Video…….

Not interested!

Or should I be……?

Not sure where this came from, but the other day, I was photographing the school production of Shrek and it just felt right that I try some video.

When covering these events, I often find myself repeating similar images because I am there and do not want to waste the school’s time and money, but sometimes I get bored with the repetition required to stay busy (move around you say, try new angles you say-true but not always possible). I always want that better shot, but sometimes you just know you have it and the third time the scene is repeated does not need to be covered as well as the previous two.

I gave it a go and managed five decent short clips with C4k, but I forgot to turn the sound on, because I set up the camera intending to just shoot “stock” footage with voice over or music added later (turns out we do not have the ability to broadcast sound anyway with our license, so I lucked my way out of that one). The recoding levels still show even with sound disabled. First lesson learned.

The EM1x is a decent video rig and I use the term “rig” deliberately, because it is more than just a decent video camera. The EM1x is likely the best “free hand” mirrorless video camera available as of this time (maybe the EM1 mk3 matches it), because it has awesome stabilisation and unlike the EM1 mk2, good face detect auto focus for focussing on approaching and receding subjects. So, a decent foundation, fixing two of the four things that need addressing, which are video quality, stabilisation, sound (see below) and lighting.

The reality is, after you get all excited about lighting, story boarding and capture rates, sound is actually more important than footage captured.

Mediocre video can survive if good sound supports it.

Poor sound kills otherwise excellent video.

I did the three day crash course similar to my lighting explorations, which consists of countless videos and reviews of X vs Y, then spoke with some friends who are more experienced at this than I. This led down ever more divergent paths until I felt I had some sort of handle on it.

Super Cardioid, WAV, recording floor and high pass filter are all old friends now.

Close to pulling the trigger several times*, I have finally settled on the core of my “beginners” kit.

The ubiquitous Zoom H1n ($170au, $220 with most needed accessories) seems to be the most versatile item available. It and can open up doorways that to be honest I do not fully understand yet. I have to buy a stabiliser for it at some point, but basically, I am ready to go.

1. It can be a clean pre amp and power source for another mic (Modo XVR 10, Rode or LAV).

2. It can act as a direct to camera, or computer mic.

3. It can act as a free form satellite mic for hand held work.

4. It can be a good enough on camera mic (better than say the Rode VM Go or micro).

5. It captures a wider area than a true Super Cardioid shotgun mic, which is good for some subjects (but can be made more focussed using another mic or by getting closer).

6. It can be the independent mic that several cameras sync to or to allow you to use a longer lens.

7. It can dual record with the camera giving you a backup track.

All this with decent 96khz 24 bit WAV sound. This means you can get cordless options of boom or LAV mics cheaper than buying a cordless option of either (just needs synching-which looks easier than I imagined) and run them at the ideal distance to subject, not the camera (closer = better quality). If I upgrade my shotgun option, then it is still a useful “B” mic or power source/pre amp.

The Movo VXR 10 Pro ($80au) looks to be the best “bang for your buck”, cheap-end shotgun/boom mic available (with some optional versatility and help from the H1n). It looks to be superior in most reviews to the Rode VM Go and VM Micro and equal in some situations to their dearer options**. It is also cheaper than any of these and comes with the most accessories. It helps also that this little mic can boom off of a very light weight pole, mono pod or clamp. The Diety D4 Duo is also an option and the Sennheisser MKE 200 with it’s awesome wind buffering but I will see how the H1n performs first.

As of this writing I have ordered a Rode VM Micro by mistake (stupid google search ad priority and my not double checking the order), which I may keep or return. Decent enough option I suppose and one vlogger has a good sample of the H1n pre-amping for one, which sounds great.

This will would fit in a small organiser bag (supplied with the XVR), then slot into a lens sized space in any bag I use, or it’s own bag with lights etc.

I may add the Rode LAV Go later, but maybe not as the boom option for the XVR offers deep and warm sound.

Lighting is already sorted (Neewer LED 660 bi colour as main, 480 rgb as fill and 176 as hair light), but I may add a 30w 10.6 or 45w rectangular “soft” panel later and the EM1x effectively negates the need for a gimbal (for my needs).

*I bounced off the cute little Sennheiser MKE 200/400 (best wind proofing and form factor), Rode VM Pro, Pro+ and NTG (the industry standards) and various other Tascam, Zoom and Movo options, but these two kept floating to the top.

**In a couple of blind tests, the XVR had the same raw sound quality as the Rode NTG in ideal circumstances (indoor boomed). The Rode and several other models below it blow the XVR away for features, but the H1n can help here adding filters and effects and for $80au it’s a steal.