budget DSLR for youtube channel - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: hussamaldean
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 15, 2018, 05:17:31 am
content: Hi,I am thinking about youtube channel for electronics and arduino stuffthe main thing is the camerawhat are some cheap but good camera for starter ?if things go will, I will ask for patron support

author: NiHaoMike
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2018, 06:07:03 am
content: What's the best one you already have? A decent smartphone is plenty to start out with.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 15, 2018, 06:30:06 am
content: Quote from: NiHaoMike on May 15, 2018, 06:07:03 amThis ^ ^ ^ ^Start off with that and spend your time on lighting. A $2,000 camera with crappy lighting is never going to beat a halfways decent smartphone camera with good lighting.Also, make sure you have something to hold the camera, other than a hand. Tripod, custom mount or whatever means to hold the camera in the right position. Unnecessary camera movement makes for uncomfortable viewing.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 15, 2018, 07:16:44 am
content: Quote from: Brumby on May 15, 2018, 06:30:06 amThis.And a DSLR is probably going to have a crap mic in it, or one with auto-compression only. Sound is just as important if not more important than video.

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 15, 2018, 07:20:10 am
content: I completely agree with the above (and I used to do professional video production). Plan, light and frame your shots properly. You don't need to go out and buy yourself a several-thousand dollar camera to get good results. I've seen some amazing stuff done with phone cameras and GoPro's.Apart from the visual aspect, give your audio strong consideration. If you're doing indoor close-ups or "talking heads" shots, get yourself a decent lapel mic (it doesn't have to be wireless although this does come in very handy if you're moving around). Alternatively, I'd be looking at a basic shotgun microphone which you can mount on a tripod either behind the camera or out-of-shot above your head. TheRØDE NTG-seriesmicrophones are very good. Set your gain levels so unwanted noises such as anything in the background or you breathing/moving about isn't captured.If you're doing voice-over work, you can get away with the shotgun at a pinch, but I'd be looking at a decent condenser or dynamic microphone for those, again, RØDE make some excellent gear but Shure, Sennheiser etc... are just as good. Even just a Shure SM58 microphone will sound excellent (they go for well under AUD$200).Bad audio is just as annoying to the viewer as bad video.Just make sure whatever you buy is from a reputable reseller. Believe it or not there are a lot of Chinese fakes out there and they are absolute rubbish (as you'd expect).EDIT: Davejustbeat me to the post. What he said.

author: hussamaldean
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 15, 2018, 09:08:40 am
content: wellI will see the results with my iPhone 7 Plus and share it here when I finish ithope within one month

author: VEGETA
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2018, 09:16:35 am
content: For me I got Panasonic 770K HD camera which is nice for the job + cheap to get from ebay. I don't recommend DSLR for youtube videos (as others convinced me earlier), they are made for still images not high quality video.

author: salvagedcircuitry
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2018, 06:20:48 am
content: Something like a Lumix GH3 is a good starting point. It can do 1080p video full sensor, decent bit rate. It has focus peaking and zebras if you update to latest firmware. You should be able to find a good used one for $200ish. You can get a $8-10 manual lens adapter and a canon FD film lens for $20-40 used at goodwill / flea markets. I would definitely put money into audio and lighting as other posters mentioned. Lighting electronics projects is harder than normal product lighting because you may have to do macro work and take weird angles to get a shot of inside a peculiar assembly. If you want a macro lens, get a reverse macro lens adapter for like $8 and use a film lens in reverse to achieve macro shots. You will need a good light source to make this happen.There is a theme with my recommendations. You are trading time and convenience for money. If you dont mind not having autofocus, you can save a lot of money by using a manual focus only lens. The good news is that there are a lot of good older dslr / mirrorless cameras on the used market. You don't need 4k video. 1080p is plenty. I like mirrorless-dslr cameras because they can take decent video and great photos so you can document your projects with the same camera. I'm not a fan of camcorder like devices because I find the stills captured by some camcorders are quite bad. Good luck!

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 27, 2018, 06:38:47 am
content: Quote from: Halcyon on May 15, 2018, 07:20:10 amI do all my voice over and the radio show with a Samson C01u, $72, no need to spend more.

author: IanMacdonald
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2018, 07:21:41 am
content: An inexpensive electret capsule is a perfectly good mike, the critical things are good mike positioning to avoid room echo, and pop suppression if it's close to your lips. There is NO WAY you can record a good audio track with a mike that's six feet away.There are basically two types of mic, cardioid and omni. The names are misleading, the real difference is that the cardioid only picks up close-by sounds, the omni picks up distant as well as close sounds. It stands to reason that if you can use a cardoid you will have fewer problems with background noises, however that means getting the mike close in to your mouth. The usual pro arrangement is a boom mike held over the actor's head just out of shot, but that may be difficult to control if working solo. A lapel or ear-mounted mike is a good alternative in that case.Bear in mind that the majority of YouTube videos aren't really videos at all, they are audios. The sound being the crucial part, the video just being eye candy.

author: VEGETA
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2018, 08:28:23 am
content: I have this mic for voice-over:https://www.amazon.com/Microphone-Condenser-Recording-Streaming-669B/dp/B06XCKGLTP/I don't know what is the difference between it and Dave's Samson. I mean, what makes Samson really better?Search ebay for used camcorders (or refurbished) and you will get lots of choices like my Panasonic 770k.My camcorder has internal 5.1 mic which is a good one situated at the back of the camera, but I have a levier mic which I can connect to the camera to get better audio (around 30$ price).

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2018, 11:07:40 am
content: Quote from: IanMacdonald on May 27, 2018, 07:21:41 amVery true. I remember when I had to do an online meeting to organise a charitable event, but had no mic and no time to buy one, so I lashed one up from spare parts: a crappy 3.5mm headphone connector, an electrect mic capsule from an old cassette recorder, some screened cable and heat-shrink for strain relief. It worked quite well considering.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 27, 2018, 09:26:53 pm
content: Quote from: VEGETA on May 27, 2018, 08:28:23 amProbably not a huge difference. They both use condenser capsules.QuoteFor camcorder make sure the mic is on the top of the cameras, not in the front pointed forward. Makes a huge difference when recording from above or behind the camera.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 27, 2018, 09:28:46 pm
content: Quote from: IanMacdonald on May 27, 2018, 07:21:41 amYes. Even good shotguns can't do it well. You can't be a couple of meter away and expect good results.I barely get away with it on my Sony NEX VG30 within inbuilt shotgun from about a meter away on my mailbag videos.

author: VEGETA
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2018, 10:52:55 pm
content: QuoteSo why there is 50$ price difference? not to mention the Blue yetti one!Quoteyes mine is like that, on top. So I can speak when I do shoots of my table and the mic will be very close. I do use an external mic anyway but sometimes I am lazy to hook it up. Internal mic is good, it is 5.1 and kinda nice quality. Test it in my latest episode in my signature (but I did noise removal in Audacity).