Starting over...have to re-buy everything and need input.

[Michael Patterson]

So due to recent events involving some douchebag stealing every piece of camera equipment I own a few days ago, I'm left with pretty close to nothing. Now I have to deal with insurance, which won't cover all that I've lost so that's been fun as well. Ok, so now that I have nothing, I guess it's a good time to re-evaluate what I had an hopefully get a better kit for my needs. So these are the main parts that were stolen(there were a bunch of other items,but these are the ones that I could use help with).

Scarlet 599 canon mount
side handle
5 inch monitor
9 redvolts and 3 chargers
x plates and handle with 9in 15mm rods
4x64gb red mags

Tokina 11-16
canon 24-70
canon 70-200
zeiss 35mm 1.4 ze
zeiss 50mm 1.4 cy mount
zeiss 85mm 1.4 cy mount

I guess other than listing these out so people can feel sorry for me, I wanted some opinions on whether or not to go a different route with mainly the lenses. I'm happy with the Scarlet and am on the list to be upgraded to Dragon. I just hope I don't lose my place in line now since I'm quite sure I'm pretty high on that list. But, if I'm ordering new, I could get a different mount if it made sense since I have to get all new glass anyway. For instance, I wasn't that in love with the 24-70 but a ton of shoots that I've been on have called for that type of lens more than any other. It ended up being on the Scarlet way more than half the time, which I wasn't that thrilled about. So mainly I need a good fast mid range zoom and then I can build a kit around that. The second most used lens was the 35, then the 50, then the 11-16 then the 70-200 with the 85 rarely making an appearance so that would be the last to buy or not at all depending.

Please give me your take on some options. I need all the help I can get right now. Thanks.

 

[PatrickFaith]

Well, from your web site looks like your mainly doing commercial shoots ... I have noticed on commercial shoots that are constantly switching in/out a bunch of redvolts and redmags, the talent can have problems due to the interruptions. So instead of four 64 gig redmags, I'd go with two 128gig. On the battery side, there are a bunch of nice options to get batteries that have a lot more shot time(you are currently using just redvolts). I like to see shoots where interviews are not interrupted with with battery change outs, so like to see things be able to run for a hour before a break is needed.

 

[Michael Patterson]

Thanks Patrick. As for the redmags I guess I'm one of those who likes to offload little chunks, but that is old habit from p2 and sd days where I was always afraid of something happening and losing a whole day cause I shot all of it on one card. I could revisit that paranoia though. I am looking at different power options though. For my interviews I'm almost always running on ad power. I usually only go with battery power when I go handheld for b roll or jib/slider stuff. The other power options out there I just started looking at but I'm getting myself confused. I do travel a lot so the whole battery and plane thing maybe an issue but I've never had an issue with the 9 revolts in my bag.

 

[Karim D. Ghantous]

Firstly, I'd like to express my sympathy. Words and feelings are cheap but I can't say nothing. I suppose that it's a good thing to be able - even to be forced - to start from scratch. FWIW.

IMHO, I would avoid lenses with significant distortion or CA. So try to find a replacement for the Tokina (maybe two primes?). The Tokina has correctable distortion but awful CA. The Canon 24-70/2.8 L has too much field curvature - however, on a smaller sensor it might not be as big a problem. Its CA is low, even on a full-35 sensor, which is a bonus. Distortion, like the Tokina, is correctable.

It's probably easier to correct for basic distortion than CA. So maybe something like the Samyang 14/2.8 might be worth considering? It has more distortion but very well controlled CA.

Basic, technical reviews:

http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff/528-canon2470f28ff?start=1

http://www.photozone.de/canon-eos/666-tokina1116f28eos?start=1

http://www.photozone.de/canon-eos/533-samyang14f28eosapsc?start=1

 

[Mike Garrick]

Man what a hassle been in a similar situation .

Agreed about the redmags for TVC work, 64 Gb the way to go. Keeps you on top of any probs that may develop & I don't see that changing with dragon either.

I guess 2nd time around you can steer clear of the stuff you think you might need to for stuff you will know you need. Its this issue that leads to my 2nd point. I would buy used aks, mounts, redmags where you can & save the dollars for the things you cant skimp on. Generally everyone buys stuff they think they need but don't actually use, hence quite often its new or close to it .........so it pays to keep an eye on the sale threads.

 

[Jason Wietholter]

Make sure to give your Bomb Squad Rep a call about the lost Scarlet, your place in line for the Dragon upgrade, etc. They should be able to help you out and make certain you get taken care of. Also, make sure to let them know about your lost gear and serial number just so that they can keep an eye out for it (if you haven't done this already).

I have a very similar setup to what you have listed. The only real difference is in our power solutions. I have Wooden Camera's Quick Back with an Anton Bauer battery plate and 4x Beillen BL-AN95 batteries. These particular batteries run the Scarlet for about 90 Minutes, they are carry-on appropriate, and fairly compact, so packing them away is easy. In fact, I can fit the camera, batteries, charger, redmags, monitor, tools, redmag reader and a few other cables into a Pelican 1510 Carry On case.

As far as lenses, I think that your setup is about as well-rounded as you get when it comes to Canon Mount lenses.

 

[Eric Santiago]

I am starting to believe in the theory of smaller SSDs.

Just the fact that it takes forever to copy a 128 full.

I dont do long format and even with some live events, I tend to find a decent cut off point anyway.

I love my REDVOLTS but nothing beats an uninterrupted shoot with the BRICKs

 

[Michael Patterson]

Thanks for the input...Jason, the order of phone calls that I made were wife - cops - bomb squad. Hopefully whoever took it is dumb enough to try and sell and without really knowing what it is or that there is a community out there that watches out for shady sales. I'm trying to figure out a different power setup as a possibility. In the year and a half that I have been shooting with the Scarlet, I found the redvolts to be only a minor annoyance when it comes to switching them out. Sure there are times that I wish they lasted longer, but I also like the fact that it keeps my kit lighter and less bulky.

