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self-video equipment


pogo97

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I own a Q2N, and it does make good video and audio...but...the lcd view screen is too damned small and the controls leave a lot to be desired.

The lcd screen is kind of like the old-style Brownie camera view finder [although it is TTL], you kind of know what you are shooting but you can't see any detail.This makes 'framing' difficult, especially in low light, like in a club [where I first used mine].

 

The controls are minimalistic, and you may have trouble seeing a real difference in some of the settings on the screen, but they do matter when you see the video on a full-size monitor. I suggest you make a number of test vids with the different settings and review them in detail before making your promo video. Also, playback the audio through good speakers or headphones, the audio quality is AWESOME!

 

Put some quality batteries in it and you will have no problem shooting for extended periods. There were a lot of people whining about battery life, to the point I ordered an external battery pack when I bought mine, and have not needed the external unit at all [but I carry it anyway]. I have run the Q2N for over 2.5 hours and the batteries were still good. [i use Energizer Ultimate Lithium L-ion]. I'm guessing the whiners were using batteries from the dollar store...

 

Also get a 8 or 16 microSD card [and adapter].

 

Oh, and shoot short segments...it is 720HD, and very memory demanding, so when you go to upload, short segments are much easier to deal with.

Have someone operate the camera while you perform to minimize segment time. I warned MommaMack about this, but on our last outdoor shoot, she let it run for the entire set, and the uploads to DropBox were ridiculously long.

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I have a Q3 no longer made. Takes decent video and the audio is excellent. Small screen, definitely not for carrying around. I put it on a microphone stand and leave it. I have used it for band practice, solo recording. I just set it to record a whole set or more. I then use a cheap tool to slice the video into songs and clips.

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i run a Q8 and with the stereo shotgun mic and proper placement it is capable of capturing the dynamic range of my gongs with incredible clarity... the video is workable and better low light than my go pros... one glitch ive run into is the unit was shutting off at random times after ten minutes or so... possibly an issue with the data card... make sure its properly formatted and one that's compatible... mines kinda finicky. but then a single session can last two hours so short segments arent a consideration...

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I had a Q2HD a couple of years ago and I couldn't figure out how do zoom out. My vids looked too close up, so I sold it. Before that I had a flip cam which was convenient, not great video quality and the mic distorted if the volume was too high. I used a desktop tripod for both of those cams.

 

I know someone that has a small cam with a fish eye lens which works great. Wish I knew what model it is.

 

The best quality I'm getting now is with a Canon T3 DSLR camera. It does video for 15 minutes, then you have to put it on record again. One problem though is ambient room noise and crowd noise. A lot of rooms have poor acoustics so outside gigs are better in that sense. If the cam is set up near a table of loud talkers, the talking may be as loud as your music.

 

Getting output from the mains or the board as Harry pointed out^ is what good videographers often do.

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Be careful when asking for a feed from the board - a live board's job is to get the sound balanced for those in the room - and that means taking into account the acoustic levels of things like guitar and bass amps, the drums, etc.

 

IOW, the mix that comes out of the board may not sound balanced without the acoustical contributions of those other instruments in the room; they may sound too low on the recording.

 

An alternative approach, especially if it's your board (or soundperson) is using a pre fader aux send or two as dedicated recording sends. That way, you can dial up a completely different mix for the recording - one that sounds balanced and is independent of the mix feeding the house PA.

 

 

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exactly...now, in the case of a solo act, if everything is going into the mixer, there should be no problem taking a feed from there, but if you use a separate instrument amp then levels may not be the same. A lesson learned by our keyboard player whose audio feed from the board from the same live outdoor show I shot is nowhere as good as what my Zoom recorded.

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I would be* using it to set up on a tripod, point the camera at me, turn it on, and record.

 

I'm moving *away* from using sound reinforcement for my voice and also use just the piano speakers for the piano. I play dinner-time background music and can project plenty loud enough for a 100 seat restaurant where people are eating rather than drinking. I find that singing into the air rather than a mic is tremendously liberating. So recording out of the PA is a non-starter for the moment.

 

* I say "I would be" because I just ordered a Yamaha p255, which I expect to up my piano game over my current keyboard, a Korg sp250. Got a $300 price-match discount from my local L&M. But there goes any other music spending until the gigs pay it off.

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