$500 to spend….

[Chris Evans]

I’d go for a mic. If you ever shoot an event, or some run-and-gun stuff, you’ll want a mic that picks up good audio without a primary speaker.

[Steve Crow]

Yes I’d agree with Chris that you should invest in sound gear – perhaps an external recorder like the Zoom H4N or H6N. Do you had a Fader style ND filter that gives you multiple stops of light reduction (as much as 8-10 on some models)? That’s very important for the shallow depth of field look in bright situations.

Lenses are always a good investment too, at $500 perhaps the 50mm 1.4 from Canon which is much easier to work with than the 1.8 you currently have. But overall I’d invest in sound.

Steve Crow

[Bill Bruner]

Another vote for sound. I’d get a real mic such as the $330 Sennheiser MKE600, a $6.50 XLR cable, an $18 boom/hot shoe ready shock mount and a $200 Tascam DR-60D recorder. You can screw this recorder into the tripod socket below your camera – no need for external rigs, brackets or cages to mount it.

You can then plug the recorder into your camera with a $27 Sescom LN2MIC-TASDR100 cable for a backup “scratch” track.

You should also get a decent set of monitoring headphones – I recommend the $90 Senal SMH-1000s

With this setup, especially if you can get the mic on a boom and get it closer to your subjects, you will significantly improve your audio over in-camera sound.

And yes, this would take you over $500, but you can sell the Rode to make up the difference.

Hope this is helpful!

Bill
Hybrid Camera Revolution

[Cody Walters]

Here are my recommendations:

[Matt Townley]

Everything people have mentioned are all good suggestions, and I second the investment in good audio gear. That’s an area where a lot of beginning filmmakers and videographers skimp and it can make or break a film.

The other thing that hasn’t been mentioned is a good external monitor. I have kicked myself too many times because I thought I had good focus when I didn’t. It’s great shooting at 1.4 or 2.8 with a fast lens, but the tiny display on most DSLRs make things look sharp even when they really aren’t. At apertures that high, the difference between having a subject’s nose in focus is a fine hair away from having their closest eye in focus and it makes a world of difference when it gets on a big display. For $500 you could get a smallHD DP4, which has focus assist modes to help with focusing, false color for exposure (no waveforms at this price point, but that’s ok for now) and can also help with off angle viewing instead up going to the 60D.

[David Rehm]

Yes, I agree with others – get some sound equipment.

Many recommended the Zoom H4n – which is a great unit but the Tascam DR-40 is much less and delivers just as well with tons of features. I would purchase a filed recorder and a shotgun mic (Rode). You’ll have a little bit left over – maybe buy your wife some flowers/candy. If you’ve already done that buy some extra cards and a good card case that is waterproof. We just got our income tax and, like yourself, my wife is “letting” me spend $400. I was content with that until my editing machine started giving me problems that wasn’t worth fixing. My wife just “let” me order a whole new build (YEAH!!!). Now I will finally be able to play HD footage in Premiere without everything looking like a robot.

About cards – for video work you don’t need to buy these fast cards. Photos are more demanding than video. Save your money and buy the 20MB/sec cards – which is more than enough. You can’t beat this deal here for a PNY 32GB card for 14.99 (and free shipping). I bought 5 of them.
https://www.bjs.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?catalogId=10201&storeId=10201&langId=-1&pageSize=40&currentPage=1&searchKeywords=32GB+PNY&tASearch=&originalSearchKeywords=pny+32gb

I have a Nikon D7000 and the only cards I have used are PNY. I have 2 better cards and the rest are the 20MB/sec cards. I have never had a fail in 2 years. I shoot extensive video. A few weeks ago I shot all day (almost 4 hours of sermons/lectures with no problems.

The reason to get the higher-end cards are for shooting photos and to have a water-proof and shock-proof card – which the lower end are not.

David

[Jason Jenkins]

[Matt Townley] “The other thing that hasn’t been mentioned is a good external monitor.”

I agree. You will never find me without my SmallHD monitor on a shoot. Absolutely essential!

Jason Jenkins
Flowmotion Media
Video production… with style!

Check out my Mormon.org profile.

[Scott Simpson]

I’m late to the game in replying, but I’ll join the chorus of people recommending some sound gear. Even a used Zoom recorder would be a game-changer for you.

An external monitor would be great, but I’d go for the sound stuff first.

—
Radio guy in a TV world. Bigasssuperstar.com

[David Rehm]

Agreed. The monitor can wait because you can always get a cheap loupe that works for $20 or $30.

David