Best Black Friday Deals for Live Event Filmmakers

today we're going to go over some Black Friday deals Black Friday is right around the corner as of making this video this list of gear is not for beginners or hobbyists this is going to be for people who are in production consistently shooting a lot throughout the year and during this time of year is the best time to upgrade your gear because you know you get some discounts some nice uh incentives to buy new gear and this is gear that I think is pretty much Essential for shooting Live Events or shooting weddings so we're going to go through uh different categories and I'll list everything out in the description down below so you guys can go and check that out have my laptop here so that I can give you accurate pricing and stuff like that and these are going to be products that I've used before or am somewhat familiar with because of research or of using it you know once or twice here and there so things like Sony cameras Sony lenses uh Canon cameras and lenses DJI products stuff like that uh are very familiar to me because I've used them before I'm not going to be suggesting things like Nikon or Fuji cameras which I've never used before and haven't really done any research on so that I can give you somewhat of a uh more informed opinion of what I think you guys should get let's dive into it first off first category that we're going to go over is going to be the camera section there's tons of um different deals on Amazon and B&H mostly B&H has like the best uh deals right now because Amazon doesn't really have any um good deals except for Sony cameras so let's go over the camera section really quick starting off with the Sony fx3 which is like everyone's favorite camera and apparently Hollywood's favorite camera all of a sudden it's a nice full-frame camera it has a lot of the cinema features that you would want in a small little compact body it's got pretty good autofocus it's got really great dynamic range color addition you got slock 3 which is really good for color grading currently it's 200 bucks off on Amazon at $3,700 and then you have the Sony A7 S3 which is another full frame basically identical to the fx3 except it has a little bit more of the photo capabilities versus the uh fx3 which is a lot more video oriented this camera is 300 bucks off at $3,200 on Amazon and then you have the Sony a73 which is the entry level I believe of the fullframe mirrorless cameras for Sony this is a good entry-level camera if you're coming from a apsc crop sensor camera jumping into fullframe you're looking to get your first fullframe body this is a good way to start out it does photo and video really well this is going to be 500 bucks off at $1,300 on Amazon next is going to be the Sony fx30 this is another video oriented camera but instead of the fullframe sensor that the fx3 has this one has an apsc sensor which is a crop sensor smaller but just as capable it's got pretty much the same features as the fx3 um you have a lot of the cinema oriented video features on there uh got great dynamic range slock 3 and this one is currently 200 bucks off on Amazon at $1,600 all right now moving over to the Canon side of things the first one we have is the R5 this is the mirrorless camera fullframe from Canon some of the features of the R5 includes ak30 raw 4K 120 10bit internal video it's got pretty good dynamic range you can shoot zock 3 which is good for color grading it's also got ibits in there which is really nice for uh getting steady shots the only drawback it has is probably the overheating I've seen people say that overheating is not a thing I've seen other people say that overheating is a huge problem so I I don't know I haven't used it yet I have the R5 Mark I which is right here and I don't really have any overheating problems in the Mark I but the R5 is still not bad of a camera currently on B&H it is 600 bucks off at $2,800 all right moving on we have the R6 mark 2 which is the little brother of the R5 I used the original R six for a little bit uh it was kind of iffy I wasn't that wasn't my favorite autofocusing was a little bit off but overall it was good it was a decent camera so this is the upgrade to the original R six it's got four frame sensor it's got 4K 60 internal 10bit video uh clog 3 it can output 6K PR res raw which I again probably would never use for a live event shoot because this is that's just pretty much Overkill this also has I built into it so it can get uh pretty steady on the shots and currently on B&H it's 500 bucks off at $22,000 moving onto the Canon R7 this is an apsc sensor so a cro sensor it can shoot 4K 60 10bit video using clog 3 this camera is great for people who are moving up from a very budget or a very beginner camera and you're trying to invest into a higher quality camera this would be a really good camera to upgrade to the dynamic range is definitely not going to be as good as the R6 and the R5 but shooting in Lock 3 you should be able to get a decent looking image after your color grade currently it is 200 bucks off on B&H at $1,700 and then last on the Canon list we have the Canon R8 this is pretty much the equivalent of the Sony A7 series which