Spent most of the week closing out MTTS East. Lots of video and photos. And more dreaming of new equipment, mainly a Macbook Pro. Then came the complaints.
On video cameras
I took the The Flip with me for MTTS. Heck, most of you saw that video. Most of someone saw the video because I have over 30k views (combined) on the dozen or so that I posted from the week. The bulk of those views are from Motoringfile.com, primarily the JCW MINI in action video I posted last Friday.
And damn if I didn’t get more complaints than compliments on that thing.
Sure it’s shaky. Sure the sound isn’t that great. It was take with a The Flip Ultra video camera for craps sake. And the entire shoot happened in less than 5 minutes from the time we found out we could ride in the car to the time we were done.
Just in case anyone might have missed it, I operate on a very low budget. Esp. for the show. I have spent less than $600 in total for my gear (and one of the other hosts) and that includes the The Flip.
But the The Flip works very well for me. It takes video that is very easy to edit and my Mac doesn’t choke on them too badly. This is one of those things that I have to think about.
Well now I’m thinking about upgrading to a better camera. I really hate complaints. Complaints mean that someone, somewhere, was not 100% satisfied with my work. I think it’s pretty good, but what do I know.
So, research has ensued. What I’ve been looking for is a camera that, at the very least, shoots 16:9 and uses SD Cards for storage. No tape, no hard drives, no DVDs. And it has to have external microphone support. Remarkable, in low end cameras, this is a tough combination to find. So, I dialed the money up a few notches and this is what I have found.
For a while I was very keen on the Panasonic HDC-SD9. You know I’m keen on Panasonic, and I’ve used my point and shoot (Panasonic DMC-TZ3) for video and it produces great results, albeit with horrible sound. The problem with this video camera is it doesn’t have external mic support, and that’s kind of a deal breaker.
So, the other camera I’ve been looking at is the Canon HF100. It’s about $100 more expensive, doesn’t have as good of sensors (CMOS instead of CCD) and it’s a bit larger. But, it does have external mic input (and monitoring) and great video quality (here is an example.) Plus it will shoot at lower than HD resolutions and still keep the 16:9 format.
Hopefully I’ll be able to upgrade before MTTS LA. If not, I’ll leave the The Flip at home and either do video with the point-and-shoot or not do any at all. I really don’t like complaints. I would rather have no comments at all then have complaints.
And, if you are on WRR and look to the right and see a donate button and want to click it, feel free. Someone suggested I do that, so I have. Camera money only. Should I get enough to cover the cost, the button comes down immediately after I order.
A little non-MINI video for you…
I actually enjoyed Virginia Beach quite a lot. My room was ocean facing on the 3rd floor with a balconey, so I slept with the door open. It was exactly like sleeping on the beach, except without the sand.
If you happen to make it there and you are looking for a place to eat, be sure to check out The Raven. And, if you do get there, ask for Jessica. Tell her the White Roof Radio boys sent you. Some of the best service I’ve ever gotten from a teenager. No foolin’.
If you are following along with the Twitter, then you already know I’m in Miami. South Beach to be more exact.
I kept it easy there, but the trip here was pretty rough. Early start from ONT to Denver, and that flight was pretty ok.
Until it was time to land.
By far, the worst turbulence I’ve ever experienced in a large (Airbus a320) airplane. Ever.
Until I left Denver.
Holy crap. And, just for good measure, holy crap.
A collective gasp from all of the passengers on the full plane (again, the Airbus a320) 3 times from take off to cruising altitude. We shimmied to the left, shimmied to the right, rose, fell and, quite possibly, did 3 barrel rolls. My eyes were closed, so I’m not 100% sure on that last one. Since this was a flight to Orlando, there were more than a few kids. Some were scared quiet, some were excited like it was their first trip on a roller coaster and 1, the poor girl sitting behind me, got a bit sick. Bru. Tal.
The woman next to me started by patting herself on the back during all of this which I thought was interesting. Until she ended up clutching her husband for dear life. Imagine 10-15 minutes of this. Ugh. It wasn’t any fun that’s for sure.
I get to Orlando without incident and, if I might say, that airport sucks. It’s currently in a state of tear down/rebuild which is the only reason I can figure for there not being any signs that should have directed me to the correct shuttle/train thing to get to my gate. I didn’t miss my flight, but it was close.
Embrarer 120 Turbo was the equipment from Orlando to Miami. I had seat 4a, which means nobody on either side of me, right at the wing. And, for UK Paul, that was the best flight of the day. Yes, on a plane with propellors at 18K feet, smooth as butter. A bit loud, but that’s to be expected. But it was a nice way to end a very long day of travel.
Or would have been had my bags made the journey from Orlando to Miami with me.
Also would have been nice if the server was up at all yesterday. For those of you inconvenienced by that, I am truly sorry. Something about fsck not running. I certainly hope whatever the problem that has been plaguing the server all week is fixed ’cause I really need it to work for the next 12 days or so.
Time to get cleaned up as best I can, get my MINI and see what’s going on for the rest of the day. And, maybe another cup of coffee. Not sure yet.
I was thinking this was going to be number 1K, but alas, I got busy today.
Now back to packing.
Have you seen this?
Brilliant I say! Absolutely brilliant.
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