[HN Gopher] Ask HN: Which low-budget camera would you recommend ...
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Ask HN: Which low-budget camera would you recommend for recording
podcasts?
Please mention what you like/dislike about particular models, tell
us why you would recommend it and if you want - also share your
podcasts! :)
Author : mmathias
Score : 33 points
Date : 2024-04-06 19:44 UTC (3 hours ago)
| CasperH2O wrote:
| Ive used my phone (Redmi Note 10S) to record decent video. Post
| work with KDenlive.
|
| Mind your settings.
| planckscnst wrote:
| If you have a mid- to upper- range phone made in the last 4
| years, that's probably the best low-budget option by far. Save
| your money and get led panel lights instead.
|
| And a good audio recorder will do wonders. Zoom h1n is a quite
| good budget option. Try searching YouTube for "h1n vs" - there
| are tons of great options.
| seniorivn wrote:
| Any camera except a webcam will work. Focus on lighting and
| microphones, ones you have a reason to upgrade your setup, you
| might consider dslr cameras that are used for serious video
| productions
| Valgrim wrote:
| Sorry,I'm confused. Aren't podcasts audio by definition?
|
| Unless your audience is going to be mainly on a video platform
| (and even then, the following advice will apply) you should focus
| your budget on audio equipment, and possibly build a recording
| booth.
| Retr0id wrote:
| They're calling them "vodcasts", it's the hot new format.
| Our_Benefactors wrote:
| Joe Rogan for example is a "podcast" but also films all their
| episodes so you can watch the host and guests reactions and
| body language during the segment. "Podcast" doesn't just mean
| audio anymore, the definition has evolved.
| jimkleiber wrote:
| What I've seen is that it might be easier to promote a
| podcast if it has video because the web is a visual space and
| audio-only can be hard to make visual, unless one creates
| audiograms with text subtitles, but still not as compelling
| visually.
|
| Plus, YouTube and other visual platforms seem to have better
| discoverability.
|
| But I'm open to being proved wrong, as I'd love to record
| audio only lol.
| coffeebeqn wrote:
| Exactly. You can much easier make TikToks and such if you
| already have the video
| 63 wrote:
| There are a lot of podcasts out there and no good
| discoverability outside of large platforms. YouTube has some of
| the best discoverability out there, but YouTube viewers expect
| video. If you want to run a successful podcast in 2024,
| recording video and uploading it to YouTube is a must
| imposterr wrote:
| A used Sony a6000 + kit lens + cheap HDMI to USB dongle.
|
| The nice thing about this sort of setup is that you can upgrade
| the lens as needed without having to redo the whole system.
|
| As for lighting, DIY some diffusers for and stick them on some
| lamps.
| Retr0id wrote:
| On the HDMI-to-USB front, beware of dongles that oversell
| themselves.
|
| A blue USB connector just means a blue USB connector, it
| doesn't necessarily mean it's USB 3.0 (they might use weasel
| words like "USB 3.0 compatible").
|
| Most have an integrated scaler, e.g. will accept 4K input even
| if they only capture at 1080p - the listing will likely
| emphasize the former rather than the later.
|
| The MS2109 chip will do 1080p at 30fps, over USB 2.0 (mjpeg).
|
| The MS2130 chip will do 4K at 30fps (mjpeg), or 1080p at 60fps
| (yuv), over USB 3.0.
| _rs wrote:
| Some Sony cameras support acting as webcams natively over USB
| now too, so you can skip the HDMI step. Not sure about which
| specific models though
| chrisa wrote:
| This is my exact setup and it's great. Several pros:
|
| - Relatively cheap since the a6000 is an older camera
|
| - The a6000 doesn't have the 30 minute hdmi limit that some
| other cameras have (this can be fixed with gphoto, but you have
| to redo it every time you connect)
|
| - When you're ready you can buy more lights, and then
| eventually a nicer lens if you want
| suyash wrote:
| Your smartphone with external wireless mic
| coffeebeqn wrote:
| Why wireless? There are a lot of good wired USB mics that are
| generally better sounding since the tradeoffs aren't so severe
| as in wireless and less hassle.
| Aurornis wrote:
| A recent iPhone Pro or high end Android phone.
|
| I wouldn't recommend getting into more complicated setups until
| you've tried a recent phone. They're really quite extraordinary.
| aczerepinski wrote:
| You may have better luck if you specify what low budget means to
| you. The latest iPhone Pro is better than some of the entry level
| cameras, especially if you weren't planning to splurge for a nice
| prime lens.
|
| I think the cheapest you should go is the Sony EV-10 plus Sigma
| 16mm 1.4 lens. If those are more than you want to spend, stick
| with your phone camera because you won't see enough improvement
| to make it worthwhile.
|
| In either case, watch some YouTube videos about podcast lighting
| because that will matter more than your camera.
| waffleiron wrote:
| Slightly cheaper but also very similar to the EV-10 would be a
| second hand Sony a6000/a6300.
| kristianp wrote:
| When I google the EV-10, I get results for the ZV-E10. I assume
| they are the same camera, why do people call it the EV-10?
|
| The ZV-E10 can live stream up to 720p over USB-C (1), is that
| sufficient?
