Smartphone editing software + budget equipment advice
- Thread starter Regnis
- Start date
Not true.
The Lanparte HHG-01 requires a lot of manual balancing. It’s very finnicky and the horizon often drifts off-level if the balance is even the slightest bit off. It’s almost twice the price of the Smooth-Q and a lot more hassle to operate.
NorBro
Major Contributor
I don't agree; I've used many, many of them and all of them have worked fine even with very offset balances.
IMO, software tweaks need to made (in the factory or by the user if applicable), and/or it's a lemon if there are issues - even user error - with balancing such a lightweight device.
The SmoothQ works better if you take the time to balance the phone, one of my co-workers has one and when he brought it to work, first thing I did was adjust the balance and add the counter weights. Made a difference in performance. I had it roughly balanced with the power off, adding the power made it work better than before. No matter the technology, good working practice still pays off.
The thing about VideoPad is it works on Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and maybe even Chromebook (at least through the android emulation it should). That said, it is not as cheap as it once was, the computer versions are like $100, but the mobile versions are pretty cheap and you can bundle them with the audio tools for like $10 or $15. The adobe product (forget the name) has Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android versions as well, but I haven't used it so I don't really recommend it because I am not familiar with it at all. And that said, the last time I used Videopad, I used it on a tablet, not a phone. They've made many revisions since then so it may be more friendly to phones now. It's just super easy to use and the export feature was fast (something Avid still needs to fix!!!).
Free trials of most things, I think Videopad might have been an in-app upgrade (been a while), worth installing and testing before purchase to see what works best for the specific user. No need to drop something like Media Composer on them and expect them to like what they are doing.
But again, I suggest something like Filmic Pro and teach them why they want to use it and how to do things like white balance. Just having control over the focus is a big deal so it doesn't hunt, same with locking exposure (maybe). I think it can also record wave audio.
if you go wired lav, I'd get a cheapo $30 (or less) thing to try, you may find that it gets trashed in short order. There are a bunch that take power from the phone, and a few more that have a battery holder. Personally I'd go with the battery version. You might also find that something like a cheap shotgun works better, the Movo VRX400 works fairly well and gets you going for $30, you'll just need a different cable to work with the phone's TRRS jack (maybe, depends on the phone).
The thing about VideoPad is it works on Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and maybe even Chromebook (at least through the android emulation it should). That said, it is not as cheap as it once was, the computer versions are like $100, but the mobile versions are pretty cheap and you can bundle them with the audio tools for like $10 or $15. The adobe product (forget the name) has Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android versions as well, but I haven't used it so I don't really recommend it because I am not familiar with it at all. And that said, the last time I used Videopad, I used it on a tablet, not a phone. They've made many revisions since then so it may be more friendly to phones now. It's just super easy to use and the export feature was fast (something Avid still needs to fix!!!).
Free trials of most things, I think Videopad might have been an in-app upgrade (been a while), worth installing and testing before purchase to see what works best for the specific user. No need to drop something like Media Composer on them and expect them to like what they are doing.
But again, I suggest something like Filmic Pro and teach them why they want to use it and how to do things like white balance. Just having control over the focus is a big deal so it doesn't hunt, same with locking exposure (maybe). I think it can also record wave audio.
if you go wired lav, I'd get a cheapo $30 (or less) thing to try, you may find that it gets trashed in short order. There are a bunch that take power from the phone, and a few more that have a battery holder. Personally I'd go with the battery version. You might also find that something like a cheap shotgun works better, the Movo VRX400 works fairly well and gets you going for $30, you'll just need a different cable to work with the phone's TRRS jack (maybe, depends on the phone).
offbeatbryce
Well-known member
Look on Fiverr.com it's a freelance website for finding editing work. You'd be surprised how inexpensive someone would edit a video for someone. If your friend finds a stabilizer and good microphone I'd shoot it and then go to fiverr and find someone to hire for what's in his budget and you will get the video edited. All your friend has to do is send that person the files.