Hello Everebody.
Got a BIG Question and hope to get some help arround here. I want to produce more video stock footage and I want to invest mroe in the gear part. Now, I am mainly a photographer, Canon guy. Got a 5D and 5D mk II, with a lot of L lenses. Now, the video quality of the MK 2 is allready old news, so I what to switch to another camera.
What I need form the new body: 4K, slow motion, prefferably some internal stabilisation and auto focus, or at least some sort of focus system that really works. Now I am not stick to Canon only, but will prefer at least a camera that got some adaptors to Canon lens so I do not have to byu all the lenses.
Also I am interested in some other gear like a slider, gymbal etc. I do own a professional slider, but becouse is in the pro line is very very heavy and a bit long. It is a very good slider for studio productions with big cameras, but for traveling and outdoor is really too much. If you do not have an assistant is very hard to work with it.
So, the question: - what is the gear you use? Why? What other gear do you use beside the camera and lenses? What is the gear you reccomend to invest in.
Thank you!
Sadly, Canon disappointed us with the 5D mk IV, but if you want to stick with Canon that would be the only DSLR option.
Otherwise - Panasonic GH4 (or GH5 that’s coming out soon). Or something from Sony (like the a7s II - better low light performance, awesome image quality but battery life is really bad and they overheat, and only 12mp which is JUST enough for 4k timelapse, not exactly ideal - the a7r II which is maybe the best timelapse camera).
The GH4 will only get cheaper and cheaper now as the GH5 is announced. The GH5 however will be a really, really good camera for 4k video that can use all Canon lenses.
For sliders you can check out the Nebo Slider - really light and easy to put in a bag.
Gimbals - they can’t be too lightweight or they won’t work with bigger cameras but the DS1 Beholder is pretty good.
No matter how much you try to get portable equipment it always seems to add up to a huge camera bag anyway, but at least it’s possible to carry for just one person! 
Thank you! I actually was checking the GH5! I would love to test one to see if the image stabilization that they got build in the camera and there lenses is good enouth not to need a gymble. I am actualy able to take some smooth shots from hendheld only with my 5D MK2, but if the camera is having a stabilisation system I wonder if that would be enouth.
And do you know if the Camera body of an GH4 or GH5 will be able to use the auto focus system with a Canon Lense?
Now woth the gymbals I will have to do some thniking, actually was thinking of bying and old FlyCam system, they cost pennies compered to Gymblas, you do not need any battery and the setup is actually easier compared to an electronic gymbal.
Well, if you stand still and want a steady handheld-looking shot the image stabilization might be enough (for very wide lenses), BUT if you’re going to do walking/running or make it look like you’re flying no lens or in-body stabilization will be enough. You need a gimbal or steadicam.
Yes, with a smart adapter like the Metabones (with or without speed booster). It’s not as good as a Canon lens on a Canon DSLR, or a native m43 lens on a GH4 but it works.
I first bought some flycam/steadicam gear but it takes a long, long time to get good. You really have to practice for many, many hours before it’s really steady. I could never get perfect shots, lost my patience and bought a motorized gimbal.
A good motorized stabilizer works right away and you can make shots that look like you’re flying almost right away. Combined with a stabilized lens I don’t even need a tripod. I can just stand and hold the camera and get a perfectly still shot that looks like it’s on a tripod!
The movements are more robotic with gimbals though, so if you want more of the classic steadicam look, you need to use and practice that style. The gimbals look more like a drone flying.
Of course the 5-axis gimbals will be the best, but they are big and bulky and you have to use both hands. A smaller 3-axis gimbal is a good compromise but it doesn’t stabilize the up and down movement so you still have to practice your walk (like you’re sneaking while having to go to the bathroom 
).
Thank you so much for your reply! Gonna do my search and see what I will came up with!
Yes, it’s a true jungle out there with so much new stuff coming out almost every week it seems! But that only means that the gear just keeps getting better and better and the prices will (hopefully) drop.
One can also mention that with a good motorized gimbal you don’t need a slider for many shots if you learn how to move slowly. A good gimbal can look like it’s on a slider and is so much quicker to set up. It can be hard to move it slowly enough though…
I found the flycam things to be pretty easy to operate. Took a day to two to get the hang of it, but to borrow an After Effects term, you just need to add a bezier curve to the spatial and temporal movements of your arm/wrist. If that makes sense?!
Actually it does 
Thank you, I think I need to borrow from a friend a FlyCam and an electric Gymbal and play with them for a couple of days to see what is best for me.
Ok, so after hours and hours of searching, reading forums and watching tones of Youtube reviews I am now thinking about this:
Gonna wait for the Panasonic GH5 to be realeased. The specs looks really really amazing. Waiting to see how is gonna perform in the low light situations cause the GH4 got a problem there. Also wanna see how the AF system will perform on GH5. Thinking of investing in some Panasonic lenses also cause they have very good stabilisation. This camera will be only for video and timelapse production. For photos still gonna use my Canon setup.
With the Gymbal definitly gonna go with the Zhiyun Crane. Seams the best for the buck.
Still gonna search for a good slider and now I wanna get a good drone, still searching on that one.
So what do you think gyus?
The GH5 will definitely be an upgrade to the GH4, but at three (or more) times the price of course. As far as I’ve seen, it will be about 1 stop better in low light, so it’s nothing revolutionary… You will still need really fast lenses. You need to use Sony to get the low light capabilities that you can write home about.
Haven’t tried the Zhiyun Crane but it seems really good.
Regarding drones - if you need portability there is not much to choose from. I would pick the DJI Mavic (much better than the GoPro Karma).
If quality is more of a concern but size isn’t, the new Phantom 4 or an Inspire would be the choice I suppose.
DJI make really, really good drones (flying, stabilization) but they put in cameras that are a bit on the underperforming side unfortunately, unless you’re willing to spend BIG bucks for the Inspire RAW.
With ND filters, good light and the right settings the Mavic can look really good though, but there’s not much room for mistakes if you have a critical eye.
The prince point from what I have read should be arround 2000 $. The low light should be better than 1 stop, but I will wait for it to get out and see the reviews. The biggest problem I got with Sony is the battery… is just to weak for I I planed. I need a good battery, but this is not the only reasons I will go with GH5. I sow a lot of comparasion reviews between Sony and Panasonic and I think I will stick with Panasonic at the end, but I will wait to see what that baby can do.
- I was actually thincking about a DJI drone. But not the Mavic, is too weak for the stock industry. The Phantom 4 PRO got a price range I was thinking to invest in a drone, but the Inspire 2 seems to be a better drone, but the price is too much for me. But I did not made my searches with the Drone, so this is still an open question
Thank you for your help.
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