GEAR
BUYERS’ GUIDE
ROLAND V-600UHD £11,624/$11,995 roland.com
SENNHEISER PROFILE USB £109/$129 sennheiser.com
SONY FR7 £9456/$12,198
sony.com
If you are really serious about podcasting and streaming then take a look at Roland’s flagship V-600UHD video switcher. It has 4K and Full HD inputs, offers HDR support for the latest high dynamic range workflow and 60Hz frame support for smoother movement. It supports BT 2020 colour gamut and 10-bit 4:4:4 colour processing. A recent upgrade has equipped it with more input and output frame rate options, additional user button customisations and support for a PGM/AUX select function. Noise Reduction PTZ functions are now assignable via a USB numeric keypad. There are four HDMI and two 12G-SDI inputs, two picture-in-picture windows and it comes with lots of audio options.
The Sony FR7 is the first PTZ camera to combine a full-frame image sensor and interchangeable E-mount lenses. This camera has a back-side illuminated 35mm full-frame CMOS sensor which provides a dynamic range of more than 15 stops. Its Exmor R sensor can reach 409,600 ISO and recording is possible up to 4K/120p. Gamma options include S-Cinetone like Sony’s pro cine cameras. Base sensitivity can be set to 800 or 12,800 ISO and allows the use of S-Log3 gamma, wide S-Gamut3 and S-Gamut3 Cine colour spaces. The FR7 is capable of internal XAVC recording and external Raw output. There are dual media slots that support CFexpress Type A and SDXC memory cards. The SDI output can deliver a 16-bit Raw signal to an external recorder. There are HDMI Type A and 12G-SDI connectors and an XLR mic input.
Designed specifically for podcasting and streaming, the Sennheiser Profile USB microphone has a cardioid condenser capsule for maximum audio quality. It’s built to be easy to use as it has three main adjustments; Gain Control to adjust the mic level, Mix Control to balance the mic with the device audio and Volume
Control to set the headphone monitoring level. The Profile features an adjustable tilt with a self- locking joint and comes with either a table stand or a boom arm if you pay extra for the Profile Streaming Set.
SHURE SLXD5 AND SLXD3 WIRELESS £399/$379 SLXD5, £333/$349 SLXD3 shure.com
SENNHEISER MK 4 £269/$299 sennheiser.com
TASCAM PORTACAPTURE X8 £409/$390 tascam.eu
The Sennheiser MK 4 is a large-diaphragm condenser mic offering warm and detailed audio capture ideal for speech. It has an internally shock-mounted capsule and a rugged metal housing, which holds a large, one-inch diaphragm plated in 24ct gold to enhance conductivity, resist corrosion and yield a tone ideal for vocals. The cardioid polar pattern rejects sound behind the mic while picking up side-entry sound without colouration. With low-noise circuitry making it high-quality, the MK 4 connects to any mic preamp, streaming device or podcasting console that can supply 48v phantom power.
Shure’s SLXD digital wireless audio range includes the new SLXD5 portable digital wireless receiver and SLXD3 plug-on transmitter, ideal for XLR mics. The SLXD5 receiver uses IR Sync for easy pairing to transmitters. It also offers Multi- Mic Mode for management of
If you want to record lots of inputs in the best quality, Tascam’s Portacapture X8 recorder uses 32-bit float technology to capture a massive amount of audio levels in one recording. The X8 can capture up to six audio inputs, with two being stereo, so that’s eight tracks in total. It comes with two detachable condenser mics on the top,
which can easily be removed so you can use the standard 3.5mm inputs. A 32-bit float recording lets you boost low volume or reduce loud sounds in post. As the recorder handles a huge range of noise but your mic doesn’t, it isn’t quite as easy as never adjusting levels – but it’s not far off.
multiple sound sources from a receiver. The SLXD3 plug-on transmitter transforms any XLR source into a wireless one, including dynamic and condenser microphones. Additionally, the SLXD3 provides phantom power and is ideal for wireless transmission from boom- mounted shotgun mics. This 24-bit digital audio recorder offers a dynamic range of more than 118db, 32 channels per 44MHz band and automatically scans for the best frequency.
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