Category Archives: hardware

Video Cameras for Borrowing

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I School tech support has four Sony Bloggies (model MHS-CM5) available for checkout.

I’m told these are actually fairly decent compact HD video cameras. (In keeping with my policy of preparing for every possible failure, I’d recommend buying your own card. You know it’s new and has been taken care of, and you can keep it as redundant backup. Don’t forget to format it before you start!)

Students can go to room 110A Mon.-Fri., 8 am-5 pm to check them out.

Usually loaned  for up to a week, but that could be adjusted if we need to.

Camera Novices: What to Look for in your Camera Manual

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If you don’t have your manual, these days they’re all online.

The basics that you need to know about your camera — what you want to look up in your manual first of all (beyond the REAL basics like how to turn it on and charge the battery!): most cameras have various dials and menus. You want to find the following settings or functions:

  • formatting your memory card
  • completely auto shooting (with most cameras, this is the one of the first topics in your manual)
  • focusing
  • zooming
  • controlling the flash: auto; always on; always off
  • setting the ISO
  • setting the file size (pixels) and compression
  • switching between still images and movies (if your camera does this)
  • reviewing your images in the camera
  • downloading images to your computer

Then the next functions you’ll need to find — not quite so basic:

  • Exposure compensation
  • setting the shutter speed
  • Auto focus selection — may be called AF Frame
  • Macro mode or close-up mode — usually indicated by a little flower icon
  • White balance  control– often your camera will say AWB (auto white balance)

Technology for this course

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What we will be using:

Media capture

You don’t need to own anything. However, it is likely that most students will have mobile phones with camera and audio and video recording.  These can be quite useful.

Many students will have point and shoot cameras. Some will have dSLRs.  Some have digital recording devices.  I have some video cameras available for loan.

I have a lot of experience with dSLRs, including dSLR video, and digital audio recording in the field.

Typically, students in this class range from those with no skills in these technologies to those with advanced skills.

Software

For most purposes, iPhoto, iMovie, or the  Windows equivalents (e.g., Windows Live Movie Maker) will suffice.  (I use Final Cut Pro; I haven’t tried Final Cut Pro X yet.)

Free or low-cost software for audio editing and for putting images and audio together are available.  These include Audacity, Soundslides, and Hindenburg (my favorite audio editor; free trial available).

Currently (Spring, 2012), the campus has a contract with Adobe that makes Adobe Creative Suite Design Premium , which includes  Photoshop (but not Premiere Pro), available to students for free.