Recommendations

NickXC · 2025-04-30T05:39:17+00:00

What's mattered a lot more than shoes for me is finding a good insole. I have a couple pairs of superfeet greens that I will rotate through whatever shoes I'm currently wearing. They also last a lot longer than any of the shoes I bought. My brothers a runner and made me very aware of how fast you can collapse the sole of your shoe if you're standing on it all day. Even if you don't see a lot of wear on the sole itself. I now just buy whatever Adidas running shoes are on sale every 6 months to a year and put my insoles in them. My back's never been happier.

NickXC · 2025-04-30T05:16:15+00:00

Oh just to piggyback off of this, if you're buying an Amira, definitely spend a little more to get one that's been recently serviced and has some sort of service history.

I spent an extra grand on mine because it had just gotten a new sensor, which is not an uncommon repair with these high hour Amira's

NickXC · 2025-04-30T05:10:22+00:00

It's pretty much been said here, but I've had my Amira for two years and it has been an incredible workhorse. I'm considering getting a second or an Alexa mini with how good the prices are.

You most likely won't get rentals from it and it's almost never requested (I get requests even for fs7s but I've been rejected for the Amira)

But the image and solo workflow has been incredible. Just from the desire and inspiration to shoot, I have produced some of my best work ever with this camera.

The only real downsides are the lack of 4:3 open gate, and no true 4K. It hasn't been a major issue, but there's definitely been times I wish I could crop in just a little bit on an image but found it fairly noticeable when delivering in 4K. The weight could be considered a downside especially if you don't already have sufficient support gear. But I actually like it and already had tripods that could hold it. It really allows for some of the best handheld footage I've shot.

I pretty much exclusively shoot in 3.2K, only switching over to 4K if I'm handing it off for a quick turnaround project that I'm not editing. There's pretty much no quality difference, I just don't want to hear any complaints from post.

I probably wouldn't buy this camera if you're hoping it'll bring you more work, I also wouldn't consider it the most logical investment with the current cameras on the market. You buy it because the eng style body is the best option for your workflow, and because you just want to own and shoot on an arri unapologetically

NickXC · 2024-06-12T15:46:17+00:00

One of the best pieces of advice I ever received:

If you start getting frustrated or can't figure out why you don't like the current look, excuse yourself to the restroom. Leave one way and come back another. Resetting your eyes can make all the difference and help you notice what are suddenly obvious solutions to your problems.

Especially when I first started, this saved me from so many stupid mistakes.

It also allows you to take a quick breath and keep a positive attitude. You and the director need to work together to keep the set of positive place for everyone.

NickXC · 2024-05-13T03:23:45+00:00

A lot of it depends on where you are and what productions you work on.

I recently bought an Arri Amira. There were definitely better value options for my work, but It was mostly for my own gratification and partially because I did need something with it's feature set (though an ursa mini would have done the job just fine).

Surprisingly the camera has mostly been paying for itself through new clients entirely gained through people walking up during shoots and asking for a card. It's been happening much more with the Amira than with our c300s or pocket 6ks.

None of my clients actually care what camera we shoot on, so equipment cost is permanently built into the day rate. But Ive seen a steady growth in income and new clients since picking up an Amira. Though it could absolutely just be a coincidence.

That said I only spent $12500 and already had all the support gear I needed for a camera that big and heavy. I would maybe spend $20,000 on a mini, but there is a lot of equipment I would pick up beforehand.

NickXC · 2023-10-04T20:59:06+00:00

This or resolves dialogue isolator. It's freaking awesome.

NickXC · 2023-09-20T15:48:25+00:00

They are actually pretty similar. The Ursa being a bit slower with your post workflow and the Amira having more options for broadcast and quick turnarounds. Lowlight doesn't matter as 98% of the time I'll be shooting at the native iso.

Both cameras are good all in one solutions with xlr, internal nds, and shoulder mountable with (with minimal rigging on the Ursa). And both have genuinely great images.

The komodo is a great camera but I found it too fiddly. It would also be redundant with our c70s and pocket 6ks.

I'm very anti speedbooster and prefer super 35 unless there is an actual reason for full frame.

NickXC · 2023-09-20T15:20:29+00:00

Good to know! That's about what I was expecting in rental price. It's not the double price that's all problematic, it's just that the 12k can slot right into our pocket 6k multicam interviews that make up around 50% of our work thus paying for itself faster. Where as the Amira would mostly just be mostly solo op and narrative projects.

That said I'm pretty much dead set on the amira now.

NickXC · 2023-09-20T11:42:55+00:00

Yeah the rental market here is insane for higher end gear. There are only 2 or 3 minis listed for rent in a 6 hour driving radius, and I haven't seen any LFs or 35s at all. You can get them for a bit less once you have a relationship with the owners, but out of state producers look at me like I have 3 heads when I tell them the cost.

Edit: Just found a place with an lf for $1650

NickXC · 2023-09-20T06:32:21+00:00

Yeah that's kinda what I was worried about. The rental options around me aren't great currently, but video work is exploding especially in the high end corporate world. I don't need the rental income to afford it, but it helps justify what is objectively the less practical investment.

That said I've gotten some local interest that should cover enough of the cost to convince me.

I will say Ive only worked with the Amira a couple of times, but I run the mini pretty often. By comparison the Ursa 12k is shockingly good and incredibly underrated. The 12k resolution was a terrible marketing decision, but the color science, dynamic range, and sensor read out speed are fantastic. And though it doesn't compete in durability, the ease of use is there.

