Will AI Replace Photographers?

No point in writing this really as many more educated minds than mine have already gone here, but for what it is worth, as much for myself as anyone else, here are a few thoughts.

The first stanza;

AI can quite often replace the actual reality of a physical (digital) image. It cannot however replace authenticity.

Real person, real place, real time.

An advertising company can make an image out of ideas, an artist also and for school projects it will be handy (if allowed). For idle imaginings, time pressed projects or to fix the inevitable problems that arise, AI is an ideal, creative and fast path.

Would you let AI “make up” your wedding photos? How about your children’s school play? Will a news service (ironically using fewer and fewer photographers) be ok with a “something like the actual event” image and would their readers?

In some cases unfortunately they may, but authenticity and trust will be lost.

Made up is made up, no matter how good it may be. It is not the actual thing in the actual place at the actual time, so it does not count without some deceit employed. For many uses this is not important, for many more it is all important.

The second stanza;

Imagination needs inspiration.

Nikon South America has been advertising the benefits of actual photographer’s work. Much of it is from nature and much of it only means anything because it is real. Some of it would be dismissed as the workings of a fanciful mind, if not.

Want a purple tree? Does it mean anything other than as adornment for a sci-fi movie or children’s book unless it is an actual thing. Is it amazing just because it is purple and beautiful, or because it is real.

Sure, we manipulate now, but whole-sale manufacture is surely different.

In this jaded world of contrasts and contradictions, advertising fatigue, normalised falseness and an increasingly less engaged and trusting audience, is authenticity going to be the next big trend?

What would be the point of faking these guys? Apart from breaking the one main tenant of news reporting, authenticity, it would simply be a pointless exercise. Removing the stack of chairs from the background? Well that is another matter.

The third stanza;

From nothing or from something?

Most AI needs more than one base image to work from. A blank page to AI is as blank as it is for us. You ask it to do “X” and it needs to know what “X” is, what “X” may look like especially if “X” has many variants and it needs a context to modify “X” within.

“I want a mountain with a sunset, a beautiful lake and autumn trees” means nothing to AI if it has no stock library to draw from, no terminology to reference, so somebody has to take the images in the first place, then share them with the AI tool.

Are you ok with someone else always taking the images?

Variety may also be the first victim if we all get too lazy to go out and freshen up the pot!

Ponder this also.

How much effort are you willing to give an AI tool to make up your image.

Are you going to spend days describing every minor detail to an artificial mind or just accept its version? If not much, then why not just go and take it, then manipulate from a stronger base. Maybe take up painting even, might be quicker. Artists often abstract fine details for this very reason.

Nature does a lot of the heavy lifting here.

We rely on the world filling in a lot of the blanks, happy that it does so with simple reality. Take away that solid base and you have a lot of details to worry about. Obsessive compulsives may be busy.

Stanza four;

Why?

As I said above, why do we do it?

I take photos because I like to document the real things I see. I avoid blatant manipulation, because of the same thinking. Nature, humanity, life generally are all amazing, more amazing than anything I could come up with without enormous effort, much more effort than return.

As soon as one of my images looks a little “fake” from processing, I ditch it or start over.

Would a good travel or street photographer be happy siting at home and making stuff up from other peoples work?

How about a portraitist manipulating increasingly generic looking, fake but “perfect” people? Might save on lighting, but an unsatisfying path maybe.

People it turns out are real. Just ask them.

Would your family be happy with some pretend family pics of ever absent uncles and aunts, or would they prefer to actually see them and take their images while together?

Yes the time pressed advertising or commercial shooter will be happy to work with little to make much. This has always been the case. Want a perfect banquet, then make one up. It will just be easier to do and cost less, more of a skill switch than philosophical change of mind for some.

I was there, it was real and I shared. I could have lifted a similar image from the web and manipulated it, but it would not have physically taken me there, so it would have been irrelevant.

If we ask ourselves what are we trying to achieve, sometimes the best path is the most obvious.

Is it possible to get where we are going authentically, because maybe the journey is important also. Like the search for the perfect mechanical dog, maybe a dog is just better by design even if you need to employ some training, which in turn gifts you with a feeling of accomplishment and helps you develop more skills.

The Finale;

Stuff changes, always and forever, but the important things do not.

Some deeper, stronger things need to stay the same in that flowing river of evolution, like a stubborn boulder, because we need anchors in our lives.

We need authenticity or we question our relevance in this world.

You only have to see the recent trend towards “retro” ways of doing things, especially from our young, to see that authenticity is still important even for IT (and soon AI) natives.

It seems we all want to believe in something real.

AI is a wonderful tool, but it is not by definition as powerful as the real thing (it’s in the name Artificial Intelligence).

Of course the big problem will be identifying the real from the fake, or more likely who will care?

I can see a time when third world artists and creators will be much sought after, because they will have untainted, authentic voices.

While we are at it, the music industry may be the big looser. Music is a finite collection of combinations and variants, very mathematical as it goes. Give AI a generation and real musicians may no longer be needed, just song “makers”. The next big hit may be Elvis or The Beatles, back from the dead.

The Demise Of The Ten Percenters.

Ten percenter has two connotations here.

Being a photographer for a local paper means you need to be in the most literal sense, a photographic jack of all trades, a “ten-percenter”.

I have been a specialist in several fields either by passion or employment.

Specialising means making an effort to put all your skill, resources and focus into a single type of photography (or video) over all others, for a period long enough to matter.

A little obsession helps.

A basic portrait image of a subject for the paper. Where did the process come from? Years of thinking about photography in a variety of forms and genres.

This may mean a full day or several days concentrating on a drama production, months creating a landscape portfolio or years even, accumulating a travel stockpile.

Travel, street, landscape, studio portrait, environmental portrait, candid portrait, sport, wildlife, still life, astro, event, drama, music, time lapse, in film, digital stills or video, even sound. You name it, I have had a period, long or short, where this has been the keen focus of my interest. I tend to work things through to their logical end and move to the next interest, then sometimes come back again, sometimes not.

The candid shooter in me (a favourite), loves the down time between events.

Being a news paper photographer, especially at a small local paper, means you will tap into most of these interests regularly, so it is best you have them to call on.

The trick is to bring your best kernels of that wisdom, when and as required.

I have gone to press conferences that turned into sporting events, local news stories that turned into semi-formal portraits, low key drama previews that produced a full rehearsal with the works and unknowns that have taken to all sorts of creative places.

Never used in this form, but this is the one I liked. These guys are specialists.

You have to adjust your thinking. You have to learn to do the best you can, compromise and hero practicality over quality.

So 10% means two things.

First it is a rough estimation of the amount of experience and training you will tap into from any single specialist field on a given assignment. I guess you draw from it all, but the reality is you can follow the trail back to a single experience in your photo “memory catalogue”.

Secondly, it is a rougher estimate of the resource pool you will be able to draw from. A portraitist uses lighting control, a sports shooter uses a clutch of otherwise over the top cameras and lenses and a landscape shooter worships a “built like a tank” tripod and filter set over all else.

How to pose an image? Place the subjects in their space, let them do their thing and capture the magic.

You use 10% of your skill awareness and 10% of the time and gear you would like to have to shoot for the top 10% of results.

The most common issue is gear.

Ignorance is probably bliss here, because knowing what you would like to do is often at odds with what you can do. My bag covers (full frame equiv) 18-300 with mixed zooms and primes, three light sources (flash, LED, reflector), a mic, phones and a pair of camera bodies all in a relatively small and light bag (Domke F2). Sometimes a tripod comes with me, often not.

What I would love to carry is a light stand or two and brolly or soft box, a bigger LED, tripod (always), more lenses, multiple flash units, several sound options with cables, a camera better suited to video (S5 or G9 properly rigged up) etc.

Because I do not work exclusively for the paper and we do not get designated cars, I do not have the luxury of having these at hand.

Sport has its own needs, but thankfully, you usually know what they are.

If I cannot carry it, I cannot use it.

If I cannot use it, I cut it out of my creative processes.

All I can do is take what I may need and hope for the best.

The second biggest issue is time.

Never enough, never the right time and always turn round speed over quality, so quality has to come from efficiency, selective compromise and acceptance.

