There is a huge amount of prejudice against what camera you have or haven’t got. Especially when it comes to size.
The general rule of thumb used by people is that bigger is better.
I happen to disagree with the idea that if you have a bigger camera, you’re a better cameraman.
You can have a Red Epic but if you don’t know how to light your subject or frame your shot, then having a £30,000 camera isn’t going to help in the slightest.
Everyone who owns a camera (including me) is envious or looks down their nose when someone says what camera they have. I envy those who own a C300 Mark II but I certainly don’t pity those who own a DSLR as a main camera. I remember where I came from and what cameras I used to use. We all start somewhere. In fact many DSLR and Mirrorless cameras have some pretty astounding features. Just look at the Panasonic GH5!
Each and every camera has its target market and it depends entirely what you use your camera for. If you just want a camera to take everyday videos on, you probably don’t want to go spending thousands of pounds on a Canon C300 MK II. Likewise, you wouldn’t turn up to a paid job with an iPhone as your main camera.
It’s a shame that we camera folk are still prejudiced against other camera owners. It’s also a shame, because it spoils shoots and wanting to work.
For me though it just Spurs me on. I can do exactly what a ‘broadcast’ cameraman can do. What kit do I have? Well that doesn’t matter. I have never been turned down for a job because of what I have or haven’t got. I’ve not applied to many but that is a different kettle of fish. You just need to know that I can do my job and I would hope that my work shows that.
This picture below is as close as I can get to an ENG style camera.
I use an Atomos Ninja Blade plugged into my Canon C100. The Ninja Blade gives me a ProRes 422 codec, which is suitable for broadcast. Then for audio I’ve got a Rode NTG1 running directly into the C100. Before that I used the Ninja 2 with my Canon 7D Mark II as it had a clean HDMI out and an NTG2 with a Zoom H4N.
An important thing to note though is that I don’t sell myself as an ENG cameraman. I sell myself as a corporate video producer and use the kit which allows me to do just that.
So now tell me, do I take my work any less seriously than a “broadcast cameraman”?
I’d be interested to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
Thanks for reading and I’ll see you on the next blog.
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