I know there were some old threads concerning this topIc, but since technology greatly changes on a bimonthly basis, I was wondering if anyone has recent suggestions. The question is what video camera, smartphone, etc has good AUDIO capabilities. I currently use my iPhone 4 but for some reason the harmonica always sounds crap. It's not just my playing because I have used it to video other players who are on a semi-professional/professional level and they sound crappy on playback, but amazing live! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks!
there are some attachments you can get for your phone with better microphones... have you tried listening to them on a computer or in the car or even some decent headphones, etc? if you listen to it on your phone it will always sound "crappy" because the speaker is not full frequency and you will lose the low end leaving only the screechy parts.
@electricwitness Thanks for the tips. I have heard that iPhone had some type of external mic that improves the audio. I'll check it out and let you know.
Just today it was announced The Delta Sonics won Best Blues Band in Westword's annual music showcase. Westword is Denver's alternative press and the authoritative voice on the local music scene.
hands down winner is the zoom q3hd, or whatever they call it now. especially if sound is important.
using a smartphone to record in anything short of emergency is no good. you need something you can stick on a stand, start it and forget it, and you won't want to tie up your phone that way.
my q3hd is great. attaches to a mic stand or tripod, records video to sd card, great sound. the only shortcoming, which i believe is common to this kind of device, is that the video can be grainy in low light situations.
you can see a bunch of videos recorded with it in typically poor conditions here
I'd suggest only recording in 720 as YouTube and such compress the shit out of the vids anyways.
I am interested in how things like an iPad with appropriate hardware can handle this sorta thing... ---------- Mike VHT Special 6 Mods Quicksilver Custom Harmonicas - When it needs to come from the soul...
on the q3hd you can select what resolution you want to shoot at, if file size is an problem. given that $100 gets you a terrabyte or two in an external drive, i don't find this an issue. i figure you record at the highest quality you can; you can always trim it down later. oh, and you can also record just audio with it, though i never really do that.
i forgot to mention: if you want decent video, the most important thing you can do is get light on your band. from the front, hopefully, but at least don't have them backlit.
if you're playing a typical bar the lighting will be poor, and turned low. ask the manager if he can turn 'em up. places i play regularly let me mess with them myself. the band always bitches when i turn 'em up, but they're happy with the resultng videos when they see 'em.
when the lighting is poor, your video will be grainy and fuzzy. post processing can help somewhat (youtube now lets you mess with 'em online, after you upload). but you can't get back sharpness that isn't there in the first place.
here's one that came out pretty good. recorded from 10 feet away, off to the side on a q3hd with the lights up somewhat. change the quality to 720p and watch it fullscreen to see what the q3hd can do.
I decided to go with the tascam im2 external mic for the iPhone instead of the zoom q3. The q3 looks(and sounds) amazing but I am not too fond about shelling out 300-350 dollars to video a few songs a week. The reviews for the tascam seem promising, and at 40 bucks, I am not loosing too much if it turns out a dud.
Last Edited by on Jul 13, 2012 5:41 PM