Our Gear (Fall 2015)
We get a lot of people who ask about the gear that we use. Sometimes it's clients, but usually it is young videographers who want to know where to invest their first freelance dollars. As a result, we've decided to dedicate a blog post to our gear. The important thing to note is that we are planning a massive overhaul to our inventory... But perhaps that'll have to wait until our Spring 2016 post! We've separated our gear into three sections, visuals, audio and stabilization.
Our Gear: Visuals
Our primary camera body is the Canon 6D. Both Lauren and I have one in our kits. We appreciate the 6D as it's been a rugged work horse for us over the past few years. We choose to go with the 6D over the 5DMiii for a variety of reasons. When our business first started out, the 6D carried a drastically lower price tag than the 5DMiii, which was fantastic for our line of credit. Aside from the financial out look, the 6D has great low light performance in video mode, an absolute must have in the wedding videography industry. Aside from the Canon 6D we also use a Canon 60D, which is another great camera that we use to capture a third angle from the back of a ceremony space. Our lens collection is primarily Canon as well. We use a variety of lenses, all with different strengths. Our workhorses are the 24-70mm f2.8, the 24-105 f4 IS, the 70-200 f2.8 and the 50mm f1.4. Toss into the mix a Tokina 11-16 and we've covered plenty of focal length. Each lens has it's strengths and drawbacks, but we will save those for a future post.
Our Gear: Audio
Audio is arguably the most important part of videography. While anyone can record video on their phone, good clean audio sets you apart from the rest. We use a series of professional microphones to do the job. Our workhorse is the ZOOM H6. Being able to capture audio straight from the soundboard is ideal for us. Unfortunately many venues still operate off archaic sound systems, which makes our job harder. In that case we turn to the Rode Video Mic Pro and the ZOOM H1 with Rode Lav mic. Another option is the Rode NTG2 condenser microphone. These versatile options allow us to capture great audio, even in tough circumstances.
Our Gear: Stabilization
Perhaps the biggest aspect of video recording that is often over looked is stablilization. No one wants shaky video. There is only so much you can do to correct shaky video, and it's not a fun process. To stabilize we use Manfrotto monopods and tripods, with MVH400 fluid heads. These allow for clean, smooth movements without any jitter. We also use a Kamar SD-1 slider with a fluid head on the top and bottom. Finally, we use a Glidecam HD-4000 for movement shots, it's an amazing tool which produces great results.
Have questions about the gear we use? Or about the gear that we are transitioning to? Let us know by contacting us! We wish you the best in your videographic adventures!