Let’s Try This Again: Video Content is Hard.

I’ve been working in video content creation for almost 12 years and while some of my fellow millennials and scrappy Gen Z folks make it look easy, I assure you it is not. I’ve spent most of my career working on content for many different companies and brands and the assumption that they have it all figured out is false. 9/10 they are all just winging it. Now I’m back to trying to make my own content which is daunting to say the least. A lot of my professional work has drained what little creativity I’ve had, so now I’m trying to kick start the old engine and get back to making things on my terms. Don’t know if this is going to be good but their is only one way to find out…

Audio Technica AT2020 Review: Best Starter XLR Mic for Podcast and Streaming.

The Audio Technica AT2020 is a $100 Cardioid Patterned Condenser microphone that has been recommended for years as one of the best microphones to get for podcasting and streaming without breaking the bank. But the microphone market has a tone of competition in this space, and you can spend a little more money and get a higher end microphone, or you can save a buck by going to USB instead. So, the question is, should you buy the AT2020.

I’ve been using the AT2020 for months now and my overall impression is this is a good microphone. It provides clean audio assuming you have the setup for it, it’s built like a tank with a full metal body along with a metal grill around the capsule and for those it matters to it looks the part of being professional piece of equipment.

Who Should Buy An AT2020?

This mic isn’t for everyone though. Professional musicians, broadcasters and those with more decerning audio pallets (audiophiles) might need a microphone with a higher level of sophistication. That’s just a politically correct way of saying some people are picky about the way their mics sound but that isn’t an invalid reason to choose one mic over another. But finding the perfect sounding mic for an application typically comes with a more expensive price tag and as such makes this mic becomes a very compelling option for folks who are getting into their first serious audio upgrade and haven’t fallen down the rabbit whole of critical listening and the curse of all those who venture into the world of professional audio have suffered.

AT2020 Specs and Features

As previously mentioned, this mic is a cardioid patterned condenser mic meaning to get the best results you need your audio source to be directly in front of the mic which in this case is indexed by the Audio Technical logo. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people talking into the top of this mic and I just have to cringe knowing that isn’t the optimal way of using it.

Also because it is a Condenser Mic it requires the use of 48 volts Phantom Power to run so you’ll need an interface, mixer or recorder that supports that. Luckily there aren’t many products in those categories that I’m aware of that don’t include Phantom Power today but it’s still something to be aware of.

For frequency response the AT2020 sits at 20hz-20khz. (Surprise! A naming convention that makes sense) This means that the mic should pick up the average frequency range of human hearing without any problems.

It has an Open Circuit Sensitivity of -37db and maximum input sound level 144db. For those who aren’t audio engineers (An most people looking to buy this mic won’t be) that basically means that most interfaces and recorders should be able to run this mic well if they provide phantom power and have decent preamps.

Recorders and Interfaces to Pair With the AT2020

I have run the AT2020 through a Focusrite Scarlett and a M-Track Duo when streaming, conducting remote meetings and recording Voice Overs. I’ve also used used it with a Zoom H6 field recorder for videos and podcast. It has worked great in all scenarios. With that being the case you can expect that more reputable brands of interface and recorder should be able to use this mic without issues.

The use of an interface does highlight one of the main considerations you have to make if you’re a first time XLR microphone buyer. You do need to budget for other peripherals to get the best out of it. An interface, a quality XLR cable, and a mic stand will get you started no problem, but I would highly recommend getting a shock mount as well as a pop-filter to get the best out of the AT2020 and if I’m being honest should be an investment you make regardless of the mic you use. The Mic does include a hard mount for a stand and Audio Technica sells shock mounts and pop filters/windscreens designed for the 2020 but you can also find third party options. Buyer beware when shopping for peripherals because while a lot of Amazon and AliExpress specials can be had for dirt cheap and will work well enough but they will likely have reliability and quality issues that make spending the extra cash for name brand worth it.

