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Fiddlerman said
Bobby said
@FiddlermanPierre,
I know that a lot of YouTubers, that choose to go with higher quality cameras, choose to use the Canon Rebel T3i or T4i. For the price, those seem to be the most popular DSLR cameras in use. Really good price point though honestly.
That is interesting. I just started using my wives second camera, Nikon 7100, connected to an external Tascam recorder with a pair of perfect matching AKG C214's.
One of the things that bother me is that it auto focuses often and fast which is disturbing. You get the effect that someone is zooming in and out real quickly at times. I tried the different autofocus settings and they all do the same thing. The only solution I have is to manually focus which doesn't leave me much freedom to stand wherever I want. The lens that I'm using now is an 18 - 105 zoom lens but I'm thinking a fixed wide angle lens could be better...... Any thoughts?
I'll check out the Canon Rebels.
Well, I know with the T3i, T4i and T5i, like most DSLRs, are manual focus. They are a bit more limiting than a camera that auto-focuses, but I don't recall a video you have made that has you shifting the depth of your shot (unless you were trying to show a close-up). Honestly, the times you were/are trying to do close-ups would be a DLSRs bread-and-butter.
Just record you video, record the close-ups you want separately, and cut and splice in post-production, would show up a lot cleaner 
I'm up and down about auto focus cameras. Seems like only the mirrorless are good, and you're going to pay $800 at the bottom end to get started with one.
As far as the lens goes, seems most just use a solid 50mm around 1.8 or higher.
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Bobby said
............... I don't recall a video you have made that has you shifting the depth of your shot (unless you were trying to show a close-up).
I do demo recordings of our Fiddlerman Approved violins and the more expensive violins as well. We have over 400 of them and started doing this less than a year ago. Without spending time to look for anything special here is a typical example of what I am referring to.
Not all videos done recently are done using the Nikon and I tried something new recently, manually focusing and marking the spot where I stood for easy reference without the need of a third person to make the shoot. Therefor it's not super easy to find those videos.
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I'd say that was a great example. This is what we see most often in your videos. In this case those you didn't do any close-ups. The quality of video for the one you posted really isn't that bad. If you're still wanting to upgrade to the modern 1080p quality being used today (there can be a quality difference even among 1080p cameras) then I would still suggest the Canon T3i. For the money (I believe they are around $500) they offer the best quality for the money, and the quality is very easily comparable to the more expensive cameras out there. A good 18-50mm lens should do most, if not all, of what you need. I would think then one you have now would be fine. But yea, if you're thinking of upgrading to a more professional quality camera I couldn't recommend the T3i high enough for the price point. You could of course buy more expensive cameras, but really, the T3i will do nearly anything you could want. You could look at the various versions though (T4i, T5i) they may offer a feature or two that the T3i may not have that you want, price goes on up though of course.
I have to imagine you use a condenser mic of some sort with an audio interface for recording the violin itself. It should go without saying the the audio quality on any of the cameras (t3i included) is just not that good.
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I'm currently using a Tascam recorder as an interface with two AKG C214's when recording with the Nikon.
I'm realizing that unless I have a helper the SLR cameras are not convenient as far as seeing and adjusting what I'm filming though. I would want an external monitor or something to make it more convenient.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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FWIW, the DSLR that blew apart the issues with focus and auto-focus with regards to movie-making was the Canon 70D. I had one and can unreservedly recommend it. I do some low budget film-making, and it absolutely changed the kinds of shots we could do - all of a sudden, we could do long tracking hand-held shots and not worry at all about focus.
I've now moved to a Panasonic GH3 (for a variety of reasons) but the 70D is where it's at for autofocus and relatively cheap movie-making...
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Fiddlerman said
Good question PopFiddle,
I actually use an inexpensive Cannon Vixia canon HF S10 with a DM-100 external mic but I had a much cheaper camcorder for the first say 50-100 videos. Don't remember when I upgraded.
It has an SD card slot but I've never tried it and I believe it's mostly for pictures. The camera has a built-in HD and I transfer the files quickly via USB.Now a days, Fiddlershop is doing so well that we really could get ourselves a professional camera but keep changing our minds as to what camera to get.
Use Final Cut Pro when I post the videos and Michael just transfers them directly and uploads them to YouTube concerning private instrument testing/approving videos.
I did some preliminary searching to see what these cost and I found some weird things out. I may be wrong because Canon's website is awful, but these cameras are marketed in the UK as Legria and don't allow an external mic - you have to rely on the internal electret condenser. The same camera is marketed in the USA as the Vixia and it does allow external mics!
In the UK the only camera that allows the DM-100 mic is the GX10 model with 4k resolution and a price tag of £2,000!
Of course for our purposes the picture is irrelevant and the sound is the only thing that matters. I'm told the Zoom Q8 may be a good thing to use.
Andrew
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Fiddlerman said
I just started using my wives second camera, Nikon 7100, connected to an external Tascam recorder with a pair of perfect matching AKG C214's.
Oops, I only caught page 1 of this discussion.
I don't know much about cameras. I had a Nikon FM in the seventies, but I couldn't afford lenses for it, so I sold it and bought a Praktica which I eventually got rid of. Now all I have is a Panasonic Lumix TZ8 pocket camera (I like using the macro in museums). So I'm having fun looking at all this technology wondering how much of it I can and should get.
