I don't have a clue where a thread like this one belongs so am posting here. Anyways I noticed or have noticed that some of the high end pro still cameras have an audio record feature where one can record an audio file instead of just a video file. Personally I have no clue why someone would want to use such a feature when a phone or even better Sony/Olympus voice recorder can do a much better job so can someone explain to me why some cameras have this feature? My PowerShot does not have this feature that I am aware of at least and just checking the manual I am correct. Who would use a feature like this and for what reason?
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Audio features of high End still cameras
- Thread starter jwolf6589
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Single digit Nikons have had this since the D2H/D2X.
People who use it usually will dictate a short note about the photo. These cameras target the photojournalist market, and common uses might be to note the people in the photo or information about the scene. I occasionally use it at the start of a set of photos to note location, time, event, etc.
In Nikon's implementation, you get a .wav file on the memory card with the same file name as the image you just took. That makes it easy to match the audio note to the image. It's a hack of a lot easier than having to track and match it up on a separate device, especially if you have it for hundreds or thousands of images.
EDIT: How could I forget too that Kodak DSLRs had this function too, with the same implementation as Nikons way back at least as far as the DCS 400 series. That's about 30 years now the feature has existed
People who use it usually will dictate a short note about the photo. These cameras target the photojournalist market, and common uses might be to note the people in the photo or information about the scene. I occasionally use it at the start of a set of photos to note location, time, event, etc.
In Nikon's implementation, you get a .wav file on the memory card with the same file name as the image you just took. That makes it easy to match the audio note to the image. It's a hack of a lot easier than having to track and match it up on a separate device, especially if you have it for hundreds or thousands of images.
EDIT: How could I forget too that Kodak DSLRs had this function too, with the same implementation as Nikons way back at least as far as the DCS 400 series. That's about 30 years now the feature has existed
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This feature is exactly as @bunnspecial described it. For adding brief audio notes to an image file, such as the spelling of a person's name, a note like "Ohtani scores the go-ahead run in the 8th inning," etc.
Programs like Photo Mechanic display a small icon to alert an editor that there's an audio file, and with a click they can hear it.
Programs like Photo Mechanic display a small icon to alert an editor that there's an audio file, and with a click they can hear it.
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My Canon does not have this feature. Perhaps no Canon does. But I am not a pro just a hobbyist.
Back photo of 1DX Mk III
It's a feature I see reported on it. I'd assume the little diamond button bottom less activates it but don't know.
![3053-AF-controllers.jpg]( "3053-AF-controllers.jpg")
Nikon uses a microphone on the D6 next to the Fn3 button. If it's like the D5, this is the default assignment for this button but Nikon doesn't tell you that(I love my D5 but the Fn3 button is a perpetual sore point with me...).
![6402881_bd.jpg]( "6402881_bd.jpg")
It's a feature I see reported on it. I'd assume the little diamond button bottom less activates it but don't know.
Nikon uses a microphone on the D6 next to the Fn3 button. If it's like the D5, this is the default assignment for this button but Nikon doesn't tell you that(I love my D5 but the Fn3 button is a perpetual sore point with me...).
Yes, Canon has this feature on some but not all cameras - the professional models, not the consumer models.
During playback of still images, navigate to the photo you want to have the voice memo, then press and hold the "protect" button (looks like a key) for a couple seconds, then you speak into the small mic on the back of the camera. Keep holding the button down until you're finished recording.
At least on Nikons it's basically a flagship body only feature. That means you need a $5000 Z9 or $6000 D6 to get it.
I don't know Canons overly well, but what I posted above was Canon's direct competition for the D6 with a similar price. I don't see where the equivalent feature would be on a camera like the 5D.
You were wondering where to find the feature and I was simply providing an answer.
A D6 isn't likely in the cards for me, but these cameras do tend to drop in price quite a bit once newer generations come out. The D3 offers this, is quite a capable camera even in 2023, and can be had for ~$300.
Yes, we're well aware...
Do you wish me to list what my various cameras, some of which have audio record and some of which don't, cost me?
And that's one reason they're pro cameras. They have features (as well as construction) that consumer cameras don't have.
I bet so. One reason why they are pro cameras. Wedding photographers and other types of pros need such cameras. The people would laugh if a wedding photographer showed up with a iPad or Powershot.
