How to Upgrade Your YouTube Recording Setup

https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-upgrade-youtube-recording-setup/


You don’t need much to get started on YouTube. A free video editor, maybe a webcam and a microphone, and you’re good to go. However, if you’re ready to step up your game a bit, there’s always more gear to add to your arsenal. Before you drop thousands on equipment, let’s talk about what gear will actually help (and when you can get more out of what you already have).

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The Big One: Upgrade Your Camera

If you appear on camera in your videos—or you shoot someone or something else that does—then getting a decent camera is going to be a top priority for you. However, a good camera won’t magically make your footage better. So the first step in picking a good camera is figuring out whether the one you have really needs to be replaced.

A good place to start is asking whether you’re straining against the restraints on the hardware you have. Taking close-up video of small objects with a shallow depth of field, for example, requires control that your phone camera might not have (although you might have some luck with a cheap macro lens). Try to practice using your current camera to compose good shots before you jump to a new one.

Once you’re ready to make the switch, you have a few options. DSLR cameras often make great video cameras (it’s what I use for my own videos) because they let you use all the lenses and controls that pro photographers use. And usually you can find decent bundles of camera bodies and lenses on used-goods sites for much cheaper than you’d find buying new.

The downside of going the DSLR route is that most of them aren’t designed to record for long stretches of time. For example, I use a Nikon D7500, recording in 4K, and it cuts out after roughly half an hour because it generates too much heat. If you can live with that, it’s an excellent option, but if you need to record continuously—say for a live event—then a camcorder may be a better option for you. Professional-grade camcorders can be a bit more expensive, and most don’t offer the same kind of lens control that you get with a DSLR, but it might suit your needs better.

Alternatively, if you’re doing more vlog-style videos, portability may be more important. GoPro portable cameras are so popular that the GoPro look has become its own aesthetic on YouTube, but they’re not the only company on the block. The Zoom Q2n, for example, is an excellent little 4K recorder that’s not super expensive, and you can pretty easily put it on a selfie stick or a stand and take it anywhere.

via Wired Top Stories https://ift.tt/2uc60ci

December 29, 2021 at 07:06AM

Microsoft’s Triple-Screen Phone Concept Is So Ridiculous, I Need To Try It

https://gizmodo.com/microsofts-triple-screen-phone-concept-is-so-ridiculous-1848276596


Pictured is TCL’s tri-fold concept
Photo: Sam Rutherford/Gizmodo

Microsoft hasn’t quite stuck the landing with its Surface Duo folding smartphone attempts, but the company is already eyeing the next major advancement, and it could be as simple as adding another screen.

A patent discovered by Patently Apple suggests Microsoft is toying with the idea of creating a smartphone with three displays and two hinges. It’d look something like a trifold wallet, or a triptych for you history buffs out there.

The concept is essentially the current Surface Duo with a third panel connected to one of the screens by a second hinge. This way, you get even more screen real estate when the device is completely unfolded, yet the phone wouldn’t be much larger than current foldable models because the three panels would stack on top of each other.

But it would, we assume, be pretty damn thick and heavy—so chunky that it might not be the sort of thing you can comfortably hold in your hand or keep in your pocket. So hopefully by the time this device sees the light of day—which probably won’t be anytime soon, if at all—Microsoft finds a way to trim down each layer of this smartphone cake. Remember, Microsoft’s Surface Duo opens and closes at a central hinge rather than using a foldable display, like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3.

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Impracticality of this thing aside, I’m rooting for Microsoft’s tri-headed beast to make its way onto the market if only for the sheer absurdity of it all. Who wouldn’t want a play with a phone that could transform into a 10-inch (or larger) tablet with a motion that’s as easy as opening your wallet? Sure, fiddling with two hinges may sound too fussy, and dual-screen phones are already too cumbersome for some folks, but I’m here for the chaos.

Plus, one of the downsides of the current Surface Duo is that there is no screen on the exterior. Microsoft added a Glance Bar to the Surface Duo 2 so you can quickly view notifications, but you still need to use two hands to open the phone before you can use it. This patent could solve this limitation with a third screen that faces outward so you could use the Surface Trio (?) like a normal smartphone when you don’t need three panels overwhelming you with information.

It turns out Microsoft isn’t the only company considering a tri-screened phone. Uncovered by LetsGoDigital, Samsung in mid-June filed a patent with the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) describing a similar device with three displays that can fold into a Z shape. Samsung showed us how this fantasy device might look like in a brief video posted to YouTube earlier this year.

Even more tangible is TCL’s trifold concept, which we called “awkward and incredibly cumbersome” but found the ability to unfold the phone into a large tablet “pretty impressive.”

While we typically caution you from getting excited about concepts described in patents, enough of the big players are tinkering with three-screen phones to suggest one could find its way onto the market—whether this is a good idea or not.

via Gizmodo https://gizmodo.com

December 28, 2021 at 12:57PM

Rivian’s R1T electric truck brings adventure to the EV crowd

https://www.engadget.com/rivian-r1t-electric-truck-review-150019762.html?src=rss

Announcing a vehicle is one thing, actually following through and building that vehicle at a factory and then selling it, that’s an almost impossible feat for a new company. But like Tesla before it, Rivian has pulled it off and in doing so has built one of the best trucks on the road today, EV or otherwise.

The all-electric Rivian R1T starts at wallet-busting $67,500, but for that money, owners will get the latest technology out there in a truck that’s at home on the highway, around town, and crawling over rocks, and navigating muddy trails. We put one to the test in the rain in Northern California.

via Engadget http://www.engadget.com

December 29, 2021 at 09:06AM