I am in the process of doing the exact same thing, and have been researching for about a year...(posted 8930 days ago)This is what i'm getting(or already have)...
G4/450, i got mine before the speed decrease. You should buy a custom build 400 model, just up the processor to 450 (about $350) and leave the rest alone. cost = $2900
Buy a 3 chip camera: I have a Sony PD100A cost = $2600 you might also check out the Sony TRV900 $1900, the Canon GL1 $2200, the Canon Xl1 $4,500, or the Sony vx1000 $4,000 (but it is older and has no lcd screen)
if you live in NYC go to B&H Photo to check all this out!
If you can wait till spring next year, sony and canon are updating the VX1000 and XL1, they should be great, but will cost $4-6000
You don't need a DV deck right away, spend the money on hard drives, RAM, a good microphone, and a lighting setup, at least thats what i'm doing.
I just added an IBM 34GB Deskstar 7200rpm ATA66 drive for capture. I cost me $315 but was OEM so i had to buy a ATA66 cable for $15-20. I will attach it to the one avail. ATA66 connection in the G4. You will probably want to get a couple more for a feature, so get the Turbomax PCI card by Promax, it will enable you to hook up 2-4 additional ATA drives in the G4. The card costs $130 from Promax.com, but they charge alot for their hard drives so you may want to get those elsewhere. try pricewatch.com or cnet shopper to get the best deals.
I just added 256MB of 6ns RAM for $368. You might get away with adding only another 128 but i wouldn't skimp on RAM.
next buy a good mic and boom pole and windscreen etc. I will probably buy an Audio Technica 4073a short shotgun mic, cost = $500 Alot of people recommend the Sennheiser 416 ($1,000). The 416 is the standard, but the people who have actually used a 4073 say it is just as good.
You will need a huge monitor at least 19" pref. 21" I have a 21" Viewsonic G810, cost = $800
If I have added correctly the above bring you to $8,000. This leaves you with 2,000 for some lighting, and some decent speakers to monitor your sound.
Oh yeah, headphones, $80-300.
Supposedly, prof. grade powered speakers will cost at least $1,100 a pair. Go to B&H and listen, i wish i could...
You may just want to get ok speakers and get kick-ass headphones, if that makes sense for the way you edit.
Also if you already have a really good stereo amp, you may get by with a pair of Yamaha NS-10's, cost = $300... alot of studios use them, but they have prof. amps, and no-one seems to like them that much. But they are accurate, and that is the most important thing.
As far as lighting, those $1,000 to $2,000 3 light kits by Lowell and Arri seem pretty lame. I am going to try to buy higher powered/quality lights one at a time as i can afford, and then get a couple cheap Lowell omni or dp lights for background.
I hate typing, but if you have any more qu