Which camera to use; Recording in a car

[Gareth85]

Hey guys and girls.

I am after some help and don't have much of an idea on recording hardware. I am really after some advice and would be very grateful for any input.

I have recently opened a Youtube channel and have started reviewing cars. I really need a camera that captures the cabin of the car as much as possible. Some entry level cameras I've tried seem to cut out most of the interior when the camera is mounted to the passenger window glass on a suction mount. I think it maybe called depth of field? I'd also like a camera with a microphone input so that I am able to speak to the audience whilst driving the car without having to raise my voice (reviewing convertibles with the roof down too). Wanting to mount the camera inside the car on the window glass means I will need something quite compact in order to cram as much interior into the footage as possible (at least that's what I'm guessing?). I appreciate that hardware prices vary massively but could you push me in the right direction? Is there a name for this depth of field issue?

Sorry to sound like an absolute noob




Thanks in advance,

Gareth

 

[Steenamaroo]

Hey guys and girls.

I am after some help and don't have much of an idea on recording hardware. I am really after some advice and would be very grateful for any input.

I have recently opened a Youtube channel and have started reviewing cars. I really need a camera that captures the cabin of the car as much as possible. Some entry level cameras I've tried seem to cut out most of the interior when the camera is mounted to the passenger window glass on a suction mount. I think it maybe called depth of field?

Hi there,
I can't really answer all your questions but maybe I can help out with a bit of terminology?

Your depth of field is the band of distance in which things appear to be in focus.
A photo where the subject is sharp but the background and foreground are blurred is an example of narrow depth of field.

It's largely a result of varying aperture. Wide aperture = narrow depth of field and vice versa.

What you're looking for is a focal length.
You want a wide angle lens.
Of course, there's a limit to how far you can go before your image begins to distort (fisheye). You know, like elevator CCTV or whatever.
20mm is probably a decent balance.

Take crop factor into account when shopping around.

 

[PTravel]

Your in the wrong place -- this is an audio forum. Go over to dvinfo.net and ask your questions (though, as with any forum, you should do some research first). The problem isn't depth of field but, as Steenamaroo said, focal length. You need something with a wide angle (probably very wide angle) lens. However, wide angle lens can result in fairly severe visual distortion.

FWIW, professional shoots put the car on a trailer and tow it from a camera car, shooting into the cabin through the front glass, which has to be shaded to prevent reflections.

 

[Bobbsy]

The trailer trick is used on feature films but for car programmes (things like Top Gear) the presenters are generally doing their own driving.

The cameras tend to be Go-Pro models or what's generically known as a "lipstick camera". The lipstick cams are smaller but need to be connected to a separate recorder generally in the back seat with a recordist--Go Pros would likely be the way for you to go (pun intended).

As for the audio issue, you'll never get professional grade audio with an on-camera mic, especially not in a noisy environment like a car. Instead, how about buying a cheap clip on mic (I recently bought 4 from China at $15 each though you'll have to make up some kind of bias power supply for them) then record in some form of portable recorder--maybe a Zoom or even a laptop with a bus powered USB audio interface. You'll have to sync your audio later when editing but even just remembering to clap your hands once in view of the camera at the head of each take makes this easy.

Or...if you can get round the size, lots of DSLR cameras these days do full HD video--and there are a number of off the shelf audio adaptors for them that let you use proper mics. Rode and Lindos are two manufacturers I can recommend for this.

(You think you've got it bad--the last car show I worked on professionally was in the mid 1970s--we shot on film with cameras the size of a small house and a separate sound recordist with a Nagra reel to reel in the back seat! It did mean I got to try driving a Lamborghini Countach for a couple of hours on one shoot though!)

 

[bouldersoundguy]

(You think you've got it bad--the last car show I worked on professionally was in the mid 1970s--we shot on film with cameras the size of a small house and a separate sound recordist with a Nagra reel to reel in the back seat! It did mean I got to try driving a Lamborghini Countach for a couple of hours on one shoot though!)

The Countach has a back seat? Sure it wasn't a Mondial? Or maybe a Holden?

By the way, my avatar is from a job I used to have, before I got into doing sound.

Re: the GoPro, they make software that helps take much of the fisheye effect out, but I believe you lose some image near the corners of the frame. If you compose your shot so that all the important stuff is within an ellipse defined by the edges the frame it works out okay. And for audio, probably a headset mic into a portable recorder would be the way to go.

 

[Bobbsy]

Nah, that's why I got to drive...there was no back seat for sound! Actually, I was the junior on the crew and did most of the "drive past" driving--including things like pretending to be a drunk driver and such. When we did the Lamborghini segment the director wanted to do the driving but I demanded it based on the fact that I'd done every shit drive for the past 2 years!

I agree with what you say about the Fisheye effect but if you look at most in the car/cockpit/truck/whatever shots, they're a very wide angle anyway.

As for the mic, the headset would indeed be good but, if considered too visually intrusive, many's the time I've got away with a typical clip on omni lav high up on he chest.

 

[Gareth85]

Thanks for your help guys....

Sorry about posting on the wrong forum, I told you I was a complete noob





Gareth