I think a lot of people get wrapped around the axle of having the "right" $500 microphone whereas there are a ton of decent USB mics under $100 that will make a big difference.
Also consider a good external webcam and doing something about lighting if you can. I realize that not everyone has a great physical environment to work with. But I'm struck by how many people who seemingly haven't made any real effort after a year+.
> I think a lot of people get wrapped around the axle of having the "right" $500 microphone whereas there are a ton of decent USB mics under $100
There are diminishing returns for sure. But something worth considering is anything priced over $200 is likely closer to "pro" than "sumer' and is priced accordingly. You don't need an SM7 if you're not making money with it... and it's priced for those folks.
It's actually remarkable how much better all-in-one USB mics have gotten in the last 5-ish years since everyone began streaming - a Blue Yeti has an integrated ADC/preamp, its own stand, and comes with a cable. A SM58 ($100) will require an XLR cable ($10-15), audio interface ($50-100), and mic stand ($10-20) to have the same experience. Granted, that 58 will outlive you and you can mic anything with it anywhere, the cable will probably last a long time and can be repaired by hand, and the cheapest USB audio interfaces have lower noise and better preamps than any USB mic. So you get what you pay for.
The results are not horribly surprising, the SM7B has the same capsule as the Beta 57 which is awfully similar to the 57/58.But notice there's a 10-15dB boost below 80Hz on the SM7. They also didn't analyze the off axis response or proximity effect - the vents on the enclosure impact both drastically.
Don't look at a frequency response chart like that for insight. Anyone who has recorded a bass cab or kick drum with an SM7B would look at you sideways if you tried to use a 58 as a replacement unless you were really in a pinch.
I have a Shure MV7 USB/XLR microphone, and while pricey, I like it a lot, as it's very easy to tune how you sound using the ShurePlus Motiv software.
It also has a headphone jack that you can use for monitoring.
Unfortunately the USB connection on the microphone is micro-usb, which is pretty sad for a microphone that was released in 2020. It also doesn't come with a stand.
Arguably SM7Bs are prominently placed in videos / video podcasts because "pros use SM7Bs" and therefore displaying that you are using SM7Bs for all speakers shows what a pro you are. Not because a 50 year old dynamic mic design is actually The Literal Best Thing Ever For Human Voices.
I usually use a Blue Snowball although I also have Behringer XLR mics that plug into my mixer for specific purposes (mostly recording podcasts whether remote or in-person).
I know they've made great strides but "Behringer" is a bigger indicator of quality than XLR or USB in that sentence. Blue at least has been making good mics for their entire existence (I use a Snowball too, it's great for my day to day calls). They've managed to stay pretty good since the Logitech acquisition, and prices have come down with scale.
I don't know. I don't exactly have a "radio voice" and my Behringer mics seem to work fine--together with a mixer that is way higher-end than the mics in general. Again, for most people, there's a huge leap from built into laptop to just about anything else.
Why? The audio component, if it's bad, makes you hard to understand and makes its harder to contribute. The visual component is basically just a way for people to know that I'm there and a backup channel to indicate that yes, I am aware meet has once again decided not to recognise my mic and that I'm working on it. If I find a workplace that's ergonomic and works with my home environment, then the fact that there's a window with bright objects visible behind it that screws with the auto balance on the webcam 2 hours a day is a distant concern. I'm not going to compromise on the prior points to fix that.
First of all I agree that if you could only fix one thing, audio should take priority. Fortunately that's pretty easy.
I guess my context is that I'm on video a lot including with large audiences and for external consumption. So, yes, it matters to me whether my video is good. I also know people whose video is routinely terrible that they could likely improve significantly with very little effort.
I don't have data, but I strongly suspect it has an impact in the same way audio does. That person who's office is so dark their webcam gets grainy trying to compensate just looks less professional.
Like it or not, videoconferencing is becoming more and more a professional skill, and part of that skill is being able to get decent audio and video quality.
> there's a window with bright objects visible behind it that screws with the auto balance on the webcam 2 hours a day is a distant concern
On the other hand, those are the only two hours a day where you have anything approximating in-person contact with your coworkers. Those two hours probably have an outsized effect on what your coworkers think of you.