|
| (1) https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sony-zv-e10-review
| Thorrez wrote:
| Does it need live stream or would recording to the camera be
| sufficient? Can it do both at the same time?
| falkensmaize wrote:
| Use your phone and spend your money on lighting and audio (mic
| and interface). You can make your video look very professional
| with good lighting. Bad lighting + expensive camera == amateur
| looking video. No matter how good the image is, with poor audio
| no one will watch it.
| sneak wrote:
| Your last sentence is super true, but the audio interface is
| relatively unimportant. Even onboard headphone jack audio
| interfaces are 10x more than adequate. Main things to focus on
| (no pun intended) are mic placement and mic quality.
| Bo0kerDeWitt wrote:
| If your budget is tight, use your phone for video, and sort out
| the audio equipment first. Folks will watch mediocre video with
| excellent audio. They will not watch the reverse.
| coffeebeqn wrote:
| Halfway decent phone and then some lighting and you should be
| good to go. It won't look amazing but it also shouldn't hold
| your content back
| simonbarker87 wrote:
| Sound is much more important - even if you consider your podcast
| video first (in which case it's not a podcast but that's another
| topic) sound is more important. Take whatever smart phone you
| have and use that for the video and then spend any money you have
| for the camera and spend it on a decent mic.
|
| People will watch lower quality video with good sound for far
| longer than they will watch good video with bad sound.
|
| Source: listening to podcasts now for 15 years and grew my own to
| 5k listens a month across 100 episodes.
| entropie wrote:
| > People will watch lower quality video with good sound for far
| longer than they will watch good video with bad sound.
|
| Very true. I can stand bad/pixelated videos but
| crackling/distorted/unnormalized audio drives me crazy. Still
| many twitch channels seems not to know, or bother...
| waffleiron wrote:
| I would even say that room treatment is a lot more valuable to
| a starting podcast. Sure don't have the cheapest, shittiest mic
| but especially starting our room treatment grants a lot more
| value.
|
| Of course, you could record in your closet ;)
| duncan-donuts wrote:
| Second the room treatment. It should likely be prioritized
| over everything. Specifically you should look into getting
| bass traps and a gobo or three. There's budget stuff out
| there but sound is fickle. Control those reflections.
| Expensive mics still sound bad if a room sounds bad.
| ARandomerDude wrote:
| Even easier: get a hypercardoid shotgun mic and speak
| directly into the front of it. I've had amazing success with
| the Azden SGM-250H in very poor recording environments (bare
| walls, tile floors, etc).
|
| No affiliation, and I suspect numerous other similar mics
| would do well.
| tomaskafka wrote:
| I wonder why there's still no AI tool that would take okay-ish
| voice recording and make it sound stellar, just like there are
| many tools for visual stuff?
| zichy wrote:
| AI tools can't make okay-ish video recordings suddenly look
| great.
| zichy wrote:
| Exactly this. In terms of recording quality, my approach would
| look something like this:
|
| 1. Use a decent microphone.
|
| 2. Make sure you know how to handle the microphone.
|
| 3. Use closed-back headphones.
|
| 4. Record in a suitable environment/studio.
|
| 5. Consider adding a video track as well.
| skadamat wrote:
| I've spent a few years fiddling with setups during COVID / remote
| work. Honestly, in my experience, gear comes secondary to your
| ENVIRONMENT.
|
| Julie Schiro's videos are a great place to start:
| https://www.youtube.com/@JulieSchiro
|
| Here are my tiers!
|
| Tier 1: Audio > Video first!
|
| - Get very basic sound treatment done, even just a few panels in
| front and behind you. ~$100 or cheaper with DIY
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3nS2-HvJMs
|
| - Get a reliable microphone. Samson Q2U is a solid one here if
| you did step 1.
|
| Tier 2: Improve video
|
| - Improve your lighting. Face a window if you can or get some
| lamps to balance out lighting.
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiUpK0dhWTE
|
| - Use smartphone with app or cable as your virtual webcam. Or if
| you have $200 get the Logitech Brio
|
| Tier 3: $$$
|
| - Audio: 3x your sound panelling & sound treatment. Put stuff on
| the ceilings too. If you still have too much money, get Shure MV7
| (usb-c which is nice). SM7B honestly isn't needed unless you have
| a true studio environment with professional sound treatment done.
|
| - Video: Get a Sony a6000 (this is what I use) or a6400 / 6600
| and a lens with f1.4 on it. This is what I use:
| https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077BWD2BB/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b...
|
| - Add-ons: Get a dummy battery that plugs into your wall and can
| run your camera in 'forever power' mode. Get a camera signal ->
| USB converter like Magewell or Elgato Camlink (what I use):
| https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1453840-REG/elgato_sy...
| hellcow wrote:
| I have the Shure MV7, and I've been extremely impressed with it
| over USB. Highly recommend it as an entry point to
| (semi-)professional audio equipment.
| Siecje wrote:
| What is your podcast going to be about?
| lemonad wrote:
| Like others have said, get a used Sony a6000 (or higher model,
| try to get one where the screen can be swiveled to point
| forward). If you expect to be sitting close to the camera, you
| can't go wrong with a Sigma 16mm 1.4 lens. If you have the space
| to place the camera further away, you should probably get a
| slightly longer lens.
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(page generated 2024-04-06 23:01 UTC)