Every time I open up DV Magazine I get that feeling like I need to bust out my camera and do some shooting. I keep telling myself that at the very least I'll get out to CP and shoot some HD video of stuff. The 16 gig P2 cards have come down in price enough that I think I can justify buying one and finally use that camera to its potential. Most of the stuff I've shot and posted online was in standard def, although it sure makes beautiful video at that rate.
I've also come to realize that I need to get a better tripod. My Bogen is very heavy, and really it's the head that I'm not fond of. I don't mind the weight, as you could support a car on that thing, but the head I have was fairly inexpensive, and the lack of smooth motion when I shoot moving stuff is apparent. I suppose I could just get a new head (the 519 looks nice), but I have to decide if I really want to stick with the system or move on to something else, like a Sachtler, which just introduced a system that is essentially a tripod, mini tripod and monopod all wrapped up into one sweet unit. Granted, it's like two grand with a decent head. The ball leveling is what I want most.
I've also been considering an external mic for the camera. I don't use on-camera audio that much for the stuff I've shot, especially for interview stuff, but it would certainly make a difference for the ambient sound. One of the annoying things is that the on-camera mic is totally omni-directional, so you can hear the camera's zoom lens. That's no good.
I've been eyeballing 35mm adapters, and it's good to see more vendors releasing them and the prices coming way down. These adapters essentially allow you to use lenses from 35mm cameras on video cameras. The benefit is that you can use a 30-year-old Nikon 50mm that stops down to f/1.4 and get the kind of dramatic short depth of field that you see in photos, which looks very film-like. If I were more serious about shooting a film, I'd totally use one of these. They create some goofy looking rigs to be sure, but I think they open a lot of creative doors for people that can't spend six figures on more expensive gear.
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