COSTING UP A Mirrorless SYSTEM

When using a mirrorless system for video, there are caveats and one's budget needs to be spread out accordingly. I've included below a rough split of my total gear, along with learnings I've taken from each category.

Camera bodies: 33%; this is clearly the highest cost and, like cars, the one that depreciates the quickest. Purely based on my own kit, depreciation seems to be around 10% per year, which adds up quickly to almost half the value every camera cycle (3-4 years). It's always a good idea to have at least two camera bodies on hand for versatility and redundancy, excluding your shoot requirements of course as you may need more than two; you can opt for the same brand which makes storage, battery power and colour profiles easier to match, however you might see differences in image quality and aesthetic despite being in the same brand or range. Balancing performance, cost and image matching can be tricky and often takes time to figure out. The main downside of mirrorless cameras is their screen size and resolution often push you to miss crucial details and/or make decisions based on a very small display rather than looking at the full image; this can be fatal if one of those components is crucial to your shot, such as focus. Likewise, due to their size, these cameras may not be able to produce RAW images straight in camera at high resolutions, so an external recorder / monitor system is a good idea. However, this also requires power and specific cabling which in turn will require you to adapt your rig.

IT & storage: 26%; mirrorless cameras tend to consume less power and be more portable than your higher-end equivalents, however do not underestimate how quickly high-resolution capture can eat through your SD cards and batteries. The main thing to try and keep consistent is the type of power and storage, i.e. try to avoid using five different types of connectors for power and likewise I try to keep my form of storage the same across all formats (not mixing HDD with CFExpress and SD cards, etc.) to save on costs and avoid confusion when moving quickly and packing my bags. Your laptop and/or desktop needs to be high powered as well with good software, which doesn't come cheap, and able to handle your high resolution footage.

Lenses & filters: 25%; using a smaller APS-C system for portability, I felt the real need to upgrade all my lenses to be fast enough with a wide aperture that they could compete with full-frame equivalents and not rely on additional light when shooting on the go. This is costly, and affects accessories too (e.g. ND filters to maintain shallow depth of field). Mirrorless cameras differ greatly depending on sensor size, and your lenses will need to accommodate this. Shooting at f/2.8 for example, felt like an absolute minimum for me but required upgrading everything. This is almost as critical an expense as your cameras, the advantage being that you can keep lenses for longer if you stay in the same system, and likewise still be able to purchase used lenses in great condition.

Audio & accessories: 16%; for your kit to be fully functional, you will need to reserve some budget for all sorts of accessories, from bags and pouches to protect your equipment, cabling, to cleaning kits, hot shoe mounts, camera cages and gimbals. Luckily, mirrorless systems tend to be low-footprint, so you shouldn't need incredible amounts of accessories to be functional (unlike a cinema camera). Make sure you order double when ordering disposable accessories like screw mounts, tripod plates, etc. as it is so easy to misplace them when unpacking on the day - and such mistakes can render all your kit useless! For example, using a tripod without the right plate. Connectivity is often limited with mirrorless camera bodies, so you will also need to purchase all kinds of adapters to get the most out of your accessories (e.g. HDMI, audio jack, etc.), as well as factor in any other ad hoc requirements such as teleprompters for pieces to camera.