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I've put some effort into my setup in the past 24 months; multiple Elgato and Hue lights, a Streamdeck for macros and scene control, condenser microphone on an

I've put some effort into my setup in the past 24 months; multiple Elgato and Hue lights, a Streamdeck for macros and scene control, condenser microphone on an arm with an audio interface, OBS studio etc. I am not a streamer, but I'm likely set up like one; I've studied their methods of light and composition, and learned a lot. I have some serious scarring from facial surgery decades past, and being able to control the light and setup has made a big difference in overcoming issues related to this; it has really helped put myself forward in the best light (pun intended). In this area of exclusively working from home, it was one worth spending effort on. I'm happy to put my (ugly) face in there, and really don't mind the virtual office. (Fun fact my camera is "only" a Logitech StreamCam, but the lighting makes such a difference. The ability to bring up and down the meetings with a single macro button on the Streamdeck is also invaluable.)

par 5y ago
Hello, would love to learn more about what hardware you are using. I am in the market for a high quality condenser mic and arm to hold it. I am already using a Scarlett Solo interface. But would appreciate any info you can share on your light and audio setup. Also why do you need multiple elgatos? Just for convenience?
- nanny 5y ago
  What is your use case? There is really no need for a high-quality condenser mic in the vast majority of cases. For work meetings, voice chats, streaming, etc. the difference between an AT2020 and a high-quality mic will be entirely imperceptible.
  - sdw1 5y ago
    To be fair, the AT2020 is a high-quality mic compared to the dollar store AirPods your colleagues are using...
    - nanny 5y ago
      Yes, that's pretty much my point. The commenter above asked for a high-quality condenser specifically. I doubt they want a U 87, so it's probably better to ask a different question (e.g. "what's the best condenser for the money?"). The difference between those dollar store air pods and any condenser on the first page of Amazon search results for "condenser mic" is going to be huge, but past like $50-100 nobody will be able to notice a difference over voice chat.
    - dont__panic 5y ago
      Or the dollar store microphones that my rich tech company employer insists on putting in meeting rooms. I spent a little bit of my own money to make my home video setup as nice as possible. It's frustrating that coworkers are now returning to the office and the meeting room video/audio quality is still pure garbage.
  - par 5y ago
    We are looking to do desktop game streaming. I currently have a very cheap ($20) condenser mic that is ok, but I’m hoping for something in the hundred dollar range that can pick up sound a lot better. I have to pump up the gain on my cheap mic quite a bit right now.
    - sundvor 5y ago
      The RØDE Microphones NT-USB Mini would be a great step up from that, comes highly recommended. (I have one in the household.) Also the AT2020 is a classic, but I haven't used it myself. I have a plethora Audio Technica headphones though, so I am partial to the brand. Mine is a Steinberg UR22 audio interface, and a SeElectronics model X1 microphone, on the RØDE PSA1 microphone arm. As it was commented, this is overkill for my needs, but when I bought it (2015) there wasn't that much in the tier below this. I'd likely look at Elgato's new audio interface if I was to buy again, the Steinberg is top of class but might be a bit too much for my needs. I did buy the audio part of my setup in 2015 though; a lot has happened since then. I use NVIDIA Broadcast to process my voice (noise reduction; the microphone is crazy sensitive - and my desktop has good air cooling) for work, and Discord's built in for when I'm doing some gaming. NVIDIA Broadcast's noise reduction is good enough to merit the GPU purchase for this feature alone - it doesn't compress your voice overly, let alone the video processing I'm also using to slightly blur the background - which is leagues ahead of e.g. Google Meet's built in feature.
- sundvor 5y ago
  I use multiple studio lights (Key Light, Key Light Air) for three point lighting. One of the two Hue bars is positioned behind my head up high for adding highlights to hair, headphone, the other lights up area behind my back. Check out youtube videos on Three point lighting, there's a good number of them - especially worth looking at the streamer ones. Again I don't stream, but everything applies. I replied on the microphone Q nearby in the thread.
karimabuseer 5y ago
That sounds awesome dude. Amazing proactivity. I have a teeny desk so would love to have a setup like that once I get more space!
- tata71 5y ago
  Stack/build upward if possible! Go standing-desk!
  - sundvor 5y ago
    I intend to add a shelf to the back of the right monitor arm for my laptop, so that I can do some standing work as well. In due time; I do these things in spurts. :)
