Sometimes we take the little things for granted; such as the Aputure MC. The MC is a pocket light I reviewed a few years back but still to this day has proven to be necessary in my work flow. How? Well anytime I want to warm up skin tones or create accent lighting in the background I pull out my MC’s
I even used the MC’s in this video to create the blue smoke you see surrounding the subject;
sometimes it’s just those little things that make all the difference.
The Atomos Ninja V is a 5″ monitor that can record. It was released on April 5, 2018 at NAB, despite it being 4 years old (often considered old tech by today’s standards) it’s still relevant in 2022. Atomos not only releases firmware updates frequently but also hardware to compliment the Ninja. Some of the features that make it relevant in 2022 are
Recording of ProRes Raw and other flavors of ProRes
The Mix pre 3 by Sound Devices is the under dog here compared to the Apollo X4 but it is by no means an inferior product. Both devices improve your audio quality across the board. A lot of these improvements come from the pre amps these 2 devices use, different but both are very quiet and professional.
Without getting into all the details a pre amp (preamplifier) is a device that amplifies or boost the signal coming from a microphone or musical instrument. So while boosting this electrical signal some pre amps have an inherit sound (a low hiss) that is often heard especially while wearing headphones. While this noise can be removed in post eliminating it prior will save a lot of time and this will also make your audio easier to adjust in post.
when I started doing video back in 2005, I never understood the importance of Audio and that’s probably because I never took the time to learn what good sound was.
My Story with Audio
Well after spending $2000 plus on camera gear, I wasn’t thinking about spending anything else. After about 6 months I had someone who was interested in what I was doing as a young film maker and they were willing to invest. Together we went down to B&H Photo and spent over $1000 in audio gear. While that’s was not a lot of money to invest into a business it was a large sum for the average person to spend on audio gear. At that price I was able to get the following:
Sennheiser Shotgun mic
Boom Pole
Shock mount
Beachtek audio adapter
XLR cables
Sennheiser EW 100 Wireless Mic
This was back in 2005 and as you would imagine things would be very different now if I were to go back to B&H to get audio gear. The good thing about audio however is that the technology behind it doesn’t change as quickly as it does for video. As a result a lot of the gear listed can still be used today.
Such a Large Investment
Why did I need to buy so much gear back in 2005? Well I didn’t, I could have just brought one mic and could be on to recording my videos. The one draw back would be that if I brought the EW100 Wireless Mic I could only interview one person at a time and would have to attach the mic to each person before they spoke, since Lav mics need to be attached to each individual. However with a shotgun mic I could easily move over each person’s head just before they speak and capture their voice. Of course the shotgun is still limited to one or 2 persons (once there in close proximity) but having access to both gives me more flexibilty. The shotgun mic’s draw back can be that you have to hold a boom pole, or hold the mic in hand and keep the shot on the camera tight enough to keep it out of frame, yet with the lav mic it can easily be hidden.
How to plan an Investment
So how should you invest when it comes to audio? One of the biggest piece of advice I have ever received is: choose a niche. Because in the beginning you are tempted to do everything in order to earn more and most people continue on this path, only to discover with each area of expertise you need tools. As a result instead of just have two cameras and 3 lenses you have 4 cameras and 12 lenses. So in the end your not only divided with your money but also your time, skills and patience.
Choosing the right audio setup is simple. First figure out what area you want to focus or even which area brings you the most pleasure and go from there. So for example commercials (interview style) would require at least a shotgun mic and a recorder even if you decide never to record your own audio but you hire someone to do it, you should have some basic knowledge of using a recorder and a shotgun mic. Yet for that setup that’s all you would need. However if you plan to do live concerts with at least 4 plus persons the setup will be very different. Keep in mind you always have the option to rent audio equipment so as to keep expenses down as well as inventory. If you own some audio gear though it will give you time to practice in between projects.
