[Linganth] Video camera recommendations

[Amalia Horan Skilton]

Dear colleagues,

Claire Bowern and I have written a tutorial article (under review) about
exactly this:
https://blogs.ed.ac.uk/amaliaskilton/wp-content/uploads/sites/10135/2024/12/Tutorial-Video-Documentation_Submission.pdf

The preprint offers camera recommendations at various budgets.

My experience is mostly working on informal conversations between 2-3
participants, in very noisy places, moving freely while they interact.

For audio, what I find most effective - assuming that there is a relatively
stable participation structure - is to mic each participant using an
integrated mic/recorder such as the Olympus VP10 (current model VP20). This
avoids issues with cables, as the recorders are wireless.

However, this is infeasible if you can’t predict who the focal participants
will be, and in that case I recommend a cardioid microphone attached to the
video camera. I use the Rode NT4, but the cardioid pickup pattern matters
more than the make and model. Shotgun mics are too directional for
conversations.

A Zoom H4N or similar audio recorder placed near the camera and recording
via the external microphone can also be a reasonable solution, as others
have mentioned.

Happy to discuss more with anyone next month - right now I am in the field!

Amalia Skilton
Linguistics & English Language, University of Edinburgh
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