Camera Setup And Other Essentials For Vlogging: a Beginner’s Guide

To start vlogging on YouTube is an exciting prospect. It can be fun, it can showcase one’s interests and expertise, and it can bring in profits down the road. But are you equipped with the basic setup and other essentials for this endeavor? Here’s a quick guide to making YouTube videos and rock a vlogging career.

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Camera

Make no mistake about it: a smartphone would do just fine and boasts a great camera to capture video and a microphone to record sound. To step up a little, one can choose a powerful small camera with front-facing display, a quality mic built, and some stuff like wide-angle capability. There’s no need to break the bank when choosing a DSLR or point and shoot camera, but keep a few features in mind, such as an audio input for your external mic.

Audio capture

A reliable external mic comes in handy if you find that sound is important (and it is). A shotgun mic can be attached to the hot shot of the camera to quickly capture high-quality sound.

Lighting

Harness natural light by setting up near a window or where you can get some of that sunlight for the production. A reflector will fill in undesirable shadows. As the sun can be difficult to control, LED lights can be attached to the camera or have their own stands as a rich addition to the beginner’s setup.

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Vlogging niche or industry

Choose a niche, industry, or topic that helps you focus your content on areas you’re most passionate about. Passion will drive this activity for the most part, and will offer an endless supply of ideas and innovative thinking. Identify this niche in order to create a sustainable YouTube channel and actually have fun while doing it.

James P DeVellis is an IT consultant. On most days, I get to test and try programs, platforms, and gadgets before they are presented to the public. Learn more on this page.

Upcoming Must-Play Games On The PS4

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Even before the many upcoming games unveiled by Sony in the recent E3, 2018 has already given us a bunch of solid and addicting games for the PS4. These games include Ni No Kuni 2: The Revenant Kingdom and the highly acclaimed God of War III, which is destined to be the best console game of the year. But it doesn’t end there; here are some of the most anticipated games releasing on the PS4 in 2018 and the coming years.

SpiderMan

Easily one of the most hyped PS4 releases for the remainder of the year is this open-world, action-adventure game. It’s exclusive to Sony and is the first big Spidey game in a long time. It will allow players to explore, fight crime, and generally web-sling his or her way in a fully realized city patterned after New York. Spider-Man is coming out in September.

Red Dead Redemption 2

Competing with Spider-Man for the most anticipated upcoming game on the Sony console is the sequel to the critically praised Red Dead Redemption. Releasing this October, RDR2 is the brainchild of highly successful developer Rockstar Games of Grand Theft Auto fame. It’s an even bigger open-world sandbox game that will give players a grand adventure in the untamed Wild West.

Death Stranding

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Being developed by Kojima Productions, the release date of this sci-fi game is still shrouded in mystery but is even now generating tons of hype among gamers. After all, it stars actors Norman Reedus, Léa Seydoux, Lindsay Wagner, and even director Guillermo del Toro. It is set in a dark planet riddled with fetuses and Dementor-like creatures. Innovations in facial recognition and game engine are making Death Stranding the new standard for gaming realism.

Hello, James P. DeVellis here, an IT aficionado. I get a lot of questions from family and friends about the latest smartphones, the best apps, troubleshooting laptops, etc. So, I decided to start writing on everything that is technology. Visit this blog for more tech-related posts.

Some Of The Best Tablets To Buy In 2018

For many, the best tablets are all about the most flexible features, a desktop-like experience, and a sleek appearance that won’t go above budget. In short, they offer the most bang for the buck. Here are some top options for 2018.

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iPad Pro 10.5

Opening the list with Apple’s latest flagship tablet – which understandably would cost much more than most other competitors – might be a little off-putting. But come to think of it: it’s a great choice for those looking for a serious upgrade, with standout features that enhance productivity and can even be a suitable laptop replacement for some. It got us sold on the new ProMotion screen, the wonderful speakers, and overall professional-tablet packaging.

Amazon Fire HD 10

Amazons newest and biggest Fire tablet to date competes with its larger Galaxy and Apple counterparts at a fraction of the price. The screen packs a punch at a full 1080p resolution, while the quad-core 1.2 GHs/1.4 GHz processor is nothing to scoff at. Battery life lasts long, and built-in features like the Alexa functionality are just as tempting. We’d love to choose from the black, blue, and red colors, too.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S3

The HDR screen is made for the future, just as the four speakers are cut out for greatness. Enjoy the S Pen stylus and the array of useful offerings on this leading Android tablet that boasts better quality and more potent features.

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James P DeVellis is an IT professional consulting for a tech company. Most of his day is spent testing new programs and gadgets while they are being developed for public use. Learn more on this page.

Is now a good time to get a VR headset?

