overheard a conversation about a small device (cigarette lighter-sized?) to capture video and audio....maybe a flash memory device.....? what is it? how much are they? I want to record couple of minutes of audio....maybe video but not so important....want much better quality than my iPhone.....can't find an old Nagra to borrow.....audio will be engine start-up sounds, so will stress the device......understood...... what are my best options? TIA, Tritone
Tiny HD video & "good" audio? - The Flip Mino HD is getting pretty good reviews: http://www.macworld.com/5601 Not much bigger than a Zippo..... Plus, it records in a "useful" (H.264) format. Having said that, if you just want really good audio, a variable gain mic feeding some kind of recording device is probably gonna be the ticket? Cheers, Ian
My (very limited) experience, playing with the iPhone recorder suggests it may be OK - For your "stressful" application, how about burying it inside acoustic foam? Get the VU meter reading OK, and give it a go - As long as it's not clipping, I suspect Garageband could then work some magic on it......... Just a thought, Cheers, Ian
Ian- thanks much for your suggestions. A couple of local shops have said to just use my 17" MacBook/Garageband/and an external mike..... Since video is not critical to me, this sounds pretty good, and I can get mikes from $69 to $1999 (this one better come with a sound recordist!). Comments?
Where will the sounds be used? Quality will come from a decent external mic hooked up to your computer as suggested, or quality video camera.
I can go with that.... The "external mic" is going to allow you to adjust gain, as reported by the VU meter(s) - The questions become: - Is your source moving? - Is the mic/computer moving? [Requirements in a nice quiet studio are very different from those inside a car for example.....] IIRC, my external mic was ~$30 - The key in my case (a moving car) was adjustability and location. "Start up sounds", from a stationary car, could be captured in reasonable quality on the iphone IMHO - Trust the VU meter to set your location (Far enough away so it's not clipping, close enough it goes to ~110%] and try it..... The phone is a lot easier to move around than a laptop. [Or, you could wait for the slate of course ] Cheers, Ian
....and the results (hopefully) will be linked from my blog.....if I'm successful, you'll hear it first here.....assuming I can upload a QT file ? maybe .wav? maybe I 'll have to show an off-site link for audio? snews to me........... Image Unavailable, Please Login
I'm probably not the right person to ask LOL. My suggestions would be overkill for most listeners. People who'd play the audio files on their computers would be happy with Ian's suggestion, which will capture most of the spectrum that people are used to hearing on a website or MP3. Quick & easy! But I just can't help thinking that a few aficionados would want to hear the entire frequency range... but even at the least lossy MP3 encoding rate, much range will still be lost. However, the raw audio might come in handy at some point in the future (making a CD of rare engine sounds, effects for that film you stumble into producing). Am I over-thinking this? Such is the residual professionalism of an ex-audio engineer. Left to my own devices I'd use a Sennheiser omnidirectional boom mic on this project with a raw digital recorder. Ugh.
Absolutely! and 10 years ago my wife would have done that for me....but she sold the production company and all the HW. Oh, to still have that Nagra....... thanks for reminding me!
