Hello indietalk vets. I am a rookie filmmaker looking to purchase my first DSLR. While I initially lusted after a BMCC I am now well aware it's out of my price range if I intend to actually ever use it correctly. As such, I've decided to work towards a DSLR. I have a measly $340 saved up in my camera fund right now. However, I am looking at acquiring a job over the summer to add to this modest budget. Altogether, I'd say I'd be willing to spend maybe double my $340 on my first camera. However, I would also like to develop an amateur repertoire of film equipment. Namely, lenses. Seeing as how I will most likely enter college in the fall and some type of film school, more advanced equipment will be available to me. However, I would still like to begin building a stable of my own equipment to use whenever I'd like. For this thread, I'd like to focus on the camera and lenses alone. I believe sound equipment and other accessories can be addressed at a later date. Thank you all for your help and I look forward to your answers!
My First Camera
- Thread starter Artorius
- Start date
Hi Artorius - with your budget, I would get a new Panasonic GH2 body (currently on closeout for $499), an inexpensive adapter and some inexpensive classic Nikon lenses.
Or, if the new units are sold out before you're ready to buy, you should still be able to get a used GH2 with the starter 14-42 lens from Amazon Warehouse Deals for $623.
See my post here for examples of what this camera can do.
I will leave it to others to tell you that sound is just as important as cameras and lenses
Hope this is helpful and best of the holidays,
Bill
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Hi Artorius - with your budget, I would get a new Panasonic GH2 body (currently on closeout for $499), an inexpensive adapter and some inexpensive classic Nikon lenses.
Or, if the new units are sold out before you're ready to buy, you should still be able to get a used GH2 with the starter 14-42 lens from Amazon Warehouse Deals for $623.
See my post here for examples of what this camera can do.
I will leave it to others to tell you that sound is just as important as cameras and lenses
Hope this is helpful and best of the holidays,
Bill
Well, I got a brand new GH2 body for $470 on a great deal! My parents were willing to pay the difference between the price and the $350 as a graduation/christmas gift. Thanks for the advice. As far as the sound goes, I wanted to purchase the camera to play around with the settings and such first before purchasing sound equipment. I have a really nice sound recorder already and a shotgun mic so any issues there can be addressed later. Right now I want to focus on the camera and lenses.
You've helped me this far, I was wondering now what relatively "cheap" lenses I could save towards in the future. Of course I want quality, but at the moment I'm not shooting any big projects, I'm just trying to get to know the camera. What would you recommend in this case? I also noticed there is a thread titled Starting GH2 Lens for Complete Noob?, should I just go with the suggestions expressed there?
Artorius - congratulations on the great deal on the GH2! If you go over to the thread you referenced, you'll find that I recommend the $149 (on sale) Sigma 19mm and 30mm lenses for shooters on a budget. Good in low light, autofocus and autoexposure work well with the camera, and a lot less expensive than comparable Panasonic or Olympus lenses.
Add that to a $229 Panasonic 45-200 zoom, and you'll have a pretty complete set of 100% compatible micro 4/3 lenses for less than the cost of my first lens - the $619 Panasonic 14-140 kit lens.
Hope that's helpful,
Bill
I really appreciate all the help you've given me and I have one more questions. I found these two links for Canon EOS EF to MFT adaptors.
http://www.amazon.com/EzFoto-adapte...S-Micro+4/3+M4/3+adapter+w/Build-in+Aperture!
http://www.amazon.com/DSLRKIT-Build...S-Micro+4/3+M4/3+adapter+w/Build-in+Aperture!
Considering I have a good friend who has invested a lot in Canon glass and would be willing to lend me some, would it behoove me to purchase either one of these adaptors? Or is Canon glass on a MFT just a bad idea? Again, many thanks for your help.
http://www.amazon.com/EzFoto-adapte...S-Micro+4/3+M4/3+adapter+w/Build-in+Aperture!
http://www.amazon.com/DSLRKIT-Build...S-Micro+4/3+M4/3+adapter+w/Build-in+Aperture!
Considering I have a good friend who has invested a lot in Canon glass and would be willing to lend me some, would it behoove me to purchase either one of these adaptors? Or is Canon glass on a MFT just a bad idea? Again, many thanks for your help.
Hi Artorius - These will work - but , as one of the reviewers for the EZFoto adapter says, you risk "vignetting" around the frame of your image as you stop down the iris on the adapter.
As you probably know, EOS lenses are tough to adapt, because their apertures default to fully open when you power the camera down and take them off the camera. The manual aperture built into these adapters is a way around this problem - but it often causes vignetting around the frame of the image.
The best answer is the RedRock Micro EOS to Micro 4/3 adapter - which gives you full electronic autofocus and iris control - but it costs more than the camera!
Again, hope this is helpful,
Bill
As you probably know, EOS lenses are tough to adapt, because their apertures default to fully open when you power the camera down and take them off the camera. The manual aperture built into these adapters is a way around this problem - but it often causes vignetting around the frame of the image.
The best answer is the RedRock Micro EOS to Micro 4/3 adapter - which gives you full electronic autofocus and iris control - but it costs more than the camera!
Again, hope this is helpful,
Bill