Every specialist sees time differently. The landscaper thinks in perfect days and hours, the portraitist in split seconds, the sports shooter in even less than that. As a journalistic shooter, I see time as simply a “make the most of” proposition. Sometimes you get lucky, usually not.

Light, being the grist of our mill is usually a tug of war thing, which is where time is so cruel.

Sometimes it does not matter much. Light just is and the subject has to do the heavy lifting.

Sometimes it is hard to improve upon.

Sometimes you just have to make it work.

So, why the demise?

I doubt in the near future there will be a pool of long term photographers to draw from, cadets are thing of the past and the need is shifting to more “journalist with a phone on the spot” thinking. Ironically video, which is technically harder, should be where photographers migrate, but probably not.

The thing lost, as with so many similar stories like printed papers, or free to air TV, is that as soon as it becomes an unknown to a new generation, they do not know to miss it.

Happy Place

So, I have been reminded why I do this crazy thing called content creation.

The new school asked me to cover their Rock Band Challenge, which to be honest blew my socks off!

Several of the artists and bands were good, some were incredible and all were very, very, cool.

I shot both stills and video. The video was limited to static, because a student was wandering with a gimbal, but if needed I would have used a G9 on a shoulder or chest rig as a second angle, running the full set, but only dropping in the meant bits, ignoring the footage where I shot stills (if I use the shoulder rig, an advantage is it can be set down, looking slightly up, so it provides a second angle even when ignored).

Sound was the tricky bit, but a chance to try new gear.

I tried a simple system that for my needs (video) was safe and fine. I used a single LCT 240 mounted above camera on a goose neck and shock bracket as a “room” or ambient mic. This went into the H5 then to camera.

I got the same thing the audience got, warts and all, but on the whole, the balance of sound and video was more than ok. A few tracks had some noise and interference, possibly me turning the mic down too low in the face of quite high sound levels (that it actually handled just fine).

If it was all about me ( ;) ), I would have miked them up directly, especially the lower end instruments and the acoustics, or gone straight to the mixer, running as a side car to the whole thing, I chose not to. At least I have provided enough quality to sync to.

Impressed by the little 240. It was not given much of a fair go, but did really well and noticeably better than a standard shotgun mic in that space. The advantage was control in an environment that sometimes stretched that too far.

I could complain about limited space to work, excessive noise or constant “gear fear”, but not when you can have this much fun and contribute to the genuinely passionate efforts of these kids.

Next the paper asked if I could go to a late night rehearsal of The Cat In The Hat, put on by, you guessed it, my old school.

Knowing me, they requested me over unknowns and I returned in kind. A half dozen for the paper, 150 for the school-off the clock.

Every show has its “Horton” or Donkey (from Shrek) and they tend to be camera magnets.

Fatigue and the Future

I think I am a little worn out.

This sneaks up on you, but when over a few years you have been constantly opening new doors, changing and adapting and worrying a little or a lot about the future, finances, your relevance and the future of your career type as a whole, it soaks in, wares you down. I am also aware of a pending trip to Japan, something I have sorely missed over the last few years.

The paper was a good move financially, a bad one for peace of mind and personal happiness. I have learned a new way of doing my art, but also had to accept a lot of limitations and to look at the world a little differently. I would miss some parts of it like the access to sport and an awareness of the arts etc, but not much of the rest.

Know your true love and chase it. A lesson learned form others.

I knew this going in, but the period from December to April where I was held in limbo by the paper was past annoying (my resignation email was actually in the inbox of the editor who was terminated that very day. A sign or a bad habit continued?), so my journey at the paper has turned more into a holding pattern, a “wait and see” than a future pathway for me.

There are signs of light and life. The paper is switching to a more online footing which gives us more scope for images and video, even more scope for ourselves to function independently retaining some relevance.

Probably the biggest strain though has ironically been artistic frustration.

My ideal is to be in a dynamic environment where lots is happening and I can record it with stills, video, or sound, without the impediment of space, captioning and time limits. Somewhere where I can make a difference, help people realise their best self. A place where what I have to give will help others and as it goes, me to.

That should be a school right, or maybe a volunteer organisation even a news paper?

Problem is, all three schools I have been involved with are slow to embrace this. There are privacy issues and internal dynamics which I am aware of, but stuff is always happening and these kids come and go so fast, their lives and exploits are so short lived like capturing fire works.

The volunteer organisations are more of a surprise though.

I am offering free video and stills for any event large or small giving them the opportunity to show the world what they are doing, but it ends up with me sitting and waiting. Even if I am in the habit of reminding them at regular intervals, I tend to only hear from them with “we should have called you” or “would have been great to have you there, but “a” thought “b” had it sorted” comments.

So far, the bulk of what I have done is end of year report portraits, which are fine, but not all I signed up for.

Gigs like this are perfect, but so rare. Sometimes it seems, you cannot even give it away.

The key is to be there under peoples noses all the time, but where, why and under what umbrella?

On a positive note I have realised my life was devolved down to all things photo based, so I have re-awoken my other hobbies, hoping to give myself some form of artistic release and the new found sound sphere is sitting patiently for me to get in, get on and use it.

The games room that became a studio has gone back to being a games room giving me more room, because the squeeze was getting to me and the reality is, I go to them, not they to me.

I have re-activated the games page on this site, something that does not sit perfectly for me here, but I have put years into it and don’t want to run three web pages and it gets considerably less traffic anyway (more of a thinking out aloud exercise for me).

Keep swimming I guess.

The Gentle Art Of The Video Smash

The current needs of the paper are for stills and video for every job.

Sounds fun right?

Given roughly 10-15 minutes at a job and sometimes as little as half an hour at the other end turn around*, the fun tends to fall away as efficient processes take over.

If you are lucky, there is a sit down, where both are possible. Then you just need a little B-roll.

Shooting both at the same time, because my process is to avoid the cliche shots, leaning to my strength of capturing people in action, not posed, I have a basic process.

Not posed, found. She was sitting to the side waiting for the ok to go and I grabbed this portrait. Semi-posed I guess.

Start with video (G9), but switch between stills (EM1 mk2) and video as able. If there is an “anchor” shot for video, that is an interview or presentation, then that settles the process. All you need then is some B-roll or stills for a slide-show.

The other togs recommended to me that I wait until after the interview and ask three questions, but I reject that, because the questions have been asked, the natural responses made. Video can be a natural result of the journalists interview, not its own thing. Revisiting this space has little appeal to anyone and the big difference is, the interviewees are looking to the journalist, not to camera.

Spontaneous moments either video or stills are golden.

Trying to shoot stills at the same time takes two shapes.

Video must be the priority, stills the tack-on, because video is based on the audio and a linear for, stills have no time stamp, no order needed.

Sometimes TV are there also, lights and all.

The first idea was to place the video camera on an ifootage monopod and shoot stills at the same time, but that had issues of stability, the need for a tilt head (I bought the 120cm) that did not then fit in the supplied bag (frustrating) and it did not weigh any less than the Velbon tripod I already own. I may revisit this on occasion with a proper tripod.

Performers perform, simple as that.

The second is to hold the camera as still as possible, which with the static stabiliser mode in the G9 is very still, then shoot stills with the other hand. If I get some nasty drift or jumps while doing it, I use B-roll or stills to cover it up, just as long as the sound is clean. I will carry the feet and head of the ifootage unit as a mini tripod option, but rarely have that luxury.

Some moments are not repeatable.

Processing then becomes a two pronged thing.

1. Process stills to support the words.

2. Do some video to tell a short version of the story, but not at odds with the written content.

To be honest, I feel we are headed towards a video only dynamic, but then that would be TV wouldn’t it.

Occasionally, you walk in and everyone performs.

I won’t pretend I have this knocked yet, but something gets done every job unless there is simply nothing to get.

All good practice.

*We roughly budget 2hrs perk job on average including travel, but some are much shorter, a few much longer.

Our National Game, Grass Roots Level.

Australia is good at a lot of sports.

