My band is thinking of picking up something like the Zoom Q3 to make "demo" quality vid clips for YouTube, etc. I thought about the h4n, but think video is the in thing currently.
Anything "better" than the Q3 out there? The price range, etc is great, but it isn't HD and it doesn't shoot well in low lighting.
I am in no real rush, but like the idea of investing in that instead of paying for someone else to do a demo that will ultimately only need to be YouTube quality.
Personally I think the video quality isn't really the deciding factor, plenty of lower cost video recorders that do HD now (Flip HD, digital cameras, camcorders, hell I think there are HD phone cameras now). What's going to matter most is the audio quality unless you can record the audio separately and sync it in software.
*edit* Not familiar with the Q3, but if its mics are anything like the H4 then I'd go with it if you want the simplest option.
An HD recorder, performing well in lowlight with external mic is a big step up I think.
Last Edited by on Aug 31, 2010 1:59 PM
Virtually any video camera available now will bring results which are fine for YouTube. The sound quality can be pretty good too.
You may want to consider how you will edit the resulting video before putting it onto YouTube. Some of the editing software that comes with video cameras leaves a lot to be desired. Professional looking titles and end credits etc sets the men from the boys so in my opinion you should consider the editing software too.
My video camera is a simple kodak Zi8, it has good sound and can record in HD (much too good for YouTube). The software bundled with it is only fit for kids to play with. I bought Magix Movie Edit Pro but it takes a while to learn and being a German Company, some of the instructions are hard to understand.
Anyway, just my opinion, consider what you are going to do with any video you make regarding making it YouTube-ready at a decent quality.
Last Edited by on Aug 31, 2010 3:28 PM
two things i'd look for are low light sensitivity and audio quality. in particular, if you can't adjust the input levels, a loud show is likely to overwhelm the often marginal mics these things have. if you're recording audio, too (i always do) you can dub it in, but that's a pain in the butt. a white balance control is useful ( http://www.mediacollege.com/video/camera/white-balance/ ), but mostly you want things to be dirt simple. you'll have other things on your mind.
oh, and make sure you get, and use, a decent tripod. handheld videos suck. if you can enlist a friend to pan and zoom to follow the action you'll get a much nicer result than just a fixed view of the whole band.
Mike, I'm hunting this right now as well. Same dilemma-the audio will be great on the Q3;the video, nah, not so much. So, Zoom just came out with a super-affordable audio-only recorder called the H1 for 99 bucks. On their site, it shows this new device hooking up to the top of a SLR style of camera(assumably one with video capabilities)-what sort of port would this be? I'm thinking about getting the H1 to serve as an audio-only recorder, then also to double as an add-on mic for a better-quality video camera whose audio capabilities might be lacking when I want good-quality stereo and video at once. I haven't gone hunting for an H1 in the stores yet to see what that hookup might be, but I am very curious. ----------
Crescent City Harmonica Club Todd L Greene, Co-Founder
Last Edited by on Sep 01, 2010 6:13 AM
You should check out the Kodak Zi8 - it takes an external mic which is the deciding factor for me. It also shoots HD. All the SPAH vids on my youtube page were shot with the Zi8.
I second that robdee see my post above. It's no nonsense easy to use, and you don't need to be a Nuclear Scientist to be able to use it. Only gripe is the poor editing software. If it's just for YouTube and occasional personal use, it's fine. I have a detachable stereo mic (Sony Ripoff 99 pence eBay) which is excellent.
The mic I use is one that I bought four or five years ago to use with a mini-disc recorder. It is a decent mic and well under $100 now. Sort of prosumer level of recording. This is the one:
Sony ECMMS907 Music Recording Mic
That said, I'm sure there are lots of other choices. The external mic jack is a 3.5mm stereo input.
Last Edited by on Sep 07, 2010 6:34 AM
My previous YTs were all done with a laptop web cam and external mic plugged into the laptop. This was fine, until Windows Vista and 7 started conspiring against me and I had driver issues on two different laptops. Tried Linux too on my netbook and couldn't get the video camera to work at all.
