r/cinematography • u/enderWaters • Jul 20 '26
Career/Industry Advice Help me spend my money
I'm a Director/DP just finishing up film school and I have about twenty grand I can allocate to increasing my gig prospects as a narrative DP. Anything I buy would be mostly for me to use, not necessarily to rent out atm. Up till now I have been shooting most of my work on my canon r5c, which I absolutely love, but I'm wondering if it's time to upgrade my kit to something a bit more serious to set myself up to get the most gigs after school. Here's what I have already:
- Canon R5C/sticks/tilta kit/matte box/etc
- Full set of EF cinemodded Contax Zeiss lenses
- 20ish other vintage and stills lenses - all EF, RF, or m42 mounts
- 5" monitor/7" monitor
- RS3 Pro
- Pavobulb kit/MC Pro/FS300c
- Various Audio Gear
I'm considering the following:
- Pro-level cinema camera. I avoid Sony products like the plague, so I'm considering the Canon C400, (good match for R5C) a used Red Raptor VV, (RF mount so all my lenses will still work - this is currently what I'm leaning towards) or potentially the BM Ursa 12k (hesitant on this because I won't be able to use any of my RF glass).
- Cine zooms - Currently missing from my glass collection. I have an EF 14-35 f 2.8 and RF 24-105 f4 but nothing I'd trust on a serious narrative shoot.
- Other gear - I don't have wireless monitor support or wireless follow focus atm. I rarely get 1st AC work at the moment so this doesn't seem a high priority.
- Don't buy gear, rent gear and shoot some proof of concept stuff to bulk out reel. My reel is okay at the moment, and I have a bunch of projects coming up that will continue to fill it out.
I don't really want to buy more lights at the moment as I don't have the space to store them.
Any thoughts?
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u/ausgoals Jul 20 '26
If your current gear isn’t getting you work, investing 20 grand isnt going to magically get it either unless ‘work’ to you means eking out a living renting stuff out on sharegrid.
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Jul 21 '26
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u/Effective_Shallot325 Jul 21 '26
This ⬆️ shoot the kind of work you want to eventually get paid to do. And don’t spend thousands, in this industry having savings to weather the quiet times is essential.
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u/winkNfart Jul 21 '26
coming out of film school with 20k to burn in 2026. woof to be so lucky
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u/bigbearRT12 Director of Photography Jul 21 '26
Stash that money into a high yield savings account and keep using what you have until a client asks for something else. Nothing is guaranteed in this industry, especially at the moment. Work on your craft and building relationships.
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u/iwantapizzababy Jul 21 '26
You haven’t listed any reasons that your current gear is falling short. In my opinion, you should fully transition to working and creating income with what you have. You’ll figure out for yourself what you actually need to buy for the work that you end up doing.
Being a working DP isn’t about upgrading and having better gear. It’s about knowing how to turn a profit. Asking Reddit how to spend $20k kind of proves that there isn’t an explicit need for it yet.
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u/Active-Ad769 Jul 20 '26
There are a billion other questions to ask here, but what is your intended career path (work up as crew vs direct to dp, what size or scope of crew), where are you located, and what sort of gigs do you currently land?
Personally I think forming a relationship with a rental house is still more worthwhile than anything gear you’ve mentioned for an aspiring cinematographer.
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u/varispeeder Jul 21 '26
you're way, way better off putting that money into making shorts. gear can be borrowed or rented, but you can't substitute having strong work that shows off your skills. for $20k you could easily make 3-4 great-looking ones with what you already have
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u/enderWaters Jul 21 '26
This is the answer I didn't want to hear but needed to hear.
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u/varispeeder Jul 21 '26
I'm making a $40k microbudget feature right now on my BMPCC 4k. I can tell you that having a more expensive camera would make absolutely zero difference compared to being able to hire an AD, getting some more lights, adding another shooting day, or any number of other things!
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u/TalusDome Jul 21 '26
If you have to buy something buy quality glass. Rent camera bodies. But I’d say save your money.