- sundvor 5y ago
  Thanks very much! Yes, would recommend - it can be a bit of fun planning it out too.
aantix 5y ago
Where do you position your camera so it both looks like you're making eye contact yet you can see your screen/audience?
- deepspace 5y ago
  I would love to see an answer to this. I use a 43" 4K monitor, and have not been able to find a good position for the camera. Below the screen: Unflattering view up my nostrils. Above the screen: Makes me look as if I am trying to avoid eye contact. To the side: Combination of unflattering and no eye contact. I wish there were software that could take input from two cameras (high and low) and create a fake view of me looking directly into a camera.
  - aantix 5y ago
    Would you like this middle of the monitor webcam? https://www.thecentercam.com/ https://www.thecentercam.com/
    - sundvor 5y ago
      That's a great idea! I don't like how the clip eats up display at the top - it should be possible to have this more compact, like e.g. Logitech's top of monitor mounts. Would be nice if they had a hinge on it so that it could swivel 90 degrees out of sight when not in use. I'm achieving largely the same with my flex mount solution, although I do have to have it to the left a bit due to my middle top monitor. I have a lot more of the monitor obscured though, but it's not that bad. When e.g. Samsung perfects their under display cameras, we can hope for built in behind pixel cameras in regular monitors. Give it a few years!
  - rcv 5y ago
    This was supposed to be a feature of iOS 13. No idea if it actually made it to production: https://petapixel.com/2019/07/03/apple-can-automatically-correct-your-gaze-in-video-calls-on-ios-13/ https://petapixel.com/2019/07/03/apple-can-automatically-cor...
  - 5y ago
alexjplant 5y ago
Is there a more affordable alternative to the Elgato ring light? I'd love a software-controlled USB ring light but $200 for such seems a bit steep.
- par 5y ago
  have you checked amazon, there's items in the $30-70 price range. I got one a while back and it's served me well.
  - alexjplant 5y ago
    Yup... there are tons of USB ones but I have yet to find a unit that's software-controlled, i.e. turns on automatically when my webcam does.
- sundvor 5y ago
  There's a reason why they're more expensive: the LED lights are of a very decent quality. You can probably luck out with cheaper ones, but be mindful that there's a big difference in quality between them. Here's one I watched when researching mine (I have key light and key light air, not the ring). https://youtu.be/Q4xiJ37k9nk https://youtu.be/Q4xiJ37k9nk
dont__panic 5y ago
In all fairness, I just spent a couple of weeks looking into webcams, and I ended up getting a Logitech StreamCam as well -- I almost got a Brio, but from what I can tell, really nice 60fps 1080p on the StreamCam looks better than 4K 30fps on the Brio. I really like the StreamCam so far, and I would say it's probably the best camera on the market right now for all-purpose video usage (not quite as expensive as the top tier, but 95% of the way there in quality; better looking than the C920/30 webcams you see around a lot of offices). Ditto on lighting though. I don't use any kind of video-specific lighting, but just putting more lamps on my desk has made a world of difference. And I think the backlighting effect also makes my monitors less stressful on my eyes.
- sundvor 5y ago
  Agree, it's really good for a webcam given enough light. Without enough light, it turns extremely mediocre - but that's what I've controlled for - and applies to ALL cameras. (A pro camera would make bad lighting less bad, but would always benefit from improved lighting.) I'm kind of comparing that part of the setup to what pro youtubers use. I don't have the budget for a proper mirrorless though, and it'd be largely wasted on e.g. Google Meet's compression algos - bearing in mind I don't stream public or make youtube videos. The narrow front profile of the Streamcam was a nice bonus when I just put it on my new Flex arm. I'm super impressed by how well this works, getting the camera eye level in front of my 32"s. Have gone 15 months without one, kicking myself now that I didn't do it earlier - just didn't think of it. I will have the Elgatos on low/warm setting in between meetings. They're really nice.
- marklyon 5y ago
  The Anker C300 is an excellent choice as well. My video is noticeably better than anyone else with whom I interact and, after appearing on it for a conference, the organizer asked me about my setup and ordered multiple ones for their people.
  - dont__panic 5y ago
    Ah, solid alternative! I really like the look of the Streamcam on my workstation, which bumps it up in my subjective view... but I can't deny that a standard USB 2 connection would be convenient as well. And some folks even think the C300 has better low-light performance. I just wish there was an easier way to preview my perceived stream quality over Zoom from a teammate's perspective -- the preview I get in Zoom seems a little bit too perfect to be compressed.

