What Accessories To Get

[Lunchbox]

Welcome Brian.

YOU ARE THE LUCKY BASTARD!

We all love Jenn here. She's nominated as BEST WIFE of the year. You better treat her super nice. hehe

[bmoore]

Taky:

I feel like a lucky bastard...my wife is the best. )

I'm still a newbie at all this stuff, if I can post some video here can someone let me know what I'm doing wrong? I list all my settings on my tapes after every recording.

As Jenn stated, I do a lot of church video (weather not great right now for outdoors yet) and I still have a lot of issues with low light. I tried watching the video here about that, but seeing that I don't know a lot of the technical terms yet my videos still come out pretty grainy.

Brian

[Erik Bien]

Hi brian, and welcome to the forum!

For a beginner the photo button trick can be a little confusing, especially because the HV20 won't tell you what "gain" setting it's using: there's a little bit of "trial and error" involved. Just remember your exposure is affected by a combination of f-stop, shutter speed and (possibly) gain in dark conditions, or neutral-density filtering in bright conditions.

Because changing shutter speeds changes the appearance of motion blur, for video it's generally advised to stick to a "normal" shutter speed unless you're deliberately going for a specific effect -- I'd recommend staying with 1/60th of a second when shooting 60i HDV, or 1/48th of a second if shooting PF24.

You can think of gain as "artificial amplification": just like audio, where you can "crank up the gain" to make a quiet signal seem louder, but at the cost of making everything louder, including any hum, hiss or other noise in the signal, letting the camera add gain will brighten everything, including the grainy "noise" in the picture. Sometimes it's better than nothing, but generally speaking you want to avoid it if you can.

For the opposite problem (too much light instead of too little, as when shooting outdoors on a sunny day) neutral density or "ND" filters are the usual solution; they function sort of like sunglasses for your camera, reducing the amount of light which gets to your lens while changing the colors as little as possible, or like "padding" a too-loud audio signal to get it down to a more comfortable level.

That leaves f-stop, or aperture, as the best setting to "fiddle with" when trying to get a nice exposure, but the basic limits of the camera factor in as well: most people rate the HV20 somewhere between 64 and 100 ASA which is fairly "slow" for indoor shooting -- once you've "opened up" your aperture as far as you can go without adding gain, the only cure for the "grainies" is to add more light to the scene.

I hope that makes it a little less confusing!

[TheChad]

Thanks, everyone, for contributing to an incredible thread. I learned a ton from reading this, and I felt like a kid again because I was learning while being entertained by a story.

Thanks to the Mr. and Mrs. for sharing your shopping experience, and keep up the great work!

[bmoore]

What's up all:

I have a general question, with all the stuff my wife bought, I have two UV filters. When shooting video indoors, do I use the multi coat or the non coated?

Thanks:

Brian

[heyrobert]

I'd just use the MC filter 24/7

[bmoore]

heyrobert

should I return the uncoated filter then?

Brian

[bmoore]

Hey Guys:

I also got the HD2200 Tele lens, will the front threads from the camera/filter be enough to hold it up? I want to use it but I'm afraid of possible damage to the threads.

Thanks,

Brian

[heyrobert]

Well, it's pretty cheap... I'd keep it just in case something happens to the MC

[Bif]

Hey Guys:

I also got the HD2200 Tele lens, will the front threads from the camera/filter be enough to hold it up? I want to use it but I'm afraid of possible damage to the threads.

Thanks,

Brian

Someone correct me if this is wrong, but I've seen several comments that the filter mount on the HV 20 is plastic and too much weight can damage the threads. Also careless force could easily crossthread.

I have the HV 20 myself and the a modest weight wide angle adapter is the most I will put on the front. I plan to order the cinetactics Mattblox DV soon.

[wsalomon]

Hi

I am an newbie, i will recive my HV20 in a few days. I also ordered some of the stuff you all sugested to Jenn. So thanks Jenn, Brian and you all for the information.
Best regards from Mexico.
Salomón

[Ulysses]

Hi, awesome Thread. I never really considered buying Filters but after reading through this Thread I think I'll need them.

I found a set on ebay. Do you think it's worth the prize?

http://tinyurl.com/ys5ze5

Edit: Oh, and I use a step-up ring (43-->52mm) and a raynox hd6600 wa-lens. Where would it be best to place the adapters?

Edit2: Would a matte box like this do the same job? http://tinyurl.com/26xawl

[Miskatonika]

This thread is so great. I haven't even got my camera in the mail yet (it's coming today, hopefully) but I feel like I already know so much.

Thanks guys

[Ulysses]

bump.

Hi, awesome Thread. I never really considered buying Filters but after reading through this Thread I think I'll need them.

I found a set on ebay. Do you think it's worth the prize?

http://tinyurl.com/ys5ze5

Edit: Oh, and I use a step-up ring (43-->52mm) and a raynox hd6600 wa-lens. Where would it be best to place the adapters?

Edit2: Would a matte box like this do the same job? http://tinyurl.com/26xawl

[Miskatonika]

Ok, so FINALLY I'm getting my camera this afternoon (took long enough) and I just ordered my first batch of accessories based on this thread

General Brand Filter Wrench 48-58mm $3.50
Giottos Lens Cleaning Kit $17.95
General Brand 43mm Lens Cap $3.50
Hoya 43mm Ultraviolet UV (0) Multi-Coated Glass Filter $17.95
Tiffen 43mm Circular Polarizing Glass Filter $35.35
Velbon DV-7000 Tripod $109.95

Next I'm aiming for the Wide Angle Lens and a mic, and I'll be getting the MiniSD card as soon as I can get to a Best Buy.

