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Camera, video / audio, etc (Read 2998 times)

Yossarian

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Camera, video / audio, etc
October 18, 2018, 10:22:37 am
I’m working on the beginning of a new project, and I’m thinking of turning the research / interviews into something for YouTube.

Because interviews / talking in general are probably going to be key, using an external microphone(s) would appear critical, and so my ageing Panasonic LX5 is not going to work.

I was wondering whether anyone had any suggestions? As much as I would love to stretch to something like a Sony A7, that’s currently out of budget. I’m sure there’s something simpler and cheaper that would work fine.

Anyone?

cheque

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#1 Re: Camera, video / audio, etc
October 18, 2018, 01:47:49 pm
The cheapest option is probably to record the audio separately, then you don’t need a new camera. It also has the advantage of being able to have it close to your sound source without long cables or expensive wirelessness. It does rely on you using editing software that’s advanced enough to let you line up separate audio and video files though.

You can record the audio into your phone or you can get a dedicated recorder for as little as less than ten fuck alls. Lav mics that’ll just plug straight in there are less than 20 fuck alls. I’d advise against using anything but lav mics for voices- the trick for clean vocals is to get the mic as close as possible. On-camera mics are rubbish for voices.

Not sure about what the best price/ performance camera with a mic socket is if you want to go that way. It seems to me that the mic and headphone socket features appear ludicrously high in the product ranges of stills camera manufacturers considering they all shoot video.

Hopefully I’m not making patronising assumptions of you experience of this...

Wood FT

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#2 Re: Camera, video / audio, etc
October 18, 2018, 06:34:39 pm
What Cheque said. Get a cheap lav mic (mine cost £15) and a Zoom H1 or similar, make sure you clap once you've pressed record on both devices so it's easy to sync up in the edit. This set-up has always sounded much better than the sound from my Rode mic or internal camera mic, the disadvantage being the practicality of using it outside. If you've got a Mac iMovie will let you split up the audio and video and has the audio waves to match up the internal/external. Mega.

Is the video good on an LX5? if so keep it? My GF's LX7 is really nice and I'd use it in a shot. I wouldn't stress too much on video quality for interviews if you're putting them on youtube, the content of the interview being much more important (sorry if that's teaching you to suck eggs! It just seems people have really Gucci kit nowadays, it gets stuck on a tripod and then compressed to buggery online..... separate rant)



Yossarian

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#3 Re: Camera, video / audio, etc
October 18, 2018, 07:12:03 pm
This is all solid gold advice - thanks guys...

I literally did not know this was possible. I also had to google Lav Mic. We have an old Samsung phone which i’m going to experiment with first and then go from there.

Re the LX5 - I think it’s ok. I’ve hardly used it for that. It was set on AVCHD rather than Motion JPEG for movies, and it was such a nightmare getting the former files off the thing that I gave up. Anyway, it seems to make more sense now.

Totally agree re all the fancy gear, etc. The original idea with this was to record some interviews in case they could be used for anything at a later date. And then I thought it would be good to make a little bit more effort from the start, with the aim of some videos to support the project.

Re quality - there are some brilliant things Jon Ronson made in the late 90s early 2000s with obviously basic kit and they’re still amazing because of the stories. Conversely I keep finding articles about people loaded up with massive stabilised DSLR rigs making completely vacuous rubbish.

turnipturned

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#4 Re: Camera, video / audio, etc
October 19, 2018, 09:38:06 am
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCV_i_0uE8IlSenyJY0yBgdw

This guy will solve all your camera budget requirements, really useful.


Johnny Brown

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#5 Re: Camera, video / audio, etc
October 19, 2018, 12:47:14 pm
This  was shot on an LX-5. It's not great but probably as good as any consumer option up to 2005ish. I used AVCHD.



I got interested in audio a few years back (partly for the same reasons as you) and went down something of a rabbit hole where I now have a load of audio gear including esoteric homemade stuff like a parabolic mic and a SASS, mainly for recording natural sounds.

I've got this cheap PIP Lav mic:
 
(lots of good advice on this channel).
A Zoom H1 is the usual recorder option recommended but I would be inclined to get either something smaller and cheaper, or more expensive. My wife bought an H1 for music, I've used it a but but you are mainly paying for the built-in mics so for lav use you can get away with less. The best consumer recorder was the Sony M10 until it was discontinued a couple of years back, but you can get them on ebay. I still use mine as I have to carry a lot of expensive kit to improve on it.

Mostly good sound involves getting the mic nearer the source, but wind and handling noise are the biggest stumbling blocks to getting decent results. A lav will take care of the handling noise, but wind is almost always an issue outdoors. Foam doesn't work, you need fur covers which can be surprisingly pricey.

Syncing in post is easy, don't be afraid capture audio separately. The only issue with a lav and small recorder is you can't easily monitor what's being captured. Cheapest option to do that would be something like a Tascam DR-70d plus a P48 lav on a long cable. Wireless systems are v pricey.
« Last Edit: October 19, 2018, 12:54:56 pm by Johnny Brown »

Yossarian

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#6 Re: Camera, video / audio, etc
October 30, 2018, 08:57:34 am
That’s interesting. Having done a bit of research, I wonder if I would do better to consider something more expensive that can handle 2 ore more inputs, like an H4N or an H6. That way, both sides of an interview conversation can be monitored, rather than splitting one channel with an H1 and then finding that a quiet person or a loud person have made then recording less than satisfactory.

The doing audio with a camera approach does still hold some appeal in that it would be less hassle to set things up. The Panasonic FZ1000 / 2000 seem to be pretty decent options without going crazy. I would like to have a go with a Sony A7 III sometime though...

Johnny Brown

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#7 Re: Camera, video / audio, etc
October 30, 2018, 08:20:22 pm
I'd have to check, but I'm 99% sure an H1 can handle a stereo input, so in fact you would have two channels. I use a pair of big, quiet lavs for my lightweight kit - https://micbooster.com/primo-microphone-capsules/98-mono-clippy-em172-microphone.html  - the cables are about a metre long and completely separate, so you could easily mic two people either side of a table fairly well.

If you go for a more expensive option I'd make sure it has decent physical gain/fader knobs for the two channels so you can mix on the fly (the H6 has dials but they look more to be for setting gain beforehand. I've got a Mixpre-3 which is brilliant but not cheap. You do get a lot more choice with xlr mics though.


 

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