Hey there.. just wanted to say hello, the 'dreaded first post'.
I am in the process of closing down a rental shop here on the East Coast and have had gear on my mind the last several weeks. We amassed a huge inventory and over 3 years sunk a good $2,000,000 into it. Amazing how quickly it goes. I had been in the industry for almost 20 years prior but I still learned some very important lessons, a few of which I'll share with anyone that cares to listen!
The biggest and most important rule I EVER learned, at no matter what point in my life.. if the price seems too good to be true, IT IS!!!! Run in the other direction. Time and time again, I had been tempted with deals, offers, clones, used gear... you name it, and any time there was a price that just stood out and made me think "why is it so cheap'? it was because it was a piece of junk or there was something wrong with it.
You know those cheap HMI's on eBay from China? You know, the ones that are (in some cases) 1/4 of comparable ARRI's? They are not worth the little bit that they do charge. I mean they are down right dangerous. No there are a few companies in China that produce EXCELLENT gear. Filmgear is one of them. We had almost $75,000 worth of Filmgear product and it performed spectacular. And they did service to a T. Anytime there was a problem, no matter how small, they would make it right. Yes, the prices were less than ARRI, but still.. not 1/2 or 1/4 of the price. They were sometimes 15-20% less and that's because labor is less in China I am sure. But when i was picking though everything and selecting a few items to hold on to, I kept Filmgear fixtures over any others.
Those cheap Kino knock-offs? JUNK man.. I know because I had several that I bought on whim. Then I have rentals with ballasts that don't fire, bulbs fall out of the crummy clamps and if I'm lucky, they might even start smoking!! Coollights though? Not bad for the most part. Nice, tight construction... fitment was always good... they just felt sturdy and always performed very well while on a rental. We spent a good deal with Richard and that man knows his stuff. It seems like he scours the world (or most of Asia) for good manufacturers and works with them to make the gear even better. We had many different items from him and I also am hanging on to several of his products...
The stuff from India? REALLLLLLLLLLLLLY Bad... and yup , I know because I had to find out for myself! Their Flycam (which is a Glidecam knock-off) camera stabilizer should really be called the SHITCAM, because that's what it is... you can't even count on them to stay together. God-forbid if you ever have to tighten anything down, it will snap right off in your hand. Everything is plastic, everywhere... and yup, I've got one that will be for sale soon (with a huge disclaimer).
Items that really stood out by smaller manufacturers... These are items that are very well made IMHO, meant to last and nowhere like a rental house will test stuff out, put it thought it paces... everyone rents stuff and goes "ahhhh feck it, it's not mine... let's stick it in the mud for the next three hours and let the insurance deal with it!!"
• Vance Jib by Cineventions. Hands down the best jib in it's class.. so well engineered and set-up in 90 seconds!?!?! Are you kidding? It's built like a tank too...
• Letus Adapters and accessories. Only the best here.. quality manufacturing and quality materials. And very good service when needed.
• Anything from Zacuto. Expensive but worth every penny.
• Red Rock.. their mattebox is very good for it's class. We had 10 at one point and they were always on rental, came back in good condition and low-cost to maintain. Sorry though, their follow focus needed a lot of work. We heard a lot of grumbles and the 5 that we had became parts most of the time for all sorts of hybrids we ended up building for the RED camera systems.
• e-Image Tripods & Heads. What a freaking great deal. With prices of good systems running ten thousands dollars and up (wayyy up!), their systems represents amazing bargains in comparison. Once cinematographers used them one time, they fell in love with them and would actually REQUEST 'EM! Silky smooth action and very well made... Get the copper and black version with carbon legs.. sooooo classy.
• Decimator Design - www.decimator.com - wicked, High quality Video Equipment from down-under! Did I say really good shit? Down converters, test generators, etc. And they look so damn cool!
• Cinetech Follow Focus Units - super quality, hand built and we had a lot of satisfied clients her too. Let's face it, an ARRI FF is the GOLD standard.. but for $10,000 + for the whole rig? And then you need to buy 8 of them? Carl and his partner really do a bang up job and you can tell it's hand made.. it just has that feel. Get the polished wood knob for extra points with the AD
• Any of the cool light fixtures from LedZ - www.led-z.com - this is the future of lighting of course, and their lights are just the sexiest stuff out there.. check out the Brute30... stupid bright, and draw nothing in power. I think it's equivalent to a 400w HMI at a cost of 10 AMP.. TEN AMPS!!!! And you can put it inches from that pesky actresses face without melting her makeup on her face permanently. And they just look so sexy if that matters a dime.... also they make a mini-PAR which we had in our rental industry and this has to be one of the most versatile little lights on the planet. Dimmer, 3 snap in lenses, baby stand mountable... get the kit with all the accessories and you'll see how incredibly diverse these lights are.
• Sound & Audio - we always stuck with the big names here. Just too much to go wrong.. Azden Mic? HAHAHAHAHA, try ShitDen. Their stuff is ultra bad... ya know how I know? I had to get at least one.. at that price? Now I can't give it away on eBay. My baby girl uses it for a toy now to bang the dogs with.
So there's my two-cents on a few if anyone cares... I'll post more as I think of them, hope I didn't piss anyone off. I don't represent any of the brands for better or worse, I just know how hard it is to save your money, plunk it down on what you think is going to be a great deal an have it crap out a week later. And then the guy on the other end has moved on and you can't reach them to save your life!
Be well, shoot well...
