For an UWA (ultra wide angle) I would skip the Sigma and go for the Tokina 11-16 f2.8. It's faster and sharper. It is a little more money though.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc..._AT_X_116.html
But also consider how you'll be using the UWA. Be aware that it is not a fisheye, it does not have barrel distortion. So if you're picturing using it for skate stuff as you would a fisheye, but not for much else, go with one of the "Korean" aka "manybrand" fisheyes, like this one:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...ide_Angle.html
It'll be cheaper, wider, and these lenses actually have a slightly UWA-ish distortion to them, so you may be able to get away with using it occasionally for other stuff. But, if you have a significant amount of non-skate uses for a UWA, go for the Tokina.
I would also skip the 18-200. As others have said, a fast normal/short tele prime is very useful. The Canon or Sigma 50mm f1.4's are both great. A 50 is pretty long on a crop body though.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...Autofocus.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc..._f_1_4_EX.html
Also consider the Canon 28mm f1.8 or the Sigma 30mm f1.4: these will give you a "normal" FOV on a crop body, which is a bit more useful IMO, especially indoors. I'm picking up the Sigma tomorrow myself, hopefully.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...e_EF_28mm.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...1_4_EX_DC.html
For a zoom, consider the Canon 17-55 f2.8 or the Tamron 17-50 f2.8 VC.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc..._f_2_8_IS.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...0mm_f_2_8.html
These will be your "all-around" lens. the IS/VC will help tremendously with handheld/shoulder-mounted shooting, and the constant aperture will allow you to pull some zooming action (if you can handle doing so). The Canon is the gold standard but the Tamron is supposed to be excellent too, at least more than enough so for video, as opposed to photo.
One important thing to consider: if you're only shooting video, paying more for modern lenses just to get electronic aperture control and autofocus (that you can't use in video mode) is just a waste. it seems your focus is entirely on video, so you should consider going the "used older manual primes with an adapter" route.
You will save a LOT of money doing this, and the focusing action on these older lenses is better than newer autofocus lenses. You won't be able to do this for your UWA/fisheye or your IS walk-around lens, but seriously consider it for your primes. You could get a semi-wide, a normal, a short tele and probably a longer tele, all at f2 or faster, for probably the same amount as just the Canon 50 1.4.
Don't bother paying $50 for a Canon-brand battery. Get three generics (but make sure they have the "chip" so they'll communicate with the camera) for the same price- you will need them. Here's a shop I've bought batteries from before:
http://lacoloronline.com/product/?LP...atible-Battery
There's also plenty to be found on Amazon, eBay, etc.
Personally I consider a battery grip a must-have for my camera, but I'm also shooting photos, and that's where it's most helpful. Its only real benefits for video are extended battery life (as the grip holds two batteries), increased mass/size (helps with stability), and it supposedly also helps prevent/lessen the camera overheating, as the battery isn't inside the camera body. It'll probably come down to preference for you. There are a few good generic grips out there too, for like $40 or so, so no need to fork out for the official Canon version.
For cards I recommend Sandisk, they're kind of the gold standard. Those Lexars say 15MB/s which is a bit low. The Sandisks I use are 30MB/s and are also on sale right now at B&H when you buy two or more:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...HC_Memory.html
The X-Grip is pretty meh but it'll work. Unfortunately you're not gonna get into anything better without being real crafty or spending a lot more. I have a Cam Caddie (the product the X-Grip is a copy of) with some mods to it, works decently and was pretty cheap to do. I'll post pics sometime soon.
A tripod is a must. That Sunpak is pretty much crap, and I had the older version of that Manfrotto 128 head that someone posted, and I'd recommend against it. On a budget it seems the best choice is the Weifeng/E-Image 717 variants, which you can find on eBay for under $200 with legs. The head has a decent action and you can get it with photo-style legs or with crutch(video)-style legs, and with or without a ball mount. Since you're just shooting video I'd probably go for a version like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/WF717-Heavy-...item19c8a3d30b
As it has a ball mount, so easier leveling, and the crutch-style legs are more stable than photo-style legs.
Here's a taller version:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/EI717X-1580m...item1e6478cf90
The next step up from there would be into Manfrotto stuff. I have the 701HDV head:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...uid_Video.html
and I like it a lot. It's very smooth, small, affordable, and lightweight. Many will recommend the 501HDV instead, but it's much larger and you don't need its larger weight capacity for a DSLR setup. Most importantly, the 501 is not actually a true fluid head, while the 701 is. Also, the 701 uses the most common style/size of Manfrotto's plates, which means you'll be able to move your cam from the 701 to a higher-end Manfrotto tripod, or to your shoulder rig or glidecam using their 577 QR adapter, without taking the plate off your cam.
Manfrotto legs are good too but I don't know enough about all their models to recommend any particular one. B&H always has a lot of combos with 701 heads and various legs so I would just browse through those.
I would recommend getting this cheapy shoulder rig too:
http://www.amazon.com/CowboyStudio-S.../dp/B0036NMQ7S
It's cheap plastic and the risers/brackets you get with it are crap, but I have it set up with one of these:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...t_Adapter.html
instead of the brackets/risers. My camera/handle just slots right in and boom, ready to go. That reminds me, you NEED a loupe/LCDVF. Here's a good but cheap one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/USA-Carry-Sp...item1c1eb2e4a0
The metal frame gets mounted to your LCD (which unfortunately costs you the ability to flip your LCD inwards) and the viewfinder snaps on via magnets. This is absolutely critical for focusing.
As for mics, here's three options:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...icrophone.html
Azden SMX-10. Cheap ($65 elsewhere I believe, shop around), stereo, decent. Will work well for skating but not to much for interviews/speaking.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...a_Mounted.html
Rode VideoMic. This will give you very good, mono, directional sound. It's pretty big though, and floppy. Kinda annoying to deal with.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...t_Shotgun.html
Rode VideoMic Pro. Best (and most expensive, of course) option for recording right into the camera. Small, has a pre-amp built in which will give you the cleanest sound as you can turn down the camera's amp (important for interview/speaking stuff), good shockmount but not floppy/annoying like the regular VideoMic.
For any of these you will want a "dead cat" aka "furry", which blocks wind rumble/wind noise, unless you're never going to go outside. Those run anywhere from $20-$50.
Once you get the cam you will want to install Magic Lantern:
http://magiclantern.wikia.com/wiki/Unified
This is almost a must. It will make your camera much more useful for shooting video.
Goddamn I wrote a lot! Time for bed. Good luck.
Most common & uncpmmon Filming lenses for Cannon DSLRs ADVICE Pls!
Originally Posted by al dolega
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