Here are my recommendations for a few setups (portable), feel free to ask me why in the comments below:
Mini Budget
Interviews (commercials or documentaries) –
Zoom H5n Recorder
Sennheiser MKE 600 Mic
Concert (small 3-4 persons singing at a time) –
Zoom H5n Recorder
Behringer XENYX 1202 Mixer
Reality Show (less than 10 people) –
Zoom H6 Recorder
Rode Wireless Go Mics
Standard Budget (what most should spend) –
Interviews (commercial or documentaries)
Mix Pre 3
Rode NTG 3
Concert
Mix Pre 6
Behringer X Air XT12
Reality Show (10+ people_
Mixpre 10
EW 100 Lav Mics or AVX system
Hi end Budget (highest quality investors willing to pay) –
The aperture MC is a 3.7 inch pocket light that’s packed with features. Why anyone want to light with something so Small? When I learned about lighting I was told that the larger the light the softer the shadows. Think about when you go out into the sun on an over cast day, you see little to no shadows due to how large and encompassing the sun is. Small light sources tend to create hot spots on faces, and they also create more shadows because their spread is limited. Tip if you were to bounce a small light you would get a more diffused look and less shadows.
SO WHY A POCKET LIGHT?
If you’ve ever shot in tight spaces; like a car or even shooting something really small, like a ring, flowers or someone’s fingers you may need a small light. Small lights also come in clutch when shooting on the go and you don’t have a lot of space or are unable to carry much weight.
Features
First of all the MC is RGBWW light. Which means it cover all colors and can change color temperatures ( from 3200k – 6500k). The MC is also dimmable and can change its brightness, regardless of the color or temperature. With the built in LCD screen, you can see exactly where are you, in terms of brightness and settings.
All unedited Shot from same location camera settings – Aperture F2 ISO 400 Shutter 60
Now here is where Aputure took things to another level. The Aputure MC has built in effects; for example, it can do a burning flame, effect it or a television affect, lightning, paparazzi (like someone’s taking pictures and the flash is going off) and you also have a cop car effect.
COP CAR EFFECT 🚓
Additional Features
Wireless Charging
Magnetic Back for mounting
Sidus App (You can control this light via bluetooth
Mesh networking (a family of MC lights all controlled via bluetooth)
(Unedited) Aputure MC above
Aputure really packed a lot into this little light which only cost $90. When you compare the price of LED pocket lights from about 5 years ago which cost upwards of $200 the MC is a steal (because of its feature set).
Toggle wheel, Power button & USB C Port
On the side of the MC you’ll find a USB-C port so you can charge it via a usb-c charger, from companies like Anker, the light can even be turned on while charging. As far as battery life goes you get 2 hours at maximum brightness and 15 hours at the minimum. I touched on most of the features but I think there’s a lot more that I didn’t get a chance to cover (such as creating your own custom effects within the app). Overall just know that the Aperture MC is Small light but has many different applications. Below are some examples of how I used it in my work.
(Unedited) MC on left side of face no other light source.The MC was Facing the face, in this shot creating the blue light. (unedited) Same as above but I had a Aputure 120 D on the left to fill in the darkness
I would highly recommend this light not just for the features but the build quality, It also comes with a nice little bag and a USB-C cable as well as a soft rubber diffuser to help soften the light. If you can fit $100 into you lighting budget just get it.
The X-T2 has come out of no where and replaced not one camera but 2 cameras. I got it to replace my 5D Mark II and it has also replaced my Panasonic Gh4. In the below video I explain how.
When I initially started doing my research I was amazed to see that the camera covers video just as well as it does photos. I immediately started looking at the options I had for video and that’s when I was told about the Leica Summicron Lenses. These lenses have been used for years and are now being used by many film makers, why? Simply put the optics are amazing. Everything from the contrasts, color, Focus fall off and build quality. I had no idea about any of its benefits but when I got it and tested it I was amazed, below are a few frame grabs and photos.
Untouched Lecia Summicron shot
Leica Shot with the Eterna LUT
Lecia in the shade
Leica Untouched shot from video
Pairing these lenses with Fuji’s color I believe make a tremendous difference. Please note that the amazing rendering from the Leica glass takes nothing away from the lenses that FUJI make but I will say for video the Leica is a joy to use. The focus ring for one is buttery smooth, the build quality suggests that it will last you well over 20 years and the size is perfect to stash in any bag for travel.
One Key Ingredient
The X-T2 does an amazing job when paired with Leica glass but the key element with this camera is it’s accurate skin tones. To simplify this, when I look at the OLED EVF (electronic view finder) the skin color I see is as it is in real life if not better. This also translates well when the footage is displayed on my computer screen.