Q. Can you fit an XLR adapter to the new Sony Webbie HD Camcorder?
A. No.
The "Webbie", as the name suggests, is a video camera optimized for internet video... in other words, it's an ultra-low-end model. Sony sure knows how to make a camcorder... I have several of theirs, it's a fine brand. But you don't get extra features at the low-end.
So, there's no microphone jack, and the built-in mic is mono-only. Like most of this sort of camcorder, it's closer in design to a digital still camera's video mode than to a standard camcorder: tiny lens, no optical zoom, higher levels of video compression, etc.
What you might do is use an off-camera recorder. A MiniDisc recorder, a digital flash recorder, an iPod with one of the recording adapters, even a laptop computer with a decent microphone (if you don't have a mic jack on the laptop, you can get "USB" mics, which are basically just microphones with USB audio interface built-in).
XLR mics are generally higher-end stuff... my $2600 camcorder came with XLR jacks on it, but my cheaper ones, not so much. You can get an XLR to 3.5mm plug adaptor for devices that take an external mic, from a company called BeachTek... but they probably cost more than your "Webbie" did, just for the interface. See here:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?ci=0&shs=beachtek&sb=ps&pn=1&sq=desc&InitialSearch=yes&O=jsp%2FRootPage.jsp&A=search&Q=%2A&bhs=t&Go.x=0&Go.y=0
If you're using off-camera mics, the trick is to properly synchronize audio, so that when you want to sync it up (this presumes you're doing some video editing on a computer), it's easy to find the sync point. You've seen this done before, though you might not know it. That stereotypical "clap-board" you see around movie-making... that's what it's for. High end film cameras don't have on-camera sound, and professional film makers have their own crew for recording sound. The "clap" made by the clapboard provides the synchronization point for the multiple audio and video recording devices.
I use similar things all the time to match up video from two and three camera shoots. Even if the "Webbie" audio isn't all that great, it'll record your sync noise and make it easy to match up some better off-camera source.
The "Webbie", as the name suggests, is a video camera optimized for internet video... in other words, it's an ultra-low-end model. Sony sure knows how to make a camcorder... I have several of theirs, it's a fine brand. But you don't get extra features at the low-end.
So, there's no microphone jack, and the built-in mic is mono-only. Like most of this sort of camcorder, it's closer in design to a digital still camera's video mode than to a standard camcorder: tiny lens, no optical zoom, higher levels of video compression, etc.
What you might do is use an off-camera recorder. A MiniDisc recorder, a digital flash recorder, an iPod with one of the recording adapters, even a laptop computer with a decent microphone (if you don't have a mic jack on the laptop, you can get "USB" mics, which are basically just microphones with USB audio interface built-in).
XLR mics are generally higher-end stuff... my $2600 camcorder came with XLR jacks on it, but my cheaper ones, not so much. You can get an XLR to 3.5mm plug adaptor for devices that take an external mic, from a company called BeachTek... but they probably cost more than your "Webbie" did, just for the interface. See here:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?ci=0&shs=beachtek&sb=ps&pn=1&sq=desc&InitialSearch=yes&O=jsp%2FRootPage.jsp&A=search&Q=%2A&bhs=t&Go.x=0&Go.y=0
If you're using off-camera mics, the trick is to properly synchronize audio, so that when you want to sync it up (this presumes you're doing some video editing on a computer), it's easy to find the sync point. You've seen this done before, though you might not know it. That stereotypical "clap-board" you see around movie-making... that's what it's for. High end film cameras don't have on-camera sound, and professional film makers have their own crew for recording sound. The "clap" made by the clapboard provides the synchronization point for the multiple audio and video recording devices.
I use similar things all the time to match up video from two and three camera shoots. Even if the "Webbie" audio isn't all that great, it'll record your sync noise and make it easy to match up some better off-camera source.
What are the differences between a camcorder and a professional video camera?
Q. Are there huge differences in the video quality you can get from a HD consumer camcorder and a little "professional" cameras...the type videographers and local news stations use on location. What are the other main differences in capability?
A. Consumer camcorders have small lenses and small imaging chip(s). This combination results in their not doing too well in low-light situations. Prosumer and pro-grade camcorders have much larger lenses and larger imaging chips.
Consumer camcorders' manual controls are generally not easily accessible. Prosumer and pro-grade camcorders have easily accessible manual zoom, manual focus, manual iris/exposure, manual shutter and manual audio controls... and neutral density filters and video gain control.
