I have between 700-900 dollars to spend for a camera, what's the best for my buck, or would it be best to save a bit more for a camera, I am seeing alot about the canon 550d t2i. I will be using the camera to make short films. What else would you recommend I look into buying? I understand sound, and lighting is critical. Also any ideas about lenses. I will probably be using final cut studio for editing. Thanks
What is very important in a camera is a mic input and manual
control over focus, iris, shutter speed and white balance. In your
price range those important functions difficult to find. But check
out the Samsung SMX-K40, the Sony CX100 and the Canon FS200.
You will need a good mic and a boom pole.
What you're looking for is a good shotgun mic. That in itself is a
generic term that means any long barreled mic. You want a good
condenser (externally powered) mic with a “lobar” pick up pattern
to put on your boom pole. Lobar pick up means the mic focuses its
audio pick up to a narrow area. This is why you want to use a boom
pole to get the mic as close the the actor as possible - you’ll
get clean dialogue tracks with less ambient noise.
http://www.sennheiserusa.com/newsite/
Sennheiser is the mic most used by professional sound recordists.
They are expensive and worth it. Check out the ME-66 and the ME-
67. The MKH60 is the best if you can afford it.
http://www.audio-technica.com/
Audio-Technica is cheaper. Check out the AT8035. It’s a workable
mic, a little muddy and not as directional as it should be. The
AT835ST is a good mic for the price, but it, too, sounds a bit
muddy - the vocals don’t sound crisp enough for me.
http://www.rodemic.com/microphones.php
Rode mics are quite good. Check the NTG (shotgun) series.
http://www.azdencorp.com/
I’ve never used Azden mic’s. They’re inexpensive and I don’t hear
too many good things about them, but if that's all you can afford
it's MUCH better than using the camera mic.
A good mic is an investment. It will last longer than your camera
- why skimp? A great place to check prices and purchase is B&H
Photo
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/
The further away the mic is from the actors, the higher the volume
needs to be. The higher the volume, the more “noise” you get. Your
goal is to have a very high signal to noise ratio - more signal
(the dialogue) less noise (the background). Even a very good,
expensive Sennheiser mounted on the camera will pick up a lot of
background ambiance because it’s far away from the actors.
Lowel makes nice kits. Tungsten lights with stands, barndoors and
hard case. Britek makes nice light kits - cheaper than Lowel and
not as durable, but very usable. You can also check Arri lights -
more expensive and worth every penny. I have a Lowel 6 light kit
with the Omni’s and Tota’s that I bought new in 1990 and am still
using it 20 years later.
For a nice beginning light kit I recommend:
A couple of work lights with stands from any home improvement
store.
http://www.vestilmfg.com/products/ldsol/HLGN.jpg
Five or six “scoop lights” - those lamps with the silver
reflector.
http://www.nolansupply.com/small_images/cg5217yhfdh.jpg
Three or four pieces of Foamcore from any art supply store to use
to bounce the light.
http://www.artsupply.com/brand/foamcore.htm
Two or three Paper Lanterns that you can get at Ikea. I hook each
one to a dimmer (home improvement store again) to get better control.
http://www.lunabazaar.com/white-8-inch-no-frills-paper-lantern.aspx
Some colored gels (check on line or if there is a small theater in
your town they often have extras) and some black wrap.
Check Studio Depot
http://www.studiodepot.com/store/
You'll need a tripod. Check out these two recent threads:
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=27566
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=27760
People really love their T2i. To get one up to production standards it can
get quite expensive. But I know that many filmmakers are happy with
it right out of the box. But at the very least you will need an audio recorder
when using a DSLR. I'm thinking in your price range a more standard
camera would be the better option.