Advice and Gear - New to wedding videography

I'm a photographer, but a local wedding company offered me a very good deal to shoot video for their weddings. I'm completely new to video, and they know that.

1) Which bodies should I consider that can use EF (canon) lenses?

2) Can I get image stabilization without hardware like a slider? Is IBIS what I want? If so, which cameras have IBIS and can use EF lenses? If not, what hardware do I need?

3) If I want to add 4k to my requirements, which bodies should I consider?

4) If I care a lot about dynamic range (it is called that with video cameras, right? Not exposure latitude?), which bodies should I consider?

Finally, any advice regarding other equipment/accessories?

Alright, I spent a lot of time today searching for camera bodies. I think the EOS Rp is the best option for what I want to do. I realized that I don't want 4k at all, because my secondary bodies will not be 4k.

The C100 MK II has very, very crappy face tracking. The ursa mini pro has no AF or poor AF.

I know the Rp's claim to do 4k is basically a lie, but I'll be using it at 1080. It's full frame, so I can use the lenses I have. It's cheap, it's light, and it has remarkable eye tracking with firmware version 1.4.

If anyone disagrees, please say so.

I wanted to post regarding this matter, however I noticed I am about four months late to the party.
What did you decide to go with? What was your experience? If you still haven't pulled the trigger, I'd be glad to weigh in a bit.

Best,

Mario, I don’t know about the O.P., but I’d sure be interested in your thoughts on cameras for weddings & events!

I too have a good selection of EF (mostly EF-S) glass... but am a little reluctant to consider the R, both for the 4k crop mode, and, because the EF adapter would seem to add a lot of weight/bulk.

I believe I did decide.

I'm aiming to get a multitude of T2i bodies for catching every interesting angle, and then to add a single C100 body, first version without DPAF, which I'll hand hold. I'll use its better high-ISO performance and exposure latitude to compensate for lack of good AF, via using a smaller aperture. I don't like the idea of relying on AF because the subject is likely to not be facing the camera (can't eye track, as with EOS R) and I don't want to be compositionally limited (AF/DPAF requires that the subject is center frame, or maybe with more advanced cameras, to at least not move across the frame, as I understand.)

I think I'll get a set of Sigma 17-55 2.8 lenses. They perform better than Canon's equivalent, and they're cheaper. However, I don't know yet whether I should also get a set of $40-$90 primes for when the light is really low. I suspect not, because the DOF would be too shallow for unattended use.

The company that I'll be contracting to doesn't pay enough for me to justify buying a full set of C100s.

icor1031 wrote in post #19047888
I believe I did decide.

I'm aiming to get a multitude of T2i bodies for catching every interesting angle, and then to add a single C100 body, first version without DPAF, which I'll hand hold. I'll use its better high-ISO performance and exposure latitude to compensate for lack of good AF, via using a smaller aperture. I don't like the idea of relying on AF because the subject is likely to not be facing the camera (can't eye track, as with EOS R) and I don't want to be compositionally limited (AF/DPAF requires that the subject is center frame, or maybe with more advanced cameras, to at least not move across the frame, as I understand.)

I think I'll get a set of Sigma 17-55 2.8 lenses. They perform better than Canon's equivalent, and they're cheaper. However, I don't know yet whether I should also get a set of $40-$90 primes for when the light is really low. I suspect not, because the DOF would be too shallow for unattended use.

The company that I'll be contracting to doesn't pay enough for me to justify buying a full set of C100s.

Have you considered a shoulder mount camcorder?

Shooting stills with a handheld camera, shooting video with a handheld camera is a little more challenging unless you have a good strong set of sticks and a nice smooth P&T head with adjustable drag and brakes.

Shooting video with a handheld camera that held is a ****, without fail you will screw up the video as you pan or tilt and even changing zoom can screw up a clip.

Then you have the crappy audio that the internal microphones hand produce coupled with the noise caused by holding the camera and operating the lens, the internal mics also have a tendency to not grab audio unless you are right on top of the subject being recorded.

As such you have two choices rig a decent shotgun mike to the camera or go with a shoulder mounted camcorder which is designed for what you want to do.

I just replaced my JVC Gy-HD200's with Sony HXR-MC2500's and find them to be truly amazing camcorders, they can be operated with the internal memory but the best way to go is using a CF card that can be pulled and fed right into your NLE.

Street price is about $1400, but B&H has refurbished ones for $1K which is what I went with, they are about 1/3 the weight of the older JVC's and produce some amazing video.

https://www.bhphotovid​eo.com …shoulder_mount_​avchd.html

https://www.bhphotovid​eo.com …amcorder_refurb​ished.html

Also you may want to consider adding a LED light to your setup, there is a company called DRACAST that makes very nice but inexpensive ones that operate on the same battery the Sony camcorder uses greatly simplifying what you will have to stock your bag with.

https://www.bhphotovid​eo.com …_camlux_max_day​light.html

And speaking of bags, I don't like them for on the road use, the best way to travel is with hard shell cases like Pelican sells, I use day-glow orange ones making them stand out, and lowering the chances of somebody "accidentally" picking one up and making off with my gear, they can also be padlocked keeping unauthorized folks from looking inside to see what they can steal.

And don't kid yourself, their are equipment thieves at weddings.

If you're intending to only shoot video, then my question is what are your reasons for wanting to use a DSLR? You can get a Canon XA50 with DPAF, 15X f/2.8 lens and dual SD slots for around $2k that's much better suited for the task. There are also Sony 4K camcorders in the same performance range.

If you have a good reason to stick with DSLR's and Canon EF/EF-S lenses, the T2i's are fair for for 1080p video, especially so if you load the MagicLantern firmware. I used to own several. But if you're producing a 4K final product, the upscaled 1080p will look soft. Look at the 90D instead, which does 4K full sensor width with DPAF. I had the T2i, upgraded to 70D's, then upgraded again to 80D's. The 80D was a huge improvement over the T2i for autofocus, ISO range and dynamic range, but still only did 1080p. The 90D does everything the 80D does plus 4K.

The only reason I haven't upgraded to the 90D is I'm waiting for the 5R to be released. No sense on wasting more money on crop bodies and EF/EF-S lenses if I'm likely going to replace them in 6-12 months with full frame 5R and RF glass (or with Sony, if Canon fails to deliver).

How deep do you want to dive in? Although rhetorical, that is the defining question. Some wedding "cinematographers" are producing amazing shallow footage dof and slow motion footage to clients that are well, cinematic. Other wedding photographers and wedding videographers are producing faithful documentary footage of the event. You can find yourself anywhere from true cinema cameras to camcorders with dslr's and mirrorless cameras in-between. Sliders and gimbals and a steep learning curve will also introduce a greater latitude of choices. Extensive "rigging" can also be a part of the journey with field monitors, field recorders, various microphone options, etc. You can even become involved with drones if you like for "B" rolls and scene setting.