Many consumer camcorders generally do not have any mic jack or other audio-in capability other than the built-in mics. A few have a 1/8" (3.5mm) stereo mic jack (but generally no manual audio control). Prosumer models generally have a 1/8" (3.5mm) stereo mic jack with manual audio control. Pro-grade camcorders have built-in XLR audio connectors.
Consumer camcorders are generally built to be used hand-held, even though no one should ever do that. Prosumer models are larger - and while designed to be hand held, rarely are; the large ENG (Electronic News Gathering) pro models are nearly always shoulder mountable. The advantage of the shoulder mount translates into a much steadier shot - though a tripod or camera crane or other steadying device would be steadier than shoulder mount.
Other features like frame rate, interlaced vs progressive frame capture, add-on lens selection and quality, LANC (a wired remote) jack availability, matte box availability, filter selection, will also come into play.
You will also find that the vast majority of the pro camcorders use miniDV tape or save to an external hard drive that stores in DV or HDV format (same as miniDV tape). Panasonic has a few new internal hard drive or flash memory pro-grade camcorders. Red has a family of them. Sony, Canon and JVC pro lines continue to be on the DV/HDV page.
In good daylight, tripod mounted, no movement of the subject or the camera, with normal audio levels, it would be a challenge to differentiate 1080i/p 30fps video. Deviate from this, and the differences get very obvious, very quickly. Video is captured under lots of different lighting conditions, there may not be time to set up a tripod, and audio levels can be from 0 to REALLY LOUD in an instant... and the reason we capture video is for the motion...
Under many conditions, the ENG camcorder audio is not even used even though it is captured - an external field recorder (Edirol, Zoom, Marantz, M-Audio, Fostex) is used to capture the audio you end up hearing on TV and a separate audio person is employed just to be sure the audio is correctly captured.
So yes, there are huge differences - which is why a low-end consumer camcorder costs less than $300 and a decent pro camcorder can be as low as $3,000 or as high as $60,000...
But a skilled person with a low-end camcorder will always capture much better video than a non-skilled person with the most expensive camcorder...
Consumer camcorders' manual controls are generally not easily accessible. Prosumer and pro-grade camcorders have easily accessible manual zoom, manual focus, manual iris/exposure, manual shutter and manual audio controls... and neutral density filters and video gain control.
Many consumer camcorders generally do not have any mic jack or other audio-in capability other than the built-in mics. A few have a 1/8" (3.5mm) stereo mic jack (but generally no manual audio control). Prosumer models generally have a 1/8" (3.5mm) stereo mic jack with manual audio control. Pro-grade camcorders have built-in XLR audio connectors.
Consumer camcorders are generally built to be used hand-held, even though no one should ever do that. Prosumer models are larger - and while designed to be hand held, rarely are; the large ENG (Electronic News Gathering) pro models are nearly always shoulder mountable. The advantage of the shoulder mount translates into a much steadier shot - though a tripod or camera crane or other steadying device would be steadier than shoulder mount.
Other features like frame rate, interlaced vs progressive frame capture, add-on lens selection and quality, LANC (a wired remote) jack availability, matte box availability, filter selection, will also come into play.
You will also find that the vast majority of the pro camcorders use miniDV tape or save to an external hard drive that stores in DV or HDV format (same as miniDV tape). Panasonic has a few new internal hard drive or flash memory pro-grade camcorders. Red has a family of them. Sony, Canon and JVC pro lines continue to be on the DV/HDV page.
In good daylight, tripod mounted, no movement of the subject or the camera, with normal audio levels, it would be a challenge to differentiate 1080i/p 30fps video. Deviate from this, and the differences get very obvious, very quickly. Video is captured under lots of different lighting conditions, there may not be time to set up a tripod, and audio levels can be from 0 to REALLY LOUD in an instant... and the reason we capture video is for the motion...
Under many conditions, the ENG camcorder audio is not even used even though it is captured - an external field recorder (Edirol, Zoom, Marantz, M-Audio, Fostex) is used to capture the audio you end up hearing on TV and a separate audio person is employed just to be sure the audio is correctly captured.
So yes, there are huge differences - which is why a low-end consumer camcorder costs less than $300 and a decent pro camcorder can be as low as $3,000 or as high as $60,000...
But a skilled person with a low-end camcorder will always capture much better video than a non-skilled person with the most expensive camcorder...
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