Need some GoPro answers

In general, audio from 25 feet away is going to be bad no matter what mic you use.

A wireless mic recorded in to the camera will be much better.

Tapping in to the church PA might even be better (even though you don't want to go that route).

I don't know anything about GoPro's so can't help you there.

A gopro has a significantly wider field of view than an iPhone, if possible I'd borrow a gopro first to see if you're happy with the image. In full wide mode at your 8-10m recording distance your priest will only be a few hundred pixels tall on the 4K image showing mostly floor and roof... you can crop in on the image, I believe they call it "virtual lenses", but given this is likely a low light situation the results might not be what you're looking for once you are at iPhone FoV levels.

Audio inside a church will be similar to what the iphone delivers now, if you're happy with that it's all good (assuming the recording location is the same).

As an alternative I'd suggest to spend your budget on a cheap audio recorder, like Zoom F1, and attach that to the PA system. On the used market they should be around 100$, you can run it on USB power using a phone charger avoiding paying for batteries. Then people have a podcast only, true, but really good audio quality without reverb. Being able to listen stress-free to a speech is more important than seeing the person holding it I find.

Yet another idea is to ask your churchgoers if somebody has an Android phone with SD-card slot, then you could buy a micro-sd card and record the video directly onto it. Then it's only about swapping the card, therefore not blocking the phone for anyone. Or use the budget for the gopro for a used iPhone?

An alternative to a wireless microphone, is hooking up a wireless audio transmitter to the PA and feed that to your videocamera/phone giving the best of both worlds at a similar pricepoint (given you found the Android phone owner). Maybe the wireless audio device you mentioned can already do that.

Theoretically for a few hundred bucks, which is the price for a gopro, there should be 6+ year old APS-C or MFT cameras on the used market. They are often sold including the kit-lens. The hard part here will be finding one that doesn't have 30min recording limit (or can be hacked to have none like Sony A6000, A6300, A6500 or Canon with magic lantern firmware). The US model of the Panasonic GH4 has no recording time limit and should be in your budget nowadays.

My reply has many suggestions in that budget range.

The mentioned kit lenses should suffice, with a 70mm FF equivalent FoV lens your minister will fill the frame (his body standing up) of the recording.

Moondoggy51 wrote:

I want to mount the camera on a tripod that will sit about 25 ft away from the pulpit but be able to zoom in on the minister during sermons.

Does that mean there will be times when you will be zoomed OUT so that you are showing more of what is on stage? For instance, will you zoom out to show a choir or other people across more of the stage, and then zoom in on the minister during the sermons?

Or do you mean that you basically want to show ONLY the minister (be zoomed in solely on the minister) the whole time???

It could make a difference; if you anticipate zooming in and out while you are actually shooting the video, a camera with a power zoom might be a better option as the zoom functionality is generally a lot smoother than zooming by hand.

The camera needs to be able to capture sermons that may last to 20 minutes in length. Note that our budget is limited to about $500 max. Any suggestions?

I don't know anything about gopros so can't give you any thoughts either way on them. But from 25-feet away, if you want to fill the frame with the minister, you are going to need more of a telephoto lens than a wide angle lens. (But again, if you need to zoom in and out, then you will need a zoom lens).

I do own several aps-c sensor Sony cameras (a5100, a6000, a6300, a6500) While you MIGHT be able to have an a6000 or a5100 fit your budget, and they DO have very nice 1080p picture quality, I cannot recommend those early Sony aps-c cameras because they overheat like crazy and there are some ergonomic issues.

Some of the LATER model Sony aps-c cameras might work, although i am not sure they will fit your budget.

I wonder if a (used) Panasonic GH3 might work for your needs? Maybe someone familiar with it could chime in. A GH4 could definitely work but not sure you will be able to fit a GH4 and an appropriate mic / audio recorder in your $500 budget. A GH4 body sells used for $450, but then you need a lens and an audio recorder / mic solution. That would be some tough sledding.

Again, hoping someone else with more creative solutions than mine will chime in.

Moondoggy51 wrote:

Someone suggested a GoPro but I've recently received some feedback that suggest that a GoPro might not be the best option and that I should look for an alternative.

GoPro's are awesome action camera's, and for getting B-roll in cars, as they have super wide angle lenses for tight spaces and wide scenics.

Might still be feasible, but def look into alternatives - especially when it comes to audio, an inexpensive wireless mic system connected to even a smart phone can produce some video content.    Nothing worse than poor audio that ruins a video.

Sean Nelson wrote:

Gary3000 wrote:

Moondoggy51 wrote:

Someone suggested a GoPro but I've recently received some feedback that suggest that a GoPro might not be the best option and that I should look for an alternative.

GoPro's are awesome action camera's, and for getting B-roll in cars, as they have super wide angle lenses for tight spaces and wide scenics.

Might still be feasible, but def look into alternatives...

If the objective is to record the sermon itself then the only way a GoPro is going to make sense is if you mount it right on the front of the pulpit, and even at that it's not going to be a flattering angle.

GoPros are great for car interior shots or POV shots where wide angles are needed. For shooting a sermon from the 25ft distance the OP was describing I just don't think it's the right tool for the job.

Agreed.

Moondoggy51 wrote:

II was looking at the Canon Vixia HF R800 Full HD camera as a possible solution as it's in a price range that I can afford. If anyone has any feedback on the suitability of this camera instead of a GoPro let me know.

I was going to suggest the R800 as I was reading through the other posts.  I used two to make outdoor YouTube videos for 6 years.  It is priced right and has several advantages.  Battery life is very good, and it has an external audio input jack.  It also uses SD cards and has a good HDMI out jack (that you won't need for now).  It also has some manual controls.

You can try it without an external audio input but I would spend your budget on a Zoom H1n placed on the podium near the preacher's stationary mic.  You can start the recording of both the video and audio at the same time and leave them running through the service if needed.  Both will easily record an hour service without running out of battery or card space.

Someone will need to match up the audio with the video in post and cut out the non-sermon portions of the service, generate the synced and edited file, and upload it to YouTube, might take 30 minutes, then charge the batteries and check space on the cards and get ready for next week's service.

You could try a long extension cord from the recorder output to the camera audio input and see how that works but I always just use the camera audio for reference and the audio recorder for the audio track.

It should be easy to test your setup and adjust early Sunday morning or during the week.  After that, it will be easy and quick and you can show someone else how to start/stop the camera and recorder if you need a backup operator some time.

Hope this helps,

Joe

Moondoggy51 wrote:

Here's a follow up.

We don't intend to zoom in and out. We basically want to set the camera up and focus in on the minister at the pulpit and record a 15-20 minute sermon. Someone suggested a GoPro but I've recently received some feedback that suggest that a GoPro might not be the best option and that I should look for an alternative.

II was looking at the Canon Vixia HF R800 Full HD camera as a possible solution as it's in a price range that I can afford. If anyone has any feedback on the suitability of this camera instead of a GoPro let me know.

Something like the Canon would be a lot better.  Plus you could potentially have it at near where you are sitting and then zoom in to the minister.

That camera has audio in, so I would personally plug a wireless mic into that (or connect to your mixing desk if you have audio going through that).  Then ether record from the camera or get a  HDMI to USB adapter (needs to be HDMI input), so you can plug the camera into a computer and then stream directly to youtube.