My big question has to do with lenses. Since I'm buying a new brain, or used one, haven't decided (that will depend on how it effects the upgrade), I guess at this point I could look into getting a different mount if that would make sense. I would really like a kick ass mid range fast zoom and I think I could build the rest of the kit around that. I'm not so sold on the canon 24-70 especially after shooting with the 2 last week from a rental and noticed that it did not hold aperture through the zoom range. It seemed to be close at 2.8, but even stopping down to 3.2, the 70mm end lost about 10-15 ire on the histo. If I do stay with the canon mount are there other alternatives? Tamron or tokina that are worth it? Or another mount altogether that could be adapted? Since this type of lens seems to be on my camera so much, I really need to find something that can make me happy.

 

[Weston Heflin]

For your mid range zoom lens, I'd recommend checking out the II version of the Canon 24-70 or the Canon 24-105 (this one is f/4 though) - both are a lot sharper than the original 24-70 and fulfill your needs. I've got both and tend to use my 24-105 unless it's crucial to get to a f/2.8 on my Scarlet.

I'd go with (2) 64GB and (1) 128GB SSDs if I was in your shoes.

Also highly recommend the RED quad charger and the dual or quad module for use with REDVolts - with 5-6 batteries you won't have to power down the camera all day.

I'm curious to know who your provider was and if you thought your insurance would cover all of the gear? Any lessons learned or advice for us when it comes to equipment insurance?

 

[Michael Patterson]

For your mid range zoom lens, I'd recommend checking out the II version of the Canon 24-70 or the Canon 24-105 (this one is f/4 though) - both are a lot sharper than the original 24-70 and fulfill your needs. I've got both and tend to use my 24-105 unless it's crucial to get to a f/2.8 on my Scarlet.

I'd go with (2) 64GB and (1) 128GB SSDs if I was in your shoes.

Also highly recommend the RED quad charger and the dual or quad module for use with REDVolts - with 5-6 batteries you won't have to power down the camera all day.

I'm curious to know who your provider was and if you thought your insurance would cover all of the gear? Any lessons learned or advice for us when it comes to equipment insurance?

Do you not experience any light loss throughout the zoom range on the new 24-70? I had to rent some stuff out in San Fran to actually do the shoot and I got to try out the II. I'm wondering if this could be a firmware issue as the Scarlet I had was running like 3.2 or something. I don't even know if that lens was out yet when that firmware was written, so maybe that's the problem? As far as insurance goes, I don't think it's my providers fault. I use a broker for all of my insurance - car, home, business, life. They are the ones that I deal with. I'm putting a lot of the blame on them and some on me. I don't think they did a good job explaining how my policy actually works. On my policy the premium is determined by the cash value of the equipment that I want to insure. This means that every piece needed to have been added to the policy and every piece that I sold needed to be removed. So basically I would have had to call them every time I made any sort of purchase to my kit in order for it to be added. I did have the Scarlet on there and most of my lenses. But there are a ton of things that were smaller items, like nd filters, redvolts that I added, both camera bags, iPad and stuff like that. All of my zeiss lenses weren't on the list, but some of the other canon primes that I used to have were, but I got rid of them. This wan't clearly explained to me until I talked to the adjuster. My broker made it seem like you list the major items that would be a red flag, ie Scarlet and accessories (which is how I had it listed and even though it added up to be close to the original kit that I had, I needed to list side handle, lcd and blah blah blah. I guess that's an issue with such a modular system and this plan). So I was under some false/lack of info, but I didn't do due diligence on my part either to really dig into the details. I just assumed that if I bought it for my business, had proper receipts and serial numbers for the stuff that had serials, that I would be safe. Not the case. Lesson learned, a really hard way. There is just so much stuff I have to replace that I probably won't be back up and running until Sept after all is said and done.

 

[Brian Merlen]

i'd get paglink batteries for hotswaps (and 1 charger can charge 16 v mounts at once)...or bebob for the ptap...

as for glass, i'd try to upgrade to PL, unless your happy with dslr glass. and if possible, but probably not since you seem to be in a rush, i'd even consider waiting and renting for now until dragon debuts, you might get a better price on MX then , or can just skip to Dragon for maybe less? might be worth considering...

 

[Joachim Hoge]

I've always been a fan of bigger cards as I see the chance of human error more likely than an actual card error. As for glass it's hard to tell, we have both pl and the canon mount.
We have a Red Zoom 17-50mm and a set of Samyang/rokinon in and I'm quite happy with that combo as a cheap way to own cine style glass.
I understand you need both mounts for this though.

And I couldn't live without our V-lock Globalmedia Pro batteries and belt clip mount.

 

[Mike Quill]

I own both Canon EF mount and PL glass. For PL, I have a Lomo Superspeed set (28, 35, 50 and 75) and a Lomo 25-80 T3.5 zoom. The PLs were had for under $10,000 and they're really nice spherical lenses. I don't know any more affordable way into cinema glass than the Lomo/Ekrans.

I need to do a comparison test between my Lomo zoom and my Canon 24-70, but focusing is certainly better on the Lomo. The Lomos give a more organic soft look where as the newer Canon EF lenses have a sharper digital look. Looking at the photo below, you'll see the Lomo zoom is smaller than the Canon. This one of the lightest, most compact PL zooms I know of in this focal length.

If I was starting from scratch, I'd also be very tempted to get a nice full set of Canon FD lenses and a FD mount. That's probably some of the most affordable still glass out there, and the build quality and image quality is great.

Mike