Question about a camera...

[TJ.]

Hi! It's time once again to begin the search for a new point-and-shoot digi-cam that takes good quality video/sound samples. What do you use? And does anyone have any experience with these:

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerShot-SX60-Digital-Camera/dp/B00NEWZ8EY/ref=dp_ob_title_ce

It's one of the contenders I've found for less than $500 (the limit for now) I'll keep looking, but it makes my head even dizzier than it already is. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[sunburst]

No experience with that model, but my experience with Canon goes back to my 35mm days. The operating system was very similar when I made the move to digital, so I've stuck with Canon ever since. I have a Canon DSLR camera, just a basic one (Rebel), but it is capable of far more than I am able to get out of it. It is too difficult to use, however, for someone like me, who doesn't shoot enough pictures to stay familiar with the controls, so for that reason and others, I bought a Canon point-&-shoot. I seldom use the DSLR because the P&S is so much more convenient and easier to use. The quality of the shots is good enough for general purposes (it I need better I use the SLR), the few little movies I've shot with it are of decent quality, the mic is adequate, I suppose, but that's about it. The one in your link is apparently a few steps up from the one I have, so I would expect it to give you better results than mine is capable of.
I'm sure other brands are equally good in the price range, but each has different controls, so that is why I have stuck with Canon. I've used a couple of Nikons and I got lousy photos because I didn't know how to use the Camera. These were pro grade cameras capable of excellent shots, so it was my failure and not the camera's, but that indicates to me how important being familiar with the controls can be. So, if you have a preference for a particular operating system, I think it is a good idea to stick with it.

[Jim Hilburn]

Most of the shots on my website were done with an under $200 Canon point and shoot. The video isn't hi def but the ones I've done look very good. I'd love to upgrade to the one you referenced but don't really need to. Sure it would do the job.

[TJ.]

Maybe I should consider just getting a video camera... that only takes video. My poor old digi-cam still takes good photos, and I don't want or need a camera that gets wi-fi, has a tendency to call me every few minutes, and I don't really need to get NetFlix on it. (!) Just something simple with good quality sound.

[Marty Jacobson]

Probably should consider getting something that you can add an external mic to. No camera on the market has "good quality sound". The mics are designed to pick up voice conversations as clearly as possible while minimizing background noise. A lot of what makes a mandolin sound good (room ambience, high frequency harmonics, etc) would be considered "background noise" to a camera DSP engineer.

[Ron McMillan]

I have a five year old Olympus XZ-1 (http://www.getolympus.com/us/en/xz-1.html) that shoots wonderful video with amazingly good sound. And that is without the optional stereo microphone (http://www.getolympus.com/us/en/external-microphone-adapter-set-sema-1.html) that attaches to the hotshoe.

I'm not suggesting you buy what is now a somewhat obsolete camera, but I'd recommend looking for something similar. I have many YouTube clips of live music taken with the little Olympus where the sound is remarkably good. For example this one (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_RnXJMNlso).

I was a professional stills photographer for many years, and the Olympus still satisfies the vast majority of my needs.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Hi Ron - I'm pretty sure that there must still be more than a few XZ-1 cameras around for sale. 'Obsolescent' or not,if it fits the bill & does the job as well as it seems to,then it's one to look out for - very impressive !,
Ivan

[Tavy]

Do you have a digit camera that will record video already? Most do. If so why not experiment with recording the audio separately and then syncing up afterwards in repear - just be sure to add a "clap" to the start and end of each recording and line up the waveforms in repear and you're done.

[almeriastrings]

Post-synchronization as described there by Tavy is by far the most flexible method and is used almost exclusively by professionals. You can use any recorder, any mics, and put them exactly where you want. I use a Tascam or Zoom portable recorder in combo with a Panasonic GH4 camera. You still record a rough audio 'scratch track' on the camera, but this is only used to line thing up when replacing the camera audio with the high quality audio from the recorder. There are several programs that do all this automatically these days: Final Cut Pro, or the PluralEyes, for example.

[TJ.]

Here's something that looks interesting. Quite affordable too. (The average amount I usually spend on a new shop power tool)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HLDFTRS/ref=as_li_ss_sm_fb_us_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=213733&creative=399837&creativeASIN=B00HLDFTRS&linkCode=shr&tag=bigfisserco03-20&linkId=UPBO75Y4MLQSXKHO&qid=1456201912&sr=8-2&keywords=canon+vixia+hf+r500

[DougC]

I considered these options and found that there is a simple and better solution. I'm not an Apple/I-pad guy because I have a lot of Windows gadgets. But for $200 on Craig's List I got an I-pad 2.

Here's why: It is set up to easily upload videos and photos. It has pretty darn good video and good audio. There is software to easily edit videos in the format used by youtube an Vimeo.

I looked at a number of videos posted here on mandolin cafe. A lot of very good videos are from I-pads.

I am happy not fussing with cables, patch cords batteries lights etc. I have enough headaches working with websites and computers. This simple route is a big help.

[Jim Hilburn]

Put the model # in Youtube and look at the sample videos and reviews. I've been pretty amazed at the quality of the onboard mics. Better than I ever imagines something that small could be.

[Jess L.]

... Canon...


Maybe I should consider just getting a video camera... Just something simple with good quality sound.


... I've been pretty amazed at the quality of the onboard mics...

Well... for what it's worth, last year I bought a Canon Vixia HF R600 camcorder and I used its built-in mic to record a few tunes at a Fiddle Tunes concert (Port Townsend, WA, USA), the Canon has a special setting for live music and as far as my untrained ear can tell it seems to work alright in these types of concert settings. This is one of the recordings I made with the Canon R600, of the wonderful Danish musicians Lydom, Bugge, & Høirup:

hY9Or58x37c
(or direct link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hY9Or58x37c))

That model of Canon does have a jack to plug in an optional external mic, but I didn't use that, I just used the built-in internal mic. (Someday maybe I will test using an external mic but I'd have to buy one first and I'd have no idea where to start, as my last acoustic mic conked out years ago.)

However, in really quiet settings, such as say you're trying to record an unamplified acoustic quiet instrument that doesn't make much noise to start with, that Canon camera's built-in mic seems to somehow *add* its own subtle background noises, even when not changing the zoom... so I don't consider its built-in mic to be good enough for delicate/quiet unamplified music. But in settings where the sound is coming from a stack of loudspeakers, the Canon works okay as far as I can tell. Bear in mind I'm not an expert, I'm just a folk musician who somewhat clumsily tinkers with things such as cameras.

Huh, I went to look up links for my camera, and it seems that that model is already discontinued by the retailers... tech stuff doesn't stay around for very long does it... there's allegedly a newer model R700 (http://www.amazon.com/Canon-VIXIA-R700-Camcorder-Black/dp/B019UDIL80/ref=dp_ob_title_ce) now. Maybe that was why I got my R600 on discount, closeout or something. :whistling: Anyway there's the Amazon link to get started with reviews 'n' stuff.