Budgeting Equipment Help

[BlakeWink]

Hey everyone,
This is my first post on the boards and I'm looking for some advice. I intend on buying my first set of film making equipment in the next month or two and am having a difficult time deciding how to distribute my budget. I have between 3 and 4 thousand dollars to spend. I want to purchase a camera that shoots 1080 and shoots 24p. I recently got to work with the Panasonic HVX-200A and was very impressed with it. Unfortunately it seems a bit out of my budget if I buy from a reputable source like B&H. I've done a bit of research and the 205a may be an option for me seeing as it is much cheaper but it will be at the high end of my budget still and i'm worried a bit about waranty. The P2 option isn't all that important to me because although I'd love to be able to shoot straight to memory I don't think my budget will afford the price of a P2 card very soon. I was also looking at the Sony HDR-FX7 because it really fits well into my budget leaving money left over to buy a nice shotgun mic and maybe a professional light or two. The reviews I found on the Sony are very mixed and it seems like not many people who give it good reviews use it for films. They use it more for weddings and events. I also read it doesn't shoot well in low light situations and has a compression issue when trying to edit?

I have to admit i'm a newbie when it comes to alot of the aspects of a professional camera. However i've worked on several feature films and am persueing an education in film. So i'm looking for advice on how most of you would spend a budget like this. My hope currently is to buy a nice camera (meaning a HD prosumer instead of a DV prosumer) because even if I can not manage to make this a profession it will be a hobby for a long time and i'd rather not have to buy another camera in the near future. I say this because I know alot of the advice given is that the camera is not the most important thing for making a good film. I am completely aware of this however i'd still perfer to spend my entire budget on a nice camera then save up money for sound and lighting than buy a mediocre camera to have those right away. This being said i'm looking for opinions on how you would spend the budget. Hopefully there are some choices i've overlooked. Also if there are any recommendations on prosumer shotgun mic's and Lavs I would apreciate that also.

Sorry for a somewhat rambling first post and thanks in advance for the help.

 

[spinner]

I was also looking at the Sony HDR-FX7 because it really fits well into my budget leaving money left over to buy a nice shotgun mic and maybe a professional light or two. The reviews I found on the Sony are very mixed and it seems like not many people who give it good reviews use it for films. They use it more for weddings and events. I also read it doesn't shoot well in low light situations and has a compression issue when trying to edit?

First, welcome to the board

Second, the sony looks like a good camera. I just looked it up on B&H and you might want to check out this page.
You get almost everything including the tripod system and a Sennheiser microphone. I didn't look too deeply at the page, so you go do some research but since you have the funds, you might consider this set up.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/493467-REG/Sony__HDR_FX7_3CMOS_HDV_1080i.html#features

The only thing you will need that isn't there is a tape rewinder, believe me, you want one. Costs about $30.

Also, a good camera is a good camera. If they are shooting weddings, weddings are dark so either the camerapersons you talk to possibly don't know how to white balance or the camera will do okay in low light. This camera doesn't record to a hard drive, its mini dv, but this is a good set up. I guess you have to decide what you want. Maybe save up alittle more for the hard drive cam. Nothing wrong with saving up. I have a friend who just got one of the hard drive cams and its beautiful.
EDIT:
As much as HD is the wave of the future, there really is something to be said about practicality. I can tell you that if I never had to import footage from tape again, I wouldn't be mad. All you have to do with those is label the clips. Did I mention that the camera makes clips for you every time you start and stop the camera? I need to hit the lotto....

I'm sure you'll get more comments on this...


-- spinner

 

[VladCantSleep]

Well, the Sennheiser shotgun is on an unbalanced connection, so you won't be able to have it on a boom. So, if you want to make films, this mic will be useless. You can definitely use the lavalier mic for dialogue in your films, but why would you pay extra for a mic you don't need?

Not sure how good the camera itself is, but I'd want to stay away from packages. There is a lot of unnecessary stuff in the package that is adding to the price. You'd be better off buying things individually.