World champions quite often in the two codes of Rugby, three forms of Cricket, Hockey, Netball and a ton of others, as well as strong enough to be taken seriously in many other world sports (Soccer, Tennis, Basketball, Rowing, Sailing, Cycling, snow sports etc), it is a surprise to many, that the most popular Australian winter sport is ours alone.

Australian rules “footy” is however, a game that is hard to describe.

Possibly a case of two merging into one,

No offside, no padding or protection, few limits on tackling (no blatant punching, strangling, pushing, tripping or kicking, but most else goes), it is seemingly formless until you get your eye in. It is suited to any body type, the tall, strong and fast, but mostly the brave.

or growing some more arms,

One of the very few games with two scoring grades* (6 pt goals and 1 point '“behinds”), it often bamboozles new watchers, but it can also mesmerise.

or maybe helping a friend perform a needed face plant,

Deceptively simple, the game is rough, tough and fast. At the top level, players can run a marathon in a game, criss-crossing the huge field multiple times each quarter.

but at the end of the day, the ball is all important. So they say.

At grass roots level, the game lacks some of the “aerial ping-pong” label the higher version is often tagged with, becoming more mud and guts.

few come away unscathed (yes, that is a boot mark on his face and no officer, he did not get the number plate),

No matter the level, the passion is the same, in fact there is a special place in sporting heaven for these local games where sons, daughters, mothers and fathers are on the field as their loved ones stoically watch on or join them on the field.

Taking a “mark” gives the taker a free kick, so great lengths are gone to and the results can be game changing.

This was the mark that led to the goal that tired the game and led to the home team winning. Even after the siren, the kick can be taken making for some famous moments.

Just confirming also, women and girls play with every bit as much passion.

With a recent surge in popularity, womens football has grown and grown.

Personally, I am not a huge fan, which makes me a bit of a pariah in my family as several relatives including a quite famous grand father played as high as state level (1937 best on ground vs Victoria and we won), but I have to admit it is the best sport to photograph.

*Its closest relative and sometimes representative teams play against each other in a hybrid version of both games, is Gaelic football, which also has a dual scoring system.

Some Thoughts On Work Practices

I am getting to the bottom of my inability to click with the paper and after a day at the new school, it made a lot of sense.

I have been blaming the chore/circuit breaker of captioning, but that is only part of the problem for me.

The real issue is low volumes of over thought images as opposed to many more taken in a more free form way, naturally and spontaneously. The captioning issue is a part of this, but it is more than that. I have never been attracted to the posed or constructed image. It is not and has never been me. I have tried, I really have, but never have I felt comfortable with “making” an image. Taker or maker, the subject of one of my earliest posts is clear to me.

I remember trying still life, waiting patiently for the right landscape light and after many weddings, I know which process I am drawn to.

I see, I take.

I do it a lot and I do it fast and quietly. The bulk of my “skill” such as it is, was developed around that process. This even comes out in my sports imagery. I do not shoot bursts, only single images using anticipation, practice and responsive gear.

I don’t mind studio work, in fact I really like it, but even then, it is about setting a scene and letting the players act within that. When I do shoot happily for the paper, I adopt a similar ethos.

Set the scene and let the players function within that, then capture the semi-scripted image.

Got to be natural, or as natural as possible.

Posing was not an option here, I did not even speak the language.

The give away was video.

Shooting video is for me, basically the same as shooting stills my way. The problem at work now is I want to shoot video and stills at the same time. The other guys shoot their stills in a set process at the end of the interview or press conference, they often shoot their video the same way.

I have to adapt, but the good news for me is having the school for shooting my way, I do not feel totally trapped in a foreign space.

Sound Practice.

Sound for me is more important than video.

Let me put that another way.

Video comes reasonably easily to me now, sound stresses and excites me in equal measure. It is quite certainly a case of superior application setting video free.

The sE sisters, the support act to the Lewitt band. There is also a soloist, some French allrounder.

So much to get wrong, but the potential for success is unlimited and to be honest, getting sound right is the ultimate “master the basics” scenario.

As I and many before me have said, sound is half of video, until it goes wrong then it is all of it.

Looking at my work flow, I have created an interesting niche.

> After matching a mic* to a subject, either a capsule or XLR feed,

> it goes into a Zoom interface (F1/H5/H8),

> which sometimes adds effects, levels, compression etc,

> is then sent to camera via a puny 3.5 stereo cable,

> and finally tweaked in Fairlight (DaVinci Resolve) to support the video.

The choke point is probably the 3.5 cable, or maybe the camera, processing, or more likely me in a form yet to be revealed.

An option is to send the audio to a DAW (digital audio workstation) via direct connection or SD card, then do a better job of editing, but to be honest, it is still only going to go to a video.

At the end of the day, the camera is the limit to my quality needs, the work up front merely designed to guarantee a good start.

Have I over done the mic thing?

Probably, but I have not spent a fortune and each is suited to a task (and darn cool).

*Type, quality, capture and handling needs from on camera shotgun to hand held dynamic.

Three By Two

The Lewitt brand grabbed my attention a couple if years ago when I deeply researched useful XLR mics for my H5 to lift it beyond it’s capsules capsules.

The mission was tough, as a videographer will balance practicality with performance, but I did manage it, even though the mics, a matched pair of 040 Match pencil condensers were rarely used.

They added a level of sound capture different to the capsules I owned, technically better, but mainly different in application and made the most of the H5’s full feature set.

They were an unlikely win for someone new to all this.

Lewitt seem set to add more dissent to the strangle hold Shure have had on the dynamic mic market for years, but it is in their condensers they produce some low cost winners.

The LCT 240 Pro is a medium diaphragm vocal and general instrument specialist. Like the 040’s this seemed to be one of those “punch above your weight” mics, although being a condenser it produced a problem, something that the H5 could not fix. The Zoom could only power two condenser microphones and I would have three to pick from.

It could however manage two dynamic mics with the EXH-6 adapter. I then went looking for dynamic mics and settled on the sE V series as the best modern upgrade to the venerable Shure pair (SM57/58).

I also picked up the Lewitt MTP 440, the polar opposite of the 040’s, but equally well reviewed and another “Shure killer”.

This quickly led to more mics, then the H8. The H8 opened up options, powering up to six condenser mics.

After this I did still get the LCT 240, deciding to use it as an either/or with the 040’s, then the a second 240, thanks to some stock shortages and mix-ups with other choices, which happened literally minutes after committing to the Zoom H8 so I can now use all together.

I finished the set with a second 440.

• Two 040’s for all things high and clear, with area coverage as a bonus.

• Two 240’s as the work horse mid-range vocal and instrument specialists.

• Two 440’s as low end and high sound pressure beasts designed to do their job without effecting their more sensitive friends.

The last 440 is on the way and I consider myself lucky to get the last one I could find. Some Lewitt mics seem to be scarce in these parts at the moment. No 340tt, 340 Rex, or 440’s and few of the others. I almost bought the Beat kit (340 Rex, 440 and 2x 040’s), because nothing would be wasted (and you get a cool box).

All three mics are gaining strong reputations as respective class leaders. All stand out, even in Lewitts own impressive and growing pack.

Why pairs?

Mainly because with pairs of the same mic, matched or not, you have consistent and predictable problem solvers with room coverage and stereo imaging.

Why the same brand?

Because when a brand makes a set of mics, they often have simialr tonal properties designed to overlap harmoniously. The 040’s cover all thing except the bass heavy. The 440’s are solid and smooth through the lower range, but effectively absent in the high register and the 240’s sit somewhere in the middle to high end.

(The thought has crossed my mind that 2x 040 and 2x 440 would have likely fixed most needs)

They compliment each other, without sonically fighting each other for space. High frequencies especially blocking up is a genuine issue apparently, something the 440’s help reduce by adding depth without adding top end unless wanted. They can work as a one mic solution up to probably strings or acoustic guitar, then show their weakness in very high registers.

These personify my philosophy of hunting down balanced and complimentary, best performers in their class, in reasonably priced forms of all types.

The sE series are the same. I have the presence pushy V3, neutral and solid V7 and wide ranged and versatile V7x, but being dynamics, their role is limited.

Levels And Ambitions

Everything has levels.

You need to find your level, perfect it and decide to either remain there or push further. There are genuine benefits to both roads and neither is the “right” path.