Andrew
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@Gordon Shumway It all depends on your budget. Canon DSLRs have come a long way as far as video, I think the 70D and 80D are both excellent for videos now, as they have a screen that flips around and great autofocus. I'm into still photography, but my Canon 7D has a video function (it was a new thing for Canon DSLRs at the time) but it doesn't have the right kind of autofocus for videos, so I have to manually set the focus and lock it where I need it, then make sure I hit my mark. Because of that, I have switched to just using my iPhone. If I ever upgrade my DSLR again, I'll probably go for the 80D because of the video function, but also because of my love of actual photography.
I'm lost when it comes to microphones, haha. I have a Blue Snowball, but have yet to figure out the best placement and recording settings for it to capture my fiddle right.
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I've looked at the Canon mirrorless cameras, but I assume DSLRs will be obsolete one day, as the mirror serves no function without film.
iPhones and iPads may be the way to go. I asked a friend how he recorded, and he replied, "I get my daughter to point her iPad at me and away I go!" lol
Andrew
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I would love to use better equipment but it's a bit of a drag having too many components to combine. Much easier to use one device using one SD card....
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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For anyone who has a camera with a hot shoe and socket for an external mic, check out this fun (and slightly ugly) little guy:
https://www.azden.com/smx-30-mic/
A real multi-talent (go from mono to stereo with the flick of a switch) and all kinds of other good stuff.
Of course when I got it, I thought it would make my violin playing sound better than on my iPhone, ha, ha 
I'm still not sure yet which setting I like better for recording my practice videos (mono or stereo.) If you look at the embedded video in the above Azden link, the stereo has a really cool impact when filming noisy things in motion, like a car driving past. Maybe I should just walk back and forth in the video frame to add some dynamics to my playing 
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In DSLRs, the mirror serves the same function as their film counterparts, the sensor in the back just replaces the film. Those cameras do need their mirrors.
But, yeah, using an iPhone or iPad for a quick video is much easier. Unless you're a famous youtuber making videos, I see no point in using a bulky DSLR where a small iPhone will do the trick, haha.
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but, but, but @damfino... aren't we famous in each other's eyes 
?
Totally agree re: the iPhone image. Not so sure about the sound.
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@bocaholly hahaha 
The iPhone sound actually isn't too bad. Some of the short videos I throw up onto Youtube are done completely with my iPhone, sound and all, and I actually kinda like how the mic handles the fiddle.
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damfino said
In DSLRs, the mirror serves the same function as their film counterparts, the sensor in the back just replaces the film. Those cameras do need their mirrors.
Maybe- the mirror redirected the light to the eyepiece when it all had to be done optically. Electronically, as mirrorless cameras show, you can have light constantly shining through, there's no film to fog, the sensor feeds the eyepiece/viewer electronically, and taking a picture simply involves recording momentarily what the sensor sees.
Possibly that might dull the sensitivity of the DSLR sensor over a long period of time and that's why mirrorless cameras tend to have smaller sensors than DSLRs - different sensor technology? All that is needed for it all to change is improved sensor technology, which can't fail to happen as a result of all the satellite imaging that's being worked on.
If I ever buy another camera, the Canon mirrorless is a likely bet, but I don't own a smartphone, and smartphone photography is booming.
Andrew
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I haven't ever looked through just the lens, except when cleaning, but I think the mirror also flips the image around the right way for when you look through the view finder. I know I have some old cameras that everything is flipped around in the viewfinder.
It would be nice to do away with a mirror, since that creates extra shake when it opens up in the camera. I just wouldn't want to go around buying my lenses all over again if they weren't made compatible, haha.
I am always impressed with how far phone cameras have come, and I really like the camera on my iPhone. I still prefer my DSLR, I can get the images cleaner looking, and control the focus way more, which I like. But then I have the iPhone 6, the newer ones are no doubt even better. If it wasn't a serious hobby of mine, I wouldn't mind sticking with the iPhone camera, but I am one of those people that zoom in super far into my pictures to make myself mad at something that isn't in perfect focus, haha.
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Interesting mic Holly. Wonder how good it is. Have you tested it?
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I've seen similar mics, I think by Rode? I've always been curious how good they are.
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If it's convenient to record near your computer, I have really liked the logitech C920. Nice high quality streaming and recording video. Has a built in mic that's not bad and it plugs right into a usb port, but it's better to have a separate one. I also use OBS studio which is a free broadcasting/recording software and it's pretty easy to get set up. You can have overlays, graphics etc too.
For really nice audio I use an Audio technica AT2035 mic, it requires a preamp with an xlr-in to connect to your computer thought (ART USB dual preamp is what I use). The nice thing about the preamp is you can have 2 mic's if you have someone else with you.
The snowball I hear is good too Damfino, and I think that is a direct usb connection.
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"tested" is a big word
... but since I have developed little shame posting my efforts here 
, here's a recording of:
1) The Azden mic(s) set to stereo
2) The Azden mic set to mono
3) My iPhone (7Plus)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?.....c36bMdeDZY
Couple of comments off the bat. You have to go to the menu settings of your camera to set the volume. I think I have the Azden set a tad too low. As for the iPhone, it's resting on my note stand propped up on little pieces of cork so the mics aren't blocked.
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