is a beginner entry level fullframe camera which is great for people who are considering upgrading from an apsc sensor or a beginner camera into a more professional body this is a 24 map fullframe sensor you can shoot 4K 60 10bit internal using clog 3 which is really nice nice and overall this camera doesn't have all the fancy bells and whistles that you would have in the R5 and the R6 Mark I most importantly it doesn't have ibus so it's only got the optical stabilization which is where it crops into your image and then it tries to like stabilize it that way which is not the best way of using stabilization but because it's at a much cheaper price point uh this kind of makes sense so currently it is 300 bucks off on B&H at $1,200 okay next category we're going to be talking about lenses uh now these are going to be lenses is very simple here uh we're just going to categorize them into zoom lenses that's it for Live Events you pretty much only need to shoot on zoom lenses because you have a whole wide range of different focal lens for wide shots close-ups medium shots all that kind of stuff you want to use zoom lenses instead of switching over to prime lenses and maybe like physically moving yourself around so zoom lenses is the only way that I would recommend you shooting for Live Events unless you're very good at shooting on primes so we're going to break them down is there's literally two different types of lenses you have have your standard zoom lens which is the your 24 to 70 and then you have your telephoto zoom lens which is your 70 to 200 that's it that's the two lenses that you'll probably only ever Ed when you're shooting a live event such as a wedding or a some sort of like concert or something like that so starting off with the 24 to 70 section we're going to start off with the Canon RF 28 to70 F2 lens this is one of Canon's latest RF lenses it's got an incredible F2 aperture which is it opens up pretty wide it gets a really good shallow depth of feel this lens is 300 bucks off on B&H at $2,800 next we have the Sony Fe 24 to70 f2.8g Master lens this one is Sony's version of the 24 to70 standard zoom lens great allaround lens this one on B&H is 100 bucks off at $1,600 and last my favorite third- party lens manufacturer Sigma has their 24 to70 f2.8 for the Sony e-mount on discount and this is another solid lens I have the 24 to 70 shooting me right now on the Canon EF Mount it's known for being being very clinical and very clean currently it is $110 off on B&H at $1,090 next for the telephoto zoom lenses we have the Canon 70200 this is their RF version the f2.8 version of their lens this is the very baby looking telephoto lens that does have the barrel sticking out when you zoom in and out and this one is another great lens very expensive though but currently it is 300 bucks off on B&H at $2,500 and then you have the Sony version which is the Sony Fe 72200 00 f28g Master lens this one is currently 100 bucks off on B&H at $1,900 and then sigma's version of the 72200 f2.8 is for the Sony e- Mount or for the Leica L Mount uh this one is currently 100 bucks off on B&H $1,400 okay next category that we're going to be moving on to is going to be audio audio is essential for weddings and maybe like Live Events if there's speeches and stuff like that that you need to record but definitely for weddings this is like essential you want to capture high quality audio of speeches of the toasts of the vows and any sort of audio throughout the day that you might use for their wedding film first up we're going to have the zoom H4 essential Fort track 30-bit float audio recorder 32-bit float audio recording is essentially like raw photos but for audio you don't have to worry about clipping or peing if someone accidentally talks really loud or shouts into a mic or something like that you can always bring that back down in post which is really nice currently on Amazon it is 30 bucks off at $170 next on the list is the tasim dr10l this is the little recorder right here this is the one that I Ed to lav up the groom I just put it inside of his jacket pocket and then I have the lav mic attached to his jacket this is a great little mini portable audio recorder that you can place just about anywhere you can even clip it onto the uh belt of the groom if you really want to currently on B&H it is 50 bucks off at $120 all right next category we have is going to be lighting now my rule of thumb when it comes to lights and buying lights is to buy the most powerful light that you can afford because you can always turn down the output of the light but you can never turn it past 100% if that makes sense however in my experience when it comes to lighting for live event there is going to be a ceiling like a max amount of wattage that you would really need out of a light for me that is 600 W so we're first going to start off with the cobore cl600 this is their by color version of their LED light I like bolor LEDs cuz it gives you a little bit more flexibility when it comes to matching your light source to the house lights sometimes when I enter in a wedding venue uh and their house lights are the typical really warm greenish type of lighting I can match it