I spend all day on Zoom and Teams. I have the Logitech 920 and it is very good. Can anyone recommend a good camera (DSLR or Video camera) if I want to level up my video quality?
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What’s your budget. Vlogger style cameras seem to start around $500. I liked the look of the Canon EOS M200 from CES 2020. Events 5: CES 2020 - On the Floor Part 2 a review from DP Review: Canon EOS M200 review: Your new pocket-friendly companion: Digital Photography Review
There is also the ATEM mini https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1507214-REG/blackmagic_design_swatemmini_atem_mini_switcher_control.html that can make any HDMI signal (from a video camera) look like a USB webcam to the PC. Any 1080p video camera I have looked into has been kinda pricey thou, although I have heard this Canon Vixa HF r800 might work well: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1308395-REG/canon_1960c002_vixia_hf_r800_camcorder.html
Also, what are you using for audio. You can’t forget your audio situation if you upgrade the video… you need something that could feed the ATEM Mini if you went that route.
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@PHolder Thank you Sir! My budget is in the $1K ball park if it makes sense. I use a jabra 510 speakerphone and it is decent. I am open to suggestions on that part as well.
Also, user-friendly is important since I don’t want to futz with my camera every day
Are you a podcaster? Or just attending meetings? If the latter, stick with what you have. There is no need for anything beyond that.
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Realistically though if @swaybelly is only using the camera and doesn’t need multiple inputs and the fancy keying features they could get the Elgato Camlink 4k which is about $100 cheaper. It also would be much easier to setup since it only needs the 1 HDMI cable and plugs directly into the computer.
@swaybelly Or for even less money you could get Alex Lindsay’s favourite webcam the Logitech Brio which is a standard webcam that supports 4K and some other fancy features. Which would also save you at least some of the cost of DSLR.l
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I personally am interested in the ATEM Mini, though I don’t do video at all, it seems like it would be a cool, but expensive, toy for me. I like the idea that I could send video and then switch to showing my screen, then switch to a static graphic that says “Away from keyboard, BRB” or something when I don’t want to be on screen. I really feel like it’s the kind of setup a beginning web streamer could really enjoy. I have considered whether I have the patience to write a script, set up a presentation (i.e. PowerPoint) or a teleprompter, and then do videos teaching software development. (I know I know the content, but I don’t know if there is a market or if it might already be way over saturated.) It would be a lot of money to spend only to find I don’t enjoy doing it or can’t get enough of an audience to make it worth the bother.
@SamGreenwood I was looking at the Brio and talked to a friend. His comment to me was Brio is great, but you may as well get a camera with a real lens if you are going to go down that path vs using a webcam. Do you have any recomendations?
I use a Canon 80D with a 24mm f2.8 lens plugged into an Elgato Camlink 4k. It’s easy enough to use and f2.8 provides a nice background blur. Since it’s a DSLR, you can customize the aperture and focal length to your heart’s content.
I don’t have any suggestions on the camera as I still hapily use the C920 as well; however I would highly suggest investing in your audio if you currently use a speakerphone.
While convenient, speakerphones are designed for multiple people sitting in a room; so they pick up a lot of other noise and room echo.
To keep the convenience factor of not feeling tethered to my computer, I use bluetooth headphones to hear my collegues and a wired desktop mic for my audio. This way the video conferencing application doesn’t have to do a bunch of noise cancelling from the mic picking up the speaker audio, which also improves overall audio quality.
In terms of recommendations, it really does depend on your preferences here. I use bone conduction open ear headphones (https://us.aftershokz.com/products/aeropex) as I they are comfortable and I like to remain aware of my surroundings while I’m on a call. They also have a good mic within it for when I’m using my laptop away from my work desk and desktop mic.
I have a Blue Yeti Nano for the desktop mic, however to be honest I’m not sure I would recommend this compared to other options out there like the https://www.audio-technica.com/en-us/atr2100x-usb. The Yeti does pick up a lot of desk noise (like typing on the keyboard).
I’m considering ditching the desktop mic all together for an all-in-one wireless solution such as the https://us.aftershokz.com/products/opencomm. However being wary of wireless issues causing audio problems, I always have a backup wired usb headset just in case.
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This most certainly works, but beware of the bluetooth latency. You’re likely going to add a half second of additional delay or so into your listening path that way.
Technically true, but it’s rarely caused an issue during any of my video calls that the convenience is worth the technical trade off for me.
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@andrewmelder Thank you for the suggestion. I ordered the OpenComm after reading the Amazon reviews. I will report back on how they do and if the audio is better than the Jabra 510. I appreciate your counsel.
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