iPad. iDon't.

Just No. Photo Courtesy of Angela Funke

Your kiddo is performing , you are running late.  No time to grab the camera, check the batteries, potentially learn how to use it... So you grab your iPad. Great idea.. except for . no...  Apple loves the idea of people using their iPad as their primary devices for everything , but truth be told it would be better viewing the performance with your eyes and storing it in your memory banks than use an iPad.    

Let me explain why...  Well.. for one.. it looks silly. But without being mean, the iPad just isn't designed to be a full video camera.  The iPad only has 5x digital zoom.  The problem with the zoom is that while 5x optical zoom would probably be serviceable for a small lunchroom performance. Digital zoom is just unusable.  

So what is Digital Zoom and why is it so bad? 

Digital Zoom is fake zoom. All digital zoom does is take the native image and blows it up creating a zoom like effect.  In actuality there are no moving parts within the lens.   By using this type of zoom you are only hurting the image quality and your end product will ultimately suffer.  Not to mention if you have shaky hands the image will degrade even more.   So with this in mind, what is the point of trying to save memories if they will essentially be un-watchable?  Your footage will look like a water color painting which may look cool , but I can assume is not the intended result.  

So what to do instead?  Outside of hiring Caliber Video to film everything for you, the most practical solution would be to buy a cheap point and shoot camera.  Most point and shoots and even entry level video cameras are much cheaper now that technology has advanced so rapidly over the years.  Most of these cameras shoot video and in reasonable quality considering the price point.  You won't be getting the bells and whistles of the iPad nor will you have the power of shooting in 1080p HD but you will get better reliability . Secure and easily transferable data from an SD card and a valuable optical zoom.  

Speaking from purely a professional point of view.  There is sadly not a lot of ways to shoot video at events and have it look and sound professional without hiring a professional.  With that being said,  Caliber Video is working with schools and other event venues to allow us to film and deliver professionally made DVDs for your viewing pleasure!  Once we begin getting contracts we will keep the blog updated on where we will be filming.    And remember , leave the iPad at home.. and if you MUST use it .. Promise us you won't shoot in portrait mode.. Just.. Don't... 

If there are any specific venues or schools you would like us to reach out to please leave us a comment!