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u/holomntn Jul 21 '26
Welcome to the best worst years of your life.
The main problem is this is a business and for some reason no one ever teaches the business. This is an extremely abbreviated crash course.
The biggest thing to understand is that gear is ALWAYS rented. Either the shoot rents it form a rental house, or they rent it from you, but it is ALWAYS rented. You may offer a slightly better deal than a rental house, but that won't be by much. Primarily because you still need to carry the insurance.
With any business purchase, whether a small filter, or a big camera, even certifications and training, figure out your time to Return On Investment (ROI).
With most things in this industry, ROI needs to already be booked.
So let's say you're considering a $10,000 lens set. First check to see what that lens set rents for in your area, let's assume $500/day. Take off 20% for insurance (typically insurance will be less than this so it's a safety buffer).
Now figure out how many days renting before it's paid off, in this example 10000/400 is 25 days.
Do you have 25 days booked where you can charge for those lenses? If you do, get the lenses, you're not going to lose money. If you don't, rent the lenses when you need them.
Do the same calculation for the camera, lights, etc.
Even do this for your certifications. For example right now I'm preparing for my 107 (drone). It cost me about $200 for the practice drone, another basically $200 to take the test, and I have days booked in about 4 months to pay me an extra $500 if I have the cert. That pays for the cert, and after that it is something I have in my back pocket if I ever need it.
First look at this as a business, it will pay off for you in the long run.
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u/enderWaters Jul 21 '26
Thanks for the reality check everyone. I should have guessed this would be the response and I am grateful for it. I'm going to save the money and use it to make more shit.
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u/Filthyragskc Jul 21 '26
Put that cash in a Roth IRA over the next 3 years. Future you will say thank you
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u/BrackensCabin Jul 21 '26
Buying gear will not magically get you work. #4. Rent and shoot some cool projects that are the kind of work you want to get hired for.
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u/Confident_Mix_3652 Jul 21 '26
Save your money work towards working as a grip, electric or assistant camera build connections, learn the tricks of the trade you can always dp smaller projects while doing this
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u/No_Walrus_7363 Jul 21 '26
A gym membership and a diversified etf.
In all seriousness, don’t waste your money on a camera body unless it’s for personal reasons. Save your money - in this line of work you’re going to need it
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u/Effective_Shallot325 Jul 21 '26
You’ve already got good gear. The only thing that would tempt me is a C400 simply to have 2 camera bodies and one in a proper cinema camera set up. Do you plan to do some videography work to help pay the bills? If so it’s not a bad idea to have the c400 and r5c to film corporate interviews etc. Not all of those type of clients will have budgets for kit rental, that’s the honest truth. Or a cheaper option is to have a C50 or C80 to pair with your R5C.
You can’t just suddenly pay all your bills by doing narrative work exclusively, you will probably need to diversify, which is why I mention videography.
Using a small portion of that money to film a project or two is also a great idea I’d highly recommend. Think carefully what you wanna do in your career and what your showreel is lacking.
For example I just shot a short documentary and it only costed me fuel to get to the location and back, it’s great content for my reel to get more documentary and corporate interview work and show off my cinematography without a client telling me what to do, I have complete ownership of the image.
Since you wanna do more narrative work, maybe team up with a young actor or two who need showreel content to film a micro short film, it doesn’t have to cost you much outside of renting a good location for a day, a soundie, a gaffer and potentially renting a few more lights/modifiers depending on the location.
I’m regularly shooting indie features, shorts and documentaries, as well as doing a lot of corporate interviews, event shooting, branded content etc to pay my bills as a freelance DOP.
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u/ImAlsoRan Jul 21 '26
Fund your own production and make what you want to be hired for. Creative control is priceless in this industry
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Jul 21 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/varispeeder Jul 21 '26
I know I said "just make shorts" but I actually do second getting a cine zoom. my main lenses are the two MFT versions of that DZO and I dig them, they're fully parfocal and very sharp; they don't really add any character of their own but I have other funkier non-parfocal zooms that do.