Unbeatable Value of the AT2020

In terms of the value of this mic, believe it or not when I got my microphones (I own 4 of these,) they were on sale on BH for under $80 and included a bonus 512 audio pop filter. I eventually went ahead of got pop filters more specifically designed for the mic but it goes to show that if you’re trying to build a podcast production you can get bundle of these mics for less than the cost of just 1 of the more premium mics on the market.

In terms of noise rejection, the mic does an okay job at only picking up what is directly in front of the mic. Obviously being in an acoustically treated room will help but those who don’t have the ideal recording space can still get decent results. Aspiring streamers and podcasters should be able to plug in and play this mic and see a significant improvement in audio quality over the internal webcam mic or even your bargain bin USB mic without too much fuss.

Final Thoughts on the AT2020

So my recommendation is that if you’re starting out on your podcast or streaming set up this mic is for you. If what you want is to have good audio quality out the gate getting this mic, a budget interface and the necessary peripherals will give you a solid setup for around $200. Now if you are on a tighter budget, they do make a USB version of the mic which you can find on sale for under $60 on amazon and is more beginner friendly but it’s likely going to make some compromises on sounds quality. But they are well reviewed on amazon, but I can’t really make a judgment because I’ve never used one.

If you’re trying to upgrade your audio game for content creation the AT2020 is a great center piece to build from.

Black and White With The Fuji X100f (Photos) and Nikon D600 (Video)

If you have spent any time looking at my work you know I enjoy shooting portraits. You may have also noticed that I often process my photos in black and white. It’s typically not something that I elect to do on purpose the photos just end up that way. In the case of my most recent shoot with Haven Hudson I ended up making the entire section black and white.

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Why Make Photos Black and White?

The most common reason that I choose to make photos black and white is because they were shot in low light. Because I’m compensating with a higher ISO and to a lesser extent larger Apertures the photos I shoot in low light tend to have a shallow depth of field along with a noticeable amount of “noise” (Grain, Static, artifacts and discoloration). While noise is a common byproduct of increasing the sensitivity of your camera’s sensor it is typically something many photographers would like to avoid. It’s why camera manufactures will invest a respectable amount of research and development into getting cameras to shoot at higher ISOs with less Noise. However even the best cameras shooting at 6400 ISO are going to show some noise but that doesn’t mean an image is ruined.

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In my opinion a humble amount of noise can give photos a film like quality. In an era where Photoshop can polish an image down to the point where it looks more like a life like painting it can be a bit refreshing to keep some of the old rough edges to images as opposed to scrubbing the photos of their soul and leaving them as nothing more than images. The issue is though is that Digital Noise isn’t film grain. It has completely different qualities, the most significant being the way it effects color tones; They can become muddy and difficult to grade colors the way you want. It is especially difficult when it comes to skin tone which tend to be a pain in the ass to change anyways. However if you are okay with less color and a bit of grain you can get some very vintage/filmic looking images.

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This is what makes black and white such an effective method of editing. You’re not worried about what the colors look like you’re more focused on what your exposure, Contrast, whites, blacks, shadows and highlights are doing without having to stress about color balance or saturation as well.

Technical justifications aside the main reason to process in black and white is purely a aesthetic choice. I have always loved the way black and white photography looks especially when it comes to my more candid and improvisational photography. I like having photos that look like you could find them in the attic of you grandparents house and it’s a big reason I frequently order 4×6 prints on some of my favorite photos. One day someone is going to be going through my old stuff and that photos I have taken throughout my life.

Shooting with the Fuji X100f.

cr-35The Fuji X100f is a relatively new addition to my camera bag. I have had it for the last 6 months and in my time shooting with it there are some certain qualities that I have grown to appreciate and other that I have learned to loath and this Black and White series is a good illustrations of the good the bad and the ugly when it

comes to this camera.

