by Yun-Han Lin
Preface
The following is a brief reflection on the photography experience over the past three years of. The article will cover the environment and different needs for shooting. Most of our videos are recorded in the studio. The works featured can be as small as laser-cut gears and as large as large as cabinets for room compartments. Therefore, we will take both close-ups and panoramas. The light comes from fluorescent lamps, while, sometimes, there are outdoor scenes, such as those for house renovations.
Equipment
The following are devices we used, placed in an order of the frequency of usage.
1. Camera + lens
– Sony A6400 + Sigma 16 mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary wide-angle fixed-focus lens with large aperture; Sony SEL30M35 macro lens.
– Canon 70D (18 ~ 35 mm).
– iPhone se2 (to be upgraded to iPhone 14 pro).
2. Tripod
– Fotopro tx pro2.
– Evolution 9559 Video TRIPOD.
– JOBY Mobile Phone Stand- GripTight One Micro Stand-JB24.
– JOBY Claw 5k Stand.
– DJI OSMO MOBILE 2- 3-Axis Mobile Phone Stabilizer.
3. Microphone
– RODE VideoMicro Directional Microphone.
– Snowball Microphone.
– RODE Wireless GO II- Tiny Wireless Microphone.
4. Shed lights
– YiDA® 3-in-1 60 cm Portable Shooting Tent
5. Memory card
– 128G x 6
– 64G x 1
– 32G x 2
6. Self-made camera accessories. After using them for half a year, we have not been using them that often, since the vertical camera stand was tilted and poorly made.
– Vertical Camera Stand:https：//youtu.be/lOvXBbypchw
– 3D-printed Lens Holder:https：//youtu.be/P7U-EfMmDlk
Feedback
In the early stage, we used single-lens reflex camera (SLR) by Canon. The color was great, and I barely needed to adjust the color, but the recording time was only 15 minutes maximum. After watching a video by Ray Du on his YouTube channel, I learned there is the Sony A6400 that can record videos continuously up to about 13 hours. The A6400 model qualifies as a micro-single-lens camera, and it is compatible to different lenses. The disadvantage is that long-range and close-up shots require different lenses, and the color is not as ideal, which requires more post-editing.
In addition, both the Canon and Sony camera need to be used with a matching stand. It takes longer to adjust the lens and angle, and the objects to be shot often need to be placed on the table or on the ground. To make changes to the shooting angle, photographers usually need to shoot from higher positions or lower ones. The stand is usually set between 30 to 150 cm in height, which ranges across three to four joints, and the overall size of the stand could be too bulky to be moved around easily.
Later on, we were thinking about shooting materials in daily life or the process of our house maintenance. Hence, we turned to an iPhone, which has higher mobility, and it can process both the close-up and long-range shots. The color is above average in presentation, and the device is portable. The iPhone 14 that came out recently features even better lenses, with a better anti-shake system.
As for the microphone, we used RODE VideoMicro installed on a camera in the first two years. In mid-2020, we were trying to record podcasts programs, so we purchased two entry-level Snowball microphones. As we stopped recording our podcasts later on, the two microphones were used to record video narration. As amateurs who have not received trainings for professional audio recording, our volume tended to change when speaking, or our distance to the microphone varied when changing sitting positions. To make the audio sound better, we spent more time on post-editing, and we learned that using a pop filter can slightly reduce popping sounds. RODE wireless microphone is suitable for recording people talking to the camera directly, as it picks up clear and stable sound with good quality.