Can't you feel the excitement??

~Rachel

[LudaDave]

I really want to get him a lot of accessories so he can have more options and fun.

I showed this to my wife and she said "They must be newlyweds".......ha!

[geekd]

I know I'm coming in late, but if you're trying to learn Final Cut Pro, I would recommend "Apple Pro Training Series: Final Cut Pro 6". I actually leared from the Final Cut Pro 5 version, but it's mostly the same book.

http://www.amazon.com/Apple-Pro-Trai...4515679&sr=1-1

-geekd

[SofaKing_Kool]

...... i'm not much for churches, grew up way too involved with one, the tongue speaking variety, hence the suggestions.

/matt

Sometimes churches can have too much of a cult like feel. The worst thing to happen to Christanity was THE Church. I love my church and all of our friends, but, there are kinds of churches and groups that take things way past the real reason we attend in the first place, to honor and worship God.

On that note. Jenn, I need to send you my wifes email so you can explain to her how all these cool tech gadgets are really the way to a mans heart. LOL If only I could get her to check her email more than once a year. Hmmmm

[unluckytoe]

Dear Guys:

LudaDave: We are in fact newlyweds! But I would support anything that my husband does.

As a matter of fact, I saw the new HV30, and I thought, hmmm...

I'm going to upgrade his camera and I'll get the HV20. My hubby also wants to get a few new accessories too, 35mm adapter and a few other lenses, a mini monitor, the list keeps going...

Jenn

[LudaDave]

Oh my wife supports everything I does and boy does she let me know it. Dah...em...um..errrr...Love you honey bunch!!

[sonicvybe]

Thanks to all who have posted in this thread - it really helped me with my new setup I'm putting together right now.

[PhotoMaryland]

Cool posts about accessories. New to this forum, it's great. My new order:

I ordered everything below, and I think I'm maxed out for the time being.
HV 30 - Amazon 911$
Shade hood - PhotoDiox 28$
Wide Angle - Canon WD-H43 - 182$ Amazon
UV filter - B&W Multi Coat UV - 38$ Amazon
Tripod -Velbon Video Mate 607 - 76$ Amazon
Extra Battery: Canon battery - 56$ Amazon
External mic: Canon DM50 - 137$ Amazon
Charger: Some off brand - 19$ Amazon
Circular Polarizer: 36$ Amazon
Mini SD Card - 2 gig 20$ Amazon

Somewhere in the 1,500$ range.

On the wish list:
A Worley Dof converter
- I have 10 Canon 35mm film lenses (EOS) so.....want to put those babies to use.
Some kind of Stedicam option.

I hope to use some video footage as a supplement to my still photo work, which I do full time. Sure is a different way of doing things, as in video versus stills. My hat's off to everyone here who does video/film full or part time.

Brian in Baltimore

[filmfan214]

Uh, I'd do:

HV20 Lens -> UV Filter -> Polarizing Filter -> WA Lens

I'd do the UV filter as the first layer because I keep it on 24/7

2 Questions:
With regard to the order of lens accessories, my initial thought was: if you have a WA lens on, there's not much reason to have the UV filter between the camera lens and the WA (if it's mainly for protection), so why not put a UV filter on the WA lens to protect it? But is the conventional thinking that it is not as important to protect the WA lens because it costs less than a whole camera? I imagine a larger UV filter for the WA is more expensive the the regular sized one for the hv20/30.

Secondly, I read somewhere (I think it was a Tiffen Filter Walkthrough on B&H) that you shouldn't have two filters on at once (like a UV and a Polarizer). What do you guys think? Does everyone really keep the UV filter on 24/7? Including when you put on a WA lens? And should I not bother protecting the WA with a filter?

Thanks! This is my first post, but I've been really thankful for this forum the past week and plan to keep coming back. Expecting my HV30 later this week and I can't wait.

[meall]

Hi,

I'm waiting for my HV30 to arrive, and I want to equip it with a few accessories. So far, I already have a tripod. Generally speaking, I wanna buy at a good price, I live in Canada. Don't mind buying USA, but sometimes the customs kills the deal.

I am interested in a wide angle lens. What is the best for the buck available these day? And where can I get them CA or USA? One general question I have about WA lens is: can they be used with the built in zoom to zoom out and in, depending on what you want to film, or are they usable only in full zoom mode?

About filters, which one are mandatory and why? I saw many post in here that suggest one type or another, but not sure why they are needed. Maybe except the UV filter that is recommended for protecting the camera lens.

For the battery I read that the BP-2L24 is one of the best. Is eBay a good source for price on this? I saw many sold there, but not sure of the quality of the vendors.

Is a Telephoto lens worth anything?

Any other suggestion is welcome.

As for external mike, I have posted in the other stikkies post.

Thanks

[dcmhutch]

2 Questions:
With regard to the order of lens accessories, my initial thought was: if you have a WA lens on, there's not much reason to have the UV filter between the camera lens and the WA (if it's mainly for protection), so why not put a UV filter on the WA lens to protect it? But is the conventional thinking that it is not as important to protect the WA lens because it costs less than a whole camera? I imagine a larger UV filter for the WA is more expensive the the regular sized one for the hv20/30.

Secondly, I read somewhere (I think it was a Tiffen Filter Walkthrough on B&H) that you shouldn't have two filters on at once (like a UV and a Polarizer). What do you guys think? Does everyone really keep the UV filter on 24/7? Including when you put on a WA lens? And should I not bother protecting the WA with a filter?

Thanks! This is my first post, but I've been really thankful for this forum the past week and plan to keep coming back. Expecting my HV30 later this week and I can't wait.

Good questions. I'd like to know the answers too.