Hi Dave! Love the blog. I've been watching for about a year now, and am glad to see you were able to make the leap to a full time gig!
I'm considering starting up a how-to/informational video blog to hopefully provide good information for an under served niche. So, I am wondering if you had any "things I wish I knew before starting a video blog."
So many little things, I've been thinking about doing an intro blog on it.
#1 Audio is everything, get a professional external mic and know how to use the level controls to get consistent audio.
(my audio isn't perfect, but it doesn't suck, and that's the main thing, and I don't have to tweak it in post editing (saving heaps of time, get it right in-camera))
I'm still learning about audio.
Also, I'm curious if you (or anyone else on the forum!) looked at the Canon HF M400/M40/M41 before settling on the HF G10 you now use. The G10 is my leading candidate after much research and handling the camera in a store. I'm a professional digital imaging nerd by day, so my inclination is to plunk down the extra $$ for the G10 to get the better lens, higher quality build, better manual controls, and great LCD as compared to the "M" series cameras. But I believe that I would get similar quality imagery from the "M" series cameras since they use the same sensor. So it's a tough decision, considering the roughly 2x price difference. Any thoughts that you have about your camera choice are greatly appreciated! Thanks!
I looked at almost every camera on the market at the time, and they all had tradeoffs.
From memory the lower model Canons all had poor wideangle (43mm?), that was essential for my work to stuff in the shot within close quarters. The 30mm on the HF G10 is excellent.
The pro audio level meter on the HF G10 is excellent. On-screen when you are recording, and scaled in proper dB's. I can see the noise floor and know if I have a good audio environment without having to do a test recording and playback with good headphones. It can also mix internal (which is pretty good for a camcorder) and external mics.
The "peaking" and "edge detection" feature on the HF G10 I have found invaluable, and now use them on every shoot. Edge detection allows me to see at a glance what parts of a shot are in focus (essential unless you spend a lot of time setting up manual focus properly). I would not ever consider another camera without this feature now I've used it.
Peaking allows me to see if shots are over exposed or not.
It has other pro features I haven't even touched, like live video waveform monitor.
The screen is big and excellent for seeing stuff on playback.
It can record to both SD cards at the same time for backup, awesome for critical recordings. Or cascade them for longer recording.
Great battery life, but the standard battery is small. I can get 4 hours from the mid range battery. I never have to use the mains adapter any more.
Forget about image quality and the reviews that compare performance etc, it doesn't mean shit if you screwed up your focus or audio etc. Video quality just isn't that important, unless you want to spend all day getting the perfect shot in perfect light. Irrelevant for video blogging.
Some annoying things:
1) displays a stupid help message when booting up or switching back into recording mode, it should be instant.
2) Manual exposure mode is lost when returning from playback mode (thankfully there is a dedicated button to switch it on/off)
3) Must switch to playback mode to preview last video shot.
4) The touchscreen menu system is fiddly and a bit confusing, but you get used to it. Thankfully you don't have to use it much.
5) The macro capability is OK, but other cheaper cameras are better.
6) It's double the price of the nearest rival, the Panasonic 900 (soon forgotten!)
7) It can't shoot in anything lower than 1440x1080. HD or bust.
It can't do 50P, only 25P. Irrelevant for video blogging, but might matter if you are shooting a feature film. I use 12Mbit 14480x1080 mode. 24Mbit mode produces double files sizes, they are already big enough!
9) Will not charge while it's turned on. But with multiple charged batteries I can shoot for several days without mains.
But basically, the best consumer camera money can buy.
You can get by without it, but if you can afford it, get it.
Hope that helps.
Dave.