Hiya, all. I did a projhect this weekend, one of my first with an eye
towards wider circulation, and there are a number of areas where i'm
going to have to learn quite a bit more.

For one thing, it's been a while since I recorded sound outdoors... so I
promptly forgot about windscreens. The Sony comcorder's built-in mike
isn't well-suited to fitting foam rubber over it, so I'd like to get a
recommendation on a decent all-purpose external mike. Ideally, it'd be
something I could hold on a separate stick, and it'd be nice to have a
wireless mike I could place where I needed it. Any recommendations?

Also, I'm not happy with the images I'm getting. I know that prosumer
camcorders are limited in their image quality, and the hardware isn't
going to enable me to make _Barry Lyndon_ look like a cataractous
swamp... but there's only so much I can do with the camera's settings,
manual or otherwise. So, can someone recommend a good reference book or
website on camcorder photography?

And I ight as well ask if there's a good website that discusses the
technical differences between prosumer camcorders and pro-grade
equipment (exposure and dynamic range, resolution, etc.) ... in case I
want to upgrade to something better in the future.

You have a prosumer Sony?  I assume, then, it's a VX2000 or VX2100 -- these
most certainly can be fitted with windscreens.  You can buy something
expensive, but I've found that Radio Schack windscreens work just fine.


The primary limitation of a Sony prosumer machine is its lack of
interchangeable lenses.  However, the built-in glass is quite good, as is
the video quality -- feature films have been shot with these.

I can't recommend a book, but I'd suggest that you get something on video
and cinema lighting -- the lighting is everything when it comes to turning
out something that looks pro.



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Brian Siano wrote:

The little foam wind-screens are utterly useless re: wind.  They are
designed to just keep spittle from a nearby mouth off the mic.  You can
do a bit better if you wrap "fur" around the foam (aka "softie").  But
even that doesn't work as well as the "blimp" solution:  shock-mounted
mic inside a cage wrapped in fur.  Alas, this is quite expensive.  Half
a kilobuck ... for some plastic.

Anyways, I highly recommend Sennheiser mics.  The ME series won't hurt
much re: price, and offer excellent sensitivity.

In the still camera world, the differences between "professional" and
"consumer" are by and large build quality and other mechanical factors
(shutter life span, frame rate, etc).  The latter are not as robustly
constructed as the former.  There are some interface differences,
sensor adjustments, but by and large image quality is more or less the
same from the high to the low end (excluding the very low end, itty
bitty pixels and etc).

I've been looking around for a week now, and the super-strong
impression I am getting is that this sensible situation has not
translated into the video world.  It looks to me that despite expected
sensor similarities, the main difference between "professional" and
"consumer" equipment is, simply, bandwidth:  image quality.  The latter
is (apparently) given a strict limit, and the former is limited by
current technology.  Maybe there is a build quality difference as well,
but given the output quality issue, it's really hard for me (as a
purchaser) to care as much about it -- and that suggests that the
people who make them don't care as much either.

And frankly, if this impression is close to the truth, this sucks as it
follows that this consumer/professional distinction in this case is an
artificial one, designed to solve these companies financial problems at
the expense of the customers problem.

(Yes, Sony, I am talking to you:  if I want to fill the disk in one
hour with quality footage instead of seven of merely good, what the
f*ck is _your_ problem?)

<eawckye***@yahoo.com> wrote in message
I've gotten good results with foam windscreens on my VX2000 but, of course,
a blimp or softie would be better.

Show quoteHide quoteYup -- you've hit the nail on the head.  Consumer video gear is crammed with
marketing gimmicks and generates very poor quality video.  Prosumer video
gear is less afflicted with gimmicks (though not immune), but produces a
high-quality result.  The primary difference between prosumer and
professional video gear is such things as high-res b&w viewfinder for
focusing, versus lower res color finder, balanced mike inputs (with separate
channel controls) versus unbalanced, no- or bypassable-AGC versus constant
AGC, and interchangeable lenses versus single fixed glass.

Yes, yes, yes.  However, Sony isn't the only, or even the worst, offender.
Look at Pansonic's consumer 3-ccd machines, which don't produce video of a
quality even comparable to some of the higher-end single-ccd consumer
machines.

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