Rebel T3I

A

al0953

Hi guys! Still relatively new to the site, but here's my first post. I recently bought my first camera, a Rebel T3I/600D and i love what it's doing so far. So far i've only gone out and shot a few test footages. But i was wondering if anyone has any tips on where to go from here. Buy a tripod next? Lens? Experiment some more? Any kind of thought or tidbit of experience would be great :) thank you
 
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What kind of money are you looking at spending, for accessories?


Some basic necessities include:

Neutral Density Filter (ND) - allows greater control over light.

Ultraviolet Filter (UV) - the #1 line of defense against the lens being damaged.

Tripod of some type. Even a cheap one. 'Cos shakey-cam gets old fast.

Other stuff:

Lighting equipment - Your camera is only as good as the image it sees. Hard to suggest a path for this, though, without a ballpark budget. You can do it for $20 at Home Depot, or for thousands with named gear. Or even just rent it, for when you need it. (Renting is my #1 choice. I don't need a garage full of stuff I only use a few times each year)

Have you thought about how you want to capture your audio?
 
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Thank you for the quick responses! I already have a MacBook Pro at the highest specs from last year, and I have Final Cut Pro (so 50% of the process is taken care of XD) But i make about 400-500 dollars every two weeks, with expenses that leaves at about 300 every two weeks. For sound i wanted to start with the standard Zoom H4N and a boom mike, and i thought i'd hold off on the lights till i get the more essential stuff (ofcourse lighting is what cinematography is all about lol)
 
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Depending on what you intend to do with your equipment, I suggest thinking about renting equipment for shoots. One of the interesting revelations of joining this forum was that all the professionals looked down on us folks that buy all our equipment. When you think about it, they're really right... for 500 dollars, or something, you can get a RED camera for the day, you know? (Not that it would be simple handling the footage, but you get what I mean!) In addition, when you hire a sound guy or whatever, they're generally expected to bring their own equipment. Also, you don't have to worry as much about maintenance, buying new stuff when the stuff you own is old, and so on.

It's just something to consider, really. If you're like me, you might not have even thought of it.
 
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I understand that, but for a full production renting the equipment could amount to higher amounts of money than you would spend on actual equipment. Though sound guys are ideal, i'd still like to learn a little and be a jack of all trades, i mean, that's the indie spirit right?
 
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Yeah, for just starting out, and less expensive equipment, it doesn't really make sense.

After a certain point it's no longer an advantage to rent, but for like 2 weeks at a time, it's not a bad option. And that's enough time to shoot a feature, if you're quick about it!

For the same amount of money, you can have equipment that costs many times more than what you have to spend.
 
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