audio

If you're a musician who wants to film your practice sessions or a fan in the crowd recording your favorite band, here's a common problem that can often occur: the video you shoot will end up looking OK, but the audio sounds weak and thin. For a medium in which audio is the key component and portability is important, there are relatively few options.

These accessories give you great-sounding ways to enjoy your iPhone or iPod. You can even turn it into a virtual musical instrument, and have loads of fun listening to recorded music or what you create spontaneously.

Here are four audio products that make great gifts: a DJ controller, an electronic drum kit, a home recording kit and a cassette-to-MP3 converter.

The Harman Kardon Go + Play Micro is a portable stereo loudspeaker dock for your iPod or iPhone that can be AC- or battery operated. You can use the 3.5mm auxiliary audio input to connect an iPod shuffle, iPad, CD player, or computer to enjoy the rich sound. When not plugged into an electrical outlet, the unit runs on eight C batteries. So, you can share your music anywhere.

While vinyl has been making a comeback in the past few years, there is no denying that the future of mainstream music is digital (analog lovers, feel free to groan here). Pioneer has released a couple of excellent, DJ friendly CDJ digital multiplayers that allow you to manipulate digital music in much the same way you would work with analog music. 

Like most photographers, I have a love-hate relationship with the tools I use. I am as captivated as the next photographer by the promise of the newest cameras, yet I am loath to give up old strategies that have served me so well. As a photographer, I depend on my cameras to make the pictures I want to make. As a professional, I depend on that same gear to earn my living.

A typical human being sees the world through two eyes, smells the world through two nostrils, and hears the world through two ears. Why we only have one mouth is a mystery, but it likely has something to do with noise pollution. Since we hear the world through two separate ears, recording audio in stereo for video work seems like a natural choice, but it isn’t always the best choice. Even so, there are many situations where using a stereo mic on a camera yields really nice results. In this article I’ll tell you about the times when you should use a stereo mic on a video camera, and make it clear when you should use a different kind of microphone. Plus I’ll share some mission critical tips for getting good sound when shooting outdoors.