par 5y ago

Hello, would love to learn more about what hardware you are using. I am in the market for a high quality condenser mic and arm to hold it. I am already using a Scarlett Solo interface. But would appreciate any info you can share on your light and audio setup. Also why do you need multiple elgatos? Just for convenience?

nanny 5y ago
What is your use case? There is really no need for a high-quality condenser mic in the vast majority of cases. For work meetings, voice chats, streaming, etc. the difference between an AT2020 and a high-quality mic will be entirely imperceptible.
- sdw1 5y ago
  To be fair, the AT2020 is a high-quality mic compared to the dollar store AirPods your colleagues are using...
  - nanny 5y ago
    Yes, that's pretty much my point. The commenter above asked for a high-quality condenser specifically. I doubt they want a U 87, so it's probably better to ask a different question (e.g. "what's the best condenser for the money?"). The difference between those dollar store air pods and any condenser on the first page of Amazon search results for "condenser mic" is going to be huge, but past like $50-100 nobody will be able to notice a difference over voice chat.
  - dont__panic 5y ago
    Or the dollar store microphones that my rich tech company employer insists on putting in meeting rooms. I spent a little bit of my own money to make my home video setup as nice as possible. It's frustrating that coworkers are now returning to the office and the meeting room video/audio quality is still pure garbage.
- par 5y ago
  We are looking to do desktop game streaming. I currently have a very cheap ($20) condenser mic that is ok, but I’m hoping for something in the hundred dollar range that can pick up sound a lot better. I have to pump up the gain on my cheap mic quite a bit right now.
  - sundvor 5y ago
    The RØDE Microphones NT-USB Mini would be a great step up from that, comes highly recommended. (I have one in the household.) Also the AT2020 is a classic, but I haven't used it myself. I have a plethora Audio Technica headphones though, so I am partial to the brand. Mine is a Steinberg UR22 audio interface, and a SeElectronics model X1 microphone, on the RØDE PSA1 microphone arm. As it was commented, this is overkill for my needs, but when I bought it (2015) there wasn't that much in the tier below this. I'd likely look at Elgato's new audio interface if I was to buy again, the Steinberg is top of class but might be a bit too much for my needs. I did buy the audio part of my setup in 2015 though; a lot has happened since then. I use NVIDIA Broadcast to process my voice (noise reduction; the microphone is crazy sensitive - and my desktop has good air cooling) for work, and Discord's built in for when I'm doing some gaming. NVIDIA Broadcast's noise reduction is good enough to merit the GPU purchase for this feature alone - it doesn't compress your voice overly, let alone the video processing I'm also using to slightly blur the background - which is leagues ahead of e.g. Google Meet's built in feature.
sundvor 5y ago
I use multiple studio lights (Key Light, Key Light Air) for three point lighting. One of the two Hue bars is positioned behind my head up high for adding highlights to hair, headphone, the other lights up area behind my back. Check out youtube videos on Three point lighting, there's a good number of them - especially worth looking at the streamer ones. Again I don't stream, but everything applies. I replied on the microphone Q nearby in the thread.

karimabuseer 5y ago

That sounds awesome dude. Amazing proactivity. I have a teeny desk so would love to have a setup like that once I get more space!

tata71 5y ago
Stack/build upward if possible! Go standing-desk!
- sundvor 5y ago
  I intend to add a shelf to the back of the right monitor arm for my laptop, so that I can do some standing work as well. In due time; I do these things in spurts. :)
sundvor 5y ago
Thanks very much! Yes, would recommend - it can be a bit of fun planning it out too.

aantix 5y ago

Where do you position your camera so it both looks like you're making eye contact yet you can see your screen/audience?