Virtual reality is seeping into our everyday lives, evidenced in various industries from education and medicine to real estate and gaming. Gadgets featuring VR technology are now a lot cheaper. This is manifested in current VR headsets. They’re novel and cool, for sure, but is it time you get one? 

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The experience is definitely amazing. With a VR headset, you can look around and see yourself in a 360-degree, often-interactive world simulating the real one. There’s a great sense of being in the game, especially as you use hand-motion controls to duck, lean, and move forward and back. 

Popular VR headsets like Daydream, HTC Vive, Gear VR, and the Oculus Rift now have a good number of supported VR titles you can play. The great thing about these is that the price is going down, with standalone VR headsets that don’t have to connect to PCs seen to be priced for just $200 when they roll out. 

Right now, VR headsets are cool and fun gadgets good for some games. But they are still just toys with not-so-great graphics. VR tech has yet to give you those 1080DP or 4K resolutions, making the experience a little less real, visually speaking. Still, critiquing VR tech seems pointless given its imminent prevalence and potential to be the next driving force for truly immersive gaming. 

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Hello, my name is James P. DeVellis, and I’m a certified technophile. Since I work for a tech company, I get a lot of questions about tech stuff. So, I decided to blog about it. More tech reviews here.

The rise of the iPhone

You can actually count with the fingers on your right hand how many tech companies in the world are as big as Apple. The company is a world leader in technology and innovation, and its products are known for its superior quality and craftsmanship. Over the past few decades, Apple has come out with iconic products that made their mark on history. In this century, no other Apple product is as well-known as the iPhone. 

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The curious thing though is that when you look at the iPhone’s history, you’ll notice that it isn’t the first incarnation of the product that elevated its status – it was the 3G version. Prior to the 3G, phones were mostly used to make calls and text. The newer ones had the occasional low-res camera and probably a game or two. 

The iPhone 3G though introduced something that would change the smartphone landscape forever – apps. Now, phones weren’t simply limited to surfing the web. Smartphones could do things nobody thought phones could do. From 550 apps initially, over 15,000 popped up in the next months. All kinds of apps attracted people everywhere, catapulting the iPhone even higher above the most popular IT products in the market. 

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Practical reasons for passing on the iPhone X

There’s no denying the hype generated by the 10th-anniversary release of the iPhone. Apple and iPhone fans came in droves and even camped out during the worldwide release, and many units have since sold out in many places all over the globe. But is the whopping price of $999 really worth it? 

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The easy answer is an outright no. Aside from the unprecedented, almost snobbish pricing for a smartphone, it comes with an almost-obligatory AppleCare+ extended warranty that would require buyers to shell out another $200 for a two-year coverage. Not getting this warranty will lead up to $549 charges for major repairs on the iPhone X.

Secondly, it’s not as though its Android competitors are lagging behind. The iPhone X has lots of new features not seen on the iPhone before, yes, but the world of the Android has seen its own advances for some time now such as OLED screens, wireless charging, and “all-screen” bezels.

Arguing against any product of the industry giant that is Apple might seem futile as devoted iPhone enthusiasts will still get the phone, anyway. What would be awesome though is if the company manages to match or overtake the rapid growth of its Android competitors. If this happens, maybe more average consumers will understand better why there’s a need to pay such high amounts for a smartphone.

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Hi, James P. DeVellis here. Working for a huge tech company, I get all sorts of questions about gadgets, apps, troubleshooting, etc. For similar reads on innovative technologies and the like, drop by this webpage.

How Honda is pushing the boundaries of automobile technology

Automobile manufacturer Honda has developed the NeuV, a first of its kind. NeuV stands for New Electric Utility Vehicle, and for all intents and purposes the future of the automotive industry. Being internet-ready and able to drive itself are two of its many impressive features.

Image source: techcrunch.com

However, what sets the NeuV apart is the HANA, or Honda Automated Network Assistant, which is an AI that interacts with the driver of the car. HANA is part of the NeuV’s dashboard and serves as the second passenger of the car whose "brain" is located on the dashboard.

Science fiction has indeed become a reality through the NeuV and HANA. Although cars like KITT from the TV series “Knight Rider” or the Autobots from “Transformers” are still light years away (though Honda has developed the world’s first robot as well), the NeuV and HANA are indeed steps toward the right direction.

The possibilities now seem endless. With the right application and a bit more tweaking, HANA can be of more use to society than you might think. At present, it can monitor a driver’s heart rate and recognize faces. HANA can even start conversations with a driver if she senses the driver dozing off. Maybe future versions of HANA may help serve law enforcement and healthcare, and save lives in the process.

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My name is James P. DeVellis, a certified technophile. Follow me on Twitter for more tech-related discussions.