Equipment

Education can alleviate poverty, hunger and the AIDS epidemic in Africa (founded by a fellow Boston University alum).

For this shoot I took with me to Kenya a Sony EX-3 video camera, a Canon 7D DSLR, a Libec tripod, my trusty monopod and an Zoom H4 Field Recorder with wired lav mic.

I have learned the real beauty of shooting video with a DSLR, despite the horrendous audio, and with a few quick fixes like adding a Sennheiser MKE 400 to the 7D and shooting dual system, this camera creates beautiful imagery with an appropriate L-glass lens.  However, upon my return to Kenya during their summer months, I found that the 7D can overheat and shut down when used for extended periods of time outdoors in high tempertures, in particular when used with a battery grip.  Without the grip, the camera functions better with long term use in heat.

It is also recommended that you do not raise your ISO too high in low light situations as this creates video noise.  A final tip for fledgling DSLR filmmakers, focus and camera shake can be an issue, so be prepared for this.  Also, your aperture can easily lock (on the back of the camera) if you are not careful, so if you are unable to adjust your aperture at any time, check to see if you bumped the “lock” switch on the back.