better using a bolor LED light than I would if it was for example a daylight fixed type of light so this one on B&H is 300 bucks off at $1,000 next up is going to be the aperture LS 600x Pro by color LED it is currently 300 bucks off on B&H at $1,700 the next step down from the 600 WT is going to be for me around the 300 to 450 WT range of light so the first one in this subcategory that we have is going to be the cobore CL 330w this is another bolor LED light currently this light is $110 off on B&H at $440 next we have the nanlite forza 300 Mark I this one is a daylight only version of their light and for this one the only reason why I'm suggesting it is because of the pretty good deal that you can get off of it otherwise if it wasn't on sale and I was trying to buy something for event shooting specifically I probably wouldn't get a daylight only uh light just because in order to change the color or the tint of the light you would actually have to use a gel in front of the light which for me is a little bit of a hassle to set up during a live event shoot but on B&H right now it is $350 off at $600 now the third light on this list is probably the one that I would actually buy if I were to start all over again and that is the amaran 3 100 C this is an RGB light RGB lights are great for color matching any lighting scenario that the venue throws at you so this one on B each currently is $86 off at $843 now we're going to hit the lower tier lights that are going to be a little bit less powerful this is going to be the 250 W and Below type of LED lights the first one up that we have is going to be the cobore CL 2020 R again another RGB light with decent output at 220 WS of power and right now on Amazon it is currently $80 off at $320 next is going to be the amran 150c it's is an RGB light but at only 150 WS of output I probably wouldn't get this light but if you were exclusively shooting in smaller venue sizes then you could probably get away with something like this but currently on B&H is $54 off at $35 and last as a bonus item I'm going to throw in The Zing five Ray V60 byol light wand A light wand is is something that we've been using a lot currently um on night exterior shoots because of its small footprint and how easy it is to just carry it around it's very portable so lighting up shots when we're at night and there isn't much available light going on is really handy to just have it and just have someone hold it like my wife she holds it and I can just light up the uh the scene that we're shooting um and it's really handy so on B&H it is currently $30 off at $170 all right next category this one's going to be very quick because there's only really one good deal going on right now and that is going to be the DJI air3 it has two cameras it has a wide angle and also a 3X telephoto camera it can shoot 4K footage up to 100 frames in SDR and 4K 60 in HDR mode it's got 10 bit and also dlog for a colag rating which is great currently on B&H it is $220 off at $880 the next category we have is gimbal gimbal is something that I use all the time on any shoot that I have whether that's weddings or Live Events so gimbal for me very very essential so first up we have the DJI RS3 Pro this is the one that I currently use right now this is a really good gimbal that holds up to about 10 lb in payload which is fits something like my C70 with a 24 to 70 lens on the front of it favorite thing about my gimbal is that it autol locks when you turn on or off which is great because you don't have to unlock every axis in order to balance the whole thing or get it ready to shoot So currently on B&H it is $40 off at $900 next up we have the DJI Ronin SC this one is a bit of an older gimbal it also has a much smaller payload at 4.4 lb maximum which probably can hold like a smaller apsc sensor camera such as the Sony fx30 with maybe like a compact zoom lens on the front of it so not the most ideal if you have a heavier setup currently on B&H it is $50 off at $180 and then lastly on this gimbal list we have the ding ciper weeo 3E this one holds up to 6.6 is lb of payload which ideally can hold something like a Sony fx3 fullframe camera and also a 24 to 70 lens on the front currently it is 30 bucks off on Amazon at $211 next up another really quick category is going to be monopod a monopod is something that I use to sort of stabilize and lock off my gimbal shots when I'm not using my gimbal as a gimbal I have a quick release plate that quickly takes it off the monopod and I can shoot the gimbal using it as intended so what I'm looking for in a monopod is that it has a good steady base it has feet I don't like the ones that just have the little foot thing the little one foot thing I need the feet the three feet on the bottom so it can uh be a much more steadier base I have a whole video on my gimbal /ot setup you can go check that out if you want to and the only good deal that I saw on B&H is going to be the C svm 165 and this one is a lightweight carbon fiber monopod it also has a on-step height adjustment technology which means that you only need to unlock it once to extend the full monopod you don't need to twist every second section of the monopod in order to