In western society we tend to push the onward and upward philosophy (grow or die), in the east, there is just as much of a “perfect where you are” thinking, as it, just as much as anywhere else, is never so perfect it cannot be bettered (Ikigai).

I have three skill sets now I guess. All three can support or improve the other, all effect my attempt to capture people and their lives in some way and all three are a balance of art and technical application. Below I will self assess and rate (out of 5, 5 being fully pro in the field)

Love to know who she sees.

Stills

The long term giver

Photographically I would have to call myself an experienced all-rounder. I have specialised, obsessed even, but lately, I just prefer to dabble broadly.

The paper throws most things at me in a get in-get out quick format, but lots of variety and problems to solve. The main thing is, we have to do it reasonably well.

Sport is a priority on weekends, weekdays are all things editorial. Speed is the real skill and accepting compromise.

Balance.

This is fun, but more time would be nice and less chasing of names and team lists. I have however discovered I can cover a game in ten minutes.

To be honest, I am past the stage of just doing one thing any more. Sport, studio, landscape, even street would not satisfy on their own, not claiming to be an expert in any, but I rarely feel the desire to dive head long into any form of photography these days. Variety keeps it fresh, variety is needed.

My level I guess is 3.5, which is a content photographic wanderer with nothing to prove after a very long apprenticeship.

My ambitions are few, so 4 maybe, because constant practice brings improvement, mostly about getting my style to match my job description. I think 5 requires a level of obsession I now reserve for new things.

Video

The immediate satisfier

In video I am more of a serious dabbler with high aspirations but realistic expectations at this point. I can tentatively go “full noise” into VLOG, LUT grading etc, or shoot more drop-and-go style. Like a lot of things, the more you know, the more you realise you only need to use some of it. Do what works.

I realised a while ago that I generally processed to clean and strong contrast with decent sharpness, so I have adjusted to shoot that way, which mostly means exposing to retain highlights (shadows add drama and depth).

The G9’s have been good lately set to Standard profile, -3 sharpness, -2 contrast, ISO on the thumb dial for exposure, manual focus and just get going. C1 is 50fps at 1/50th, C2 33% slow-mo, C3 1/100th at 50fps low ISO and deep depth (f8) for sunny outdoors when I cannot apply an ND filter. It also means a black mist filter can soften from a sharp base.

Just a crummy screen shot because for some reason DaVinci will not let me export this file as a jpeg, but enough to show the base quality the G9 gives me in Standard profile taken “on the fly”. I increased contrast very slightly and that was the same for all of the clips. I would be happy enough with this as a still, let alone a frozen video frame.

Lighting is a big element here, because video has different needs to still photography.

My level here is about 2, the excited explorer with a few wins under his belt. Still lots to learn, but an awareness I am ahead of some and on a steady, measured path to learn more. The main thing here is to keep the passion alive. I am lucky I guess that content creation was my main focus for the first couple of years, putting it all together came later and that is where the growth path is longest/hardest. Got to be fun, never a chore.

My ambition is about 3.5 (or 4.5 in my specific field of quick videographer), which is to say I want to match my technical skills to my possibly over the top ideas. Go OTT!

Sound

The inescapable support act

Sound is a curious thing.

Long before cameras, for me, there was sound. I was a true audio-file, so much so that one of my first jobs, well one I actually liked, was at a local specialist Hi Fi store. I could talk for hours about the difference between European, Japanese and American speakers, the value of valve amps, power streams, Ohm ratings etc. Yep I can bore you in many fields.

Somewhere that fire died and I became a regular “little stereo on the shelf” guy, with a huge music collection.

The fire is back.

I doubt I will ever own a mixing board, maybe not even use a DAW. I just want the best straight to camera sound I can get in a fully self sufficient and enclosed kit. With the H8, H5 or F1 as my capable “middlemen”, I will concentrate on the quality of my sound capture front of house, not so much the processing side. Basically I want my video and sound to be as straight forward as my stills work.

My level here is about 1.5 so I am the “try anything I can do to improve the feed to my camera, with no ambition to replace a sound pro” guy. I have realistically gone well past the videographers pale, which usually stops at a pro grade shotgun mic, but this is fun, new and nothing will be wasted.

My ambition is probably a solid 3 which is to explore what I can realistically do and let it grow naturally, maybe indulging my hobbyist side along the way. If I can assess a situation, apply the best fix and walk away confident I have better than just adequate results (and have results), I will be happy. I must admit, having a powerful mic on my H8 and just listening is also fun, even therapeutic.

*

The balance of these three fields is not yet right, but it will come.

My photography is not floating my boat at the moment, but the new school will fix that I hope. My video is ok, getting better every day and my sound has big ideas and I hope big capabilities, even though many are only theoretical at the moment.

Nice Walk In To Work

We have had some terrible weather here lately. More like spring with the “Roaring 40’s” blasting across, so where you get a hint of something nicer, it is worth grabbing.

My old friend, close to moving on I feel.

Oh, and it seems lately I need to remember that this is primarily a photo blog.

A case of unlikely retrieval. The silhouette image was underwhelming, so some exploration was attempted.

This is a good exercise to. I had my whole bag with me but just used the 45mm.

Just outside work, last glance.

Another front coming, but let’s pretend for a moment that this is the reality.

More "Forced Brilliance" And Some Genuine Coolness

No Lewitt DPT 340tt for a month or more, so I switched to the DTP 340 REX. None of those for even longer, but the company I was dealing with withheld the right to refund me (my bad, agreed to their terms but missed the no stock warning). If so I could chase one of the elusive Lewitts, but now it is either a long wait or rethink.

Ok, what to do.

Every compromise I have had to make has worked out, so I decided to think more along the lines of the handy generalist rather than specialist needs, something I pretty much decided on with the 340tt, then went away from with the REX.

The need is for a lower register instrument mic, and another possible vocal option.

I have decided on the sE V7x, the instrument tuned version of the V7.

As a vocal mic, many like it, but it handles badly, needs a decent pop filter and is too strong in low frequencies to avoid either completely.

Bass is handled well enough by this one as it has some pretty extreme proximity effect*, something sE actually shows on their frequency chart, so they obviously think it is a useful tool, not a weakness. This can add that lower end kick if needed, or more balanced detail if backed off a bit. The MTP 440 is the well controlled instrument mic, the TT1 has that European something and the V7x has warm character.

Again, going into a camera not a mixer, so it’s more about listenable effect than sonic perfection.

I like this. The V7x was on my radar early on, then Lewitt became dominant, but each to their own. The Lewitts own the condenser space for me, the sE’s have a solid presence in the dynamics.

The sE set now covers bright, neutral and deeper. The Lewitts give me the condenser fine detail and area cover and the TT1, yet to be defined, adds maybe what ever may be needed. The sE V7x now guarantees the sE V7 can be reserved for vocal use.

The V7x and MTP 440 are both deeper sounding than the presence forward SM57, meaning I do have options down in the sub 100 Hz range. Not lots, but also not specialising. I am not going to mic a kick drum specifically, but may need to point something grunty at a set or pick out a Cello.

The H8 also arrived today.

Very impressed.

It is lighter and smaller than I thought, not much heavier than the H5 and it has smaller dials and hard plastic build rather than the rubber coated…..hard plastic of the H5. The H5 seems bigger in scale, simpler in options.

The H8 feels hard, precise, clicky and reassuring. The “softness” of the H5 is quite different. The Metal EXH-6 on the H8 actually makes it feel top heavy, but it also feels right. The XYH-6 capsule now switched to the H5 to empower it a bit* is also quite heavy compared to the XYH-5. Bit of an ugly pair, but workable.

The two XYH capsules are also interesting when compared.

I have heard comparison recordings and I personally rate the XYH-6 as better to my ear. It also has the 90/120 degree option, so the H5 will have a slight boost in performance, the H8 is reserved for XLR inputs where it is a better performer (most owners and reviewers say the H series are all equal in capsule performance, but not in XLR input recording, which is the real reason for the H8).