Billy
- - - - - -
[current list of eBay sale items - lots of deals for the indie!]
http://shop.ebay.com/filmstarequipment/m.html
I am in the process of closing down a rental shop here on the East Coast and have had gear on my mind the last several weeks. We amassed a huge inventory and over 3 years sunk a good $2,000,000 into it. Amazing how quickly it goes. I had been in the industry for almost 20 years prior but I still learned some very important lessons, a few of which I'll share with anyone that cares to listen!
The biggest and most important rule I EVER learned, at no matter what point in my life.. if the price seems too good to be true, IT IS!!!! Run in the other direction. Time and time again, I had been tempted with deals, offers, clones, used gear... you name it, and any time there was a price that just stood out and made me think "why is it so cheap'? it was because it was a piece of junk or there was something wrong with it.
You know those cheap HMI's on eBay from China? You know, the ones that are (in some cases) 1/4 of comparable ARRI's? They are not worth the little bit that they do charge. I mean they are down right dangerous. No there are a few companies in China that produce EXCELLENT gear. Filmgear is one of them. We had almost $75,000 worth of Filmgear product and it performed spectacular. And they did service to a T. Anytime there was a problem, no matter how small, they would make it right. Yes, the prices were less than ARRI, but still.. not 1/2 or 1/4 of the price. They were sometimes 15-20% less and that's because labor is less in China I am sure. But when i was picking though everything and selecting a few items to hold on to, I kept Filmgear fixtures over any others.
Those cheap Kino knock-offs? JUNK man.. I know because I had several that I bought on whim. Then I have rentals with ballasts that don't fire, bulbs fall out of the crummy clamps and if I'm lucky, they might even start smoking!! Coollights though? Not bad for the most part. Nice, tight construction... fitment was always good... they just felt sturdy and always performed very well while on a rental. We spent a good deal with Richard and that man knows his stuff. It seems like he scours the world (or most of Asia) for good manufacturers and works with them to make the gear even better. We had many different items from him and I also am hanging on to several of his products...
The stuff from India? REALLLLLLLLLLLLLY Bad... and yup , I know because I had to find out for myself! Their Flycam (which is a Glidecam knock-off) camera stabilizer should really be called the SHITCAM, because that's what it is... you can't even count on them to stay together. God-forbid if you ever have to tighten anything down, it will snap right off in your hand. Everything is plastic, everywhere... and yup, I've got one that will be for sale soon (with a huge disclaimer).
Items that really stood out by smaller manufacturers... These are items that are very well made IMHO, meant to last and nowhere like a rental house will test stuff out, put it thought it paces... everyone rents stuff and goes "ahhhh feck it, it's not mine... let's stick it in the mud for the next three hours and let the insurance deal with it!!"
• Vance Jib by Cineventions. Hands down the best jib in it's class.. so well engineered and set-up in 90 seconds!?!?! Are you kidding? It's built like a tank too...
• Letus Adapters and accessories. Only the best here.. quality manufacturing and quality materials. And very good service when needed.
• Anything from Zacuto. Expensive but worth every penny.
• Red Rock.. their mattebox is very good for it's class. We had 10 at one point and they were always on rental, came back in good condition and low-cost to maintain. Sorry though, their follow focus needed a lot of work. We heard a lot of grumbles and the 5 that we had became parts most of the time for all sorts of hybrids we ended up building for the RED camera systems.
• e-Image Tripods & Heads. What a freaking great deal. With prices of good systems running ten thousands dollars and up (wayyy up!), their systems represents amazing bargains in comparison. Once cinematographers used them one time, they fell in love with them and would actually REQUEST 'EM! Silky smooth action and very well made... Get the copper and black version with carbon legs.. sooooo classy.
• Decimator Design - www.decimator.com - wicked, High quality Video Equipment from down-under! Did I say really good shit? Down converters, test generators, etc. And they look so damn cool!
• Cinetech Follow Focus Units - super quality, hand built and we had a lot of satisfied clients her too. Let's face it, an ARRI FF is the GOLD standard.. but for $10,000 + for the whole rig? And then you need to buy 8 of them? Carl and his partner really do a bang up job and you can tell it's hand made.. it just has that feel. Get the polished wood knob for extra points with the AD
• Any of the cool light fixtures from LedZ - www.led-z.com - this is the future of lighting of course, and their lights are just the sexiest stuff out there.. check out the Brute30... stupid bright, and draw nothing in power. I think it's equivalent to a 400w HMI at a cost of 10 AMP.. TEN AMPS!!!! And you can put it inches from that pesky actresses face without melting her makeup on her face permanently. And they just look so sexy if that matters a dime.... also they make a mini-PAR which we had in our rental industry and this has to be one of the most versatile little lights on the planet. Dimmer, 3 snap in lenses, baby stand mountable... get the kit with all the accessories and you'll see how incredibly diverse these lights are.
• Sound & Audio - we always stuck with the big names here. Just too much to go wrong.. Azden Mic? HAHAHAHAHA, try ShitDen. Their stuff is ultra bad... ya know how I know? I had to get at least one.. at that price? Now I can't give it away on eBay. My baby girl uses it for a toy now to bang the dogs with.
So there's my two-cents on a few if anyone cares... I'll post more as I think of them, hope I didn't piss anyone off. I don't represent any of the brands for better or worse, I just know how hard it is to save your money, plunk it down on what you think is going to be a great deal an have it crap out a week later. And then the guy on the other end has moved on and you can't reach them to save your life!
Be well, shoot well...
Billy
- - - - - -
[current list of eBay sale items - lots of deals for the indie!]
http://shop.ebay.com/filmstarequipment/m.html
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