I agree with HotDuckZ about getting a field recorder—that's not to say buying a nice mic to plug into it is a bad idea, but I've been impressed with the on-board mics of my field recorder, the Zoom H4n. I'd add that one to HotDuckZ's list. You might find these interesting:
http://nikonrumors.com/forum/topic.php?id=1082
http://nikonrumors.com/forum/topic.php?id=1104

I bought a hotshoe to 1/4"-20 adapter from adorama for $15 and I get great stereo sound with that Zoom. I've been very impressed.

AudioTechnica makes a very economical stereo mic called the Pro 24CM, it's what I'm using. It provides high quality stereo sound and is only around USD80.

You're all forgetting the most important thing which is an eyepiece of some sort so you don't have to hold the heavy D3s and lens at arm's length like a comsumer camcorder. You need at least three points of contact or you'll have shaky, amateurish videos, unless you want to use a tripod all the time...I don't.

I'm currently using the Hoodman HoodEye with the cinema kit (rubber bands)...trust me...you DON't want this rig. The Hoodeye loupe is OK but the rubber band attachment method is just lame. The have something called a HoodCrane coming out at the end of this month which is a huge improvement.

I have a Zacuto Z-Finder on order. It's the most elegant solution that currently exists.

It snaps on and off the rear LCD screen. Check their website for more information. It's pricey at around USD400 but if you're going to seriously use the D3s's video function to any degree, it's a must.

Massive hard drive space. Take what you think you need and start multiplying...
A good, solid, work flow. A computer that can render HD video in a reasonable amount of time...

Maybe you already have those?

I'm using D300s with RODE SVM (Stereo VideoMic), It's good sound and portable but I think external recorder will produce "better clean sound". If you want really clean sound you need to buy external recorder. (Like Olympus LS-10, LS-11 or Sony PCM-10.)

For lighting, if you don't serious I use photographic umbrella and some of fluorescent light. (D3s can fixes rolling bar by change frequency that other camera can't do that but If you want to fixed it with D300s you need to learn more about AE-L.) But If you serious I don't know about that, maybe you need ringlight or light panel.

Cheap is here-->> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300414827571&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:US:1123

Good luck.

HI alaho!

To start with you need a good fluid tripod with friction, Sennheisser XLR shoot gun microphone which is in a range of 400 - 500 dollars depending where you get it. XLR to mini jack( similar to earphones ) and 20 meter XLR microphone cable.

As far as lighting goes you might want to check the LOWEL portable lighting kit. A friend of mine bought it somewhere in States, not sure where but they where amassing lighting set.

AS far as I remember you get: 1x 500w soft box ( umbrella lookalike ), 1x1000w and 2x 300w. All lights come with stands in a soft carry bag which you ca easily carry with you. I was interested to get one my self and the price I thing i was around thousand to 2thousand dollars.

One think you have to bar in mind in terms of shutter speed in D3s, I don't know if you can set it manually. It does say that you can set the ISO but as far as shutter speed I'm not sure. So make sure that that shutter speed is set manually other wise under florescent lights you get rolling bars.

Try and go to a local photo store and do some tests before you buy the camera other wise you end up with bars up and down the screen when you are filming.

Best regards
Valon

Hey everyone,

I'm going to be purchasing a Nikon D3s in the next few months, and I was wondering what accessories you use for it. Mic, lighting, etc.

I don't have a budget for this, just want good quality stuff that won't fail me while i'm on the job.

Thanks!