Store/online site to buy gear/accessories with reasonable budget?

P

powernewbie

Im having trouble finding reasonably priced gear, i.e. external monitor, matte box, etc..

I do realize that I have to sacrifice and invest some money to get quality gear..

what are some good websites/stores that I can buy quality gear/accessories at affordable prices?

all the sites I see (including BHPhoto.com) seem to be really expensive..

I have a decent budget but not enough to spend $500-800 just for a matte box haha..
a friend of mine has a Cinevatte matte box, I didnt realize he spent so much for it..

thanks guys..
 
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Skaeser.com is a reliable source for lower-tier lighting gear/kits.

FilmTools.com has lots of fun gear to rummage through. Not sure if that's exactly what you need, though.
 
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What kind of gear were you hoping to get, Powernewbie? I ask because there's a lot you can do with DIY and consumer gear to accomplish basically the same thing as high priced pro gear. Depending on how much money you have, it's all about spending it in the right place.

The examples you gave like external monitors and matt boxes are cool to have and make your rig look super-pro, but you can get by using alternatives.

Eternal monitor: Ultimately, these are really just so other people can see what the camera sees. You don't need an expensive external HD monitor for critical focus and exposure. That's what the eye piece (viewfinder) is for. Sure it would be nice to have a $700 external monitor but you don't need it. If it's just a reference monitor for the director or other important crew members, a portable DVD player with the right video inputs to connect to your camera will do the job. $60.

Matt box: Do you really need one? Really? What does a matt box do? It holds filters and shades the lens. Can your camera use treaded filters? Far cheaper and just as good. And the lens can be shaded in any number of ways that cost next to nothing (a PA and a piece of foam core comes to mind).

My point here is to think about where that money is really going to make the biggest impact on the success of the film. I have a simple set of rules I follow when I'm budgeting in preproduction.

Budget what you need in front of the camera first. That's what the audience sees. Wardrobe, props, set pieces, locations... Feed your cast and crew second. A well fed cast and crew is a happy cast and crew. Then sound. Then fun camera gear. Think of it this way: You can put rhinestones on a turd and shoot it with the RED, but it's still just a turd with rhinestones on it...

Get creative and find inexpensive alternatives to the high priced gear, because in the end, no one's going to care whether you used a $700 monitor or a $1200 matt box and filters. As long as the story is compelling and the audio is clean and the video is watchable, they'll watch it.

Hope you find this useful.

www.wakethewitchmovie.com
www.bloodritesmovie.com
 
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Chad Haufschild said:
What kind of gear were you hoping to get, Powernewbie? I ask because there's a lot you can do with DIY and consumer gear to accomplish basically the same thing as high priced pro gear. Depending on how much money you have, it's all about spending it in the right place.

The examples you gave like external monitors and matt boxes are cool to have and make your rig look super-pro, but you can get by using alternatives.

Eternal monitor: Ultimately, these are really just so other people can see what the camera sees. You don't need an expensive external HD monitor for critical focus and exposure. That's what the eye piece (viewfinder) is for. Sure it would be nice to have a $700 external monitor but you don't need it. If it's just a reference monitor for the director or other important crew members, a portable DVD player with the right video inputs to connect to your camera will do the job. $60.

Matt box: Do you really need one? Really? What does a matt box do? It holds filters and shades the lens. Can your camera use treaded filters? Far cheaper and just as good. And the lens can be shaded in any number of ways that cost next to nothing (a PA and a piece of foam core comes to mind).

My point here is to think about where that money is really going to make the biggest impact on the success of the film. I have a simple set of rules I follow when I'm budgeting in preproduction.

Budget what you need in front of the camera first. That's what the audience sees. Wardrobe, props, set pieces, locations... Feed your cast and crew second. A well fed cast and crew is a happy cast and crew. Then sound. Then fun camera gear. Think of it this way: You can put rhinestones on a turd and shoot it with the RED, but it's still just a turd with rhinestones on it...

Get creative and find inexpensive alternatives to the high priced gear, because in the end, no one's going to care whether you used a $700 monitor or a $1200 matt box and filters. As long as the story is compelling and the audio is clean and the video is watchable, they'll watch it.

Hope you find this useful.

www.wakethewitchmovie.com
www.bloodritesmovie.com
Click to expand...

Thanks YES I find this very helpful....actually Im glad you posted this because I am more of a DIY kinda guy anyway.
Id much rather do that then spend all that money, Id rather save that money and use it on getting extra lenses, ya know?
it also gives me a greater satisfaction knowing that I achieved the same results, if not better results, with LESS.

thanks for the good advice.
 
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The only thing I would add to Chad's post is that if you need the monitor for focusing purposes, you must get an HD monitor. The DVD player idea is a great one, but only for framing the shots, SD on that small of a screen is not reliable for focusing.

If you are just using it for framing, check out ebay for a portable DVD and include the words 'as is'. A lot of those players simply have a broken disc reader but nothing else. But you don't need that feature. Just make sure it has video input, not just output.
 
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Dreadylocks said:
The only thing I would add to Chad's post is that if you need the monitor for focusing purposes, you must get an HD monitor. The DVD player idea is a great one, but only for framing the shots, SD on that small of a screen is not reliable for focusing.

If you are just using it for framing, check out ebay for a portable DVD and include the words 'as is'. A lot of those players simply have a broken disc reader but nothing else. But you don't need that feature. Just make sure it has video input, not just output.
Click to expand...



awesome yes thanks for this post..
I wanna get an HD monitor but I dont HAVE to have it now..

Id rather get lights, and then make some type of DIY steadicam..

thanks for the help guys
 
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powernewbie said:
awesome yes thanks for this post..
I wanna get an HD monitor but I dont HAVE to have it now..

Id rather get lights, and then make some type of DIY steadicam..

thanks for the help guys
Click to expand...
What camera(s) are you using? It's true, you don't need an HD monitor for focusing, but on most HD cameras it's a pain in the ass to focus on without it, which I'm sure you've noticed. The cheapest one I could find was actually on a 35mm adapter site, found here. It's only 7 inches, and I don't know if that's too small (most LCDs are around 3.5 inches), but it could work.

For DIY stuff, I like The Frugal Filmmaker. His designs aren't always the best, but they should give you a good idea to improve upon. The best and easiest DIY steadicam I've seen was the original.
 
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