I searched the MBH forum and found this excellent thread. On tookatooka's and robdee's advice, I recently bought a Kodak Zi8 on sale (Amazon) and a Zoom H2. I just tried the H2 as an external mic for the Zi8 and it works great. Now I have a lot of flexibility. I can even record video and sound on the Zi8 through the H2 and independently record the audio (or not) on the H2. And this is very portable setup.
I'm a happy camper. Thanks for the advice fellows! I should have some more stuff for my YT channel soon. ----------
Yeah mr_so&so, that Zi8 is a remarkable bit of kit. It certainly has its limitations but for what we need it's ideal.
Before I bought that I was toying with the idea of a Panasonic with a flip out screen and all the bells and whistles but by the time you get it out and set it up the moment has gone.
You can be up and running on the Zi8 in microseconds with very good quality sound and video. Battery life isn't too bad and integral usb connector makes downloading a breeze.
The only thing I wasn't happy with was the bundled editing software which is very, very basic. I now have Movie Edit Pro 16 which allows me to take in the Zi8 video files and add all sorts of effects if I wish both to the video and sound.
All in all a great little bit of kit which is so very useful in so many ways.
I'm glad this thread was revitalized! If Santa comes thru, I will hopefully get a Zoom H2. Looking at this Kodak, I notice it's one of few that actually has an external mic input. Excellent! I see them online for 99 bucks, and I would imagine I could find cheaper if i perservere(or when Kodak upgrades). Thanks again, Tooka, and to you as well, Mr. So and So. A very Merry Christmas to you both. ----------
@mr_so&so What's the procedure for using your Zoom H2 as an external mic ? How do you hook it up and set it up to use it only as an external mic ?
I didn't know you could do that... I have an H2 that I basically just use to record myself practicing. I don't have a video recorder, but I have would like to get one that's simple to use... didn't realize that some video cameras have external mics.
I have a zi8 and the video quality is awesome if you have enough light. I bought a Tascam TM-ST1 stereo mic that sounds good. I use Final Cut Express to edit the footage and it works well if you convert the files first.
The main problem is that it's hard to film yourself with a flip style cam. The most useful thing I can suggest is to get a small mirror to put behind the camera so you can see the view finder.
To use the H2 as an external mic for the Zi8, just get a double-male-ended audio cable with 1/8" jacks and connect the camera mic port to the phones/line-out port of the H2. If you don't want the H2 to record the audio too, just leave it in record "standby" mode after you adjust the gain level. You may also want to adjust the external mic level on the camera.If you want to record audio on the H2 as well, hit the record button again.
I think this set-up give better quality video and audio than any of the all-in-one devices (e.g. Q3), for not much more, if you shop around. And is more versatile.
I think I'll also get a mic stand, or perhaps two, to hold these two gadgets, and to make the camera easier to aim. Earlounge, thanks for the mirror suggestion, that might also work on a mic stand.
@Earlounge, BTW if your Zi8 is not a new one, I believe that they have a firmware upgrade available that improves the low-light image quality. The one I have has the latest firmware and it's low-light imaging is very good. I recently took some indoor stills without flash (there is no flash capability) and they were very good too.
(edited to fix a typo) ----------
Last Edited by on Dec 21, 2010 1:53 PM
@mrsoso... thanks I will check to see if it is current. I think it decent in low light. Check out this video I shot of my buddies band in farily low lighting. Notice how it looks good until I reach the end of the zooming capacity. I wonder if that is the firmware thing. Other than that I’m pretty happy with the quality for $100 camera and $30 mic.
@ mr.S&S-is it necessary to wear headphones to adjust the gainlevel on the H2, or is there a good readout you can trust?
You guys have convinced me to get the Kodak, and use it in conjuntion with the H2 when I'm doing more than recording practices and song ideas. Thanks! Oh, and as for the Q3, there's a similar downloadable fix for the low-light problem, supposedly. I don't have 400 bones to throw at the new HD model, or it would be tempting.
(Come on, Santa, please bring me an H2. I've been a good boy, for the most part...) ----------
