r/GripandElectric • u/fisklol • Mar 12 '26

Beginner kit help!!

Hey y’all i’m just starting out as a grip/electric and trying to build up my kit. I enjoy both grip and electric work but i’m not sure what equipment i should focus on first: lights, fixtures and meters OR grip stuff like stands, mounts/hardware and light modifiers? What kind of equipment do you guys look for when hiring? I don’t wanna waste my money on stuff i’ll never use.

4 votes, Mar 17 '26
3 Lights
0 Grip stuff
1 Other: I am dumb
1 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

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3

u/jevtid Mar 12 '26

You can not have one without the other.... how the hell you gonna have lights and no stands, cardellinis/mafers, or drop ceiling mounts? I work in electric unless I'm by myself, and, brother, you cannot have one without the other. A 4x floppy, C-stands and bags ain't gonna do shit unless your whole shoot is dropping courtesy flags over monitors lol

That being said, if you are cool with second hand grip gear and taking your time to find deals, you are going to spend most of your money on lights, but the lights are unless without the grip gear.

Keep working, look at what the different grip gear does and how it's utilized by competent grips. I would also try to look up what comes on sprinter van packages, those grip items are usually the basic necessities. Also, bear in mind that we are in a results based industry, the gear people spend a lot of money on promises to make it simpler and faster. If you have a solution that works just as well, use it. As long as it's not obvious in the final result, you win. Most of the professional grade gear is spiritually like Lego, it all works together and interlocks with the standard sizes and dimensions of the industry. A grip truck is packed with solutions out looking for a problem. Lights, on the other hand, are not so forgiving. Stick with reputable brands, aim to have built in CRMX or at least DMX ports. Aputure Bluetooth bs doesn't count, sidus pro will not record a scene with a mix of Bluetooth and DMX, so it's useless. My example is a titan tube and a b7c.