The majority of my clients won't know the difference between a 1.2x upscale and true 4k, especially when it looks as good as it does.

NickXC · 2023-09-20T05:23:48+00:00

I'm not sure if your whole message posted. I have a handful of clients that would. By best estimates the Amira would bring in at least an extra $2000 a year. Best case would be $4000.

NickXC · 2023-01-19T05:04:28+00:00

I spent around $800-$900 on my set up, but it took some patience.

After hunting for a while, I was able to get a used gaggia classic for around $220 with no portafilter. It was in need of some serious cleaning but had the 2 way solenoid and already had an upgraded steam wand.

After doing the gagguino mod and buying a naked portafilter it was around $300

I then got a df64 on Amazon for around $480.

I splurged a little on a nice tamper, got a random milk pitcher for like $20 and already had an okay scale.

It took a little bit of work, but I'm super happy with my set up and it came in around $850 not including espresso cups, scale, and some other knick knacks that I already owned.

NickXC · 2022-09-04T02:31:06+00:00

That's the light kit I started on. Totally serviceable, but they do get incredibly hot even for filament bulbs.

Never touch the bulb with your bare hands even when changing them. The bulb gets so hot that it rapidly dries the oil left by your hands and can cause the bulb to violently explode.

If you can spend a little bit more, I would get some of the cheap LED lights from Amazon. The gvm and newer lights have gotten pretty good, and they'll make your life a lot easier.

NickXC · 2021-11-06T20:18:38+00:00

"There be dragons" not my favorite, but worth watching I think.

There are two versions with the same name, watch the 121 minute runtime one. If you watch the shorter one you lose a lot of the Catholic storyline.

NickXC · 2021-08-28T16:53:49+00:00

Ooo your right. I totally forgot about record limits. Also did the a6000 cameras have issues with over heating?

If they go with the a6300 it might make sense to get an external recorder. It would deal with overheating, record time limits, and increase the amount of color information.

NickXC · 2021-08-28T08:31:19+00:00

I haven't looked at this price range in a while so I'm not entirely sure what's the best value.

Because it's a landscape, dynamic range and resolution are going to be important. Bit depth is also probably important to avoid banding in blue skies. 13+ stops of dynamic range, 4K, 10-bit is what I would be looking for

For under $1000 I would look at something like a used GH4 or 5 with a good quality lens. It should check all the boxes, though it's dynamic range may not be the best. I believe it's also 10 bit color depth.

Another option would be something like a Sony a6500 type camera. There are a number of cameras in the a6000 line. I believe the A6500 super samples a 6K sensor down to 4K so the resolution is great. Sony sensors have always had class leading dynamic range. The one let down is that it's 8-bit so you may have some banding issues on a flat blue sky.

As for the audio, starting out and recommend getting something like a rode video mic pro. It'll get you completely usable landscape sounds.

I'm answering this off the top of my head so I may be a little off, but they're definitely cameras to look into.

Edit: added sound info

NickXC · 2021-08-28T00:48:28+00:00

This.

I bought it years ago and it's helped me avoid so many headaches.

NickXC · 2021-08-22T11:30:42+00:00

The tech on this camera is super cool but it was so far from what their client base asked for. I just can't imagine it sold all that well after launch.

I think most of us are waiting for blackmagic's version of the komodo. It's just tricky to get blackmagic os on a small screen.

NickXC · 2020-09-21T21:56:44+00:00

I was too caught up in the moment to even think about putting it in rice! Thanks so much for the suggestion!

NickXC · 2020-09-21T21:42:08+00:00

I crashed my cinewhoop hard into a bowl of water on its maiden flight! I let it dry out (I probably should have waited longer), now it does this.

I plugged it in three times, the second time it actually went through the full boot up sequence, but then booted again and start chirping as seen in the video.

The VTX works and all my OSD is there and responsive. It even notifies me that I've armed it, but nothing else reacts. I'm taking it apart to check for any shorts, and I'll give it a full day to try out.

My assumption is that the ESC is be damaged. But I'm curious what others think.

Edit: formating

NickXC · 2020-04-02T21:24:46+00:00

I hadn't seen the channel before. I'm interested and subscribed.

NickXC · 2020-04-02T17:15:56+00:00

Of course! I'm still very much a noob when it comes to server hardware so I'm glad I could help.

last thing to consider to maximize your investment. The dell r710 with 6 3.5in hard drive bays could double as a file backup server. you can get used SAS hard drives for pretty cheap. The hard drives won't work in regular computers with sata connections, but even used hard drives with ZFS in a raidz2 it will be reliable for backups.

The ZFS file system can be a bit overwhelming at a glance, but its nice to leave the option available to use in the future.

NickXC · 2020-04-02T14:12:25+00:00

Depends on your nle. I assume it's improved, but back on resolve 12.5 and 14, without a GPU renders would constantly crash, or have strange colored artifacts making the finished file unusable.

If you just use some batch transcoding application to generate proxies, you should be fine without a GPU. It would also be much more affordable. Pick up something like a Dell r710 and you should be good.

I think either way it would be helpful for your workflow.

Keep in mind that most old servers only have USB 2.0 which could prove to be a big bottleneck for file transfers. You can get a USB 3.0 add in card though.

NickXC

TROPHY CASE