What should I buy for $4k?

[David Decker]

The 7D is great, and the only issue I really have run into is the crop factor with close wide shots. Plan on getting a nice wide lens. I have also opted for manual focus Nikon lenses all with adapters for the 7D, which have been great. I tend to use a 35-70 mm for interviews to change the shots in between answers.

The cadillac Zacuto Z-Finder is well worth the money.

The only advice I did not heed and wished I had, was to build your kit slowly to see what works best for you. I ended up with some gear that I rarely use (shoulder mount and cage).

David Decker

[Noah Kadner]

If I had to pick a Canon for video shooting it would be a 60D. You will realize this the second you try to swivel the screen on a 7D or 5DM2- you can’t. This is just death when you need to take any sort of remotely tricky shot…

Noah

Unlock the secrets of 24p, HD and Final Cut Studio with Call Box Training. Featuring the Canon 5D Mark II and 7D.

[Frank Giardina]

I have the 7D and just ordered the 60D. That’s two for the price of one 5D Mark II.

Frank Giardina
17 Video Production

[Brent Dunn]

60D looks good, but plastic body. 7D is built to last. 60D has that swivel screen which is valuable to a videographer.

Buy the canon L-Series Lenses. They’ll last forever if you take care of them and the look and colors are worth the price. I try not to use a shoulder mount. These cameras do not work well with movement. They have a Jello effect when you have skaky handheld movements. I do use a glidecam with the 7D. Most of my shots are on a tripod.

Here are the lenses by priority: (all canon L-Series)
24-70mm 2.4 ( is what I use most )
50 mm 1.2 macro
70-200 2.4
80 mm 1.4

Prime lenses: 50mm 80mm 100mm are the best quality if you have the cash to buy all the lenses. I found it better to start with 2 and add more as your budget grows.

I also use the EX-1 for my other camera that also allows me to monitor and capture the audio.

Sony Wireless Lav
Zoom H4N
Rode shotgun Mic’s
7″ external HD monitor with HDMI (go to lcd4video.com for the best deal)
Tripod
Slider (either Glidtrack’s new Hybrid or DP Slider: Both great for those Dolly shots and big budget corporate shots.)
Glidecam (later, when you have the budget add the vest)

All this being said. If I were doing corporate work, I would invest in the EX-1 first and buy a 60D as the B-Camera.

Brent Dunn
Owner / Director / Editor
DunnRight Films
DunnRight Video.com
Video Marketing Toolbox.net

Sony EX-1,
Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 7D
Mac Pro Tower, Quad Core,
with Final Cut Studio

HP i7 Quad laptop
Adobe CS-5 Production Suite

[Ryan Loetscher]

I haven’t read through everyone’s posts, just thought I’d send a suggestion… You aren’t going to get your list with the 5D on 4k… I spent 5K for my camera with the 24-105mm f/4L kit lens, the $99 50mm mk1 f/1.8 prime and various accessories. It really is all about the lenses. If you can do with out the extra landscape of the full frame sensor, I would get the 7D (which also gives you 60p, yum) and get better lenses, and accessories.

ONLY buy IS lenses unless you have minimal movement on a tripod. Even on a tripod non IS lenses shake. If you need zoom, ONLY get USM lenses or your zooms will be terrible (if you need such a camera move). And I only get L series lenses, they really are worth the value.

The 25-105mm f/4L IS USM to me is a MUST have for video: $1400

I got a used 100-200m f/2.8L IS USM II for 2k… BAD ASS LENS! Gorgeous and worth every penny.

50mm f/1.8 is one of those rare crap lenses that is actually awesome! Sharp as a tac and having 1.8 at that price level is awesome… if you can, find the mk1 version. Much more solid build than the plastic mkII version.

Get yourself a variable ND Filter… IMPORTANT and under rated… and, depending on what your doing, a graduated filter. You should always get the basics like a polarizer and a UV filter. Tac on the battery handle with extra batteries, chargers, bag… you’re getting up there in a hurry.

The lenses i have cover a lot of my range… but I wish I had the extra money for the 100mm f/2.8 Macro, a wide/fast prime and a lens in the 300 range. But I spent the extra money on the extra sensor real estate… which gets you shallower depth of field and more expansive wide shots… but lets be honest, that’s still not really a problem for the 7D.

I ADORE my 5D… phenomenal… but if you don’t need the DOF and wide shot benefits of it, you’re better off with the 7D and investing in lenses and the other things listed. Hell, if it doesn’t need to be in rugged situations and the “sexy” factor isn’t in play on your ego, the t2i has the same visual quality for video as the 7D for half the price. Literally the difference between the t2i and 7D is the build and the photographic features.

One other suggestion, if you know you want to upgrade to the 5D at some point, I wouldn’t buy any EF-s lenses… the EF tend to be better quality anyway, and you can use them on any of the cameras.

[Ryan Loetscher]

I have to agree with what the Richard’s said… the added all the draw backs I did not mention in my post below. Like I said… I ADORE my 5D. But I think you would be wasting your money. The 5D was created for photography and the video was an add on that started a revolution… the 7D was built with video in mind. The new features out way the extra shallow DOP (which some feel is over the top) and the wider angles… if you think conversely, its more expensive to get into the 300mm range with quality and on the 7D or other cropped sensors, you can get a cheaper 200mm lens that looks better and have it be a 320mm.

If I had to do it over given my current situation, I would have bought two t2i’s and got additional lenses with the left over money.

The lenses are more important then the camera to a certain extent… the camera is the stereo system and the cameras are the speakers… so you have a bad ass stereo, great, but if your speakers are shitty little dollar store speakers, you aren’t going to get the best out of the stereo.

You may not feel as cool, but you’ll definitely be investing your money better.

[Ryan Loetscher]

I keep on saying t2i… that’s the old model… 60D