My Video and Audio Kit - What's in it?

Recently I have made some updates to my Video and Audio Kit, most notable I updated my Sony RX100 Mark 4 camera to a Sony ZV-1, but I did still keep the older Sony for when I need a second B-Roll camera at the same time for a different angle. My new Sony ZV-1 has incredible 4k video quality and the focus on it is amazingly quick. I also sold my Insta360 One R and replaced it with another Insta360 product, the Insta360 X4. Both are 360 cameras but the X4 is built around being a 360 camera while the One R is a modular camera designed more like an action camera. Both overlap in what they can do about the same, but the newer Insta360 Camera is much higher resolution and a lot more capable.

I also show off my other video system, yet another Insta360 product, the GO2 which is a super small and portable action camera you can put literally anywhere and slip in your pocket, so it's with you all the time. In it's charging case it is about the size of an iPod case, when out of the case it is about the size and shape of my thumb. It is excellent for FPV action shots wearing on the body or head. On a selfie stick it can go almost anywhere...

For even more FPV shots I also have a pair of Ray Ban Meta glasses which are great because I am often wearing them when I go out and they take very good quality portrait shots with stabilization that is almost as good as an action camera. The video quality surprised me with these glasses! Being a portrait mode only camera, they are ideal for stuff like making shorts for Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

Another camera I really love is my Hover X1 which yes is a camera but it's also a drone made to act like your own personal camera man. No need for a remote as it just follows you around and takes all kinds of creative shots depending on your needs. You can have it stay in front of you, behind you or beside you as you walk or act like a tripod that rotates as you move around it. Of course it does the standard drone shots like orbit, zoom out and birds eye.

I do briefly show off my other dedicated fpv drones in a variety of sizes as I will be using these little guys for those scenic shots when I want to share my outdoor adventure excursions. It has been a learning journey with my FPV drones, as flying them in manual mode is not easy and to get the kind of shots I want with them, I need to have at least a mid level flying ability.

Lastly I show my audio system and some accessories as without them, my videos would not sound or look as good. I do have to say my Comica Vimo C wireless microphone system has been so user friendly and dependable and it really does contribute to the videos adding a much higher quality level of audio.   

Insta360 X4 8K 360 Action Camera Unboxing Preview

This is really just a basic unboxing video of the Insta360 X4 which is Insta360's brand new flag ship 360 degree 8k camera. Previous to the release of the Insta360 X4, not surprisingly there was the Insta360 X3. I talk a little bit about the differences between the older and newer versions and I also explain the main concepts about why one would want to shoot in 360 degrees for those that are not familiar with why a 360 degree camera can be very useful even if your final video is not in 360 degree.

I also share some of my initial usage Insta360 X4 video where I hit a trail on my EUC (Electric Unicycle) along with my riding companions. We had a blast and I was glad I was able to share the experience in such a unique way.

Just Me on my EUC!

Went out for a relaxing local ride on my EUC near where I live, it was supposed to be a quick 20 minute ride, but I kept going for an hour...

All recorded on the Insta360 GO2, edited and produced in the Insta360 App.

Tiny Camera on a Tiny Drone GEPRC TinyGO 4k - Insta360 GO2

I may be obsessed a bit with these little drones but hey, they are super fun and for the price they offer a ton of enjoyment. I am really happy with my GEPRC TinyGO 4k FPV Drone, don't get me wrong, it has for sure exceeded my expectations and thank God it is literally indestructible (Well almost)! That said slightly better video quality would not be a bad thing as the built in camera I have set to record at 2.7k in 60fps looks pretty good, but it is a bit sharp and contrasty and I do get some jell-o effect but overall it does a good job.

So I thought, why not strap my Insta360 GO2 tiny camera to it and see what it looks like? So I did just that with some high tech rubber band engineering and my first test flight worked just fine but I still got a lot of that jell-o vibration in the camera, so I added a dampener to the build using some Velcro and foam. Well that did the trick nicely and even acted as a bit of a dampener for the internal camera smoothing it out somewhat.

Enough talking about it, best to simply show you so here is a comparison video of what the internal camera on the GEPRC TinyGO 4k looks like compared to the strapped on Insta360 GO2.

New Sony ZV-1 Camera Joins the Team

I have been using my Sony RX100 Mark4 camera now for almost a decade (9 years to be exact) as my main studio camera and it has served me well all of this time. My real main gripe with that camera was how it liked to hunt around a lot to find focus. It has been frustrating at times when I was trying to showcase a product on screen but my Sony RX100 Mark4 just couldn't seem to find it. It also was not really able to record in 4k video or at least for long enough for the types of videos I make which are usually around 10 minutes or so. After about 5 minutes it would overheat and shut down in 4k record mode, and over time as it got a bit older that time shortened down to only a couple of minutes.

So it was time to do some research and figure out what my next camera was going to be. I was pretty sure it would be another Sony, and I liked the size format so I knew it was probably going to be another 1 inch sensor more compact camera. After much YouTube Video watching I settled on the Sony ZV-1 Blogger Camera. Yes there is a newer version 2 of this same camera available, but it was significantly more money and since there where some really good deals on the older version I purchased and I was still able to buy it new rather than second hand. The big upgrades with the newer second generation, where a wider angle lens which is always good and much easier access to the battery compartment when mounted. Those where at least the two main upgrades the new version of the Sony ZV-1 had that I felt where beneficial to me. That said I was able to find work arounds to these two features that I was easily able to add to my first generation Sony ZV-1.

In this quick video I test out the Sony ZV-1 and show my work aroudns that I added to make this already really great camera even better. I have a lot of figuring out to do with this camera to really get the most out of it but that is all part of the fun for me...