Cheap video setup for good quality audio youtube videos

dmort · #1 07-11-2010, 10:12 AM

Hey all, this might not be the right place for this post, but I think it qualifies as a gizmo...

What gear do people use to make youtube vids that sound good? I was looking at a cheap Kodak (flip style) camera because it has an audio input and shoots 1080p. Then pair it up with either and xlr to minijack adapter and mic my amp, or maybe just a decent on camera mic (an akg or a sennheiser or something). That whole setup would run under $200.

Other suggestions?

Foulds Jazz Guitars · #2 07-11-2010, 10:16 AM

I would recommend the Zoom Q3 without hesitation.

It's exactly what you're after with emphasis on the audio over pic quality.

dmort · #3 07-11-2010, 10:31 AM

I had been looking at this, if it was hd, I'd go for it in a second... how's the video quality? I know I said audio was priority (which it is), but it is nice to get decent video as well!

spiral · #4 07-11-2010, 02:15 PM

I record them separately. The video is recorded with my camera (Panasonic GF1) and the audio with a real mic and preamp through a audio interface and then line them up in a video editor (even most basic ones allow this). It helps to do a count off with a short, sharp sound so you can sync them.

I don't know that an XLR to mini-jack will work all that well. Typically the mini-jacks are meant to drive an electret condensor, not a typical dynamic or condensor mic. Though if you have an existing mic and preamp, you could just run that into the camera's audio in (provided it has that).

Most built in mics on consumer cameras have some type of compression and probably won't capture the dynamic range or full spectrum of frequencies you are after.

dmort · #5 07-11-2010, 05:45 PM

Thanks spiral,

I'm not even considering using the built in mic... and I don't think that a cable direct from my condensor mic into a camera will work either as those mics require phantom power.

I've heard that it can be hard to accurately sync up the audio... if the camera shoots at 30fps, I've heard it really shoots at 29.997 or something like that, and then after a few minutes, that small difference results in the video being off with the audio. Have you encountered that problem?

The Kodak Zi8, paired with the Azden SMX-10, mounted on some sort of tripod mount bracket, seems like it could work... the setup I was looking at, at B and H was under $200...

spiral · #6 07-11-2010, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmort

I've heard that it can be hard to accurately sync up the audio... if the camera shoots at 30fps, I've heard it really shoots at 29.997 or something like that, and then after a few minutes, that small difference results in the video being off with the audio. Have you encountered that problem?

I've done this very thing, without issue, using the camera and audio setup that i mentioned.

Keep in mind, framerate is not a measure of time. ie. if you are shooting 5 seconds @ 30 fps vs. 5 seconds of something at 15 fps, both still equal 5 seconds in length. That measure is just how much information is show each second. Once it is in software it shouldn't be a problem. That being said, if you record an hour of video and audio separately without timecode or some kind of sync, there may be a slight drift over that amount of time, but i'm guessing that is out of the scope of what you need.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmort

The Kodak Zi8, paired with the Azden SMX-10, mounted on some sort of tripod mount bracket, seems like it could work... the setup I was looking at, at B and H was under $200...

I have no idea what either of these are but keep in mind you will still be using the preamp and whatever audio processing is built into the camera (almost certainly a compressor). That being said, i have no idea how high quality you want to go and i'm sure it will sound better than no external mic. Studio quality? Doubtful. Better? Yes. Good enough? That's your call.

helios · #7 07-15-2010, 12:54 PM

[quote=dmort;89247]Hey all, this might not be the right place for this post, but I think it qualifies as a gizmo...

What gear do people use to make youtube vids that sound good? I was looking at a cheap Kodak (flip style) camera because it has an audio input and shoots 1080p. Then pair it up with either and xlr to minijack adapter and mic my amp, or maybe just a decent on camera mic (an akg or a sennheiser or something). That whole setup would run under $200.

Other suggestions?[/quote

If you can wait until August 10th, you may wish to consider one of these! I'm going to spring for one:

YouTube Video