Yeah, I checked some of the forums above and the SNR could certainly be better.
I'm one of those wannabe indy "kids," although not rude I've written an (unproduced) feature length screenplay, and have plenty of ideas for short films. One even with a budget that me and my friends can afford which we're looking to shoot this summer. So purely for fun at this moment and perhaps doing a festival or two some day; no aspirations whatsoever to do any commercial work (gainfully employed elsewhere).
I recently upgraded to 550D from 450D, and it should have basically the same video capabilities as the highly regarded 7D. My Olympus E-PL1 should also be suitable for some special effects and/or second camera.
I'm right now more interested in just getting my head around what I need gearwise. I found a very thorough NoFilmSchool article which covers pretty much all gear quite nicely. It seems I mainly need a set of ND filters, pan head for my tripods, boom mic and an off-camera audio recorder, and some DIY shoulder rig. I'm not looking for follow focus at the moment, mainly due to the expense involved - Redrock Micro has a $500 unit coming out which sounds promising, though.
I've been looking for a good DIY steadicam, but the best guide I've found doesn't include any schematics and I've no clue how to acquire the materials and build it - and all commercial ones are pro-priced. Even Redrock Micro jacked up their prices recently so they're out of the question.
Do you have any recommendations on an affordable editing package, something which can be upgraded to pro if features are not enough, and preferably Magic Bullet compatible? Codecs, transcoding, grading, etc are all very new to me so post is where my biggest knowledge gaps are.
Also, what is a "normal" lens for a 550D/7D for cine use? Is it ~35mm like it is for stills? I have a 14mm, 85mm and 135mm primes, and have been looking to close the gap with a 35mm or 50mm for stills. I'm not going to buy any zooms anymore, got rid of my 24-105mm F4L in disgust a few months ago.
www.Hbsboard.com is the place for DIY steadicam
I dont know if you are a professional (photographer) who can write the kit of against the business but Im just finding buy an expensive one of everything !
Or learn the limitations
a 50 1.4 or 30 (you could try the Stigma 30 1.4) is a good middle lens
personally I dont want to faf between shots and use a tokina 16-50 for nearly everything !
I use Final Cut to edit
The RR FF will be more like $6K I think but it is 'AF'
Ive ended up making my own suport system and cheapo follow focus
www.halfinchrails.com Ive saved cash with a big ND filter and some step down rings
You need to just get out there and try
You will need a Zfinder or LCDFV or a monitor (SmallHD has 720p - enough to check focus)
Everything about filming is brutal -
wind wobbles your tripod - ruined shot
floorboard shake wobbles your tripod - - ruined shot
see yourself in a shiny doornob - ruined shot
lights or reflector wobble in the wind - ruined shot
exposure off - ruined shot
miss focus - ruined shot
pan at the wrong speed - - ruined shot
wobbly lens mount - ruined shot
plane going by - ruined sound
thats before you have found shots that cut into a sequence !
and even before the sequence looks good
as for steadicam and handholding - really Zen things to do nicely
I think that one thing that makes filming hard for the stills photographer is that we have high visual standards and often frame tight stressing focus
S