I’ve got some money, what to buy

[jumpymonkey9]

I’ve got about $250 to spend for Christmas. I’m really not sure what I should get. Most of my video is just fun short films and a few weddings once in a while, and whatever else people ask me to do.

I don’t know if I should buy extra hardware for my camera, like some lighting or a good tripod or something, or if I should look into getting some royalty free music and stuff from Digital Juice. I get their magazine and they have some really nice stuff. I’m not sure how much I could get for $250 though, cause i know it’s a bit pricey.

Thanks,

Lee

[SteveShilson]

If you don’t have a tripod already, get one. You could even go to get some cheap flood lights to use as lighting, at $3 a piece you can never go wrong. Even though it may not be as good, there’s cheaper alternatives for most things.

[Videoman]

The Tripod gets my vote too.

Nothing worse than having to hand hold a camera for ages… even the smallest palm camera fells like 50 Kilograms after a while. Nothing ads more magic than a wrist cramp.

Now if only I can get enough room around me so the rest of the blind Freddies don’t kick my tripod. In other words you can’t use a tripod everywhere, a monopod is also quite useful. Either way bothe beats han held.

I use a manfroto with a fluid head

[Anonymous]

What about a chestpod? In most cases, it’s even better. You can’t always carry around a tripod .

[jumpymonkey9]

I’ve been thinking of going with the tripod, and from all your responses, I’d say it’s a good idea.

Now, which one to get. Compusolver, thanks for the list of what to look for, but how will I know if they have those things? I don’t have any video stores near me, so anything I get will be bought online without actually seeing the product. Are there any good websites to get some reviews on tripods, or recommendations?

[Anonymous]

I just got a new tripod. Bogen 503 fluid head on bogen 3246 legs. Best tripod I’ve ever used!!! The head is way smoother than any other brand I’ve tried, and the legs are rock solid. I can grab the legs and shake them and the camera doesn’t move. It’s going to cost more than $250 though. It’s about $260 for the head and $218 for the legs. Very much worth it.

[jumpymonkey9]

Well, I obviously don’t have that much to spend on a tripod. Would you recommend Bogen though? I’ve heard they’re really good. That’s what I’ve been looking at lately, haven’t settled on a model yet though. I’ll definitely post what I find out when i make my decision to get some more input.

[jumpymonkey9]

Okay, I think I found out what I’m gonna get. Let me know what you think.

It’s a Bogen 700RC2 head with the 3021BPRO legs. I chose this head over the 701RC2 because it will tilt up 90 degrees and down 60, but the 701 would only go +/- 75 degrees. The legs move individually, and they’ll go out 90 degrees, so I can get down really low if I need to. The column will also go lateral in case I need to do any still shooting looking down. I just think it has enough features to keep me going for a while.

Are there any cases you’d recommend? I’m sure I’ll need to get one eventually. Thanks again.

[Anonymous]

I would absolutely recommend Bogen. They are excellent.

That’s funny, my friend has that exact same tripod. Head and legs. It’s a great tripod for the money. I wouldn’t use it with anything bigger than a small consumer camera, unless you upgrade the head. My friend tried to use it with his XL2. Didn’t work out too well. X-D

The Bogen tripods are pretty durable, especially the aluminum ones, so you’d probably be fine with a soft case. Bogen makes these as well as Porta Brace.

[jumpymonkey9]

Thanks for the info. I’ll make sure to upgrade the head if and when I get a larger cam. Right now I have a Panasonic PVGS200. It’s quite small.

[Anonymous]

Have a look at http://www.smartass-royalty-free-music.com
They’re new so there aren’t thousands of tracks but it’s seriously good quality and both WAV and MP3 downloads. Really good prices too!

[Author]

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