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Gear / Technical Help => Photo / Video Recording => Topic started by: Nick's Picks on April 10, 2016, 09:52:25 AM
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I realize it's not a pro deck. Not even close.
However.....a funny story.
I had the Q2 (with the XY mics)...loved it. Did a great job of everything. Clear video, great audio. digi zoom. Decent price.
Sold it...bought a Q3 a year later (w/the M/S mic). I liked that even more. better audio options w/the adjustable width. Same lens, same video quality.
Some dickhead stole it off my stand at WSP @ Stow, VT last summer.
I've lusted after the Q4. Looked like a much better deck, better glass..better all around. They have come down in price to about 1/2 of what they used to sell for when they first came out. I bought one from B&H.
I can't decide if i'm psyched about its size, or woefully disappointed. It looks like it should have come out of a gum-ball machine. I have not used it yet. So, time will tell.
Tell ya what, the pictures you see on line dont do it justice. It looked to me like a hand held small camcorder...., NOPE. It's a ridiculously small thing
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A friend has a Q8, and the disappointing thing about it is the severe fisheye of the lens, far more so than on a GoPro. I don't know if the Q4 will be the same or not.
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The Q4 has significant barrel distortion. I used a Q3HD a fair amount and always naively thought that a wider angle lens would be a winner, since it would allow closer placement for the same framing, thus delivering better audio for my "look at me play guitar" video efforts. But making very wide lenses without barrel distortion is a big bucks game, and these Zoom cameras are not big bucks items.
Even without the fish-eye effect, close placement gives visual distortion, exaggerating the apparent size of the closest object, like a nose or fretting hand.
The Sony MV1, even with its laughable monitor screen placement and convoluted menu, turned out to be a more useful camera, but not useful enough that I would recommend one.
Fran
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Appears to have a f2.8 fixed wide angle 130 degree lens and now selling for about $180. Less money buys a Cannon refurb camcorder (1 yr warranty) with a variable f1.8 zoom lens and a 1/8 stereo input. An f1.8 lens will shoot in less light than a f2.8 lens and the zoom makes it much easier to frame a shot like you want it.
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A friend has a Q8, and the disappointing thing about it is the severe fisheye of the lens, far more so than on a GoPro. I don't know if the Q4 will be the same or not.
This is what I've been saying for a lot of time....an average cell phone like lg g3 or whatever shoots nice consumer quality videos without fisheye effect. A cheap digital recorder can make good to great recordings ( with preamp + externals ). It seems like having both things on the same piece of gear it's absolutely impossible.
Mystery of marketing.....