Hi Reader,

You don't want to stand behind me in a grocery store line.

Because no matter what lane I choose, it will be the slowest. I've done studies, it's confirmed. I change lanes, and watch where I used to be, and my old spot wins every time.

It's the same way with gear and technology. I'm not the guy on the bleeding edge. I don't write reviews of new video cameras. I like hanging out in the slow lane and waiting until my projects dictate my purchases, not the other way around.

Case in point. I just bought a Sony FX3. This camera has been out for a long time. There might even be a Mark 2 version coming out soon. But I have a project coming up where I needed a little camera to ride on a gimbal, and the project will essentially pay for the camera multiple times over. So it was the best tool for the job and an easy decision.

A few days after it arrived, I get an email from B&H about Sony's new FX5, "Hollywood's new handheld camera." Sounds like a great camera. 5K, Open Gate, 16-bit X-OCN (whatever that is), three base ISOs, and on and on. Sounds really cool, but none of those things were on my wish list for a little mirrorless form factor camera to ride on my gimbal. I save those features for the bigger cameras I use, but again, only if my projects call for it.

Now that’s my situation. You might not have a camera line-up yet, and are looking for a great small camera. In that case, you should definitely consider this.

Or not.

Don't ask me. I'm like a carpenter who doesn't review screwdrivers. These cameras are just tools. I like to talk about the craft. The lighting, the creativity, the storytelling, and how these tools serve the needs of your paying clients and projects.

The tools come and go, the craft compounds over time.

(That being said, I'm very grateful to those who do the reviews when I need to purchase something.)

Now there have been exceptions. I was an early adopter of the Sony F55 years ago, and to this day that remains my favorite camera I've ever owned. But I bought it because a producer friend at ESPN told me if I upgraded to that camera, they'd be calling me to shoot their feature stories even more than they already did. So I bought it, along with a set of Canon Cinema Prime lenses. Not a cheap proposition. I needed to finance them. But over the years that combo made many times more than I invested in it, and helped build my brand as distinct from the other local crews here.

So the moral here isn't "if you build it, they will come." Your business shouldn’t be Field of Dreams. It's actually the opposite. Your market and your ideal clients tell you what they need, and then you build it. Ideal is the key here. You want all of your skills and gear to attract your particular ideal clients. But that’s for another email.

For now: buy for the work you have, or the work you know is coming. Not for what B&H put in your inbox this morning.

That's a wrap for this week's Freelancers Friday. I'll see you back here next week with more real-world lighting breakdowns, freelance business tips, and behind-the-scenes fun.

Have a great weekend, and if you happen to run into me in the grocery store, choose a different line!

Cheers,

Tom Miller Freelancers Film School​

P.S. Want to revisit past issues? The whole Freelancers Friday Collection lives here: https://freelancers-film-school.kit.com/​

P.P.S. - Since we have subscribers from all over the world, I'm experimenting with sending this so that it lands in your inbox on Friday morning, wherever you are. So you might be getting it at a different time than you have in the past. Nice to be connected to so many of you in other timezones!