Why it’s worth it to buy decent gear

We get questions almost daily from people interested in shooting/producing multimedia projects, wondering what they need to buy to do it well.  We have a suggested gear list on our website, but a lot of people come back with, “Wow, that all costs a lot.  What are some good, cheap options?”  MediaStorm Producer Bob Sacha offers his thoughts on why it really is worth it to go all in:

Everyone wants to buy the smallest lightest video camera because we’re already carrying a lot of gear.

But be careful not to short change yourself. Most of the palm-sized video cameras make it difficult or impossible to access basic controls like ISO and Gain and most do not allow an external microphone.

For the still photographer, this is the equivalent of not being able to adjust your ISO (gain) and having to hunt three levels down in a menu to change the white balance. The white balance is a special disaster since it’s crucial in video to custom white balance every time you change lighting conditions.

The next thing people don’t want to buy is a decent microphone. But using the built in microphones, even on relatively high end video cameras, is the same as using the pop up flash on your still camera as your main light. That’s pretty much reserved for the direst of emergencies.

I can tell you from experiences in our workshops what happens to a great photographers when they try to shoot video or record audio with cheap gear: the cheap gear always wins and that’s a net loss for everyone.

Yes, decent gear is not cheap. But you’ll end up paying one way or the other.