I have noticed with colleagues the insane improvements in video and audio after their amazon shopping sprees.
At the same I haven’t updated my camera because I don’t have a nice room to work from and I feel a bit ashamed to show my tiny box with a high resolution... sounds weird, I know, but that’s how I feel
Use a longer lens and you won’t have to show any of your tiny box! I hooked up my mirrorless camera behind/on top of my monitor and have a 35mm (APS-C so 50mm equivalent) which is perfect to just frame my head and show basically nothing behind me.
I don’t know why webcams are always so insanely wide; we don’t need to see your whole room with your head only taking up 5% of the frame. Just like audio, I wish everyone else would use this camera setup so I can see everyone clearly.
As I said in another comment, I do have my DSLR setup. But for most purposes, I use my external webcam because it's just easier. I do zoom it in a bit (and agree with your general comment on field of view) but for routine video calls I also don't want to be tightly framed as I'm probably moving around a bit.
There are things you can do with hangings and screens and so forth if you want to. I do have an office but my background includes some ugly file cabinets so I got a fabric print to hang over them. You can also do virtual backgrounds with a lot of software if you rig up a green screen. (That's not absolutely necessary but it tends to look bad otherwise.)
Do you have any recommendations for cameras? I've been using a macbook camera all year because all the cheapo logitech webcams on the market are clunky and look awful.
I'm using my retired Samsung A5 Android phone's rear facing camera connected via USB to my PC using DroidCam (costs a few bucks). DroidCam also does wifi, but I find USB to be better.
The quality is pretty good from the A5, but if I need even better, I use my current phone's rear camera outputting to HDMI to an El Gato CamLink using Filmic (which outputs clean HDMI on Android or IOS, but isn't cheap as DroidCam). Filmic is definitely a step up from DroidCam, but fussier in terms of getting set up.
It's been a while since I used it, but IIRC, it seemed OK to me when I tested it, but you can always try lowering the resolution to reduce the latency.
Not the GP, but I've been using a Razor Kiyo because it was about the only good quality camera available for a reasonable price back at the start of last year. The microphone on it is predictably terrible, but video quality is fantastic, and it has a ring of LEDs around which are suprisingly effective at dealing with the usual unhealthy glow given by sitting in front of a monitor.
If you have an iPhone, you could use that in conjunction with something like Reincubate's Camo. There was an interesting discussion about it on HN recently [1]
Probably one of the higher end Logitechs. I have a 920 and would probably buy a Brio today if I needed one. As others have said, you can use digital cameras, phones, etc. But, while I do sometimes use my DSLR when I'm recording video, it's so much easier just to use a regular webcam even if the quality and isolation from the background isn't quite as good.
If you use a real camera with a fixed focus lens, the background will be blurry!
You can use most photo cameras as a webcam with a cheap (less than $20) HDMI capture USB cable.
Unless you have a green screen and proper lighting, my observation is that background replacement is often obvious and distracting. (Background blurring is somewhat better.) My observation is that, once people got over the novelty, many stopped using it.
Fortunately I have an office I was able to more or less stage manage. You're right that in a lot of circumstances virtual backgrounds will still be better than reality.
> I think a lot of people get wrapped around the axle of having the "right" $500 microphone whereas there are a ton of decent USB mics under $100 that will make a big difference.
Yes! Even a Monoprice $20 dynamic mic is probably not going to be the weak point in your audio path.
> Also consider a good external webcam and doing something about lighting if you can.
Another great point. An Elgato Key Light Air is $130, and made a huge difference for me.
I got one of those lights as well. The lighting in my office is pretty good and I could probably use one of my dual monitors as effectively a lightbox if I had to. But the Key Light makes it really easy to adjust frontal lighting so it's balanced with my track lights and natural light coming into the room. (Both of which I tend to ratchet down when I'm doing video for more even lighting.)
Also consider a good external webcam and doing something about lighting if you can. I realize that not everyone has a great physical environment to work with. But I'm struck by how many people who seemingly haven't made any real effort after a year+.