deepspace 5y ago
I would love to see an answer to this. I use a 43" 4K monitor, and have not been able to find a good position for the camera. Below the screen: Unflattering view up my nostrils. Above the screen: Makes me look as if I am trying to avoid eye contact. To the side: Combination of unflattering and no eye contact. I wish there were software that could take input from two cameras (high and low) and create a fake view of me looking directly into a camera.
- aantix 5y ago
  Would you like this middle of the monitor webcam? https://www.thecentercam.com/ https://www.thecentercam.com/
  - sundvor 5y ago
    That's a great idea! I don't like how the clip eats up display at the top - it should be possible to have this more compact, like e.g. Logitech's top of monitor mounts. Would be nice if they had a hinge on it so that it could swivel 90 degrees out of sight when not in use. I'm achieving largely the same with my flex mount solution, although I do have to have it to the left a bit due to my middle top monitor. I have a lot more of the monitor obscured though, but it's not that bad. When e.g. Samsung perfects their under display cameras, we can hope for built in behind pixel cameras in regular monitors. Give it a few years!
- rcv 5y ago
  This was supposed to be a feature of iOS 13. No idea if it actually made it to production: https://petapixel.com/2019/07/03/apple-can-automatically-correct-your-gaze-in-video-calls-on-ios-13/ https://petapixel.com/2019/07/03/apple-can-automatically-cor...
- 5y ago

alexjplant 5y ago

Is there a more affordable alternative to the Elgato ring light? I'd love a software-controlled USB ring light but $200 for such seems a bit steep.

par 5y ago
have you checked amazon, there's items in the $30-70 price range. I got one a while back and it's served me well.
- alexjplant 5y ago
  Yup... there are tons of USB ones but I have yet to find a unit that's software-controlled, i.e. turns on automatically when my webcam does.
sundvor 5y ago
There's a reason why they're more expensive: the LED lights are of a very decent quality. You can probably luck out with cheaper ones, but be mindful that there's a big difference in quality between them. Here's one I watched when researching mine (I have key light and key light air, not the ring). https://youtu.be/Q4xiJ37k9nk https://youtu.be/Q4xiJ37k9nk

dont__panic 5y ago

In all fairness, I just spent a couple of weeks looking into webcams, and I ended up getting a Logitech StreamCam as well -- I almost got a Brio, but from what I can tell, really nice 60fps 1080p on the StreamCam looks better than 4K 30fps on the Brio. I really like the StreamCam so far, and I would say it's probably the best camera on the market right now for all-purpose video usage (not quite as expensive as the top tier, but 95% of the way there in quality; better looking than the C920/30 webcams you see around a lot of offices). Ditto on lighting though. I don't use any kind of video-specific lighting, but just putting more lamps on my desk has made a world of difference. And I think the backlighting effect also makes my monitors less stressful on my eyes.

sundvor 5y ago
Agree, it's really good for a webcam given enough light. Without enough light, it turns extremely mediocre - but that's what I've controlled for - and applies to ALL cameras. (A pro camera would make bad lighting less bad, but would always benefit from improved lighting.) I'm kind of comparing that part of the setup to what pro youtubers use. I don't have the budget for a proper mirrorless though, and it'd be largely wasted on e.g. Google Meet's compression algos - bearing in mind I don't stream public or make youtube videos. The narrow front profile of the Streamcam was a nice bonus when I just put it on my new Flex arm. I'm super impressed by how well this works, getting the camera eye level in front of my 32"s. Have gone 15 months without one, kicking myself now that I didn't do it earlier - just didn't think of it. I will have the Elgatos on low/warm setting in between meetings. They're really nice.
marklyon 5y ago
The Anker C300 is an excellent choice as well. My video is noticeably better than anyone else with whom I interact and, after appearing on it for a conference, the organizer asked me about my setup and ordered multiple ones for their people.
- dont__panic 5y ago
  Ah, solid alternative! I really like the look of the Streamcam on my workstation, which bumps it up in my subjective view... but I can't deny that a standard USB 2 connection would be convenient as well. And some folks even think the C300 has better low-light performance. I just wish there was an easier way to preview my perceived stream quality over Zoom from a teammate's perspective -- the preview I get in Zoom seems a little bit too perfect to be compressed.