The Good:

The image quality off the sensor of this camera is excellent. I have grown so spoiled by shooting with a full frame Nikon DSLR that I have grown pessimistic when it comes to smaller sensors but the APS-C sized chip on the X100f Renders details and colors so well that in the right lighting conditions you would think that you were shooting with a full 35mm sensor.
cr-32I personally believe the sensor benefits from having a well paired lens attached to the front of it. The 23mm f2 lens that is fixed on the Fuji is roughly a 35mm equivalent on the APS-C Sensor and the combination of the f2 wide open aperture and being fixed focal length allows for very precise rendering that takes some very breathtaking images.

The final thing that I love about the camera is how fast it is. The auto focus, the shutter response (along with being incredibly quite) allows me to shoot very quickly and the responsiveness of the camera to my adjustments happen at such a pace that I can focus on shooting more than constantly making minor adjustments.

The Bad:

The X100f is not well suited for portraits, Not going to lie about that. While I am super pleased with the image quality coming out of the camera there are some things that makes it hard to get portraits to look the way portraits to should look (at least for my personal prefrence.

cr-2 Because the lens is a 23mm it has a lot of the qualities and drawbacks of a wide angle lens. Noticeable distortion, the bokeh (blurred Background) never quite gets the subject isolation you want and getting the right composition  becomes a bit more of a challenge.

Most of these things can be overcome with some editing. Adobe Lightroom (Which I almost exclusively edit with)  has profile corrections built right in for this camera and the you can add more blur the background if you’re into that kind of thing but ideally you want to minimized editing by getting as much in camera as I can and having my processing for implementing the style I want. Not so much for fixing issues.

The Ugly:

The high ISO performance on this camera is sketchy at best. The noise after 3200 ISO is Pretty noticeable but the thing that I constantly notice is how muddy the mid-tones become as you raise the sensitivity.  It is especially rough on the color quality. after 1600 ISO the color starts to fall apart on the RAW files to the point that you almost feel like you have to go to black and white which I why I elected to edit all of these photos in black and white. I’ve noticed in time that people are really committed to color photography and I will often deliver black and white photos and have people ask me to convert them back to color. So for me I’m okay with living with a camera I know I’m going to get some color issues but I think there a lot of photographers and clients out there who color quality is non-negotiable.

Video in Black and White:

I want to get back to shooting video more often. Typically I don’t mix a lot of my video work with my portrait work but it has been something that I have wanted to do. After Editing the whole set in Black and White I decided I wanted the video I captured to match.

I shot the Video on my Nikon D600 with the Nikon 24-120 f4g lens. This Camera is a bit on the old side when it comes to video performance. It shoots at 1080p at 30fps (I shoot in 24fps) on a H.264 codec which is respectable but there are a lot of 4k 60fps options hitting the market with better codecs and more video centric features. But the footage from the 35mm sensor looks great and 1080p is still respectable in the online space. (But I still am tempted to upgrade.) The real drawback of doing video on this camera is the focus. The back screen makes it really hard to tell when things are in focus and nikon photography lenses really aren’t suited for manual focusing. Another thing that some of the more latest and greatest cameras have are better video auto focus features that the D600 just doesn’t have. All complaints aside, the best camera is the one you have on you and the D600 has been a work horse since I bought it and part of working in the creative space is being able to work within the limitations of your equipment and to a greater extent yourself to realize your creative vision.

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I was actually really happy with how the video came out but I do want to improve a few things going forward. First I need to get a better stabilization setup. Not necessarily something fancy like a DJI RONIN or a Glide Cam but possibly a shoulder rig to give me more steady movements going forward. Also I need to get back on my music game because it’s very hard to get quality music that you can use in videos. Luckily Brain Altano has encouraged people to use the music he is now making for his new creative project Weird Heat on their own projects so I have decided to take advantage of his generosity.

The Set:

I feel fortunate to have been able to shoot with how busy I have been lately but I’m finding it important to continue with my own creative endeavors. A lot of what my day (and night) job have me do is beneficial to my professional growth, but being able to do things like this black and white series makes me feel like still have the ability to flex my creative muscles.