What cameras do you use? What do you film?

It's time to upgrade for me since I'm working at a small marketing company. I'm wondering what everyone is using and what you are filming. What cams do you like to use in what situations. Having only my small wedding film business I had been relegated to just using either a T2i and 60 D I haven't much experience with other more pro type. Don't get me wrong, I've gotten by but pretty soon we'll be able to upgrade to some cool stuff and I am the one deciding.

So far we've been doing a bunch of real estate tours however we're also getting into some documentary stuff which the 60 D will work fine for interview and such. We've also employed a few GoPros for some aerial and wake boarding footage.

However I'm thinking we need something videocamish for something we can just run and gun with.

Anyone?

I have a Canon XA20 which is a nifty little camera - about as small as you can go and still have XLR inputs. If I had the money, I'd get a Sony NX5 - a 3-chip AVCHD camera, Sony quality and a great form factor.

I mostly film training videos.

Don Rumsey wrote: ... Having only my small wedding film business...

so, being a hobbyist, my 'recommendation' is of little use

anyhow:
doing mainly 'sports', I prefer a SMALL sensor/NO shallow DoF, to keep the action in focus without hassle. My Panasonic hcv707 is doing an excellent job, did some low-light recordings in a theatre, did some interviews under some 'studio' conditions - all fine!

looking forward to announced Pana hcv757, which offers 1080/100fps (unlimited recording time!) - sports=sloooowmo :woohoo:

For wedding/marketing I would prefer a large sensor (aps-c or bigger) and interchangeable glas too; doesn't look 'pro', but Sony Nex5/6/7/3000/5000 are tempting to me.. (=small luggage)

and, for wedding/marketing I would use 'on board audio' for synch purposes only; on-set I'd prefer using a designated audio-device (Zoom H4 et al), xlr connected mics etc...

but, for sure, in your business, 'personal marketing' is important too, so a large shoulder-cam, or even 'better' some rigged device, with lots of colorful cables, and controllers and a Kompendium (don't know the english word.. those 'wing-doors') and lots of tape with sharpie notes look more 'pro' .. :silly:

What impress my clients: using additional lights & soft boxes ... that separates the boys from the men ..

Let me ask you one question. What is causing you to upgrade your cameras, technically? What is the need your current cameras are not fulfilling?

I think it really depends on what kind of work you will be doing. I just shot a feature on a T3i which looks pretty fantastic - of course it's much more about the operator and the lighting than it is about any camera.

Some few thoughts however:

1. If you need to be recording takes longer than 12 minutes, you may want to look at something other than a DSLR. You haven't said what your budget is, so it's hard to make any sort of recommend. Alternatively, you could purchase a DSLR (since you already have experience with those) with clean HDMI out and rig up an atomos external recorder. More bulk, but better quality and unlimited record time. A DSLR that has caught my eye is the new panasonic GH4 - seems versatile and expandable too with that little bottom hookup thingy.

2. How much post work are you doing? This is a decision to make when considering raw or flat recording options as opposed to baked in looks. Despite all the hype, raw is not as great as people say unless you have experience and are willing to spend hours color correcting. Yes, you can achieve more, but you have to work more. Personally, for my marketing stuff, I set the look on the set, get it 95% baked in and then just tweak a bit of contrast, white balance in FCPX for final output. This will be important as some cameras (Blackmagic) require a lot of post work while others (Canon C100) do not.

I'm always on the lookout for new camera gear (but I never buy because it is a horrible investment unless you can pay it back quickly!) so in my research these are my suggestions:

For slow mo/docu: FS700 (with the metabones speed boost so you can use Canon EF lenses) at 240fps it's an amazing camera
DSLR: Gh4
Narrative: Blackmagic Cinema Camera (note that you will have to purchase quite a few accessories with this to make it not a huge pain in the ass to use)

Note also that I left out RED and Alexa because IMO they are just too much money to spend unless you are working as a DP on jobs all the time that you can rent out to. As you said you are in a marketing job, I don't think those cameras are right for you. Plus they are super technical and while I'm not judging your expertise, I wouldn't bring a bazooka to a rabbit hunt, you get me?

Good luck - would love to hear what you eventually decide!