jcoons32

Haha, thanks for reading! I just have a slight addiction to peanut butter, I think that's the main issue. And I totally agree - I think upgrading audio is the first step after getting a new DSLR. They should just ship with a new mic.

Haha no worries man, and thanks for reading my blog - super appreciate it. Yea, I was just referring to the fluid base for tilts and pans which has really come in handy for me. It definitely was a little on the expensive side, but I figured I'd just pony up the cash instead of ripping through a few cheap ones. I'm assuming there has to be cheaper makes with the same functionality, though, but I could be wrong. Anyways, good stuff - I also love learning what people are using for support.

@DPStewart Hey man, great post and video. I may be speaking out of line here as I'm primarily a run-and gun DSLR shooter, but I'm curious why you didn't touch on monopods. I actually just wrote a post about this today on my blog because I find myself using my monopod about 90% of the time for my style of shooting. It's super versatile and allows me to quickly reframe shots, much quicker than a tripod. Like I said, I may have been speaking out of line because I'm not sure of your style of shooting, but I'd love to hear your thoughts.

I have a Fiio E6 headphone amplifier that I plug my lav mic into, and then right into the camera. It's basically the equivalent of the "+20dB" switch on the back of the VMP. I'm not sure if it would work with the VMP, but it provides drastically better results for my Audio Technica $30 lav mic. I know it's not the most common setup, but when you're on a budget like mine, you have to get creative. Oh, and it costs about $20.

I recently got the 35mm f/2 IS USM lens from Canon and I don't think it's going to be leaving the front of my camera anytime soon. This thing is legit. Super sharp, and it has image stabilization which isn't very common for prime. I'm not sure what type of shooting you so, but for the run-and-gun stuff I do, this was a dream come true. Oh, and it looks just as good as the L series lenses in my opinion. Except it was $500.

+1 for VIsionColor. Their VisionTech profile is great for Canon cameras, far better than the CineStyle profile in my opinion. VisionColor also sells a pack of LUTs called "Osiris" that look GREAT slapped on top of footage shot with the VT profile. Also, Magic Bullet Film and Looks might be worth looking into. Film involves a lot more tweaking, but Looks has a lot of really good looking presets. When I was starting to color grade, I would select a Look, place it on a clip, and I would try to emulate the Look on another clip with no effects. It was a pretty good exercise to learn about warm, cool, contrast etc. But I'm not sure how far along you are now after watching that tutorial video. It sounds like you've gotten a lot out of it.

Hey dude, I shoot a lot of the same stuff as you. Run-and-gun, documentary style, and I totally feel your pain. Since you have such little time to set up, I can't recommend the Rode VideoMic Pro enough. It's super lightweight and has a +20db switch on the back, allowing you to turn the recording level in the camera way down and let the microphone do all the work. This gives you much cleaner audio by removing the "hiss" that is caused by the camera's preamp. No, it's not the same as clipping a mic onto someone and using an external recorder, but it's really high quality audio with a lot less moving pieces to worry about and a super quick setup/breakdown, plus you don't have to waste time syncing the audio in post.