extend the whole thing which is really nice for portable and on thee-o shooting currently on B&H it is 50 bucks off at $230 next category ND filters ND filters you guys know what it is very important for outdoor shootings on weddings live events that takes place Outdoors which is pretty much what we do all the time the ND filters that I'm using right now are from k&f and they are actually on sale right now on Amazon we are using the k&f ND filter the one to five stof one we like this one because it doesn't have that X thing it actually has hard stops on the filter so that you don't go past a certain amount and then you get that cross X crossing of the filters and currently on Amazon it is 11 bucks off at $68 next category is going to be the hard carrying case I'm using the Pelican 1510 I've had mine for years and years and years um it's pretty banged up but it still does the job very well we've taken it to pretty much every shoot that we do because it's so rugged we love that about it you can get the foam padding divider thing or you can get like an actual photography backpack type of divider you can even get a lid organizer for the uh lid part of the Pelican case which is really fun and currently on B&H it is 30 bucks off at $320 also want to quickly mention that I have the Pelican memory card case holds all of my uh memory cards right here um this one is really great because it's shock proof it's dust proof and it's drop proof pretty much uh this is very useful for uh holding all of your memory cards currently on B&H it is $21 off at $15 speaking of SD cards and memory cards in general the first item in this category is going to be the Lexar CF Express type B cards that we use for the new Canon R5 Mark II I have the 512 GB version I switched over pretty much all of our cards to this brand that we use to shoot for client work they handle 4K footage really really well so I use their CF Express cards and also their SD cards which we'll get to in a second currently on Amazon for the Lexar 512 GB CF Express type be card you can get $50 off at $120 and for the SD card this is the one I use for my Canon C70 to shoot 4K 60 footage never had any issues with it hasn't corrupted hasn't you know damaged any files or whatever I believe that everybody who says that they've damaged their file either does not format their card in camera or they've done something wonky with it or something I don't know uh but I've never had any issues with a Lexar SD card or the CF Express type B card so for the 256 GB version of the SD card it is currently $40 off on Amazon at 50 bucks and also really quick I wanted to throw in the SanDisk Extreme micro SD cards these are the ones that I use for the Drone and also for various audio recorders and stuff like that this one is great uh for on the Drone especially for shooting 4K footage writes fast enough it doesn't need a extremely high read and right speed because it's on drone and for the Sandisk 250 GB micro SD card on Amazon it is $66 off at $21.50 and then finally the last category that we have is going to be storage specifically ssds these ones are very portable so I love these ones um this one's going to be the SanDisk 2 tbte extreme portable SSD I like using the 2 terb version of these drives especially now with the C70 and also the R5 Mark I there's a lot of 4K footage going on between these two so having a higher amount of storage on the SSD gives us a lot more space to work with when we're editing uh Premiere currently on Amazon you can get this $70 off at $130 the last deal I want to mention is going to be the Samsung 990 Pro this is an internal SSD that goes inside of your computer I like having these ssds inside of the computer because they're just extremely fast they can handle pretty much any type of footage you throw at it 4K 8K raw footage it's extremely fast especially for those projects where it kind of lives on one computer and doesn't really need to go back and forth between my computer or my wife's computer because usually how we work is that she edits and then I color grade but for those projects where it only needs to live on one computer having one of those internal ssds is really really handy to just have those extremely fast read and write speeds for the footage currently on Amazon it is $90 off at $160 all right we have come to the end of the list that is pretty much it for my Black Friday deal for specifically live event filmmakers like myself shooting weddings and Live Events and running gun stuff so my voice is given out if you can't tell already there's going to be a ton of deals that I missed so go on Amazon go on B&H B&H has a lot of really good deals for filmmakers in general um a lot of like accessories that I really didn't mention like a lot of SM accessories any deals that I missed that you guys found list them down below in the comments let everybody know what the good deals are and where you can get them um so that we can all benefit from it but yeah that's it for this video if you liked it hit that like button it really helps out a lot um also if you want to subscribe that would be great too that' be great until the next one my name is Alex CH I see you later bye [Music]