I’ll also be shooting my test vlog starting next Monday night. I’ve been recording daily messages and I planned to do a couple of different items weekly. I think I’m going to work out the issues with the three different cameras first.
I have an iPhone, GoPro-copy, and a Nikon D3200. Each has it’s own issues and failings. I record the iPhone using FilmicPro. If you don’t use this software for filming on your phone you’re missing out. It’s fantastic. I’ve been using it for 5 years maybe. I don’t remember. A long time though. The issue with this one is the selfie mode. I can’t see the screen if I don’t record in selfie mode (right?!). The options aren’t the same for recording selfie mode vs regular mode. So there’s some shakiness and instability as well as not having a great picture always. That’s the camera and iPhone issue not the software. The software has a great stabilizing effect for the regular recording. However, recording in my office my day-balanced lights are too much for the room and I don’t have time before my trip to set them up. Ironically, I have time to edit footage, do a vlog about Burn Notice transitions and, you know other stuff. The other issue is that my AC went out so I’m dealing with recording with a window unit on. That sucks for gain and background noise even with my Rode VidMic it doesn’t always get all of the noise and processing audio to remove gain doesn’t always get rid of it. The final issue with the iPhone is that because my lighting isn’t set up everything is too warm and I can’t record LOG footage without it being too grainy. I can, however, record 4k 24fps and that I do like. Especially on the 128GB phone.
The next camera is the GoPro-copy – it’s a Crosstour – and a great little camera. However, every sound within 5′ is amplified on the Crosstour. It’s like recording audio from a camera without a mic plugged in. You hear all of the clicks and crap you don’t want. It works great as an action camera for distance shots. However, it’s much better suited for the 4k footage of ambient work. I use this one to record when I drive or I set it up and record other video that I’ll need such as cleaning out the garage I set the camera up on a shelf and then used my Nikon for a different angle medium shot and then my iPhone for selfies. It works well. It’s not optimal, it works well.
The final camera is my Nikon D3200. I’ve had this camera for 6 years I think. It is a great camera EXCEPT the view screen doesn’t flip around so I have a view box monitor that I use to view what it’s looking at. I was using this for recording narratives but it proved to be better suited for time-lapse, hyper-lapse, and sped up footage in the medium to wide range (for now) since I can set it up with the good perspective and focal points I want then do whatever i’m going to do like I do with the Crosstour. The downside is that this is the camera I normally use for plugging in my Rode VidMic (which is nearly 9 years old now) and so I won’t get the same audio on my iPhone that i do from this unless I use the adapter to plug it in with… which is a possibility that I’ve just not done. The other issue with this camera is that I have no polarizing nor ND filters for it. I shoot in LOG format on it at it’s highest resolution. However, it is finicky when it comes to autofocus. Sometimes it loses focus quickly. I use the manual focus most of the time, but without the ND filter nor the polarizing lens I can’t use all of its potential that I’d like to.
I do have one other camera that I’ve used for 9 years as well. It’s a Sony FX-7. It records to tape. I’ve never bought an adapter to record digitally with it (as they were 1000 bucks or so the last time I looked). I reserve this one for when I need shots that aren’t covered by the other two or I want more fine shots that require an ND filter since it has those built in. It is still a pain to capture footage with in and out points using firewire on my iMac so i don’t use it as much. It’s also the same size as all of the cameras combined. However, it does have a view screen that flips around so I could use it to do audio recordings even down to 3 lux. It is a great camera though and may be included in my stationary tripod takes especially since it records great footage. However, the footage is 1080i… yes interlaced it’s that old.
All of this sounds like complaining, I’m sure. It is not. They are just items that I need to work with. I’m not going to have my scrims, diffusion, bounce cards, etc while I record on location like I normally would so I have to go back to when I first started video and remember my low-to-no budget work. Especially since all of this will be for testing different transitions as well as recording the vlog of the home DIY I have to do around the house that I’ve never done before. As well, I’ll be recording some videos that are tips for editing and videos inspired by My Life with Michael Keaton (which I saw forever ago) where he records words of wisdom and simple things for his kids. If you’ve not seen that movie you should check it out.
That’s it for now. When it cools off some I’ll re-record the audio for the Burn Notice Transitions first video with some extra notes and then do the edit so it all comes together.
Edit: I just noticed on the FX-7 it has HDMI out. I completely forgot that it came with HDMI. I could use an HDMI recorder like gamers do to record the video. So that’s at least an option. I don’t need a screen since it has a viewscreen. So for around $100 I might have a usable computer device instead of 895 or more. So we’ll see what I can find.
IN MY MIND BY WINK DOUBLEGUNS 