expensive and high maitenence so, I'd rock anything from hpx to hd style stuff.
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Whats your budget? what type of footage(hpx style or dslr or vx) do you like? How much gear are you willing to lug around?
Your best bet is a mirrorless setup. You could probably get a panasonic gh2 used for about $300, a fisheye in the mid $200 range, and that leaves you with $400 for a long lens(or two), a mic and a cheap handle.
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Whats your budget? what type of footage(hpx style or dslr or vx) do you like? How much gear are you willing to lug around?
Your best bet is a mirrorless setup. You could probably get a panasonic gh2 used for about $300, a fisheye in the mid $200 range, and that leaves you with $400 for a long lens(or two), a mic and a cheap handle.
Sounds good. I'll be shopping around in the near future then.
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Is there any money in skateboarding film anymore?
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Is there any money in skateboarding film anymore?
I dunno about money, but the fun is boomin.
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Is there any money in skateboarding film anymore?
yes dude! fucking epic quote! My girl friend got me an hvx200 for xmas two years ago (hands down best/coolest gift I have ever been giving) and filming/making edits with my friends has been the best. We have a group of about 7/8 of us in chicago and we've been hitting the parks/streets regularly its unreal. We are all pushing 30 and having a damn blast. No one takes it serious and its just the fucking best. I recently got a gh3 for $300 on fb marketplace and love it, eazy handle from someone I found on SP and an opteka fish for $150 off amazon. If you are going mirrorless order a focal reducer from china off ebay, I got one for $75 and its essential. It took about 3 weeks to get. whats your insta I wanna see what you make my dude!
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Is there any money in skateboarding film anymore?
I made this my sig, I fuck with it heavy
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Tons of DSLR options for under $500 that's a good place to start. You could probably get a fisheye/accessories and handle as well pending the camera. I have a canon T2i & T3i Im looking to sell DM me if interested. If you want a camcorder style the Panasonic hmc40 for $500-$700 and century baby death for under $200, opteka even less. I got an Hmc150 for $870 you may get lucky and find one cheaper. Hpx/Hvx get a little more pricey plus P2 cards cost a fortune. fisheye options are more expensive for those 3 as well, unless you can find a 72mm opteka which I believe they discontinued (I've been searching).
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I agree with what others have said above - mirrorless is a good option - particularly the higher end Panasonic M4/3 camera models. Good thing about a lot of the Panny G series cameras is that they allow full manual exposure control during video mode - which is one of the most important features to have with regards to shooting video. Another nice thing about mirrorless is that with adapters, you have access to a massive range of lenses including lenses designed for the 35mm still film format, medium format, video lenses, cine film lenses and even enlarger lenses etc. And of course native AF lenses too. I regularly use Canon FD lenses from the 1970s and 1980s with my Panasonic G2 and G6. Ive also used some of these same lenses with my 35mm SLRs. Got some nice HD footage of my local city at night with a Canon FD 50mm f1.8 wide open - shot with the G6. By the way, I wouldn't recommend the G2 for serious video work as that only records 1280 x 720p and doesn't have full manual exposure control during video recording. Just recently got a G7 - a much better camera for video.
Another cheap option for fisheye lenses are Russian made optics but quality control can be a bit variable. These often come equipped with an M42 screw lens mount. I had a Peleng 8mm fisheye but I wasn't all that happy with the sharpness (especially wide open) so I sold it. An ND filter will also come in handy for reducing your shutter speed (50th for 25fps and 60th for 30fps) though these would be tricky to use with a fisheye lens. There might be some drop in filters available that sit behind the lens.
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I got a VX2100 from eBay 2 years ago for 250€.
Got a MKII from a friend for the same price.
It's really nice to film homies, not so heavy, and easy to setup.
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Ensure you secure a tailbone to prevent unnecessary wear and tear.
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I agree with what others have said above - mirrorless is a good option - particularly the higher end Panasonic M4/3 camera models. Good thing about a lot of the Panny G series cameras is that they allow full manual exposure control during video mode - which is one of the most important features to have with regards to shooting video. Another nice thing about mirrorless is that with adapters, you have access to a massive range of lenses including lenses designed for the 35mm still film format, medium format, video lenses, cine film lenses and even enlarger lenses etc. And of course native AF lenses too. I regularly use Canon FD lenses from the 1970s and 1980s with my Panasonic G2 and G6. Ive also used some of these same lenses with my 35mm SLRs. Got some nice HD footage of my local city at night with a Canon FD 50mm f1.8 wide open - shot with the G6. By the way, I wouldn't recommend the G2 for serious video work as that only records 1280 x 720p and doesn't have full manual exposure control during video recording. Just recently got a G7 - a much better camera for video.
Another cheap option for fisheye lenses are Russian made optics but quality control can be a bit variable. These often come equipped with an M42 screw lens mount. I had a Peleng 8mm fisheye but I wasn't all that happy with the sharpness (especially wide open) so I sold it. An ND filter will also come in handy for reducing your shutter speed (50th for 25fps and 60th for 30fps) though these would be tricky to use with a fisheye lens. There might be some drop in filters available that sit behind the lens.
what about crop factor? do you just find a fisheye specifically for m4/3?
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what about crop factor? do you just find a fisheye specifically for m4/3?
Panasonic make a fisheye lens specifically for M4/3. So it will have a 180 degree field of view in MFT.
There's also a Samyang fisheye lens that was intended for APS-C and would have a reduced field of view on M4/3 cameras. Ive heard some good things about the quality of this Samyang lens except one guy who found it slightly soft wide open. Probably not an issue for skateboarding during daytime when the lens is stopped down. Though might be an issue for night footage.
The Peleng fisheye I had was made for 35mm SLR cameras. When the Peleng is used on 35mm and full frame cameras, there is extreme vignetting. Mounted on an APS-C camera, there is a little bit of vignetting in the corners and on an M4/3 camera, there is no vignetting. And obviously, on M4/3 you won't get a 180 degree field of view with the smaller sensor but it is still super wide.
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SD setup
- VX2100 ~$300
- Opteka 58mm fisheye ~$150 new
(Lurk ebay. I got one for $30 last summer)
- 2 spacers ~ $2
- 10 Tapes ~ $20
HD Setup
- Canon t3i (or similar) with stock lens ~$200
- Opteka 6.5 mm ~$100
- Opteka X-grip (easy Handle knockoff) $80
- Sennheiser Mke 400 external mic ~90
I had both these setups in the past. Well I got rid of the HD one a few years ago but the simplicity of the vx is what I stuck with. Just take out the camera and screw the fisheye on. The HD setup, you gotta put everything together which gets annoying. And don't forget to turn the mic on