Working as opposed to pursuing a hobby tends to very quickly shift your perspectives on gear use.
I have always liked (needed) balance. Things have to make sense. Yes I have issues, but more importantly, I have learned to recognise this.
When a hobby-ist by choice, my gear tended to be perfected for some hypothetical future. I spent far too much time stressing the look or theoretical capability of my kit and far too little considering real consequences. Now it is based purely on genuine needs and nothing more.
Balance has now become synonymous with performance matched with depth and practical application.
My recent purchases have felt very “in balance”.
The Panasonic G9 at Black Friday prices allowed me to do video seriously, but free of pressure. Yes it can produce MOV 10 bit 4k or 4k 60p in various semi LOG styles and very nice it is. It also has 2 further levels of upgrade possible (Atomos Ninja V and paid firmware) but I have likely enough as is.
The G9 is of course a perfectly adequate replacement for an EM1 that may fail and provides a different colour palette and better AF on my Pana lens. It has several features other than video that are similar to, but not the same as Olympus equivalents and it opens the door to a Panasonic shift in direction if needed in the future.
The OSMO Pocket (1st model on sale), is the ideal companion to the G9. It shoots similar quality 4k 60p in Cinelike-D, so matching is simple enough, even for me. It provides exactly what the G9 lacks and nothing is redundant. With the two, I can set up the primary camera and then flit around the periphery with the OSMO, shooting from above, down low or slider like.
If a really big shoot is envisaged, an EM1 can be pressed in to service to add its very decent 4k Flat profile and excellent stabiliser.
For $1500au I have expanded from a decent 4k camera option up to 3 with movements and depth fixed.
Who knew that the mic in this picture and the science behind it would mean as much to me now as the lens that took the image.
The Zoom H5 has likewise provided a pair of onboard mic options (XYH-5 and SSH-6), for about the same price as any other two decent mics of similar spec, but it also provides several other options. Twin XLR inputs, a quality pre-amp for my various 3.5 mics, safety recording etc all make for a serious audio “hub”.
The H5 sits in just the right place for me.
It is only $100au more than the plasticky H2n. The H2n does have multiple mic options on board, but it is seriously cheaper feeling and limited past what it provides out of the box (no capsules, no XLR input). The bigger H6 is a better option if you really only want an interface with static mic options. If I bought it for its onboard mics though (potentially good value with 2), it did not come with the two mics I wanted (XYH-6 is not shock mounted and the MSH-6 has only short range) and finally it is just too big and impractical for a field videographer to use on camera (the H5 is pushing it).
No other brand offered the same value, versatility and performance balance, for my needs.
Into the very good 3.5 capsule line-in (XYH-6), I can plug in either the Boya/Movo or Neewer mini shotgun mics for booming or the Boya LAV. Price to performance is well sorted here also. The Neewer in particular is nearly indistinguishable from 5x dearer mics like the Diety D3 at close distances.
Headphones are something often overlooked by videographers, but with a mixed and now quite extensive audio kit and some grand ideas, I need to know what I am recording.
The same goes for editing. Guessing what something sounds like is a recipe for disaster. I managed to pick up a pair of Audio-Technica M40x, over ear studio monitors for the same price as the M30x’s. Sound Sense has a very good comparison site that tests a lot of these, and after listening to several comparisons, these consistently reproduced the source sound more faithfully than any comparable “cans”.
Again, not over or under done, good enough to trust and much better than iPhone buds.
The next step is to add a pair of matched small diaphragm cardioid pencil mics. These will allow me to mic up a vocalist, speaker, separate instrument, choir wings or ambient sound in conjunction with the primary SSH, X/Y or other mics.
Seeking the same balance equation as above, I am looking at a pair of the Lewitt 040 Match (since purchased), which look to have more brilliance and punch than the similarly priced Rode M5’s. This is important, because I will be pushing them to fill the space left by the primary. No idea if this will work, but from what I have picked up and observed, the theory is sound enough. To be clear, I am not looking to make Hollywood block busters, just provide good to very good field grade sound.
My stills kit has felt well balanced this year, so adding anything always risked knocking that off balance.
My daily kit consists of cameras old and new, lenses to match with the same in the wings and specialist cameras and lenses set aside. I had a surplus of lenses, which is now sorted neatly.
My lighting is under control and processing power roughly double my capacity from the beginning of the year.
Video, for a considerably smaller outlay, has found new value in my three LED panels (a stills experiment that did not work as well as I hoped), put my neglected tripod to use and taken my video/sound capabilities into new and “well balanced” territory.
All is good with the (my) universe which makes my wife happy.