Best vlogging set up?

[Panza]

Hey guys, I'm trying to find the best vlogging camera set up. This is to be the main camera facing myself to compliment video from my GoPro5's.
Here's my purpose:
- Snowboarding & Skiing across over 15 mountains through Canada and USA.
- Documenting my 2017 Motorcycle racing season.

Compact size; should fit inside a pocket or a small pouch
External Mic Input; audio is IMPORTANT
Flipping Screen; that I can view while pointing the camera at myself
Touch Screen; preferable

A7SII + 35mm f/2.8 - All my E-mount lenses. Low light video king. In camera image stabilization. External Mic Input. No flippy or touchscreen. Heaviest option.

RX1mk2 - Perfect Size. Great image quality. External mic input. Flipping screen Most expensive option.

Canon M5 + 22mm f/2.0 (35mm f/3.2) - Touchscreen. External Mic input. Mid priced. Heavy as the A7SII. Canon system.

RX100mkV - Great size. Cheapest Option. No external mic input. No touchscreen.

I don't need 4K. Or Full Frame. What do you recommend?

[Steve]

whats the most important feature besides audio out of these ?

is it weight ?

[Panza]

whats the most important feature besides audio out of these ?

is it weight ?

I'd say size actually. I don't mind heavy objects in pockets, but if they can't fit travel bags easily, then they're more of a hindrance.

Backpacks, pockets, messenger bags, motorcycle tailbag/tank bag are common place I store them.

Examples of set ups I've tried:
Nikon D750 + 24-70mm f/2.8
A7 + 16-35mm f/4.0 OSS (super front heavy)
Go Pro Hero 4 - Too much distortion and terrible audio for my photography tastes.

[Steve]

well for the options you have posted if money no object the clear winner is

RX1mk2

if money an issue a7sii

[Panza]

well for the options you have posted if money no object the clear winner is

RX1mk2

if money an issue a7sii

I'm hoping that 35mm will be wide enough. ... I was afraid I may need something more along the lines of a 24mm to get decent coverage of the frame and background.
Unfortunately, Sony's widest prime is the Sony Zeiss 25mm Batis f/2 and maybe then it's the Sony 28mm f/2 (which is more reasonably sized).

When I get home from work I'll test the 35mm focal length and see how it performs.

[Steve]

you can get for a6300 or 6500 you can get mics and stuff that sit on horse show and a 10-18 ultra wide lens

[Jay]

I think the GoPro's would be more than wide enough, and a portable audio unit might be best for your purposes. This way you can record when using the goPro's, then sink up later if needed. The full frame A7s II will give you the best quality for sure in my opinion, fallowed by the Sony A6500, or A5100. The Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 Lens on the A6500 would be a killer set-up just like the 35mm on the A7s II. If using the goPro's for wide angle, then 35mm should be wide enough for interviews I would think, or else the camera will be to close and distortion will occur a little bit... Battery life must also be considered for extended filming. 4k is not needed I totally agree in the real world and people are not demanding 4k yet thank goodness.. I'm using my Nex-6 w/ 18-55mm kit lens still, and it works great for this kind of stuff.

Also, the RX100 series is a great option for video, if using an external mic as well. In a pinch, the on camera mic is good enough for Vlogging I would say.

The killer footage you can get with the larger sensor cameras would really add to the cinematography aspect of your content, although harder to capture for sure.

I would want the A7s II for sure, but size and weight are a big issue I can see based on what your purposes. Therefore I think the A5000-series might be better option. Depending on subject tracking, you might want to consider the A5100 w/ kit lens (598 US) for the flipping LCD touchscreen screen and quality 50MB/s video >> Adding a killer prime could be done at any time for better optical quality, but the kit lens is pretty good for the real world. The edges are softer and the distortion is fairly high at 16mm, but overall the quality is really good real world... Only issue is no viewfinder which is helpful in bright conditions. Howver, putting the LCD in Sunlight mode helps dramatically with this at the cost of some battery life. You can get the USB battery packs though and charge in field...

I hope that helps and I am super excited for you I can't wait to fallow your journey's....
Jay

[Panza]

I have a few GoPro's but reviewing the phottage in ultra wide settings. I'm not happy with the distortion : )

I pre-ordered the Nikon DL18-50 and Nikon tanked it this week, go figure.

I'm back to the drawing boards. I tried the Sony RX100 and I hated the lack of touchscreen to focus. I'm really hoping they'll implement this ASAP on an MkVI model. The manual shooting controls felt weird because I had to access a menu to adjust my exposure parameters.

It really just has to work for me. I leave for Canada on the 25th of this month so it leaves me less than 10 days to solidify my set up : )

[SPtheALIEN]

This setup seems like a good place to start.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TL9VT1ywsNw

[Panza]

This setup seems like a good place to start.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TL9VT1ywsNw

This seems like a solid competitor to the GoPro Hero 5 actually. Wow. Sony really made an awesome camera -- is that, an AUDIO JACK in an action camera?! I haven't seen that since the GoPro Hero2. I wish Sony didn't have such lame names for their products. Seriously ... the "FDR"?.

I'm considering it as a replacement for my GoPro's but I've invested so much into the GoPro set up presently.

[SPtheALIEN]

I'm impressed that it came with an audio in. What's nice is that if you get the one with the screen, you can face the screen on a strap towards you and be able to view yourself.

[Jay]

This setup seems like a good place to start.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TL9VT1ywsNw

The Sony FDR X3000 Action Camera is a Fantastic suggestion Sp Thank you!!

Jay

[Panza]

Minor update, I went with the GoPro Hero5 + Panasonic Lumix LX-10.

The Lumix LX10 was on my mind as a competitor to the Sony MKIV and even the Sony MKV. The two cameras were close in function but I inevitably went with the Lumix LX10 because it has a touchscreen. Seriously, touchscreens to me are that important. With the cost savings, the LX10 also

I went with the GoPro Hero5 because there's simply more aftermarket support and accessories for mounting. The Garmin Virb also came up as a popular suggestion from others.

This set up seems to be working well for me so far. I'll have to post videos sometime.