So what would you spend $500 on? I'm soliciting opinions. In another interesting variation, on budgetary outlays, I've been offered $500 to spend on anything I want. The reasoning is that we are charging someone around $500 to make some dubs, and the money can go towards equipment.Well, after figuring that I couldn't slip a receipt for a Playstation or a 32GB iPod Touch past accounting, I've turned my mind towards more practical purchases.
My number one idea is to replace the tube of the Sony monitor on the A system in Edit 2. Am I the only one noticing that the image is looking greenish? $500 should cover the cost of replacing the tube in that monitor. I'd rather do it now when we have the money--otherwise I'll have to wait around until it is so obvious that the folks holding the purse strings can perceive the bad color on the monitor. That could take a while.
However, I've been thinking about other things too. A few months ago, I was making a big fuss about better production equipment. In particular, I was recommending a new tripod, an LCD field montior and a telephoto lens adapter for the Z1. An LCD field monitor is not out of the question for $500. I wanted to get a high-def one for closer to $1K, but there's a kit for a widescreen one with a resolution of 1440x234 for about $500. Check out the Varizoon kit at B&H. I don't know if this is much better resolution than the Z1's LCD viewfinder, but at 7" it is much larger--ergo easier to see. I've been griping about out of focus shots on the Z1. This should help.
Another idea for production gear is a wireless mic. Anyone recommend a wireless mic for about $500? I doubt $500 is enough for a good tripod but I'd be glad to be proved wrong.
In short, if there's some gear or software that you think would really help our work at Link for $500, please let me know. Please leave your suggestions in the comments sections--that'll let other see your suggestions and allow them to rag on them. Oh, and it's got to be near $500 or under $500--no $500 towards a new computer or something. No saving for a rainy day here--when you've got it, you spend it.
6 comments:
Hey Matt -
Wow! This is a tough one...
I think Link would really benefit from new field gear... The problem is that we need more than $500 to get up to where we should be.
I think a wireless mic is a great idea. This kit from Sennheiser has served me well in the past... Though it is $700...
Plus, there might be good reason for getting hold of a wireless microphone kit sooner, rather than later, based on this story published by the AP:
Wireless microphones flap causing static
By JOHN DUNBAR – Jul 16, 2008
WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumer groups are accusing Broadway actors, mega-church pastors, karaoke DJs and others who use popular wireless microphones of unwittingly violating Federal Communications Commission rules that require government licenses for such devices.
In a complaint filed Wednesday, the groups accused manufacturers, such as Shure Inc. of Niles, Ill., of deceptive advertising in the way they market and sell high-end, wireless microphones to people who are not legally permitted to use them. Shure says it stopped selling the disputed wireless microphones in November 2007.
Also, we really, really need a good tripod. But then again, the 7" monitor is smart... Still, I think a real tripod has to take priority over an LCD monitor.
Hmmm...
Thanks John for the input. We seemed to be doing a lot field production when you were here last year, but not such much since then. Do you think that we will be ramping back up on that? Maybe I can convince the powers that be to chip in some extra $$ for a good wireless. Seems like a sound investment.
I don't know if the Turbo 264 will help web folks--they use an opensource enocder called ffmpeg, I think. Not sure if it can tap into the Turbo 264. As I'm upstream of Web folks, I'm more interested in post or production, which I am downstream of. On the other hand I had to do a quick encode of Live from Main Street last week for a web review---it would have been nice to be able to offload the encoding from the CPU to a Turbo 264, so that I could have kept working with my CPU's unencumbered.
Does anyone have a reaction to this tripod 503HDV head with 351MVB leg or the 501HDV head with 351MVB legs? So far we've been able to rent sticks that I would guess are much better than these. Don't know if it is worth it to own something that's not as good as something that we can rent for, what I assume is, a decent price.
Hi, I would like to have a nice chair for my system.
PSSL.com has a Sennheiser EW122P-G2 Wireless lav for $550. I just used one of those on a shoot and the quality was really good.
I'd go with an iPhone to research micro-sites, applications and how to best deliver Link content in that space. Or get a high quality used tripod, which is a necessity.
Post a Comment