High-Powered A/V Recording on Your iPad: Playtesting the Padcaster

 

Using mobile devices to record audio and video offers some great advantages over using a camera alone: editing can be done on device, the built-in networking makes it easy to move or publish the files, and having a large screen makes it easy to review footage on the scene. The built-in camera and microphone in these devices are usually pretty limited, though, and if you want to use mobile devices for recording in the field, you’ll eventually want to add to these capacities. There are many after-market microphone add-ons for mobile devices, but to really extend the capacity for recording, there are truly creative solutions such as the Padcaster for iPad. By adding external lenses, microphone connections and the ability to mount other A/V accessories directly to the iPad, the Padcaster moves the iPad beyond its normal level of A/V production into a viable option for high-quality publishable media. 

 

The Padcaster case contains a mount for your iPad which anchors it within a metal frame. By default, it handles the larger iPads (i.e., 2/3/4), but uses an additional liner for the Air. This frame has a variety of screw mounts which allow a variety of attachments, which can use standard tripod mounts or a variety of adapters. While the frame can be purchased alone, the Padcaster Bundle is a starter package which includes a wide-angle lens, a Rode shotgun mic, and an audio adapter to convert the shotgun mic into either Lightning or 30-pin depending on your device. It also includes the Air adapter, meaning the Bundle works for either 2/3/4 or Air. The audio adapter takes a standard 1/4″ input from the shotgun mic, so it could be used with a range of microphones depending on the scenario. Similarly, the lens mount receives a variety of widely available lenses, so the wide-angle lens could easily be replaced by something either wider for panorama work, or a zoom lens.

 

The wide-angle lens provided corrects one of the big limitations of using the iPad for group or area recording: the standard lens works well for portraits or snapshots, but it is often very difficult to get a line or angle which allows you to capture a whole rehearsal or classroom without having to so far away as to compromise the audio recording. The result from using the wide-angle lens is much more flexible and capable of capturing an ensemble or room from a much better distance and angle. In addition, the image actually works very well with the additional lens: I was concerned about distortion or “fisheye” behavior from the combination of a wide-angle lens hanging over the iPad lens, but the image is very crisp and natural. The lens is a great step 

 

The microphone is slightly less appropriate — as a shotgun mic, it’s very directional. The mic is intended to be used when one person is speaking in front of the camera, such as an interview or news report. In an ensemble recording, it will pick up the sound source directly in front of it at a much greater level than sources even a few degrees to either side. This will skew the recorded balance compared with the natural sound one experiences live. Again, the mics are interchangable– if you have existing area mics or can go out of a board to an 1/8″ or 1/4″ output, you can connect those systems to the inputs provided in the Padcaster Bundle. The provided input adapter has an adjustable gain control, which allows you to make adjustments depending on the input level and conditions.

 

The combination of a high-quality audio input and superior lens results in a very good video recording using your iPad-native apps. The resulting files can be easily processed, published or distributed directly from the iPad, and once the hardware is connected there’s no additional software learning curve. While the shotgun mic is not optimal for most of our cases, it’s not unworkable, simply not optimal. From my brief testing thus far, though, there are a couple of additional considerations. First, this is heavy. Some of the promotional materials advertise a handle and show users filming with handheld units. I wouldn’t recommend it– the case has a tripod mount, and I would plan on having a tripod handy for all uses (and a full-sized tripod at that). 

 

Secondly, the website pictures show a lighting attachment along with pieces of the Padcaster Bundle, but it’s not part of the bundle, nor are there any lights available from the vendor. I spoke with the vendor about this, and he said that they plan on adding a standard LED lighting option along with the other accessories linked to from the website. Having their recommendation about lighting acccessories will be a nice touch. For recording in a concert hall, where lighting is already taken care of, an external light is unnecessary. For producing recordings in the field, though, having a light mounted on the frame will really help the image quality. The case has many additional mounting points available even with the microphone and lenses, so an additional mounting clamp and light will be easy to attach, and I may experiment with some external light options in lieu of a recommended option.

 

The Padcaster options aren’t cheap– for starting from scratch, the cost of the iPad plus Padcaster would be higher than simply purchasing a camera. If you have the iPad and are used to sharing and distributing mobile media, though, this device provides much higher quality audio and video than the iPad alone. I would likely recommend purchasing without the bundle if you have an existing microphone or sound system that you can use in conjunction with the device, as the included shotgun mic is less than ideal for recording an ensemble or concert setting.