Thanks for your suggestions mate, I think DSLR’s are great too but egomotion has already done all of what you have requested from a new group, i do believe that members without DSLRS wold also love to meet up and swap stories techniques and rate equipment and gear, in fact 90% of the time we do meet up thats exactly what happens, our screening nights are much more than just screening nights, it a way for members with common interest to forge friendships and long lasting relationships, what tends to happen is that those members who make the effort to come along are the ones that form these long lasting relationships that tend to open new doors and new possibilities with their own projects.
Just recently a member suggested a GEEK DAY, which he held in his own house, I attended as did others and all of us had 7D gear we tested out, including dolly’s, Cranes, Zacuto Shooter gear, a slide rail, different lenses including fisheys, fixed 50mm, 10mm etc. All who attended had a great day, swapped phone numbers and others have gone on to work on each others projects.
We are always saying we should have more of these meetings but to be honest its hard to get the balance right, it used to be the case that we would meet up monthly but people tended to come at first but the crowds got smaller and smaller, we think this is due to the fact that they were on too often. So we decided instead to only have them 2 or 3 times a year, this resulted in bigger crowds attending again and has worked a treat!
At any time any member can suggest a meeting date and venue and we will do everything we can to help out.
Its great to see someone like yourself with the enthusiasm and drive to be more involved with other filmmakers, lets hope some more noses peak out of the woodwork and share their voice with the rest of us. 