I’ve fallen down the rabbit hole of podcasting, at least squaring away the proper equipment, and testing it. I’ve done that and here is what I’m going with.
I tried various webcams, like the Logitech ‘Streamcam’ and others, and while they were passable, when push came to shove, they fell short. Of course, having run a recording studio for years, I should (and did) know better. Not sure what I was thinking; perhaps I wasn’t.
While I am fastidious with recording equipment, I guess I thought with Zoom and podcast stuff, why bother. Just get a webcam image, with a built-in mic and I’m good.
Well, yeah. That worked for awhile until I got some comments about it and immediately woke up. Of course, this gives a lousy image. I know that and would never let it pass for good in a studio, and so what?
Well, just because its Zoom or thereabouts, does not improve the image. And so…
I have some cameras sitting around here, why not use one of them, and so I did. I first tried an old Nikon D7000 that I had in a drawer, and OK, it worked, but marginally. Next, I bumped up to the Nikon DSLR D850, which is an excellent camera, and that was good, but then. Well, the ‘but then’ was why not focus-track my eyes, so my face is always in focus…..
Hmmm, that would take a fancier camera, such as my Nikon Z8. Yet, it seemed ridiculous to use the Z8 as a webcam. However, my thinking ended up telling me that I do most of my work with the Nikon Z7 II camera, because it is light and good. My Z8 sits around for ‘heavier” work, and the point is that if it is going to sit around, why not let it sit around where I do my podcasts. And that’s what I did.
And the thing about the Nikon Z8 is it has 3D auto-tracking that seamlessly keeps my eyes always in focus and avoids me moving in and out of a webcam’s focus range. I remain in focus, but the early cameras I tried can’t do that, and the Z8 can.
If I need the Z8 for other work, there it is. All I have to do is unplug two cables and take it off the small tripod I use. And that’s what I did.
I have more or less gathered what I need for a quality podcast, interview, or Zoom work, and here is what it looks like. It’s not inexpensive as I first tried to do. These are some quick cell phone images.
For audio work, I’m using a condenser microphone, in this case the Neumann TLM-103 in a ‘spider’, which is a shock mount in which the mic sits and is suspended. Right now, I am using a small weighted mic stand that can be placed on my desk. I have installed an ‘instant ‘connect’, so I can pop off the mic and use another, either a shotgun mic or a dynamic mic, yet a condenser is better for voice and interviews, IMO.
And finally, I experimented with different pop filters to help tone down the p’s and b’s. Even that took time. I was used to using the standard round hoop pop-filter with nylon or some porous fabric on two sides of the hoop. These are not so good and hard to clean and disinfect.
And then I tried a wrap around fine metal filter mesh filter, and that worked but was awkward to position and was bound to the mic by rubber bands, which I did not like.
And last, I’m now suing the Stedman Proscreen 101, which is about perfect. It is made of a find metal mesh that you can almost see through. It is small and designed to intercept the breath and push it down toward the ground.
In fact, if you take the nylon or wrap-around mesh filter and blow through them, you can blow out a candle on the other side. Yet, with the Stedman you can’t blow out the candle because the air is directed away from the microphone, which means your p’s and b’s don’t reach the microphone itself. Probably more than you want to know, but if you look into these things, it all adds up.
And last, I am placing a small vibration-reducing pad under the mic stand to reduce the vibrations from the desktop. I am threatening to use a Matthew’s stage stand and a boom, which would very much isolate the mic from the desktop, but that’s ridiculous in my small office. Nevertheless, I am still thinking about that and I might just do it, which of course is what we would do in a studio.
Next, what about conditioning the sound, via a better preamp than what I have in my audio interface? And so, I have added a good preamp and a compressor wrapped in a classic tube-type preamp, the United Audio LA-610 Mk II, so my mic plugs into the preamp/compressor, and then is cabled to the audio interface and then into the computer.
And last, how best to position the Nikon Z8 mirrorless camera to video me. And for this I use a miniature tripod that sits right on my desk. It is the RSS (Really Right Stuff) TVC-32G Series 3 Mk2 Versa Ground 2-Section Aluminum Tripod and on that sits a Really Right Stuff PC-LR Round Lever-Release Style Panning Clamp, which is overkill, but I have it sitting around, so why not use it.
And the camera is connected to the computer by a USB-C cable (both ends) for video, and another USB-C (also both ends) for AC power. The Nikon Z8 has ports for both. And this whole system works with the Nikon Webcam Utility, which allows a single USB-C cable into the computer.
And there you have it, everything needed for very good audio and also excellent video, yet quite compact, as long as I don’t drag that Matthew’s stand with a boom arm down into my tiny office!