They do not look hugely different, but the H-6 on the left is about twice the weight and the foam and fluffy I have for the H-5 and H1n are not going to work. The mics in particular are huge. The capsule was a bonus, effectively shaving $100-150 off the real price of the H8, but I am thinking now that the H5 may get more gigs as a main player with this and the SSH-6 as options. Not just a backup option, kind of like getting two new recorders at once.

The XYH-5 capsule is now “relegated” to the F1 as a compact on-camera option, making the most of the F1 and its own shock mounts. The MKE-400 is my first choice on-camera mic, but sometimes I want something different or more powerful.

*Responds possibly disproportionately well to lower frequencies the closer you get.

My Utterly Brilliant Mic Choice, Made Mostly By Mistake.

The LCT 240 it turns out was an inspired, if forced, shift in thinking. Mostly forced as it turns out, I cannot brag about my clear thinking.

I had an idea to build up a kit of mics so that a band could be filmed, all with my supplied kit.

This was of course a thin premise, because said band would either have their own mics, have a sound tech who could simply supply me with all their sound or what I have to offer could still fall short even at 9 (!) microphones.

What am I really likely to need?

Record individuals, non musical events, interviews, debates etc, but mostly record spaces.

This changes everything. Instead of a clutch of dynamic mics aimed at individual cover, I need to look more at tried and true methods of recording events with minimum mics.

The second MTP 440, aimed at adding another amp/piano/drum kit/vocal generalist, was just another of the mic types I am less likely to need. I am not the roadie I like to think I am. I am the fly on the wall record keeper. When it was cancelled, I realised, the dynamic only thinking was unnecessary after the H8 was ordered.

I am happy to have some dynamic stage mics, five as it goes, each with their role, but no more. My thinking was flawed, but mostly by mistake the worst of it has been averted.

He is part of something bigger, so not my concern. The bigger event is, but running my own massive system along side what is there is unfeasible. Simple but effective is the key.

Ironically, the H5 and EXH-6 capsule forced me down the dynamic mic road, which led to the H8. If I had bought the H8 at the beginning of this journey would have allowed me to stick with condensers, but until my collection grew, the H8 was not on the radar.

As my understanding grew, I slowly realised the potential of what I originally owned and the best path to take, which was likely the pair of LCT 240’s as an option to the 040 matched pair!

These are the mics that will record large areas and allow me to work to my common needs, and independently of others. This is how I will most often be working.

Thankfully, the dearest mics are the most useful.

A school concert already fully setup with a tried and true broadcast system?

Sure thing, because I will have my little OTRF, spaced A/B or X/Y pair in there as well.

School rock band doing a quick gig?

A 240, maybe two will cover the room, with the odd placed mic if needed and able. The school rock challenge is coming and as expected, they are fully sorted for sound, but for my video I will cover the room with the LCT 240.

This adds to the odd student interview, a panel, maybe a podcast? That is where the dynamics come in. Sometimes I might just be the guy with the handy mic that saves the day. White Knight syndrome much!

No real harm if I had bought the second 440, I just would have used it instead of the 340tt, but the forced re-think, more towards the H8’s expanded capabilities, really was a blessing and it all happened in a blurred half hour the other day (bought the H8 on impulse, got a back order notice minutes later on the MTP 440, bought the LCT 240).

The H6 was more of an either-or thing back when I got the H5 and was too expensive and over the top for my needs then. Buying it now would have been a retrospective move, because for very little more (about $50au), the H8 adds considerably more capability with better pre-amps, more phantom power connections and significantly better interface. having a H5 and H6 would not have provided a logical balance. The H5/H8 dynamic makes more sense.

If (but not likely), I were to get another mic at this stage, it would be the LCT 441 flex, which is possibly the one mic I should have bought. The omni and figure eight polar patterns adding options, but I also know that between the several options I now own, these patterns are possible anyway, at least to the standard I need.

Sometimes when you bury yourself in a new field the answer comes too late to avoid missed-steps, but occasionally you can get lucky anyway.

*My perfect budget “get it done” kit on reflection is almost what I have now;

• 2x LCT 240 (area cover or acoustic/vocal)

• 2x 040 Match (area cover, overhead, acoustic)

• 1x MTP 440 (deeper instruments)

• 1x DTP 340 (deeper again). sE V7x here (useful proximity effect) and second 440.

• 1x MTP 550 (primary “hand-held” dynamic mic). sE V7 here.

• 1x MTP 250 (vocal dynamic, handy second option). sE V3 here.

• Surplus. The TT1.

Being A Happy Micro Four Thirds Tragic

Something I like to talk about is the quality of the M43 format.

Something I hate dwelling on is the quality of M43 format.

Here is the reality. I do a lot of work for a lot of different people. The thing that keeps coming up is the quality of my work. Sharp lenses, clean and brilliant files, accuracy, speed, consistency.

None of these are an accident.

The format has a single technical negative, which is the mathematical reality of (all things being equal), higher visual noise at the same high ISO settings as a full frame camera. Nothing else is insurmountable and some of the negatives are for some people positives (more depth of field).

However, being one quarter the size of the full frame, does not mean one quarter the quality or four times the problems. In direct comparison to the other two experienced pro shooters at the paper, I have beaten the older D750’s and lenses for noise, sharpness and overall performance and even against the Z9’s (with older slr lenses) hold my own. I am not even using the latest offerings from M43.

M43 cameras don’t just take good enough images,

they take great images and they do it easily (EM10 mk2, 17mm f1.8 wide open, not my “A” game).

The thing is, you have to be ok with the format. No amount of convincing will be enough if down deep, you are convinced that full frame offers more in a way that actually matters.

A Ferrari can theoretically go faster than a Lexus, but often cannot in the real world. There is always a mitigating factor that will stop the faster car meaning anything and in turn expose its short comings like fuel economy, repair cost, cost of running and impractical everyday design.

At the end of the day, the only way most of us can actually see our superior quality is at 1-400% on a computer screen, a medium almost nobody else uses or cares about.

I use the format because early on, it gave me more and faster and at quality was at least as good as my Canon full frame cameras (5D mk3). They were eminently portable and had better lenses across the board (even comparing L glass). Much of this has been upgraded, especially the newest lenses, but at great cost and they are still huge.

Versatile, Now More So.

My sound kit (yep, that again, sorry), is pretty versatile.

I can go compact shotgun on camera, better shotgun, even better with mid/side, take it off camera, use a variety of X/Y, A/B, ORTF, multi mic or even direct feed options.

I am on the threshold of field recording, well entrenched in intimate music capture, can do a podcast, a panel, a concert, a band, a choir, work remotely with plans to fill the only hole (wireless).

In all this, one mic has been a standout.

The LCT 240 Pro.

The 240 is strong when compared to all the other mics.

• More detailed and brighter than the sE V7.

• Less aggressive and more delicate than the sE V3.

• More open than the TT1.

• More versatile than the MTP 440 (but a nice match).

• Deeper and less sensitive than the 040 Match.

• More versatile than any of them because not only can it do their jobs, but it also has that very condenser rendering all of its own.

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Not the only mic I need (that would be the 441 Flex), but more versatile than any other I do have.

There is still a hole though.

Really deep bass instruments, even people wanting to go full “radio voice” without resorting to proximity effect*, which is a cheat and easy to over use.

I had a second MTP 440 in mind, but have decided to go a little darker, somewhere between the DTP 340 REX, Lewitts true kick drum mic and the snare specialist 440. The DTP 340 TT is designed primarily for toms, which are the drum between snare and kick. Lewitt also rates it as a double bass, percussion, bass and guitar mic. Some even use them for acoustics, woodwind and brass, vocals even. I guess it could even be a poor mans sE7x.

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The frequency chart reveals significantly deeper and stronger bass sensitivity than the 440, which drops out smoothly from +0db at 100 Hz. This one actually goes up from 100 to 200 Hz, holding on down to 50 Hz and spikes strongly at 2-3k, but drops right away after 10k in the higher frequencies. The only other mics I have that can go close to this bass performance are the sE V’s and maybe the TT1 that exhibit strong proximity effect* to achieve this.

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A true bump in the dark space.

Not heaps of comparison videos (a blessing possibly), but when compared directly to the SM57, it makes the 57 sound both thin and inwardly compressed. One guitar comparison in particular really highlighted the clean, open and clearly deeper bass notes.