I'm not trying to start a measuring contest so I'll refrain.
Still, though, I'll point out a couple of things:
One is that people tend to prioritize purchasing what they want. For some that's current high end Apple gear, for others its cars, or for others maybe it's photo equipment.
The second is that I buy cameras almost exclusively second hand and when they're no longer current. That is especially true these days as DSLRs are basically a dead end and prices have fallen a lot compared to two years ago. Even when not, though, I'd save a lot of money by carefully buying used/second hand.
The third is that I bought my first "serious" camera in 2005, and although I still have that particular one, I have also strategically sold quite a bit particularly to fund new purchases. When you consider that I've been at this for nearly 20 years, the annual cost of this hobby to me has not been that great. That is especially true because I like buying high end stuff that will continue to work great for a long time.
In fact too I'm in the position now of seriously considering selling kind of a high end lens I bought not too terribly long ago because I just never use it. I'm waiting it out a bit longer to see if I warm up to it, but it's under strong consideration for going even if I'll likely lose a bit selling it. It's an amazing lens, but the size, weight, and relatively limited uses for my photography keep it at home far too much.
Also too I've made good money in the past buying more collector-oriented cameras at little country auctions and estate sales(or other lucky places). There's a big element of knowing what you're looking at there, especially as there's a lot of junk to sift through and it takes a lot of patience. In the last couple of years, too, I've cleaned out some of my own personal "keeper" collection as I've watched prices of stuff like 70s and 80s Nikons go to nutty places that weren't imaginable even 5 years ago.
I don't(currently) get paid for photography but have done some side business in the distant past and have at times toyed with the idea of getting back into it. When someone is in that position, buying the appropriate equipment makes you money. If you're doing it right you're going to make far more money than what the equipment costs. You don't need the latest, greatest, and best necessarily depending on your exact field, but you do need reliable equipment of an appropriate quality and configuration for what you're doing.
True. I chose a iPad Mini 6 over a better camera. True I have chosen books over a better camera and so on. I only made this choice because for me my cameras are great and for my needs just fine.
If you were the person who hired that iPad-bearing wedding photographer, you would not be in the mood to laugh, I assure you.
It's hard to say what budgets most people have (I personally have no insight), but the title of your thread refers to high-end cameras, where these features tend to be. If you'd like discussion on why the features aren't in other cameras, you can certainly change the title of the thread. Most manufacturers try and distinguish various "levels" of cameras so they can attract people with different budgets. Plenty of non-professionals but with some level of budget do, of course, buy professional-level cameras for any number of reasons.
As you said, everyone has their own budget and their own priorities.
As this all goes, the flagship DSLRs-where this feature shows up-really have sort of fallen into niche camera territory.
Among Nikons, the D850 is probably honestly a much better rounded camera for many people than the D5 or D6. I can't speak to the D6 first hand, but the D5 gets you marginally better AF than the D850(which is pretty darn good) at half the resolution but a 1-2 stop noise advantage at high ISO. I'd expect the D6 to have similar noise performance to the D5, but the AF is a definite improvement on paper and reportedly in the real world. Beating the D5 is a high bar, though. If you need FPS, you need these cameras, although mirrorless pretty much destroys DSLRs in that respect.
As I've said many times, I love my D5 and haven't regretted the purchase for a second. After using the D2X and D3s a lot, too, getting the D5 also reminded me of just how much I love the handling of Nikon's flaship bodies. At the same time, though, if it was a choice between keeping either the D5 or the D850, it would be an easy choice to keep the D850.
I've had conversations elsewhere, though, where I've mentioned the D5 and had people turn up their noses at it because it's "only" a 20mp camera. That's definitely at the low end currently available cameras, but it's also just a minor spec in the big picture.
The same as Nikon, I think it is only on the single digit Canon cameras - the pro bodies.
Apparently Nikon added it to the Z6 and Z6ii a while back with a firmware update. I don't have either of these so can't comment on using it-there doesn't seem to be a dedicated button as in the single digit Nikons.
I can take a look at my Z6 for it but i never noticed it lol… saying that I didn’t realise it was a good video machine either…
I have both of these cameras but never have done audio only. I have done a couple of videos with the Z6ii and for what I needed the audio was ~okay~. Of course it's likely my firmware isn't up to date to do audio only.