What Equipment has Worked Best For You?

[chriscase]

As a budding vlogger and podcaster, I'm always curious about what has worked best for more experienced content creators.

 

Could you share the models of the cameras and audio recording equipment that have worked well for you?

[Pepin]

What is your price range?

 

As far as production quality, I'd argue that high end audio ought to the focus as opposed to video. If your goal is something more informative, audio that doesn't grate on the ears and is very pleasant to listen to for long periods of time is vital. It is also good to realize that a large number of people consume content which is not video dependent so that they can do other things such as work out, clean, or play video games while listening.

 

A decent mic that doesn't require any special interface can be found below.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Microphones-Yeti-USB-Microphone/dp/B002VA464S/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1400392095&sr=8-4&keywords=usb+mic

 

Something else to possibly learn about is how to process your audio to make it sound better. There are many different programs you can buy which can greatly enhance the audio you've recorded with a few plugins. Many producers use a program called Audacity, and I have trouble recommending this program. Personally, I use a professional digital audio workstation (DAW for short) called Studio One 2 for processing and recording audio.

 

Learning to eliminate background noise and reverb ought to be a goal. More so, learning how to work a mic is essential. Far too many people totally mess up on this, and their vlogs and podcasts are full of clipping, annoying pops from them hitting the mic or pronouncing certain syllables, and not being aware of how close or far away you need to be for the volume you are speaking at.

 

Video I am not as knowledge about. I have produce a lot of music in the past, so that is my area of expertise.

[Phuein]

I've been a narrator for some months, both for my website (link in sig'), and with LibriVox.org.

 

There's a lot of hype about the CAD U37 condenser microphone, which is a small step in price below the Blue Yeti, linked above. I've been using it for some weeks now, and the quality is good, generally. Of course, it matches the price for quality, but it's on a whole different level, than some hobby dynamic microphone, which is what I had, before. It uses USB, only, which is comfortable. 

 

You can hear examples of the audio in my site. I edit it with Audacity, which I have enjoyed using for many years, now. It is free, and often updated. I use the Noise Removal, Noise Gate, Dynamic Compressor, and Equalizer plugins, to make my audio easier on the ear.

 

I don't have a studio-like room, but I do try to record close to the microphone (maybe three inches), without pops (pop filter + slight angle to the microphone), and shove the laptop into a drawer for less noise. 

[chriscase]

I certainly agree that audio is the most important aspect, in terms of where you want to invest in quality.  I have actually invested in audio a fair amount.

 

I currently use a headset from RoadKing for most of my current audio-based content creation, just as a matter of convenience, to be able to record while mobile; but I do want to record more content in a higher quality studio, when I have the opportunity to produce content from a fixed location.  

 

I already have some decent quality equipment:

• MXL V87 Low-Noise Condenser Microphone
• Behringer Xenyx X1204usb 12-input 2/2-bus Mixer with Xenyx Mic Preamps & Compressors, British Eqs, 24-bit Multi-fx Processor, Usb/audio

I spent about $500 bucks on this and some associated equipment, such as headphones, cables, etc.  I think what I need next, though, is a decent camera.  I tried a logitech webcam; but found the quality to be somewhat disappointing, especially when I tried recording via LINUX.  I think the USB port is perhaps unable to have the kind of throughput that it would need, to have high quality video.