Equipment and Software Advice Mac

[benchurch]

Hi,

I realise this has probably been asked a thousand times before, but because this and a thousand other things have been asked before I'm having difficulty finding anything specifically related to my needs. I'd really appreciate advice on equipment and software to record live music videos and guitar lessons on Mac - if anybody could point me in the right direction it would be awesome. In short, my questions are:

• What budget cameras work well with Mac?
• Is there a good wearable camera to use with a head strap that will record straight into Mac?
• What software do I need to record two or more cameras simultaneously at full 1080p to edit together later? (Do I need to run two or more different programs using a different camera each or is there a single piece of software that can handle it?)
• What's the cheapest three point lighting available that will do the trick?
• Is there a miniature three point lighting set available for small spaces?

More detail:

Firstly, I run a small recording studio and have pretty decent audio equipment. I'm looking to integrate at least couple of cameras that will put 1080p HD quality into my Mac, to be sync'd with audio recorded separately via Logic Pro X. This is for me as an artist, potentially for lessons for an online membership site and I've also had interest from people wanting this for themselves as artists so I want to make it as good as my limited budget will allow. I'm probably looking at £500 tops, maybe a bit more spread over time.

I have recorded in this way before using a Logitech Pro C920, not realising that it's limited to 720p on OS X. I've since purchased a Logitech C910 which is 1080p compatible with Mac and has noticeably better video quality. However, it won't record at 1080p with any compression so the file sizes are huge and will add a lot of processing for an unnecessary extra step. I would like to avoid this and am wondering what the best value I'm likely to find is.

Thanks in advance for any help anyone can give!

[smrpix]

Unless you're live switching all you need are two half-decent cameras and record to SD cards. At your budget that means two of the cheapest Sony/Panasonic/Canon cameras you can find. You can strap a GoPro to your head but that's also going to eat up most of your budget. Your cheapest realistic editing software for multicam is Final Cut Pro X -- but you can certainly do it in iMovie if you believe art demands suffering.

Lighting kits -- look at B&H photo video's offerings.

But all in, you're looking at $1100 - $1500

[redwudz]

Probably better asked and answered in our Mac Forum. Moving you.

And welcome to our forums.

[benchurch]

Hi both,

Thanks for putting me in the right place and steering me in the right direction!

So it sounds like a couple of DSLRs recording to SD to sync with the audio afterwards. I admit I was hoping I might be able to find a webcam way to do it reasonably well, but this seems like a better option. I'm running out of USB ports anyway and though my Mac's pretty fast it would start to struggle under the strain of multiple video and audio input. I've already got FCPX and a couple of tripods I was planning to use with webcams, so really it sounds like I just need to research a couple of DSLRs. Given my budget probably 2x Canon EOS 1200Ds, SD Cards, replacement batteries (I'll need to film for longer that an hour at a time) then look to add an old GoPro Hero (or some equivalent) and head strap a little later.

I had a look at BH Photo, found the kit I thought was probably the best fit for me and tracked it locally: http://www.cameraworld.co.uk/blackfriday/bf-lighting/interfit-f5-three-head-fluorescen...-boom-arm.html

Just another thought - is it possible to get wall or ceiling mountable stands for lighting? When I eventually get to set this up I'm likely to be short on floor space but have plenty of wall space to spare. Anything else I'm missing from my shopping list?

[smrpix]

There are all kinds of mounts, clamps and rails you can use for lighting from the ceiling or wall depending on your setup and budget. If you're shooting video on a super low budget you're generally better off with a camcorder than a dslr. 1200d has a max continuous recording duration of 29 mins.