WHEN - Like many things in life, it's not the initial purchase that sets you back, it's all the accessories you find yourself needing. Video production takes this rule and runs with it. I've been purchasing accessories ever since I started buying equipment over 7 years ago.
HOW - I use various accessories depending upon the needs of a shoot. I have various cases to organize everything and just take what I need when I head out for production. A time for everything, a place for everything.
WHO - If you've been reading and you know anything about me, you'll know most of my work is tailored to event/corporate video. However, many of the accessories I use are identical to those used in any line of video work, and have wide-ranging application.
So the best way to do this is just list things out, right? Right.
- Protective filter - the single most important item to accessorize any camcorder. Absolutely required.. These are usually screw on filters, just buy the size that matches your lens (check the manual). On my DVX100B and HMC150, it's a 72mm mount, so I have a Tiffen 72mm clear protection filter. These cost anywhere from $10 to $200, with the high end ones including multi coating to prevent/reduce glare and other anomalies that can be encountered with cheap glass. Tiffen is always a safe bet, so check them first. And it doesn't have to necessarily be listed as "clear" or "protective" to get the job done. Most UV filters do the same thing, while also reducing UV ray damage potential (although to what degree, who knows?)
- Shotgun microphone - All cameras include onboard audio capabilities, but when you're capturing critical sound, it's a much better idea to utilize a separate microphone. For one thing, the camcorder microphones usually are somewhat low quality, they just get the job done. For another, just about any sound you make when handling your camcorder - zooming, focusing, opening or closing the LCD, breathing - will be picked up by the camcorder mic. Best bet is to get a separate microphone (such as the one I will be listing in an upcoming review, the Røde NTG-2) and use a shock mount. Even better, hire an audio guy for your productions and don't even mess with the audio yourself. Just be sure that if you're mounting onto your camera that you don't get a microphone that's too long...it could break off your shockmount or even make an appearance in your next film by sticking out too far.
- NOTE: Panasonic and most other manufacturers usually sell their own shotgun mic to go along with the various cameras. I'd caution against it, as the mics are usually overpriced and underwhelming in terms of quality. Also, buy getting a true shotgun, you can use it outside of the camera itself - say, on the end of a boompole, or otherwise placed away from the camera and closer to the subject.
- Batteries - Nowadays, most cameras include a halfway decent battery that can give you 3-5 hours of juice (varying depending upon what you are doing, what screens are on, etc). Nonetheless, you want at least 1 spare battery (notice I mentioned "Batteries" in the plural at the start of this item). The name brands are usually the way to go, but occasionally you can find a 3rd party battery that works at least well - if not better - than the manufacturer's brand. And of course, the 3rd party options are usually 25-30% cheaper.
- It's also not a bad idea to grab a cheap battery tester. There are plenty of these available for cheap and they can help you see whether a battery needs charging or not. Great for when you're cycling through multiple batteries during an event...nothing as annoying as reaching in the camera case for a battery and pulling one out that you've already used up.
- White Card - doesn't have to really be anything fancy, it just needs to be white. You will seldom ever want to use your camera's auto white balance feature, so you will usually be setting white balance manually. Of course, if someone on your set is wearing a white shirt, that usually will work in a pinch. Sometimes when you buy a camera bag, matte box, light or other camera accessory the manufacturer will include a fairly sturdy white card (Porta Brace comes to mind). I actually purchased a product called Warm Cards and have found that this system works amazingly well. Read the manufacturer info for more details on that one.
- Headphones - Kinda hard to know whether or not the audio sounds good without listening to it, eh? Big thing to consider - and hard to know until you've been told about it - is that you need to match headphone impedence to the headphone jack of your camcorder. With that said, there are 3 basic kinds of headphones:
- Closed ear - these are the big ones, look like earmuffs. Usually the best quality, and since they completely surround your ear, they block out most ambient noises so you can focus on the sound you are recording. Critical audio recordings demand this style of headphone, and the prices can be quite steep. This is the style I use most often (specifically, Sennheiser HD 280 Pro).
- On ear - these are pretty standard headphones, they just sit on top of your ear. Average quality, average prices.
- In ear - these are also called earbuds, they go in your ear. There are some of these style that are quite expensive, and quite good, but it's very difficult to match the quality of a closed ear headphone set in such a tiny little earpiece. These are good if you simply need to monitor the overall level audio, and not necessarily the quality. The nice thing about these is they are teeny-tiny and will fit anywhere in your camera case.
- Camera case - these come in all shapes and sizes, from camcorder-only cases (holds just the basic camera with a battery and some tapes) to big carry-everything cases (usually holds a lot of the accessories you might have purchased to go with your camera). There are hard shell cases and soft shell cases, depending upon your need. I've got a whole separate review for this stuff coming, though, so stay tuned. Basic rule for you, don't buy cheap stuff...after all, it is going to be protecting your investment.
- Rain cover - not a necessity unless you do exterior work that can't be postponed under inclement weather. Lots of variety out there, depending upon your camera style and budget. I have a Kata CRC-14 for my DVX100B/HMC150 and it fits nicely and works just the way it should.