The Lewitt thing seems to be modern, transparent clarity with brilliance. They are not to everyone’s taste, but if you prefer this type, they are premium.

It is half the weight of a 440, shorter and about the same price, so a good alternative to another MTP 440, sE V7x or even the classic SM57.

Am I done now? I actually have one more mic than I can run at once through the H8 (but could press the H5 into service and sync later), so yep, I am done, but a little more versatile and I feel safer. Too many mics means I am not forced to find a job for them all, just use the best set.

Oh, and I do need to do a new mic map.

*Proximity effect is when you get really close to a mic to enhance the lower frequencies. Over done it creates overloaded, muddy and hard to fix sound. Used well it enhances “radio voice”, but not naturally.

Priorities Revisited, A Retrospective Of The Last Two Weeks.

It has been a big two to three weeks, so time to revisit my choices and take stock.

Thoughts of maybe bettering my sound options started with the LCT 240, a mic I had identified as a good allrounder, a “sweet spot” mic if you will.

Being a condenser*, the LCT 240 would have been limited through my H5 as I would only be able to use one 040 Match, so I decided to look at dynamic* mics.

Can open, worms everywhere.

My knowledge of all things audio has increased tenfold (probably 1/10th of what I need though). Many mics were bought (including the LCT 240), accessories as well until I had more than I could use at once, but felt I have something for every occasion, plenty of depth and some real potential power here.

I finally bought the H8 after a lot of thought, but almost impulsively. I missed the very best EOFY bargains, but managed roughly $500au all up. Dearer (F6) and cheaper (AMS-44) options were in the “mix”, but in the end, I just closed the loop efficiently and relatively sanely**.

Then, after all that I bought another LCT 240, well I had the mic I wanted cancelled and switched routes which all in all, may have been a lucky change.

So I started with the LCT 240 and ended with the LCT 240 (twice).

Balance has somehow been retained. Yes my mic arsenal is in overkill territory for my current uses, but I intend to increase those and the H8 just made it all make sense. As I like to say, if you have an outfit in the wardrobe, you find places to wear it, if not, then you just learn to stay home.

My quick take on the mics after some vocal tests into the H5, all hand held***, and I will put a role it might play in a rock band scenario in italics.

The family so far, just waiting on the second 240, then maybe the second 440 or a 550 (ed. DTP 340). Too many choices.

sE V7 stands out with reserved neutrality and lowest handling noise. Sibilance is well controlled as are plosives**. This is the “safe” mic. I get why people like this mic and I may get another. Drums, amp or vocals especially if handled.

sE V3 sounds like a brighter version of the V7, with slightly more handling noise, slightly higher pitch, but a good second option and a better fit for some voices and instruments (as expected). I had hoped to make these my work horse set, but will hold off for now. Amp, maybe another instrument, flatter vocals.

TT1 Pro-Lanen is different enough from the others to be useful. Higher in sibilance but full bodied and about he same as the V3 in other respects. I was tempted by the M85, but I have plenty of light and bright mics, so maybe another of these. This one also has more gain than the other mics, about one notch on a Zoom dial. The ultimate filler and fixer, pretty much what ever is left.

MTP 440 Lewitt is lovely and screams “heavy duty” in every respect. I have put a second on hold for now, but apart from no external pop filter and relatively poor handling noise, this is my second favourite dynamic for vocals. Drums or amps, vocals if needed, high volumes.

2x LCT 240 is revelatory in comparison to the dynamics. Clearly higher in gain (2 zoom notches), very sensitive to its environment and with wide coverage, two of these could cover a concert no issue. These are also good for stand-off vocals. I found plosive rejection* was perfect with just the foam and even decent without (using the decent working distance). Main vocal, acoustic guitar or second vocal.

2x LCT 040 are even more sensitive. I chose well originally it seems getting what has to be the best bang for the buck mics going around. Drum or strings overhead, acoustic guitar, even vocals.

Overall, some mics are standouts in one way or another, but like a lot of things, careful use, post processing and the limits of other links in the chain tend to make them all even out. This has given me pause to stop and think about those extremes and the basics. The MTP 440 has the most punch, the 040’s and 240’s clearly have the most clarity and sensitivity, the rest are too close to split. Even the Zoom capsules are still considered decent by comparison.

Future options might include the MTP 550 as a good allrounder with superior feedback rejection and handling, maybe the second 440 or sE V7, maybe something I do not even know about yet (DTP 340 TT) or nothing.

*A more sensitive type of microphone that requires power from a plugged in source called “phantom” power. Dynamic mics do not, are generally less sensitive, but more durable.

**I am finding more and more that the bugbears people test for are rarely a real world issue. Researching made me think noise and plosives were a wide spread curse, but I am finding it hard to find them on some mics, even those not designed to avoid them. Handling noise is more of a thing, but mics designed for it are fine, those that aren’t should not be used that way. Simple.

***Another use for the H5 is mic placement. The H8 can be bedded down for a recording session, the H5 then used as a walk around plug and test unit for fine adjustments.

Death Of A Salesman (Or Don't Read This, It's Just Self Therapy For Me)

Ever been in a place in your life you don’t recognise as a desired destination and don’t know how you got there or how to escape?

After a nice two week holiday, spent mostly at home with nothing asked of me, I thought I might be able to get my head back on straight.

Obsessing about sound gear was probably the first hint that something was up, but that first sign was ignored. I did not touch a camera.

If I look at myself squarely in the mirror, I cannot say when I last enjoyed photography.

This was close, tempered with the knowledge that it was likely a one off.

I know roughly when it was, probably a time involving the school, a connection to place and people, but a series of things went wrong when I started at the paper. It started with juggling the end of year commitments at the school and the needs of the paper. It was hard, very hard. I did not miss one event for either, but still do not know how and it felt like I failed both.

It was a time of contrasts, a time of conflict. A bad way to finish something good.

On the one hand I was comfortable, enjoying the work, confident I was going to deliver exactly what was wanted (although I was always mystified why my images had the effect they did). On the other hand each job was a mountain to climb, a mystery I still do not understand, or to be honest want to.

Part of the problem and the bit that is getting unbearable, is captioning. The paper wants names, always names. No image is useful to them without one. The freedom to take a useable image is severely limited by the need to get a name. I cannot count the number of decent images I have taken, images that came naturally, ones that even I liked, that were ultimately a pointless exercise, because I could not get a name.

I have stopped taking them. I think I have stopped even wanting to.

Second sign.

Balanced with the freedom of shooting for the school did help, but it also contrasted drastically with the reality that my future was the paper, only the paper. In a desperate attempt to hold onto both, I requested a drop back to part time, leaving me three days a week for the school (who were still in the picture, in a shared capacity because of course three days was not enough for their needs).

Unfortunately it took three and a half months to get sorted (long, frustrating story).

I broke ties with the school and every contact I had there about February. Things were clearly not happening at my end and it was unfair of me to keep then hanging.

Trying to give it away worked for a while.

It seemed ideal. I can use all my skills and gear, be useful, generate contacts, push myself and most importantly, I had the freedom to just shoot without fear of wasting the effort.

This is what I do, this is who I am.

The Migrant Resource Centre, New Horizons, Self Help, all used me on a volunteer basis, their images definitely more fulfilling to take, but not a future employment path and most just ended up being head shots for yearly reports. It seems lately, that even though I am available for more than half the week, they always seem to want me on a work day.

The one job I was really looking forward to, kids at the zoo, I missed after getting my days mixed on my over busy split calendar.

Third sign.

I am eating too much, sleeping badly, wasting far too much time in front of my computer with little interest in other hobbies and getting depressed by the state of the world. Seems I want to spend my way out of this funk. Never a good plan.

All the other signs.

Connections are important.

The answer is not in things, but people. At least the things I am buying are for other people to enjoy the results of (I hope), but they are only useful if they empower good things.

Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and keep swimming.

What do I have to worry about? Some people have had to start again from nothing and still manage a smile.

Self determination is exactly that.

