Accessories for your camera depend on how far you want to go as an Indie-Film maker, if you do it for fun or for competition.
One of the first things you must look for your camera is tape. All of the cameras I have should you are MiniDV format. So, you will need, if you get a MiniDV camera, MiniDV Tape.
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Depending on the product company, one tape will cost usually 8-13 dollars. Which is expensive, especially seeing that they can see three tapes for up to 20 dollars. |
Next you should look for a decent battery, which may present a problem, most batteries for camcorders are expensive.
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The battery shown is 70 dollars, and is best fit for Canon Digital Cameras. And there are ones for Sony, JVC, Panasonic, all of them.
You will need to protect your camera from falls and rain. So you will need a bag, one that has enough compartments to fit all of your gear in it.
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Your camera should fit nicely in the central compartment, and your adaptors should fit in the front, and your lenses, and your extra batteries and such. Bags can rage from 20 to 60 dollars.
Now we're getting to the gear for more serious filmographers. We'll start first with the tripod.
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| This particular tripod is 60 dollars. Tripods are useful for steadying your shots. They also help in doing minature sets and blue screen effects. |
Now, tripods are good for steady shots, but what if you can't fit every thing in frame? Like they say, "If it's not in frame it doesn't exsist," so you will need a speacial lens.
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This is wide-angle conversion lens. It widens your frame to fit more in. It makes the picture that is standing 5 feet away, seem like 10 feet away. These lenses are expensive if you buy from a popular company, such as Canon. People like Raynox sell for a cheap price. |
The lens has threads like a screw, they just screw onto the original lens. And to protect your lens, you can get a lens protector or a filter.
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This is a lens protector for a 30 millimeter lens. All a lens protector does is protect the lens... obvious isn't it? And a filter will change how much light will enter or reflect into the lens. |
Another thing to take into consideration is your onboard microphone. Some times they will be good, but, in the editing studio to use the clapper, you may need an external microphone. The microphone below is pretty low quality, and won't pick up sounds farther away. Usually microphones like these are used in documentaries.
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Last is the external light.
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External lights are used for lighting up a night scene, or if there's low light in the area you are filming it. They're not usually to important. They can start for sale at about 40 dollars. |