SOT: New Camera Week

[honeyiscool]

I think when I first had the Q3HD, it made me happy because for once, I could go to venues and get sound that didn't distort. However, the video quality is little short of awful, as in an iPhone 4S is better at video, and it is shaky as all hell. Also, it feels uncommonly silly to hold at a venue, holding a little ugly alien video device upright at a show; there's no elegance to it. Though I used it as a digital recorder for a while, once I got a Tascam DR-40, there was no comparison. Even with built-in mics, the DR-40 sounds better, feels more solid, and it has phantom-powered XLR jacks. On top of all that, and perhaps most importantly, the DR-40 mics are positioned such that it can be left on a table; it doesn't need to be held upright. So I decided to sell the Q3HD for a bit of cash and look for an alternative.

I wanted something that would take a decent photo as well as video. As you guys know, I post a lot of Youtube videos, so I wanted something with a flip-out LCD, w/ HD capabilities. So I naturally looked at SLRs, but I am not a photographer and I just didn't want anything that big. Plus, SLRs w/ big zooms intimidate people. So I looked at superzooms, but I wanted better picture and more flexibility and when it came down to it, only one camera really made sense for my hobby camera: the mirrorless Panasonic DMC-G5. I ditched the zoom as soon as I got it and bought a little used 17mm lens for cheap (34-35mm equivalent). Now I had something I could take everywhere:

This thing really takes fun, intimate concert pictures! Blurry, but whatever, it's a concert. And because it's small and unobtrusive, I think it doesn't make people "pose" as much, so I can get up in people's faces more.

Apparently, I have a lot of Tele playing friends. Anyway, what about video? With the mic gain turned all the way down, it's actually borderline usable as a standalone concert video camera. However, I just leave the DR-40 on a bar table near me, and then by syncing the audio later, I can have audio that doesn't distort! So yeah, check it out, this is my favorite band in town, and one of the best performances of this song they've ever done, and I got it recorded! I think you guys would really dig it. This guitarist is totally badass:

All that fire from a stock AC15C2.

Of course, I'm still getting used to it so I was out of focus for a bit. The other problem, though, is that the 17mm I have is not a video lens, it's also not quite wide enough for front row recording, and it lacks image stabilization. But that's on its way. I look forward to having fun with this camera at my friends' shows. I think there's something really special going on in our town with all my friends' bands and I want to capture some of that for when I'm telling people to get off my lawn and looking back on how cool things used to be. Of course, the annoying thing is that the band in the video has one farewell show left. Wah.

[kayd_mon]

That song is kickass. And it looks like that camera does really well!