That freedom is something I do have that many do not. I have a job I don’t like much, but I have a job. Things for Meg and I are good as anyone should expect, but could turn with one wrong move. Both of us face our challenges, Meg stoically as is her way, me in a more needy, swingy fashion, but I don’t give up.

The “determination” in self determination is more important than “self”.

I have recently picked up a casual contract with a new, bigger school, so who knows, I may be able to carve out some kind of future path.

Thanks for letting me work through that.

Spider Alert

The ugly black arachnid that is the Zoom H8 is on the way.

Why always Zoom? Just like Domke bags, Zoom products just seem to fit my way of doing things. There are better made, nicer to use and cleaner sounding products out there, but I like the tactile nature of Zoom controls, value, clever ideas, inter-system compatibility (depth of options and backups) and with one exception (stupid broken battery door cover on the F1 as have so many apparently), they seem well enough made.

At the end of the day, the ability to run all 8 of my mics, to gain an extra capsule (superior X/Y with two coverage patterns) and a slight improvement in noise control was too much to resist for $500au and the EOFY sale bargains look to be mostly over, so I may have grabbed the last for a while.

Even without legs, it is still imposing. That nice X/Y capsule will upgrade the H5 and the EXH-6 will replace it.

My priority was cleaner and stronger output with dynamics, which is really the only area the H8 beats out its lesser brethren. It is feature packed, but that jack of all trades vibe is strong. I really only want the good stuff, could care less about the fluff, but there is enough fluff to help when needed.

The EXH-6 will let the H8 take my total capacity of 8 XLR mics, which may not ever be needed, but three or more condensers could be (buying condensers up to now has been based on the 2 mic limit) and better support for the dynamics is probably a must. The EXH-6 is very good, but does not match the H5’s inputs.

This will be carried in the mic case because I will not be using it as a “handy” recorder. The AC-17 adapter will also be packed with this as I would expect to usually only use it in controlled environments.

Not really interested in most of the other features, but I am sure there will be things I will use that I do not even know it has yet. The reality is, this is the only practical way I can connect 8 specialist mics to a standard camera without either enormous expense and/or over complication.

The H5?

This will be matched to the SSH-6 and the XYH-6 capsule above for a better than average on-the-go answer and the two Lewitt 040 or 240 condensers can make a “scorpions tail” of front capsule and “wing” mics that will do plenty. Otherwise it makes a decent backup with a capsule and excellent portable mic micro-placement tool, so the H8 can be bedded down and left.

This is the high tide mark of the “B” team and will likely get most things done, but all the mics I bought would never reach their potential with just it.

The F1 will also get the SSH-6 or shock resistant XYH-5, depending on what I need (they all travel together in the same case). This is the only practical on-camera solution, capable of taking any capsule and works well as an under the nose panel mic.

The F6 was the holy grail, but costs almost double and after better than expected results from the H5 with dynamic mics, and some handling and feature short comings being revealed it actually dropped away.

The AMS-44 was also an option, and at half the price, but being new I could not get many answers for the tougher questions like line out quality to an H series etc. The whole thing just felt a little too much like a compromise and for only twice as much, I got so much more.

Glad it is over.

*

Not half an hour after the H8 was bought (and despatched!), the last dynamic, the second MTP 440 Lewitt was cancelled. The supplier had one more in the system than reality and backorders would be a month or more.

Turns out that was probably ideal.

I have both of my new Lewitt mics in hand and what strikes me is the MTP 440 is a solid mid-bass end specialist, the LCT 240 more of a mid range generalist. The role the 440 fills is needed, handling the bass and grunt of amps, but which is an area I have several mics for (sE V7, TT1) and it is possible I may need something even deeper (DTP 340). The 240, a medium-large diaphragm condenser, it is not bothered by much.

The same supplier had the LCT 240 in the same sale ($165au base kit-no shock mount) with free freight. That is a good price, $200+ being the norm. I will use it for vocals, but one shock mount will do, the second when used will either be used for an instrument, in a pair for area coverage or in a controlled situation.

The second LCT was not on my radar before because the limitation of 2 condensers at a time made even owning three a little frustrating. Limiting myself to dynamics mostly forced a compromise, one that ironically the H8 fixed, but also allowed the condenser road to be explored more. Go you big ugly problem solver you.

The 240 is to me a better all-rounder. The power thing sorted, a pair of 240’s is a powerful matched option. I now have (from Lewitt) more of a 2 high /2 mid /1 low combination rather than a 2 high/1 mid/2 low with one of the top three unusable at once.

I can now also run two 240’s through the H5 if I want for a perfect portable podcast system.

Sometimes things just work out ok.

Think my map is out of date now.

Noise, Myth Or Monster

One common consideration that reviewers probably more than users, need to be aware of when buying audio, imaging or mixed media products is the generation of noise and its effects.

Noise, or sound and image elements formed when they should be absent is one of these things that is probably dwelt on more than it should be and I would like to unpack that thought a little.

What is it?

In audio, noise is the floor of recordable sound produced by the recording device, things that are connected to that device or outside influences that effect either. It is generally a clean, smooth “hiss”. If it is not like that, if it its sporadic, unpredictable or overpowering, then it falls more under the heading of interference.

It is important to split these two so we know what we are talking about. Noise is predictable, so even at the purchasing stage you can research it’s likelihood and it is often, more or less, under your control, but hard to completely remove if needed.

Interference is not meant to be there and can directly effect your audio quality, being nearly impossible to remove due to it’s unpredictable nature.

In a nut shell, audio noise is what you hear when you cannot hear anything else, so it is in effect the absence of the absence of sound. All recording devices produce it, better ones at levels so low as to be effectively irrelevant, but even higher levels of noise can be ignored under some circumstances.

Often some background sound is recordable in almost any situation, which is why sound engineers always record some “room sound” on film sets etc, because the absolute absence of all sound is not normal, something has to fill the silence other than pure silence.

Why should we be worried about it?

This comes up a lot and after a couple of weeks of reviews read and watched, believe me, I have found we are obsessed by it. The measurement in sound production is signal-to-noise ratios is where this noise is important. A little noise in the empty bits between heavy metal tracks is mostly irrelevant, but too much noise in very fine ambient recordings is terminal. Know your need and service it properly.

Maybe if this is the subject, absolute quiet is a priority (and noise free sharpness).

I grew up on tapes and records. One produced noise from the physical tape running over the heads and the other had a ton of crackle and other oddities as the fine needed bounced over the record’s surface. We were there for the music, not the noise.

This mic has a lot more noise (-19db) then its bigger sibling the LCT 440 (-7db), but the actual sound is much the same, depending on your tastes and needs. For music, this is fine, but maybe not for field recording.

Visual noise or what we used to call “grain” is much the same.

Like audio noise it appears at the extreme end of the recordable spectrum. Very high ISO settings, underexposure, or recovery of inky black shadows will reveal it. Like sound, even an older phone can produce a decent image in perfect conditions, but when stretched, the ugliness that is visual noise takes over.

The habit of current reviewers to go in 400% on extreme ISO images and compare “X” to “Y” ad infinitum is not only flawed, as they rarely take other variables into account, but also pointless and unrealistic. We all know that the top fashion designers signature designs will never be worn in the real world, and neither will any camera or sound device be asked to walk that “catwalk” of perfection in real life.

Content trumps technical deficiencies.

Cropped from an image taken with a “small” sensor M43 camera, at a high ISO (12,800) under flat and unflattering light. If the content was irrelevant, then the image fails even if perfect. If the content is relevant then it’s quality matters less and less in proportion to the viewers care factor.

One way to deal with these problems is to embrace them. I had a friend once who processed their black and white negatives in over heated paper developer for short periods and with minimum agitation. The massive, super sharp grain he produced actually became the image element that made his images stand apart. The proof in his vision was several international awards. When he switched to digital his weapon of choice was the oldest G9 Canon compact with the noise/grain exaggerated for much the same effect.

For those of us who remember, the old film spool moving projectors with their “ticking” sound, will remember that when the film got going, you soon forgot the “noise”.

I have always been aware of the workings of the machine, but if we concentrate on content, these things do tend to fall to the background. If we spend too much time obsessing over perceived problems and their often extreme solutions, we may get nothing done.