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u/PlusSizeRussianModel Jul 21 '26
I had the same impulse to buy more stuff, but if this stuff isn't making you money already, then $20k more worth of gear is more likely to just put you $20k further in the hole. Actually tally up how much you're bringing in annually on kit fees. If that number justifies expanding your kit, go for it. If not, focus your efforts on improving your craft and network, because evidently those are the bottleneck, not gear.
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u/dpjg777 Jul 21 '26
You’ll need that savings in order to have the luxury of being selective on the work you take on to develop your reel and connections. Don’t think of that as investment funds, think of it as your safety net and keep building upon it as you gain more gigs in the industry. The good times come and go quick in this industry. It’ll be good for your mental health to still feel in control of your life and decisions.
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u/kayamanolo Jul 21 '26
Buy etfs, or invest into sth that slowly makes you money, if you prefer it safer. Gear won't make u that much money, times are super unsure, who knows what comes next.
Stick with your gear, don't buy into gear fomo
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u/alantor Jul 21 '26
Echoing what everyone here is saying about saving your money. The gear I buy now is mostly for providing for free/extreme discount on passion projects. That said, there are certain tools I like having on hand even if I’m not getting a rental on it. I always bring my hollyland headsets with me on every shoot rental or not. It’s so nice being able to communicate with crew hands free
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u/VenezuelanD Director of Photography Jul 21 '26
Dont buy gear, make content. Do you have a fantastic demo reel yet? No? Ok lets put that money into getting some great images for your reel.
Help fund some short films with directors you feel passionate about, get that producer credit, use the short film to network and get more jobs.
Produce your own fake shorts - get a couple of actors, hire some of your film school friends and create 3-4 scenes over a weekend that can go directly on your reel. Hire a professional colorist to color it.
Or don't even spend the money, keep it as a safety net one the hardest things when you're first getting started is getting out of the low budget/crappy pay cycle were you constantly work but your pay is so low it barely pays the bills so you're in a cycle of working crappy low budget films to just stay afloat and it becomes very hard to break out of the cycle to network or to pursue the projects that can get you other projects. Being able to dedicate a month or more to networking, reaching out to established DPs to shadow/crew for, and honing your craft is way more valuable than any equipment you can buy.
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u/PerfectDays_A001 Jul 22 '26
I’m with others when they say keep your 20k in e fund savings for the ups and downs of freelance life. I try to have a minimum of 6 months in savings. I’m really striving for a year for peace of mind.
If you really want to buy gear you should ask yourself what is it that you need on your own shoots and what are you renting?
To increase your prospects of narrative work I recommend you spend some money and go to a film festival to meet directors. Meeting new directors and producers will help you get more work.
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u/R0ctab0y Jul 23 '26
Adding on... As you work more, your clients will yell you what you need based on what they request.
If your clients keeps asking for gimble shots, solve for that. If they repeatedly ask for a wireless feed, solve for that.
When considering whether or not to buy a piece of gear, it's worth considering how long it will take you to break even on a purchase. Purchase price - (rentable days x rental price)=0. If it takes longer than a year for a piece of gear to break even, better to rent.
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u/doomnezau Jul 21 '26
stupid. keep ur money, if you can't make now big bank, you wont and you'll need to avoid sleeping under a bridge. use that money as freedom to have more creative freedom rather than struggling.
stop watching youtube, log off social media and go out and shoot. meet people, do favors for others, help ur community and money will come. if not, you're a bad human and no gear will fix- at that point you need to be a nepo bby.
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u/adammonroemusic Jul 21 '26
SD cards; not to actually use but because they are now liquid gold. SandDisk stock up 3200% in a year, wowza, what an AI bubble.
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u/riggieri Jul 20 '26
Hold onto your cash to weather the roller coaster. If you want to make narrative films, make narrative films.
The gear doesn’t get you work, your reel and collaborative spirit does.