I have been thinking about starting to record some youtube videos of me noodling with my synths and such. The problem is I have no clue about cameras. Do you think it would be sufficient for a hobbyist like me to have just a phone with a good camera attached to the top bar of my Jaspers stand via boom arm for these purposes? I know my current phone isn’t up to the task at least. Maybe good video quality with at least 2x zoom would be preferable(?). I would like to keep the costs down too as this is something I would do just for the laughs.
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I’m having the precise same questions precisely right now, thanks for asking!
Haha, nice! It seems it could be fun to share the synthesizer love. I have wondered for a while but it seems to be hard to find straight answers. What better place than here to ask…
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There’s actually a good topic about this, let me find a link for you.
boom
and boom
hopefully some of that is useful for you guys
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Well, try it 
I used iPhone (1st gen. SE and later 12 mini) for a few videos posted on FB, looks ok IMO when using normal lens (ultrawide isn’t that good, but still passable). It won’t look nearly as good as pro camera or DSLR recording, but for a noodling video i’ts fine.
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Yep use the phone, record the audio somehow, sync it to the video, turn on the lights so it’s not dark. You’ll be good to go as long as the sound is good.
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Yeah, as much as I’m totally not into Apple, I have to admit it would make things simpler for a video noob like me to just use an iPhone/iPad. The things they do on pictures seem to work with everything.
Using a Sony Xperia at the moment and… pictures looks ugly.
But I also tried a Fujifilm camera (i.e. a photo camera, not a film camera) and the result was almost as ugly.
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Used Apple 8 around 100-125$, use it as a camera in OBS Studio (assuming you have a computer) = golden
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Thanks alot!
@tha_man @Suspect_Frequency yeah i would like to use the phone but my current phone’s camera is really bad so i’m asking if newer phones would be enough. There is some distance to my synths too from the top bar and I would like to record them all in one shot if possible. Likely around 70 centimeters.
I am actually in need of a new phone and I wouldn’t mind spending more for one with better camera but i’ve no idea if they can zoom and keep the quality good.
yup, no problem.
I’m going to order one of these for recording my jams Zoom Q8n-4k - 4K Camera for Musicians
It’s £399 but it’ll be a good investment IMO. Maybe you could attach one to your Jasper 
$550 usd to post videos for you guys is more than I would be willing to invest.
If you were trying to get your youtube channel monetized I guess it’s worth it but seems excessive.
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Lighting.
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Yeah that’s true. Although it’s something that would last long as an investment but even then, a bit steep for my initial needs.
definitely depends on how deep your pockets are and what you ultimately intend to do with the content.
people can spend their money however they see fit. I got other priorities though.
I use my iPhone 15 Pro, with a Roland Go Mixer Pro depending what I’m recording. Some of my devices like Digitone 2, Digitakt 2, M8 can record straight into the IPhone. I’ve also got a Sony ZV-E10, which I bought second hand for about £350 and a Sigma 16mm F 1.4 lens for some nice close up and bokeh and 4K. You can also record directly into the camera. Got a couple of tripods and some smaller desktop tripods. I use Filmora to edit, though I’m getting a bit sick of it as everything in it seems to be something you have to pay for now. Sometimes I’ll just record the audio straight into Ableton and then add the audio in Filmora.
I don’t have any Youtube celebrity plans but the synths are here to stay so I guess it wouldn’t be that bad to invest that kind of money to be able to do some videos while at it.
Photography, videography, lighting and video editing are all hobbies themselves.
Two ways I’d recommend thinking about this:
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Synth music is the hobby: just use whatever you have lying around to make punk/DIY videos. Focus on sound quality over video quality.
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You Want To Be a Professional Youtuber: analyze successful youtubers, and build a plan to get to various points along the monetization ladder. Plan out what gear you need, and when. Also determine success metrics so that you can pull the plug and stop buying gear / services if you don’t achieve what you want.
Of course there is plenty of middle ground you could choose between the two.
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iPhones are one of the best phones for video. I also recorded audio directly to video via USB using lightning2USB adapter and it sounded fine too. Also no issues syncing it to video this way.
iPhone 12 mini 70cm above the table gets a bit less than 80 cm of width with normal camera and almost 140 cm with ultrawide. So if your setup is wider you’ll have to raise the phone higher.
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The second important thing about video is light. Good light makes video more cinematic and professional even if it was filmed with just a phone.
Buy one cheap led panel as a primary light. Professional ones are brighter, better color matched and more reliable. You don’t need that, just cheap panel ideally with color temperature adjustment. I like 3200K, but 5000-6500K can be more useful as a primary light. Don’t buy RGB one for that, they barely will work as a primary.
Also, it would be nice to buy 1-2 cheap RGB lamps or bulbs for fill lights to add depth and mood to the shot.
And the most important thing is a composition (frame, not music). Find the right angle to expose your gear in the best way. Overhead shot is good for demoing gear when you want to show everything you do, but it’s not the best for artistic stuff.
Prefer narrower lens (if you phone has more than one). Wide shots distort image and make it look worse. It’s better to choose narrower lens and put phone further to capture the same area.
Good composition and light are 80% of your shot. Good camera will not help if these two are bad. I’d recommend to invest into a tripod for phone and some lights rather than a new phone. It’ll give you more.
Just compare these two videos. They’re not the best videos, but it’s the same setup filmed in two very different ways. One is wide overhead shot with regular light, and second is more artistic. Yes, they were filmed with different cameras, but it doesn’t make huge difference.
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