I suppose what I am getting at is the other day I was shaken a bit by one reviewers opinion of my H5 when used with dynamic mics. The reviewer was technically and measurably right, but when I used and listened to the results myself, I realised that in my real world situations, noise is just one of many slight deficiencies we deal with all the time. I am not recording studio grade master pieces, just wanting to get better than average results.

To be honest, the H8 is still the most logical and it does have slightly quieter preamps.

Just a thought.

Growth Paths.

Too much time researching things can be a problem.

For example Julian Krause, a well respected, very technical reviewer of all things audio has been one of my go-to sources for real information, the stuff that can be otherwise hard to track down. Thanks Julian for all your hard work.

Noise floor of various items in particular can be hard to get a real world handle on, so he has supplied lots of comparisons, examples and thoughts. Noise in recordings can be a lot like noise in an image though, often over stated, sometimes obsessed over, often irrelevant and always trumped by good content. There is always the software fix to consider as well.

My H5 it turns out (in Julians critical opinion) has too much noise for dynamic mic recordings. He qualifies that with situations where it would be ok (used properly), but generally speaking it’s not ideal. Condensers are fine as they are more sensitive, which reduces the need to turn up the gain (and noise). Even his most stringent tests* rate the H5 as fine with condensers. He has me worried though with dynamics.

I will have 5 in total, going for a good spread of voice and instrument applications. Has this been pointless? Adding to that, is the limit of two condensers into the H5 and you have an arsenal of options, with possibly a limited work flow.

I have just done a couple of quick recordings with the TT1 and sE V7 (both just arrived). They and the sE V3 all seem fine for my use. The Prodipe has clearly stronger pickup and I did find out something that may fix the problem outlined above**.

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The sE V3 as promised is poppy and vibrant but controlled. The budget-not budget Pro-Lanen is smooth and warm and the sE V7 neutral and reserved, but also detailed.

Looking at real needs (see previous post), noise is unlikely to be a deal breaker (usually youtube output through a camera), but if I needed to up my game, it is limited in options and potential quality.

It all depends on where I position myself I guess so I have to come back again to my likely best uses.

If I want to be able to supply genuinely good detailed recordings of instrumental solos using condenser mics, then I am probably ok, into a camera anyway. If on the other hand my ambitions extend to good-ish band and robust panel recordings in quiet locations, maybe externally edited, then more and better employment of mics will be a thing, I just have to make sure this is easily achieved and relevant so it will be used.

Noisy school environments, band practice, kids mucking around, some post processing. Lots of mitigating circumstances are at play before the studio grade scrutiny Julian puts them under becomes a thing. Even the experts usually have to deal with some feedback, noise or gain issues on the day. A little noise may be the least of my issues.

I am hardly going to shoulder aside the professionals on the day, but if I am it on the day, I need to be it within realistic limits.

Options.

Cutting my losses is an option or at least being happy with where I am (maybe $500 wasted?).

Let’s assume he is right and the H5 falls short of good enough quality and noise reduction with dynamic mics by studio standards**. My sE V’s and TT1 would be used for spoken word vocals in uncontrolled environments and other “messy” sources and the two 440’s would play low end gatherers, used on drums, amps or vocals with my condenser 040’s or 240 handling the high end.

*

The F6 ($900au), the king of the pile.

A respected field and cinema tool, it offers three enticing features. Better overall sound, very quiet amps and 32 bit float recording. The down side is a limit of 6 line-ins and no real cross compatibility with the rest of my Zoom kit. Being the dearest option by a fair amount, I would effectively be committing to pro level field recording and processing or squander its potential, which just seems at odds with my straight-to-camera needs. It would however add a peace of mind that cannot be over stated.

I do like how it is user facing, mostly metal and can be bolted under a camera, but would all that quality be wasted going into a 1/4” TRS Cable to the H5 or worse a 3.5 into a camera?

So potential quality and output control A+ but the probable reality is A-.

System balance and compatibility B-. Better than another brand entirely, but only just.

*

The Zoom H8, maybe more my type of creature ($500au).

“The Spider” has all the inputs I need (8 with the EXH-6), 6 of them phantom powered. It is highly (over?) featured. The pre-amps for the XLR inputs are clearly better than the previous H series, offering better gain and lower noise (took some chasing, but Chris Judd and Free To Use Sounds podcasts both agree on that, maybe a couple of db worse than the F series, but audibly better than the other H’s). It is not a master of anything much, but a true jack-of-most-trades. It can handle the Shure SM7, a mic notorious for its low sensitivity and the benchmark for most.

The known shortcomings are of little concern, generally only specific uses. The H8 and I are both flexible generalists. Most importantly, it is not poor sound quality, only the usual Zoom feature and handling quirks.

It also fits my existing Zoom kit. The extra XYH-6 capsule, worth over $100 on its own is a slight upgrade, so would go to the H5, then the EXH to the H8 making it the XLR king. The shock resistant XYH-5 would then go to the portable/on camera F1 with the SSH-6 shared by all (The H5 with this and 2 XLR mics make a clean backup kit). The AC adapter fits and it does open the door to gen 2 capsules.

The H5 would still be a good choice sometimes when the H8 is not taken, so nothing is redundant.

Quality and output control A-. A step up from the H5, especially with dynamics.

System balance and compatibility A. Nothing wasted apart from possibly the H5 being used less, no mess, more depth, more options.

*

The Zoom AMS-44 interface (under $250), just because it works like the rest of my Zooms.

By far the cheapest, this adds four phantom powered XLR inputs with 1/4” TS, or USB-C outs (to a comp or the H5 via EXH-6 input) or straight to camera via the headphone-out port. A bit messy, but suddenly I have 6 XLR inputs all with power. The big question here is whether this hand to mouth setup would degrade the sound badly enough to make an F6 or H8 clearly the better option, or would I really know the difference.

AMS44 > EXH-6 (H5/F1) or H5 direct > line out to camera (2x 3.5 cables)

vs

F6 or H8 pure (still to camera)

The big question and one I have struggled to get an answer for except from Julian Krause again, who rated the noise floor from the AMS-24 (so I assume the 44?) as workable and AMS-22 as poor*, is whether the noise to signal ratio is probably H5 level with the AMS-24 rated at -121db and the flow on effect of stacking units. Considering it would be going through the H5 to a camera or just straight to camera via the phones jack (also rated as “ok”), may be to much. The H5 would still sit top of the tree, but is the tree tall enough?

It is an easy fix, allowing me to basically bypass the H5 for 4 dynamic mic only jobs, run all my condensers at once (even one more than now), or act as a separate remote-recoding outpost to sync later with the 4 mic H5. It also has a few neat features like no fuss live streaming and is easy to operate with basically everything on the outside of the box (so good for occasional users).

Is it all too messy or cleverly adaptable?

Potential quality and output control B+. Really just an H5 done another way so possibly no real help with dynamics.

System balance and compatibility A-. Cheap answer or messy compromise?

*

Muto 4 Interface (under $500au) or something similar. A better interface than the AMS, closer to the F6, but lacking almost all of the system support compatibility of the H8 and it is a portable studio interface, not a field recorder, so not the best for run and gun use.

For the same price as the H8, it is not a compelling choice unless I was going home studio or the F6 for multiple inputs.

Potential quality and output control A+. Not really a thing but I had to go and google “best budget interfaces”.

System balance and compatibility C. (B for feed quality).

So, where to? Wait and pick up an H8 on sale I think. $450-475 in Australia looks to be the low tide mark and after the capsule is accounted for only slightly dearer than the AMS. Annoyingly if the EXH-6 gave phantom power I would have probably gone all condensers (2x LCT 240) and fixed the issue anyway.

*Maybe his test are similar to lens and camera tests that compare items on micro levels, where most of us do not need to go and would know the difference if we did. When others give simple examples of noise, it seems to be acceptable to my ear.

**The EXH-6 on the H5 is about 2 dial notches less sensitive, but seems to have less noise! The TT1 on the H5 main at gain 5 was sensitive, but I could hear some noise, worse if I turned up the headphone volume (known to be lower grade than the output line). In the capsule at gain 7, I heard the same volume but absolutely no noise even with the phones turned up. No idea!